Best Albums of the 1960s

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61.

Giant Steps 

 John Coltrane

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"Fantastic Jazz album, this is one record to listen to when you're starting to get into the genre! Great fast-paced pieces like the title track, Spiral, and Cousin Mary proves how Jazz doesn't always have to be very relaxing and slow (Nothing wrong with that though)."  Reply

- F1Aaron | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1960

Appears in:

519 charts

Rank Score:

3,724

Rank in 1960:

2

Rank in 1960s:

61

Overall Rank:

454

Average Rating:

 83 (628 votes)

Comments:

24

62.

Willy And The Poor Boys 

 Creedence Clearwater Revival

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"A notch below Cosmo's for me but obviously a great American rock album. The guitar riff and drumbeat on Feelin Blue are irresistible. Some less than stellar tracks, Came out of the sky comes to mind. All in all a really solid album."  Reply

- jmo32087 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1969

Appears in:

534 charts

Rank Score:

3,472

Rank in 1969:

19

Rank in 1960s:

62

Overall Rank:

488

Average Rating:

 82 (622 votes)

Comments:

25

63.

The Who Sell Out 

 The Who

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"This album is an interesting case. Individually, I'm not a huge fan of any of the songs, but as a whole, it's an amazing listen."  Reply

- Fischman | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (6 helpful | 1 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1967

Appears in:

635 charts

Rank Score:

3,445

Rank in 1967:

16

Rank in 1960s:

63

Overall Rank:

494

Average Rating:

 80 (872 votes)

Comments:

56

64.

The Times They Are A-Changin' 

