Albums of 1968
The Beatles split widening, the White Album arriving, Beggars Banquet asserting the Stones' blues credentials.
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1Lady SoulAretha Franklin
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2Cheap ThrillsBig Brother and the Holding Company
Cheap Thrills
A raw, electric peak of Janis Joplin's blues-rock fire. Powerful and beloved. A 60s landmark.
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3Boogie with Canned HeatCanned Heat
Boogie with Canned Heat
A peak of late-60s blues-boogie, home to 'On the Road Again'. Warm and beloved. A high point.
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4Wheels of FireCream
Wheels of Fire
A half-studio, half-live double album of blues-rock virtuosity. Bold and beloved. A high point.
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5Tell MamaEtta James
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6We're Only in It for the MoneyFrank Zappa
We're Only in It for the Money
A scabrous satire of 60s counterculture and Sgt. Pepper. Inventive and biting. A cult landmark.
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7Wichita LinemanGlen Campbell
Wichita Lineman
A lush, melancholic countrypolitan landmark built on a perfect Jimmy Webb song. Beautiful and beloved. A genre classic.
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8Speak Like a ChildHerbie Hancock
Speak Like a Child
A gentle, impressionistic peak of lush harmony. Beautiful and acclaimed. A Blue Note gem.
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9At Folsom PrisonJohnny Cash
At Folsom Prison
Recorded live for an audience of inmates, it captures Cash at his most charismatic and human. Raw, funny and moving. One of the great live albums.
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10Eli and the Thirteenth ConfessionLaura Nyro
Eli and the Thirteenth Confession
Soul, gospel, and folk woven together by a singular compositional voice; widely covered, quietly influential, endlessly rewardable.
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11Mama TriedMerle Haggard
Mama Tried
A landmark of Bakersfield country, plain-spoken and powerful. Direct and beloved. His signature record.
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12NefertitiMiles Davis
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13Electric MudMuddy Waters
Electric Mud
A divisive, psychedelic reimagining of Muddy's blues. Bold and strange. A cult curiosity.
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14The Dock of the BayOtis Redding
The Dock of the Bay
A posthumous peak built around its timeless title song. Soulful and beloved. A high point.
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15BookendsSimon & Garfunkel
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16Taj MahalTaj Mahal
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17Music from Big PinkThe Band
Music from Big Pink
A rustic, soulful debut that turned rock back toward Americana, home to 'The Weight'. Warm and influential. A landmark of the roots revival.
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18The Beatles (White Album)The Beatles
The Beatles (White Album)
A sprawling, contradictory double album recorded amid growing tensions, lurching from hard rock to folk to musique concrète. Its inconsistency is part of the charm, capturing four songwriters pulling in different directions. Endlessly debated, endlessly rewarding.
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19Sweetheart of the RodeoThe Byrds
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
The album that birthed country-rock, a brave pivot guided by Gram Parsons. Influential and gentle. A genre origin point.
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20Waiting for the SunThe Doors
Waiting for the Sun
A varied peak, home to 'Hello, I Love You'. Tuneful and beloved. A high point.
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21Electric LadylandThe Jimi Hendrix Experience
Electric Ladyland
A sprawling double album of studio experimentation and blues-rock fire, climaxing in a definitive 'All Along the Watchtower'. Ambitious and brilliant. Hendrix's fullest statement.
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22The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation SocietyThe Kinks
The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
A wry, nostalgic song-cycle about a vanishing England, overlooked then revered. Charming and English to the core. A cult masterpiece.
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23Beggars BanquetThe Rolling Stones
Beggars Banquet
The return to raw, rootsy form after psychedelic detours, opening with 'Sympathy for the Devil'. Loose, dark and the start of their greatest run. Essential.
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24Astral WeeksVan Morrison
Astral Weeks
A mystical, free-flowing fusion of folk, jazz and soul, unlike anything before or since. Improvisational and transcendent. Frequently named among the greatest albums ever.