Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s
by 
Tamthebam 
This was a great decade for music although it was dominated with music from the mid/late sixties with great albums from The Beatles, Stones & Bob Dylan. Many iconic bands were formed during this period and there was a big breakthrough for soul/ RnB albums with the labels Atlantic, Stax and Motown leading the way. I like all types of music no matter who was responsible and I did not include any "Best Of" albums that I included in my year charts.
- Chart updated: 3 days ago
- (Created: 09/24/2013 19:44).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 8 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s has an average rating of 89 out of 100 (from 21 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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The best album of the 60's way ahead of its time. Lou Reed & co. must have had a ball making this album it is loose & loud and yet very together, then there are Nico's amazing vocal. It's reputation only grows with time.
[First added to this chart: 09/24/2013]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
39,168
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This album sounds like 3 individual songwriters battling to see who can win with their songs. It makes for a great listen even if it is a bit disjointed. Not all four were present in the studio at the same time McCartney working mostly solo or with Harrison/Starr and Lennon preoccupied with Yoko Ono whose influence is clearly felt on Revolution 9. There are 30 tracks this could have been trimmed down to 28 omitting Piggies & Revolution 9, having said that the album is a must for all Beatle fans and music lovers contains some great tracks - Happiness Is A Warm Gun, Blackbird, Back In The U.S.S.R. & Helter Skelter.
[First added to this chart: 09/24/2013]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
36,855
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From start to finish this is one of my favourite Beatles album it is one of their best albums and one of the best albums of all time and the last album they recorded (Let It Be was released a year later but the tracks for it had already been recorded). They hit an all time peak with this record I doubt they would have been able to better it,if they had stayed together. Octopus's Garden & Silver Hammer are the only tracks which get less than 90/100.
[First added to this chart: 09/24/2013]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
56,644
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This is thee soul album of the 60's head & shoulders above everything else Aretha did or any solo artist in the 60's. She along with Nina Simone have voices that transcend time you know within 3 secs. of hearing her voice "that's Aretha". Every track here is brilliant Respect, the title track, Dr. Feelgood, Do Right Woman & a brilliant version of A Change Is Gonna Come stand out but this is just a superb RnB/soul album.
[First added to this chart: 09/24/2013]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,306
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The first of the Beatles masterpieces which still sounds great today. Beatles album until The White album & Abbey Road were released. It is my 4th best Beatles album and one of my all time 100 albums. It contains one of the better Ringo tracks "What Goes On" along with Norwegian Wood, In My Life Michelle, Nowhere Man, The Word & Drive My Car which rank 90/100 or more. The rest of the album is good I think that Revolver released 6 months later took some of the spotlight away from this album but over the years I keep coming back to it more so than Sgt. Pepper or Revolver.
[First added to this chart: 09/24/2013]
Year of Release:
1965
Appears in:
Rank Score:
26,332
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There isn't much left to say about Brian Wilson and his imagination an amazing album full of summertime music. You wake up on a sunny day play this album and the feeling lasts all day play it on a rainy day and it cheers u up. Every track is an experience I should know it took me 30 years to get into it !
[First added to this chart: 09/24/2013]
Year of Release:
1966
Appears in:
Rank Score:
38,306
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Average Rating:
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This is a great Stones record not a single weak track Sympathy, Jigsaw, Salt of the Earth and Street Fighting Man stand out from the rest but the other mostly acoustic numbers make the album a relaxing listen and a smooth ride.
[First added to this chart: 09/24/2013]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,978
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A great soul/RnB album Nina at her best. Standout tracks are "A little sugar ....." "Do I Move You" "In The Dark " "Since I Fell For You " and "Blues For Mama" but to top all of those is the amazing "My Mans Gone Now ". A brilliant album.
[First added to this chart: 09/24/2013]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
644
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[First added to this chart: 09/24/2013]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,058
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An album that sounds as good today as when it was released. It is however not their best album Abbey Road is a better all round album. It has a great mixture of styles and contains the best Beatles song of all time A Day In The Life. I don't get Within Without You & Lucy in The Sky doesn't really work for me either. A good album but not their best.
[First added to this chart: 09/24/2013]
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
42,756
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Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 0 | 0% | |
| 1961 | 0 | 0% | |
| 1962 | 0 | 0% | |
| 1963 | 3 | 3% | |
| 1964 | 3 | 3% | |
| 1965 | 10 | 10% | |
| 1966 | 12 | 12% | |
| 1967 | 20 | 20% | |
| 1968 | 20 | 20% | |
| 1969 | 32 | 32% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Beatles | 9 | 9% | |
| Nina Simone | 6 | 6% | |
| Bob Dylan | 6 | 6% | |
| The Beach Boys | 5 | 5% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 5 | 5% | |
| The Moody Blues | 4 | 4% | |
| The Doors | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 2 from 33rd to 31stThe Velvet Underground by The Velvet Underground |
| Up 1 from 57th to 56thProphets, Seers & Sages: The Angels Of The Ages by Tyrannosaurus Rex |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 31st to 32ndA Hard Day's Night by The Beatles |
| Down 1 from 32nd to 33rdHelp! by The Beatles |
| Down 1 from 56th to 57thFriends by The Beach Boys |
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Other decade charts by Tamthebam
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
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| Top 90 Music Albums of the 2020s | Tamthebam | 2020s decade chart | 2025 | |
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 21 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02/06/2026 08:21 |  Purplepash | 1,718 | 88/100 | |
| 03/14/2025 12:20 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,095 | 85/100 | |
| 01/11/2023 22:03 | Moondance | 476 | 85/100 | |
| 01/11/2023 20:25 | Johnnyo | 2,572 | 80/100 | |
| 01/11/2023 09:28 |  Liedzeit | 77 | 85/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some charts can have several thousand ratings)
This chart is rated in the top 4% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.0/100, a mean average of 90.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 90.5/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 7.7.
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s comments
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From Moondance 01/11/2023 22:12 | #292726
Nice chart with good coverage of the decade. I agree that the decade didn't truly kick off with great albums until 1963.
Nice to see Laura Nyro in there (twice)! ~ but surprised to see CSN a lot lower than I think they deserve, given the quality of the album.
I agree with a previous comment that Cream deserve a place in the top 100 of the 60's and we could quibble over artists like Blind Faith, Iron Butterfly, Blood Sweat & Tears.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Johnnyo 01/11/2023 20:25 | #292724
Very good chart
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From leniad 11/10/2020 03:03 | #260507
Solid chart, love your writing
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From cabvo 03/16/2020 14:15 | #248784
Beggars Banquet in the top 10! Great choice for an overall great list!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
CharlieBarley 01/04/2017 19:40 | #181736
CharlieBarley 01/04/2017 19:40 | #181736
Sweet 60s chart! 44 albums in common. Good to see the Rod Stewart album or as it was called in the UK An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down. Good diversity of music. I think you have good taste man.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From bluesbrew82 09/08/2015 17:24 | #149367
A nice chart, fluid. No Janis Joplin or Cream? Still a good feeling chart as is. Glad u dropped Moby Grape in there.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
tgarritsen 02/07/2014 17:15 | #102473
tgarritsen 02/07/2014 17:15 | #102473
Fun to see Aretha Franklin so high.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
greatson 10/22/2013 12:56 | #88877
greatson 10/22/2013 12:56 | #88877
You seem to be the soul representative of BEA.
There sure is a lack of good soul music on BEA, but I´m not fully satisfied with your chart - a bit too many classics and too many albums of your top4 - no real surprises.
The music`s OK
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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