 Bob Dylan

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"1964 was a turbulent year for the United States of America. Injustice violated the air with a stench that, at its best, resembled cigar smoke caked into waterlogged, whiskey-stained clothing. At its worst, it conjured the fragrance of rotting corpses piled into black plague mass graves. A societa...""1964 was a turbulent year for the United States of America. Injustice violated the air with a stench that, at its best, resembled cigar smoke caked into waterlogged, whiskey-stained clothing. At its worst, it conjured the fragrance of rotting corpses piled into black plague mass graves. A societal powder keg was ready to burst, sending shrapnel in the form of violence and revolution across the land. Chronicles of this time in history are aplenty, but Bob Dylan's 'The Times They are A-Changin' occupies a place of poignance and societal relevance as our newest decade commences. The greatest art tends to come rocket-strapped with perennial staying power and universal application. Bob Dylan's third LP effort slides comfortably into those categories and classifications. It touches upon righteous, homely, American ethnocentrism, the painful ineffectiveness of the justice system and selective poverty. Despite Dylan rejecting the label of "Protest Songs", journalists flocked to confine his writing to an ideological box that they could present to the curious and quick-to-judge public. Dylan coyly sat on the fence during interviews which felt more like police interrogations, never confirming or denying anything. Still, the lyricism said more than Dylan ever could, surely illuminating the fact that the poet staunchly sympathized with the plight of the racially suppressed and disenfranchised. The inner shade of Dylan's heart was never in doubt with his position usually reserved for artists of color, those with intentions of questioning the status quo when it came to inequality in the United States. To hear a mid-western, white youth comment on the hypocrisy of American military conquest, the hideousness of white nationalism and imbalanced nature of wealth distribution was refreshing to millions and for thousands more fortunate, feather ruffling. 'The Times They are A-Changin' is concurrently a pinpoint, flaming arrow aimed at the controversial topics of the 1960's and a philosophical thought cloud of ideas and wisdom. All this from a scrawny, Minnesota-born New Yorker who could seemingly wear both hats and walk in all kinds of shoes. The record greets us with the eternal strums of an acoustic guitar as Dylan's voice, strained and imperfect, a survivor of house fire, arrives with its own visage. The seminal opener chugs along at a fixed tempo, adorned with harmonica bursts that enliven the docile guitar tones. The harmonica, a humble and inexpensive instrument that acted as a trusted companion for many, was Dylan's weapon of choice during his early years. He declares, "Come mothers and fathers throughout the land and don't criticize what you can't understand." His prophetic and anthemic rallying cry has endured for nearly 60 years since it first graced ears. The album turns to a significantly grimmer beast with the introduction of second track, 'Ballad of Hollis Brown', a look at a poverty-stricken farmer in rural South Dakota. Dylan takes his tale of desperation and uses it as an allegory for those struggling with destitution. The metaphors are intentionally fatalistic, but many could view them as exaggerated. Here, Dylan's goal is to establish perspective, not provide a factual retelling. It's merely a painting of despair to be learned from. Dylan sings, "Your brain is a-bleedin' and your legs can’t seem to stand; Your eyes fix on the shotgun that you’re holding in your hand." The expanding wage distribution, in Dylan's estimation, provides a slow death with one alternative. One of Dylan's darkest, yet powerful statements. Next, he confronts an extremely prevalent bias during the middle of the 20th century in the United States. 'With God on Our Side' creates an image of an elitist America, one that can do no wrong and is justified, no matter the bloodshed. Dylan sees toxic patriotism acting as a slow, indoctrinating cancer (another contemporary issue). He wails, "The First World War, boys, it came and it went; The reason for fightin' I never did get but I learned to accept it, accept it with pride; For you don’t count the dead when God’s on your side." The arrogance needed to assume God identifies with a specific country's crusade is elephantine, however, it's a belief typified by the Pledge of Allegiance and by swearing upon a bible. Dylan's character comes to the realization that God's love is reserved for people and not places and that a country is just a plot of land and nothing more. Sadly, it's usually the prize for which fighting is done. The Vietnam War enveloped the decade and Dylan's parable is forever an unheeded warning. The second half of the record begins with 'Only a Pawn in Their Game', another narration confronting hatred and prejudice, this time by way of propaganda and inculcation. The track examines lower-income, white southerners who are brainwashed into hating their black neighbors with an end goal of sustained oppression. Dylan illustrates this with syntax, "A South politician preaches to the poor white man “You got more than the blacks, don’t complain; You’re better than them, you been born with white skin." The simple instrumentation of 'Pawn' and the stressed rhyme repetition make sure that the message doesn't get clouded beneath the music. However, Dylan doesn't refuse the chance to include a romantic ballad on the LP. 'Boots of Spanish Leather' is a letter-exchanged anecdote of longing and gradual realization. The song is tinted by delicately plucked strings and alternating perspectives that create a gloomy overtone that comes to fruition when the narrator surmises the final fate of his crumbling union across a vast ocean. "I’m sure your mind is a-roamin'; I’m sure your thoughts are not with me but with the country to where you’re goin." The record arrives at an uptick in morale with 'When the Ship Comes In', an affirmative, inspirational testification that the future holds brighter days and that those who engage in tyranny and bigotry will eventually be overcome. Finally, LP centerpiece, 'The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll', draws inspiration from the murder of an African-American barmaid by the wealthy William Zantzinger. The track directs scrutiny at the murderer for devaluing the life of a woman he deemed "lesser than" and the justice system for (mostly) turning a blind eye. Dylan delivers the verdict, "And handed out strongly, for penalty and repentance, William Zanzinger with a six-month sentence." The track is a microcosm of the record's major themes and an unsettling reminder that justice remains imbalanced. Dylan was just 23 years of age when 'Times' was first pressed, but his incredible perception was decades his senior. The clairvoyance of his prose is even parts astonishing and tragic given that little has changed since his pen first hit the paper. The poetry of these 10 tracks easily sit amongst the scribe's most visceral compositions. The album presents Dylan at perhaps his most uncompromising and forthright, functioning as his final, unabashed protest record. Oddly, the LP is often shunned from the 1960's landmark music rolodex with albums such as 'Highway 61 Revisited', 'Bringing It All Back Home' and even 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan' achieving a higher sense of reverence. Strangely enough, its content makes it a contender for his most topical, underrated and pertinent enterprise, both in 1964 and 2021. Dylan's uncanny ability to find the pulse of the given zeitgeist has never been in doubt, as he's strung together lyrical encapsulations at will for 60 years. Here, he weaves sorrow and hope into a homogeneous, digestible whole the likes of which none could reproduce. The power of 'Times' does not lie in division, but in a belief that human morality will win out. It's a beautiful sentiment and an eternal principle. In some ways, we're still waiting. "And we’ll shout from the bow your days are numbered And like Pharoah’s tribe they’ll be drowdned in the tide and like Goliath, they’ll be conquered." -When the Ship Comes In Standout Tracks: 1. The Times They are A-Changin' 2. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll 3. When the Ship Comes In 94.4"  [+]  Reply

