Top 37 Music Albums of 1969
by 
Romanelli 
- Chart updated: 10/02/2025 15:15
- (Created: 04/11/2012 18:22).
- Chart size: 37 albums.
There is 1 comment for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 37 Music Albums of 1969 has an average rating of 88 out of 100 (from 6 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 57,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Overall chart ranking: #1. Decade ranking: #1. Produced by George Martin. The last album The Beatles recorded somehow turned out to be one of their very best. The bits and pieces McCartney envisioned as song suites somehow worked, and Lennon's singular songs are among his best work. George Harrison's songs show how much he'd progressed into a rival of the band's songwriting team. Abbey Road is a miracle of 1969 modern technology: it sounds as clean as anything coming out today. One of the most entertaining albums ever made.
[First added to this chart: 04/11/2012]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
57,257
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Produced by John Simon. The second album from The Band is a thing of beauty. The songwriting would begin to fall off shortly after this, but for two albums (this and Music From Big Pink), The Band could do no wrong. People talk about music being timeless...well, I think it really applies to this album. All of the talent in the world at each instrument, plus incredible writing, makes this one of the greatest of all time. Could have come from any era, which is really what makes it so special.
[First added to this chart: 04/11/2012]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,465
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1969 – FANTASY
Produced By JOHN FOGERTY
1. Down On The Corner
2. It Came Out Of The Sky
3. Cotton Fields
4. Poorboy Shuffle
5. Feelin’ Blue
6. Fortunate Son
7. Don’t Look Now
8. The Midnight Special
9. Side O’ The Road
10. Effigy
11. Fortunate Son (Live)
12. It Came Out Of The Sky (Live)
13. Down On The Corner (With Booker T. & The MG’s)
Any doubts as to what a great band Creedence Clearwater Revival was can be doused with the mention of a single year…1969. They had already released their second album, Bayou Country, in January, followed by the excellent Green River in August. They had also played at Woodstock that month, and were touring non-stop. Willy And The Poor Boys was the third album released by Creedence during the year, and it’s the strongest of the three. By this time, the band had built up so much momentum that they were unstoppable, and were rivalling even The Beatles as the greatest rock and roll band of the time. The band had not only solidified its swampy, deep sound, but John Fogerty had blossomed into one of rock’s greatest songwriters. Even as the cracks had already begun to show (the rest of the band was severely questioning the full throttle approach of Fogerty), they were also peaking at this point.
“Down On The Corner” and “Fortunate Son” were big hits, and remain staples of rock radio to this day. Their version of the traditional “The Midnight Special” remains one of the song’s best versions. But it’s actually the non-hits that make Willy And The Poor Boys so great. “It Came From The Sky” is probably their greatest non-hit. Side one is anchored by the bluesy “Feelin’ Blue”, while side two closes with the hugely underrated “Effigy”. The album is also notable for being not psychedelic, and for being much more politically charged than any of the other Creedence albums. They would follow this up with the even more successful Cosmo’s Factory before beginning to completely unravel…less than three years after this album, Creedence had broken up. But the music they made between 1968 and 1971…purely magical. This is a true classic. [First added to this chart: 09/04/2012]
Produced By JOHN FOGERTY
1. Down On The Corner
2. It Came Out Of The Sky
3. Cotton Fields
4. Poorboy Shuffle
5. Feelin’ Blue
6. Fortunate Son
7. Don’t Look Now
8. The Midnight Special
9. Side O’ The Road
10. Effigy
11. Fortunate Son (Live)
12. It Came Out Of The Sky (Live)
13. Down On The Corner (With Booker T. & The MG’s)
Any doubts as to what a great band Creedence Clearwater Revival was can be doused with the mention of a single year…1969. They had already released their second album, Bayou Country, in January, followed by the excellent Green River in August. They had also played at Woodstock that month, and were touring non-stop. Willy And The Poor Boys was the third album released by Creedence during the year, and it’s the strongest of the three. By this time, the band had built up so much momentum that they were unstoppable, and were rivalling even The Beatles as the greatest rock and roll band of the time. The band had not only solidified its swampy, deep sound, but John Fogerty had blossomed into one of rock’s greatest songwriters. Even as the cracks had already begun to show (the rest of the band was severely questioning the full throttle approach of Fogerty), they were also peaking at this point.
