Best Songs of the 1960s
The decade rock, soul and pop grew up — twelve songs that still define the era, each from an album worth owning.
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1BE
A Day in the Life
The orchestral climax of the album that reinvented the LP.
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2BD
Like a Rolling Stone
Six minutes that rewrote what a single could be.
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3BB
God Only Knows
Brian Wilson's most perfect, fragile arrangement.
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4RS
Gimme Shelter
The Stones at their most ominous and electric.
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5JH
All Along the Watchtower
The definitive reading of a Dylan song.
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6VU
I'll Be Your Mirror
Nico's tender counterpoint to the album's darkness.
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7AF
Respect
The song that crowned the Queen of Soul.
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8DO
Light My Fire
The organ-driven breakthrough that made them stars.
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9OR
I've Been Loving You Too Long
Southern soul at its most aching.
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10JC
Folsom Prison Blues
Recorded live to a roar of inmates.
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11WH
My Generation
The stuttering anthem of mod youth.
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12S&
The Sound of Silence
The hushed folk landmark that launched them.
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13BE
A Day in the Life
The orchestral crescendo and Lennon's most unsettling domestic narrative.
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14BD
Like a Rolling Stone
The six-minute single that broke every rule and made Dylan permanent.
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15BB
God Only Knows
Paul McCartney's favourite song and the high point of 60s pop production.
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16AF
Respect
Otis's song transformed into a demand — and she got it.
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17S&
Bridge Over Troubled Water
The closing statement of the decade — piano, voice, and an impossible climax.
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18KI
Waterloo Sunset
Ray Davies looking out over London and writing pop's most tender observation.
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19RS
Gimme Shelter
Merry Clayton's scream and the most menacing groove the Stones ever recorded.
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