- DriftingOrpheus | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1964

Appears in:

597 charts

Rank Score:

3,443

Rank in 1964:

3

Rank in 1960s:

64

Overall Rank:

495

Average Rating:

 81 (951 votes)

Comments:

52

65.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme 

 Simon & Garfunkel

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"Their best album. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. On this one Simon has finally reached his peak as an arranger and composer (maybe not as a lyricist, but not a big problem) and Garfunkel and him sing these songs with pastoral youthful emotion. There's an emotional arc to almost every song, and the...""Their best album. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. On this one Simon has finally reached his peak as an arranger and composer (maybe not as a lyricist, but not a big problem) and Garfunkel and him sing these songs with pastoral youthful emotion. There's an emotional arc to almost every song, and the instrumental pallete is always mysterious but soothing. "Homeward Bound" and "The 59th Street Bridge Song" are pop at its purest and most charming level. Must listen."  [+]  Reply

- Lacobra | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

584 charts

Rank Score:

3,440

Rank in 1966:

6

Rank in 1960s:

65

Overall Rank:

497

Average Rating:

 80 (659 votes)

Comments:

42

66.

Safe As Milk 

 Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

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"Even on his first record the Captain exudes a well-rounded palette of contrasting emotions and styles. Compare the contemptuous misanthropic rejections on Dropout Boogie with the tender plebeian complacency on I'm Glad. Like Zappa, Beefheart seems to be utilizing popular genres in order to satiri...""Even on his first record the Captain exudes a well-rounded palette of contrasting emotions and styles. Compare the contemptuous misanthropic rejections on Dropout Boogie with the tender plebeian complacency on I'm Glad. Like Zappa, Beefheart seems to be utilizing popular genres in order to satirize or comment on them. But unlike Zappa (whose songs mock his subjects at a distance), Beefheart is not afraid to get inside his songs and live out the emotions therein, no matter how ridiculous. Aye Captain, I'll admit: for the longest time I thought Safe as Milk was overrated because of what a brilliant mindfuck Trout Mask Replica is. But this is a very fine album that stands on it's own."  [+]  Reply

- Elston | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1967

Appears in:

522 charts

Rank Score:

3,438

Rank in 1967:

17

Rank in 1960s:

66

Overall Rank:

499

Average Rating:

 79 (632 votes)

Comments:

42

67.

Freak Out! 

 The Mothers Of Invention

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"This is a brilliant commentary on society in the 60's that is still extremely relevant to this day with the consumerism we have present in modern society. It is also a genius parody of the music in the 60's but also a demonstration of how it could be made to a higher musical quality if artists st...""This is a brilliant commentary on society in the 60's that is still extremely relevant to this day with the consumerism we have present in modern society. It is also a genius parody of the music in the 60's but also a demonstration of how it could be made to a higher musical quality if artists strived towards making better sounds rather than just catchy songs that get people hooked on so they would sell. This satire from Zappa is best demonstrated on songs like Wowie Zowie, Anyway The Wind Blows and Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder. Zappa then goes completely against what people wanted and made creative sound collages which utilised his raw sound and formed some songs that on first listen are not enjoyable for us to hear at all. However, through the use of his orchestral arrangements and instrumental diversity the quality and depth of the sound shines through after a few listens as you start to see how complex and rich his sound is. You start to appreciate the musicianship on show and admire how self aware and intellectual the release is. The lyrics the whole way through are fantastic as well and I can see why they might not appeal to some people but for me they work perfectly and I love the commentary Zappa gives. Also, I would like to give a special mention to the protest song Trouble Every Day which is a personal highlight for me. Overall, this is a genius record that has something to say that is still relevant to this very day and does it in a musically rich and grand fashion and I think this record deserves more recognition and praise than it gets. "  [+]  Reply

