Best albums of the 60's

[bc1991]

Not only a good decade for Rock, but for Jazz also. Amazing works can be found here. Some of them will break barriers of time and still be listened 200 or 300 years from now.

1.- The Beatles - Abbey Road 1969
2.- Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady 1963
3.- Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica 1967
4.- The Beatles - The Beatles (White Album) 1968
5.- The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico 1967
6.- Van Morrison - Astral Weeks 1968
7.- The Beatles - Revolver 1966
8.- Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced? 1967
9.- King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King 1969
10.- Charles Mingus - Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus 1964
11.- Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen 1968
12.- Red Crayola - Parable of the Arable Land 1967
13.- Love - Forever Changes 1967
14.- John Coltrane - Ascension 1966
15.- The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat 1968
16.- Frank Zappa - Hot Rats 1969
17.- John Coltrane - A Love Supreme 1964
18.- The Rolling Stones - Let it Bleed 1969
19.- The Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band 1967
20.- Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited 1965
21.- The Doors - The Doors 1967
22.- Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde 1966
23.- Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn 1967
24.- The Who - Tommy 1969
25.- Miles Davis - In a Silent Way 1969
26.- Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland 1968
27.- Cecil Taylor - Unit Structures 1966
28.- Frank Zappa - We're Only in It for the Money 1968
29.- Ornette Coleman - Free Jazz 1961
30.- The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground 1969
31.- Sun Ra - Atlantis 1967
32.- The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle 1968
33.- Frank Zappa - Freak Out 1966
34.- Os Mutantes - Os Mutantes 1968
35.- Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch 1968
36.- Albert Ayler - Spiritual Unity 1964
37.- John Coltrane - Giant Steps 1960
38.- Stan Getz & João Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto 1964
39.- The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds 1966
40.- The Kinks - The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society 1968
41.- Miles Davis - Nefertiti 1963
42.- Otis Redding - Otis Blue 1966
43.- Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil 1965
44.- The Beatles - Rubber Soul 1965
45.- Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left 1969
46.- Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere 1969
47.- Captain Beefheart - Safe as Milk 1967
48.- The Who - My Generation 1965
49.- Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II 1969
50.- Cream - Disraeli Gears 1967

[AfterHours]

Another great list. Here's mine:

1. A Love Supreme-John Coltrane (1964)
2. Black Saint & The Sinner Lady-Charles Mingus (1963)
3. Trout Mask Replica-Capt Beefheart (1969)
4. The Velvet Underground & Nico-The Velvet Underground (1967)
5. The Doors-The Doors (1967)
6. Parable of Arable Land-Red Crayola (1967)
7. Unit Structures-Cecil Taylor (1966)
8. Ascension-John Coltrane (1965)
9. For Alto-Anthony Braxton (1968)
10. Spiritual Unity-Albert Ayler (1964)
11. Bitches Brew-Miles Davis (1969)
12. Astral Weeks-Van Morrison (1968)
13. Atlantis-Sun Ra (1967)
14. Free Jazz-Ornette Coleman (1960)
15. Out To Lunch-Eric Dolphy (1966)

[bc1991]

Afterhours:
I love the ones on your list also, but I have doubt.
Wasn't Bitches Brew released on 1970?

[AfterHours]

Yes, it was released in 1970 but jazz albums are usually marked by their recording date, which actually makes more sense (though probably more difficult to track).

[YellowBook]

Another interesting selection, out of the top ten that bc1991 listed, I've not heard two of the albums in their entirity so I went out and bought myself a copy of In the Court of the Crimson King and Trout Mask Replica.

I need a few more listens to both albums but I'm finding Trout Mask Replica pretty difficult to get into; it's obviously very inventive but I'm not finding it musically appealing. I liked Safe As Milk from Beefheart, it's one of my favourite albums, but to me Trout Mask is hard work at the moment.

I'm liking King Crimson so far, it's interesting and I'm looking forward to listening to it some more.

[AfterHours]

Trout Mask Replica, more than any other album, more than any other musical work, demands and rewards determination and the hard work of one who sticks with it and listens to it multiple times. It took me about 20 listens to really get into it and fall in love with. From there it became more and more overwhelmingly profound with successive listens. Now, at 100+ listens I can say with absolute certainty that it is among the most jaw-dropping and profound works of art in the history of mankind. I would only give that distinction to 4 other albums: A Love Supreme, Black Saint & The Sinner Lady, Rock Bottom & Faust.

[bc1991]

YellowBook:

AfterHours said it perfect. I don't know of anybody who liked Trout Mask Replica at the first listen. I have to say that it took me like 20 listens also. The really important thing here is the patience you give to it, and then you will see how it will grow on you.
If you didn't know, here are a few curious things about this album:

- Don Van Vliet wrote all of the songs of the Trout Mask Replica in two weeks aprox.
- It took about 8 months for their band (which all were experimented musicians already) to learn how to play all of the songs.
- With the piano, Van Vliet teach to the members how to exactly play with their different instruments.
- It was strictly prohibited by Van Vliet for any member to take any kind of drug (Frank Zappa did the same thing with his band).
- Van Vliet recorded the vocals on a different isolated room, at same time with the band playing, only being in partial synch with the music by hearing the slight sound through the studio window.