“Down On The Corner” and “Fortunate Son” were big hits, and remain staples of rock radio to this day. Their version of the traditional “The Midnight Special” remains one of the song’s best versions. But it’s actually the non-hits that make Willy And The Poor Boys so great. “It Came From The Sky” is probably their greatest non-hit. Side one is anchored by the bluesy “Feelin’ Blue”, while side two closes with the hugely underrated “Effigy”. The album is also notable for being not psychedelic, and for being much more politically charged than any of the other Creedence albums. They would follow this up with the even more successful Cosmo’s Factory before beginning to completely unravel…less than three years after this album, Creedence had broken up. But the music they made between 1968 and 1971…purely magical. This is a true classic. [First added to this chart: 09/04/2012]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,543
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Produced by Kit Lambert. Despite the flawed storytelling (is the question to ask a deaf dumb and blind pinball wizard really "what makes you so good" rather than "Why pinball???"), Tommy is ambitious and musically amazing. Hard to believe they did this all with just bass, drums, guitar and a French horn. When taken as a whole, this is an absolute gem of an album, with all four members performing at their very best. Don't take the concept too seriously,,,just have fun with it. It's worth the ride.
[First added to this chart: 04/11/2012]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,778
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1969 – ATLANTIC
Produced By David Crosby, Stephen Stills & Graham Nash
1. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
2. Marrakesh Express
3. Guinnevere
4. You Don’t Have To Cry
5. Pre-Road Downs
6. Wooden Ships
7. Lady Of The Island
8. Helplessly Hoping
9. Long Time Gone
10. 49 Bye-Byes
Maybe the supergroup to top all supergroups, Crosby, Stills & Nash were perfect for the times…and perfect for each other. Consisting of members of The Byrds (Crosby), Buffalo Springfield (Stills), and The Hollies (Nash), the musical mix of these three was something to behold. The harmonies were perfect and oh so cool, but it was the extra added bonus of the personality differences of the three that made it all the better. This, their debut album, was a monster hit in its day. Today, it’s almost forgotten, which is nothing short of a damn shame. There are tracks here that are some of the most beautiful recordings in the history of rock, and this is one of the most perfect albums for its time ever made. These three together in 1969, just getting together, showing the world what they could do and getting ready to take the stage at Woodstock is something special indeed. It’s instrumentally almost all Stills, but vocally, and the writing…nothing short of an amazing group effort.
Stills’ “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”, written about his love for Judy Collins, is the greatest Stills song of all time, and it’s a masterpiece that Lennon & McCartney would have been proud to have written. His “You Don’t Have To Cry” and the gorgeous “Helplessly Hoping” are not far behind. Crosby’s “Guinnevere” is stunning, and his “Long Time Gone”, a response to the killing of Robert Kennedy, is perfect. The three Nash tracks maybe sound the most dated, but you can’t help but love “Marrakesh Express” and “Pre-Road Downs”, which features Cass Elliot singing backups. And there’s “Wooden Ships”, a beautiful track by Crosby, Stills and Paul Kantner of the Airplane. Plenty of great moments awaited this trio (with help from future member Neil Young), but man…what an amazing debut. How amazing must it have been to have heard this for the first time in 1969? This is one hell of a great and absolutely beautiful album. Must have. [First added to this chart: 06/12/2012]
Produced By David Crosby, Stephen Stills & Graham Nash
1. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
2. Marrakesh Express
3. Guinnevere
4. You Don’t Have To Cry
5. Pre-Road Downs
6. Wooden Ships
7. Lady Of The Island
8. Helplessly Hoping
9. Long Time Gone
10. 49 Bye-Byes
Maybe the supergroup to top all supergroups, Crosby, Stills & Nash were perfect for the times…and perfect for each other. Consisting of members of The Byrds (Crosby), Buffalo Springfield (Stills), and The Hollies (Nash), the musical mix of these three was something to behold. The harmonies were perfect and oh so cool, but it was the extra added bonus of the personality differences of the three that made it all the better. This, their debut album, was a monster hit in its day. Today, it’s almost forgotten, which is nothing short of a damn shame. There are tracks here that are some of the most beautiful recordings in the history of rock, and this is one of the most perfect albums for its time ever made. These three together in 1969, just getting together, showing the world what they could do and getting ready to take the stage at Woodstock is something special indeed. It’s instrumentally almost all Stills, but vocally, and the writing…nothing short of an amazing group effort.
