Beggars Banquet
by The Rolling Stones

Quite simply, this is the Stones' best album IMO. Jagger comes through with his best set of lyrics on this album, especially on "Sympathy for the Devil", which is a chronicle of tragic historical events sung from the viewpoint of Satan, who admits to causing them to happen (no, it is definitely NOT a song advocating Satanism, unlike what many believe). There is also an acknowledgment of the social protesting that was a clear component of the chaotic year of 1968 with "Street Fighting Man", and a sing-along tribute to the common working man and woman in "Salt of the Earth". In between, you have the band acknowledging their roots with a Delta blues cover, acoustic country and downright salacious rock. 'Beggars Banquet' has it all and has to rank as one of the three or four best rock albums of the '60's. The Stones never topped it, although 'Exile on Main Street' came close to equalling it. This one is a masterpiece. (Edited)

After floundering (just a little bit) with psychedelia, this is where The Stones found and perfected their sound which they would simply tweak for the rest of their career. And that sound that they developed was just pure genius and utterly unique. Henceforth, countless bands would be complacent to mine this terrain. From a certain perspective, it would not be crazy to call this Alternative Country. Because that's what they did with this release. They made white trash hillbilly music hip. As I said, genius!

Possibly the most consistent Stones album in that there isn't a bad track here. The obvious tracks of note are Sympathy For The Devil and Street Fighting Man of course, both of which have made it onto many compilations over the years, but Factory Girl, Salt Of The Earth, No Expectations and Dear Doctor are all great tracks and well worth investigating. (Edited)

Sometimes I call this album my favorite Stones album.
Jigsaw Puzzle has always been my favorite or top 3 Stones songs.
this is the album that Put the "stone" in Stones and defined their sound throughout the next few decades.
As for the 60's the most influential acts are as follows:
1- The Beatles
2- Bob Dylan
3- jimi Hendrix
4- The Mothers of Invention
5- The Rolling Stones
honorable mention to Jefferson Airplane, Cream, The Doors and Captain Beefheart

The Stones were influenced by American Blues music. Their early recordings are full of Blues covers. This is the finest example of Jagger/Richards compositions using the Blues style: Parachute Woman, Factory Girl, Prodigal Son.
This album contains 2 Stone Classics: Sympathy for the Devil and Street Fighting Man. Sympathy is lyrically their most powerful statement.