- Untitled | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

584 charts

Rank Score:

3,397

Rank in 1966:

7

Rank in 1960s:

67

Overall Rank:

507

Average Rating:

 80 (741 votes)

Comments:

44

68.

Pastel Blues 

 Nina Simone

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"I'm surprised this isn't ranked higher. A terrific record where every track is killer, an extreme rarity in the pre-Pet Sounds/Revolver music landscape. Sinnerman is the obvious highlight, a truly incredible and moving epic."  Reply

- flamingyesdept | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +11 votes (11 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1965

Appears in:

406 charts

Rank Score:

3,083

Rank in 1965:

7

Rank in 1960s:

68

Overall Rank:

556

Average Rating:

 82 (375 votes)

Comments:

18

69.

Waiting For The Sun 

 The Doors

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"If nothing else, this is an incredibly diverse album. There's pop, hard rock, waltzes, elements of world music, blues, folk, psychedelia and so on. Very difficult to classify, but it's just "out there" enough to catch people's ear, yet not so indulgent as to scare off listeners who prefer more co...""If nothing else, this is an incredibly diverse album. There's pop, hard rock, waltzes, elements of world music, blues, folk, psychedelia and so on. Very difficult to classify, but it's just "out there" enough to catch people's ear, yet not so indulgent as to scare off listeners who prefer more conventional sounding music."  [+]  Reply

- Decurso | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1968

Appears in:

517 charts

Rank Score:

2,839

Rank in 1968:

11

Rank in 1960s:

69

Overall Rank:

594

Average Rating:

 77 (784 votes)

Comments:

41

70.

My Favorite Things 

 John Coltrane

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"Sure Coltrane is good... but to think that this album of standards is better than A Love Supreme it's just not getting the point. The take on "My Favorite Things" is beautiful, even though some parts of the last round of sax solos are redundant. The take on "Summertime" is powerful... and natural...""Sure Coltrane is good... but to think that this album of standards is better than A Love Supreme it's just not getting the point. The take on "My Favorite Things" is beautiful, even though some parts of the last round of sax solos are redundant. The take on "Summertime" is powerful... and naturally, the responsible for that is Elvin Jones. What a force of nature. It's a strongly good album, but A Love Supreme is bigger than life."  [+]  Reply

- JoaoMoreira | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (4 helpful | 2 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1961

Appears in:

408 charts

Rank Score:

2,800

Rank in 1961:

1

Rank in 1960s:

70

Overall Rank:

604

Average Rating:

 81 (497 votes)

Comments:

16

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 7 of 100

Best Albums of the 1960s composition

Top 1,000 Top 500 Top 250 Top 100

Year	Albums	%
1960	57	6%
1961	65	7%
1962	50	5%
1963	52	5%
1964	70	7%
1965	89	9%
1966	98	10%
1967	139	14%
1968	188	19%
1969	192	19%

Artist	Albums	%
The Beatles	17	2%
The Beach Boys	15	2%
The Rolling Stones	14	1%
John Coltrane	13	1%
Miles Davis	12	1%
Nina Simone	10	1%
Bob Dylan	10	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	634	63%
	201	20%
	38	4%
	24	2%
	23	2%
	17	2%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	971	97%
Yes	29	3%

Live?	Albums	%
No	961	96%
Yes	39	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	979	98%
Yes	21	2%