Stills’ “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”, written about his love for Judy Collins, is the greatest Stills song of all time, and it’s a masterpiece that Lennon & McCartney would have been proud to have written. His “You Don’t Have To Cry” and the gorgeous “Helplessly Hoping” are not far behind. Crosby’s “Guinnevere” is stunning, and his “Long Time Gone”, a response to the killing of Robert Kennedy, is perfect. The three Nash tracks maybe sound the most dated, but you can’t help but love “Marrakesh Express” and “Pre-Road Downs”, which features Cass Elliot singing backups. And there’s “Wooden Ships”, a beautiful track by Crosby, Stills and Paul Kantner of the Airplane. Plenty of great moments awaited this trio (with help from future member Neil Young), but man…what an amazing debut. How amazing must it have been to have heard this for the first time in 1969? This is one hell of a great and absolutely beautiful album. Must have. [First added to this chart: 06/12/2012]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,402
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1969-FANTASY
Produced By JOHN FOGERTY
1. Born On The Bayou
2. Bootleg
3. Graveyard Train
4. Good Golly Miss Molly
5. Penthouse Pauper
6. Proud Mary
7. Keep On Chooglin'
Hard to believe that in 1969, the four members of Creedence Clearwater Revival had been playing together for 10 years. Bayou Country is their second album, and the first of an incredible run of 3 in the same year and 5 albums between 1969-70. The band was basically over by 1971...but what a run they had.
Bayou Country is the home to "Proud Mary", a huge hit for the band, as well as one of their better songs, "Born On The Bayou". It also features 2 tracks over 7 minutes in length, "Graveyard Train", and maybe the best one chord song ever recorded, "Keep On Chooglin". The album shows considerable growth from the previous year's debut, and sparks of what was to come with their next four albums. Bayou Country is an important part of the CCR catalog, and a great example of why this band was so big...if only for a short period of time. [First added to this chart: 04/13/2012]
Produced By JOHN FOGERTY
1. Born On The Bayou
2. Bootleg
3. Graveyard Train
4. Good Golly Miss Molly
5. Penthouse Pauper
6. Proud Mary
7. Keep On Chooglin'
Hard to believe that in 1969, the four members of Creedence Clearwater Revival had been playing together for 10 years. Bayou Country is their second album, and the first of an incredible run of 3 in the same year and 5 albums between 1969-70. The band was basically over by 1971...but what a run they had.
Bayou Country is the home to "Proud Mary", a huge hit for the band, as well as one of their better songs, "Born On The Bayou". It also features 2 tracks over 7 minutes in length, "Graveyard Train", and maybe the best one chord song ever recorded, "Keep On Chooglin". The album shows considerable growth from the previous year's debut, and sparks of what was to come with their next four albums. Bayou Country is an important part of the CCR catalog, and a great example of why this band was so big...if only for a short period of time. [First added to this chart: 04/13/2012]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,688
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1969-FANTASY
Produced By JOHN FOGERTY
1. Green River
2. Commotion
3. Tombstone Shadow
4. Wrote A Song For Everyone
5. Bad Moon Rising
6. Lodi
7. Cross-Tie Walker
8. Sinister Purpose
9. The Night Time Is The Right Time
Between 1968 and 1970, no band was more successful or prolific than Creedence Clearwater Revival. And this was while The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were still very active. Green River is one of three albums released by Creedence in 1969, and it was a huge success. The album contains four hit singles: “Bad Moon Rising”, “Lodi”, “Commotion”, and the title track, and the album spent 27 days in October 1969 at number one. The sound is consistent with Bayou Country, released earlier the same year, and centered the band into a period in which they could do no wrong.