In the Court of the Crimson King by the other hand, is considered by many, the pioneer of progressive rock. Pete Townshend called it an "uncanny masterpiece". The year it was released tells you a lot about it. While Pink Floyd was on their psychedellic era of experimentation, In the Court of the Crimson King was a more jazz oriented and symphonic incorporated.

[YellowBook]

Very interesting comments from both of you. I've got Trout Mask on my iPod at the moment and by the sounds of things have got about 15 listens left, so I will keep perservering with it.

[AfterHours]

Unless you haven't warmed to jazz, A Love Supreme is the most accessible, Rock Bottom the most melodic.

I do have a recommended order for listening to the masterpieces of rock and jazz, based on the challenge levels of each.

Challenge Ratings are as follows:
1.0 EXTREMELY EASY
2.0 VERY EASY
3.0 EASY
4.0 PRETTY EASY
5.0 NEITHER TOUGH NOR EASY
6.0 PRETTY CHALLENGING
7.0 DIFFICULT
8.0 VERY DIFFICULT
9.0 EXTREMELY DIFFICULT
10.0 VIRTUALLY IMPENETRABLE

Recommended order is as follows:

5.0
1) The Doors-The Doors

5.5
2) Blonde On Blonde-Bob Dylan

6.0
3) Spiderland-Slint
4) Kind of Blue-Miles Davis

6.5
5) Astral Weeks-Van Morrison
6) Suicide-Suicide
7) Desertshore-Nico
8) A Love Supreme-John Coltrane
9) The Shape of Jazz to Come-Ornette Coleman
10) The Modern Dance-Pere Ubu
11) Yerself is Steam-Mercury Rev
12) The Velvet Underground & Nico-The Velvet Underground

7.0
13) The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady-Charles Mingus
14) Lullaby Land-Vampire Rodents
15) Third-Soft Machine
16) Bitches Brew-Miles Davis
17) The Ascension-Glenn Branca
18) Loveless-My Bloody Valentine

7.5
19) Neu!-Neu!
20) Irrlicht-Klaus Schulze
21) Lorca-Tim Buckley
22) Rock Bottom-Robert Wyatt
23) Free Jazz-Ornette Coleman
24) Parable of Arable Land-Red Crayola
25) Spiritual Unity-Albert Ayler
26) Out To Lunch-Eric Dolphy

8.0
27) Ascension-John Coltrane
28) Well Oiled-Hash Jar Tempo
29) Hosianna Mantra-Popol Vuh
30) Dolmen Music-Meredith Monk
31) Improvisie-Paul Bley
32) For Alto-Anthony Braxton
33) Y-Pop Group
34) Unit Structures-Cecil Taylor
35) Atlantis-Sun Ra

8.5
36) Saxophone Improvisations Series F-Anthony Braxton
37) Not Available-Residents
38) Dream Theory in Malaya-Jon Hassell

9.0
39) Faust-Faust
40) Trout Mask Replcia-Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
41) Twin Infinitives-Royal Trux

If you listen to each album in that order, taking each to the point where you feel like you've connected emotionally with it, 'got' it or what have you, you will find the upper ones not nearly as tough because you will have established yourself with the prerequisites that are needed. I've had others do it this way and it has been extremely successful. This is the best, most concise way I know to develop an ear for the avant-garde--and the profound masterpieces of rock and jazz. The most effective way seems to be to take about 3 albums at a time (in order), such as The Doors, Blonde On Blonde and Spiderland, and switching between those 3 until you 'get' them and then moving on to the next 3 the same way. This way you don't get tied down to one album, which at times could become tedious, especially if that album is a challenging one for you. You will find that the more albums you conquer, the easier the rest become. I wouldn't recommend staying on any one album for more than 10 or 15 listens--just move on through the list and if there is a handful that didn't go well for you that's okay. Go through the whole thing again, the same way, even the ones you feel like you've 'got'. It will go much faster each time you go through it and you'll sooner or later find yourself 'getting' each and every album on higher and more profound levels. The whole thing will become an incredibly powerful experience.

As a note, there are likely 10 or more albums that will eventually make it on this list, so this probably isn't all the masterpieces. I would guess there is about 55 or so. I'll make any updates as they occur.

[Mr.Music]

1.Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica
2.Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
3. Velvet Underground & Nico - Velvet Underground & Nico
4. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
5. Red Crayola - Parable Land
6. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Safe As Milk
7. Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced?
8. Love - Forever Changes
9. The Doors - The Doors
10. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme