Top 51 Music Albums of 1968
by 
MadhattanJack 
- Chart updated: 01/31/2026 10:45
- (Created: 04/27/2023 04:50).
- Chart size: 51 albums.
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Not only am I calling it the best album of 1968, it's technically a *soundtrack.* So put that in your hash pipe and smoke it, maaaan.
[First added to this chart: 04/30/2023]
I was never a huge Kinks fan — sure, I liked them in principle, but their production sound was often distractingly bad and their songs were mostly just too happy-sounding for my taste. But when I learned they wanted to preserve the Village Green, well... I had to at least find out what was going on, because I like villages, and (obviously) greens. It was only after I'd decided I really liked the album that I found out that was just a marketing gimmick.
[First added to this chart: 04/30/2023]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
9,350
Rank in 1968:
Rank in 1960s:
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Average Rating:
Comments:
Apparently they were still numbering these things as recently as 2018. Kind of hard cheese on all of us who rushed out and bought our copies the day they were released in 1968 because they said they were "limited editions." I didn't even manage to get one of the first 10,000 because my mom and dad insisted that I mow the lawn before they'd give me the money.
[First added to this chart: 04/30/2023]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
36,871
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Rank in 1960s:
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Comments:
I prefer "Happy Together" (which isn't on this LP) to "Elenore" (which is), but it's a bacon 'n' eggs vs. pancakes 'n' sausage comparison, isn't it? This is the better album, at least if you're going to insist on a traditional breakfast.
[First added to this chart: 04/30/2023]
Consistently named one of the Top Ten Misspelled Album Titles of All Time, it's also a good collection of tunes. Personally, I'm here primarily for the misspellings, but hey, you do you.
[First added to this chart: 04/30/2023]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,727
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Don't look too closely at that piano — it'll really give you the creeps!
[First added to this chart: 04/30/2023]
"Presenting..." is sometimes referred to as "Machines" (the title of track 1) or simply "Lothar and the Hand People." It's a "landmark" album because they were the first band to record and tour with a synthesizer, and it does occasionally sound ahead of its time, but most of the songs on it aren't really written to take full advantage of the synth(s) they were using, if they even used them at all. They also must have been a little self-conscious about it too, because quite a few of the songs (notably track 2, "This Is It") are just standard country ballads with no electronic instrumentation whatsoever. And the song "Machines" isn't even an original, it's a Manfred Mann cover. I guess what I'm saying is, this album is overrated because of what it represents. That's why I'm putting it at #7 for the year — if I don't, people will say I'm too unconventional, and then I'll get self-conscious too and have a total nervous breakdown.
[First added to this chart: 04/30/2023]
This album had one major hit, namely "Daydream Believer" ("Valleri" was an "almost-major" hit). That was perhaps the definitive song of the bubblegum pop era though, so do you really need any more major hits if you have that one already? Personally, I think the rest of the album doesn't get a fair shake — sure, it's "disjointed" and lacks "cohesion," but did you really need those things in 1968? Of course not. Also, this was the first album they released after their TV show was cancelled, so you should cut them some slack.
[First added to this chart: 04/30/2023]
There's always been a big argument over whether this or the UK Nirvana's "Story of Simon Simopath" is the first "rock opera." I don't really like opera though, so I just try to stay out of it.
[First added to this chart: 04/30/2023]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,803
Rank in 1968:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Many people consider this to be The Byrds' best album, though there were no hit singles from it (you've probably heard "Wasn't Born to Follow" because it was used in "Easy Rider," but it wasn't a single) and the cover photo seems to suggest that one of the band members is a horse. It's definitely their most psychedelic album, and there are even synthesizers on it. I have this nagging feeling that it should be ranked higher than this, but my overweening desire for maximum hipster credibility just makes it impossible. Interestingly, the last track on Side 2 is called "Space Odyssey"...
[First added to this chart: 04/30/2023]
Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,389
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Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 51. Page 1 of 6
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Top 51 Music Albums of 1968 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| The Jimi Hendrix Experience | 2 | 4% | |
| The Monkees | 2 | 4% | |
| Marvin Gaye | 1 | 2% | |
| The Lemon Pipers | 1 | 2% | |
| The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band | 1 | 2% | |
| The Pretty Things | 1 | 2% | |
| Eclection | 1 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 51 Music Albums of 1968 chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 31st to 32ndA Beacon From Mars by Kaleidoscope (US) |
| Down 1 from 32nd to 33rdGa Go Gu by Ashtrays |
| Down 1 from 33rd to 34thNazz by Nazz |
| New entries |
|---|
| Green Tambourine by The Lemon Pipers |
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