CCR albums from this period are pretty much judgeable by the non-hit material, and Green River is fairly consistent in that area. “Wrote A Song For Everyone” is the best of the lot, with “Tombstone Shadow” not far behind. “Cross Tie Walker” and “Sinister Purpose” are not as strong, and the final track is a decent cover of a 1957 hit by Nappy Brown. Overall, a pretty great album…you can’t go wrong with any CCR album from 1968-70. It all came unraveled for them by 1972, but during this time, CCR may have been the best band in the world. [First added to this chart: 04/12/2012]
Produced By JOHN FOGERTY
1. Green River
2. Commotion
3. Tombstone Shadow
4. Wrote A Song For Everyone
5. Bad Moon Rising
6. Lodi
7. Cross-Tie Walker
8. Sinister Purpose
9. The Night Time Is The Right Time
Between 1968 and 1970, no band was more successful or prolific than Creedence Clearwater Revival. And this was while The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were still very active. Green River is one of three albums released by Creedence in 1969, and it was a huge success. The album contains four hit singles: “Bad Moon Rising”, “Lodi”, “Commotion”, and the title track, and the album spent 27 days in October 1969 at number one. The sound is consistent with Bayou Country, released earlier the same year, and centered the band into a period in which they could do no wrong.
CCR albums from this period are pretty much judgeable by the non-hit material, and Green River is fairly consistent in that area. “Wrote A Song For Everyone” is the best of the lot, with “Tombstone Shadow” not far behind. “Cross Tie Walker” and “Sinister Purpose” are not as strong, and the final track is a decent cover of a 1957 hit by Nappy Brown. Overall, a pretty great album…you can’t go wrong with any CCR album from 1968-70. It all came unraveled for them by 1972, but during this time, CCR may have been the best band in the world. [First added to this chart: 04/12/2012]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,177
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
1969-POLYDOR
Produced By THE VELVET UNDERGROUND
1. Candy Says
2. What Goes On
3. Some Kinda Love
4. Pale Blue Eyes
5. Jesus
6. Beginning To See Ther Light
7. I'm Set Free
8. That's The Story Of My Life
9. The Murder Mystery
10. After Hours
After the departure of the robotic voiced Nico and the abrasive John Cale from the first two Velvet albums, it was finally Lou Reed's band. And despite the Velvet's continued complete lack of commercial success, Reed made the most of it. This is where he takes the front by himself for the first time, and where his songwriting begins to turn towards a more acoustic and melodic place where he would go many times during his solo career.
Down to a four piece band, The Velvets on this record are not quite what the masses would consume, but they were in a constant state of improvement. Reed's songs here, all of them, are stunning and deserve to be heard. Again...you may not like the Velvets...and if so, you probably never started a band. This is a great work. [First added to this chart: 04/14/2012]
Produced By THE VELVET UNDERGROUND
1. Candy Says
2. What Goes On
3. Some Kinda Love
4. Pale Blue Eyes
5. Jesus
6. Beginning To See Ther Light
7. I'm Set Free
8. That's The Story Of My Life
9. The Murder Mystery
10. After Hours
After the departure of the robotic voiced Nico and the abrasive John Cale from the first two Velvet albums, it was finally Lou Reed's band. And despite the Velvet's continued complete lack of commercial success, Reed made the most of it. This is where he takes the front by himself for the first time, and where his songwriting begins to turn towards a more acoustic and melodic place where he would go many times during his solo career.
Down to a four piece band, The Velvets on this record are not quite what the masses would consume, but they were in a constant state of improvement. Reed's songs here, all of them, are stunning and deserve to be heard. Again...you may not like the Velvets...and if so, you probably never started a band. This is a great work. [First added to this chart: 04/14/2012]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,525
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Produced by Jimmy Page. Out of the ashes of The Yardbirds, Zeppelin's debut marked a new sound in rock, heavier and more solid and perfect than ever before. They had yet to perfect what they were doing yet, and the sound is still miles above anything that had been done before in hard rock. The individual parts of this band show themselves as mighty forces, and the original songs show the promise of everything that was to come. As solid a debut album as you can ever hope to find, Led Zeppelin delivers.
[First added to this chart: 04/13/2012]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
16,907
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Produced by Jimmy Page. The heaviest of all Zeppelin albums, and the strangest one for me (I have not listened to "Whole Lotta Love" all the way through since I was 15...I don't even know why any more). Now that they've properly credited the blues guys they were stealing from back then, there's nothing to be mad at them about anymore, which is why their albums keep climbing my charts. Zeppelin II is powerful stuff, and marks the best of their early work. They were growing fast into the amazing band they are known to be now...this is really amazing.
[First added to this chart: 04/11/2012]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
20,932
Rank in 1969:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 37. Page 1 of 4
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Top 37 Music Albums of 1969 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | 3 | 8% | |
| The Beatles | 2 | 5% | |
| Fairport Convention | 2 | 5% | |
| Led Zeppelin | 2 | 5% | |
| Johnny Cash | 1 | 3% | |
| Boz Scaggs | 1 | 3% | |
| Chicago Transit Authority | 1 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 37 Music Albums of 1969 chart changes
There have been no changes to this chart.Top 37 Music Albums of 1969 similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!
Why register?
- Join a passionate community of over 50,000 music fans.
- Create & share your own charts.
- Have your say in the overall rankings.
- Post comments in the forums and vote on polls.
- Comment on or rate any album, artist, track or chart.
- Discover new music & improve your music collection.
- Customise the overall chart using a variety of different filters & metrics.
- Create a wishlist of albums.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- ... And lots more!
Register now - it only takes a moment!
Romanelli has created 71 other 1969 year charts - click here to explore them all.
Top 37 Music Albums of 1969 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.
N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 6 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 10/15/2019 23:33 | DJENNY | 4,365 | 100/100 |
| ! | 08/22/2014 14:36 |  thedistantship | 162 | 84/100 |
| ! | 01/15/2014 19:46 |  tgarritsen | 375 | 86/100 |
| ! | 11/04/2013 21:01 | JusticeDone | 424 | 96/100 |
| ! | 04/04/2013 03:59 |  ~SMiLE~ | 315 | 81/100 |
Top 37 Music Albums of 1969 favourites
Top 37 Music Albums of 1969 comments
Showing all 1 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First |
Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)
From tgarritsen 01/15/2014 19:46 | #100719
tgarritsen 01/15/2014 19:46 | #100719
Good chart although I thin Yellow Submarine should be way lower.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Your feedback for Top 37 Music Albums of 1969
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
| Best Artists of 2024 | |
|---|---|
| 1. Charli XCX | |
| 2. Magdalena Bay | |
| 3. Vampire Weekend | |
| 4. The Cure | |
| 5. The Smile | |
| 6. Fontaines D.C. | |
| 7. The Last Dinner Party | |
| 8. Kendrick Lamar | |
| 9. Geordie Greep | |
| 10. Waxahatchee | |
| 11. Billie Eilish | |
| 12. Adrianne Lenker | |
| 13. Beth Gibbons | |
| 14. Cindy Lee | |
| 15. Tyler, The Creator | |
| 16. Father John Misty | |
| 17. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | |
| 18. Nick Cave | |
| 19. Beyoncé | |
| 20. MJ Lenderman |
