Best Albums of the 1960s
Listed below are the best albums of the 1960s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 59,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 4 hours ago).
This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from The Beach Boys. (Remove this filter)
"What can I say about "Pet Sounds"? This album is just so ridiculously out-of-this-world. Especially considering where music was at in 1966, it is very hard to believe that a guy could create this music almost single handedly. Composition and production-wise, this album is a complete masterpiece a..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1966
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Rank Score:
37,342
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"There's three distinct periods in the Beach Boys career. Pre, post and Pet Sounds. This album is the culmination of the pre-Pet Sounds era. When Brian was still writing songs about girls, being a teenager, cars and girls. Before he scraps the drums, bass, guitar surf music style he releases what ..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1965
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Rank Score:
2,021
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"Personally, this sounds fantastic. What else sounds like this? True sonic innovation, just like Pet Sounds before it. So why not as celebrated? Perhaps it's too weird for the masses. But a listen to Wind Chimes, for example, reveals a hauntingly beautiful deranged symphony. Quite frankly, it's Wo..." [+] Reply
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flamingyesdept | 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:
1967
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Rank Score:
1,285
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"This really is a lovely album, short and sweet. That certainly is the charm of the album, but it's also frustrating because of it. Opener, meant for you, is beautiful, but it fades out before it even reaches the 40 second mark, it's just a waste of a lovely melody. Other tracks aren't quite so sh..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1968
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Rank Score:
907
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"With all Beach Boys' album it has great harmonies, but this one is unlike any album they've recorded before."Wild Honey" has a raw soulful, loose feel with a stripped-down production. These upbeat songs are a departure from both the sunshine hits and the huge production of "Pet Sounds". This enjo..." [+] Reply
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~SMiLE~ | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +10 votes (10 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:
Rank Score:
736
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Comments:
"The general consensus that this album is regressive after the creative leap of the, today, album, is slightly misleading. It features some of the beach boys most forward thinking moments. The most famous off course is the brilliant, California girls, the intro is stunning. The non vocal, summer m..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1965
Appears in:
Rank Score:
601
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"2 duds and 10 songs that made either Endless Summer (4) or Spirit of America (6). Was this their greatest singles album? Quite possibly. And since this IS America's greatest rock 'n' roll band it must be one of the greatest albums ever, no? Brian's strengths as a tunesmith were in full gear here...." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1964
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Rank Score:
560
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"This is my favourite of the early beach boys albums, at least up until the, today album. They've really found their feet, and seem to know exactly what they're doing. The album opens with the absolutely beautiful title track. Stunning. Catch a wave, is a giddy hoot. Surfer moon, is another nice o..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1963
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Rank Score:
422
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"The beach boys debut album is an enjoyable one, harmless fun really. It's incredibly charming, yet naive, but you have to remember how young they were when they made it. It's all throwaway material but it's fun. The title track is easily the best song on the album. Surfin' is good too. So this is..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1962
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Rank Score:
315
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"The ultimate beach boys surf album. It's a definite improvement on their debut, in terms of quality. The title track is a fun reworking of Chuck Berry's sweet little sixteen. Other standouts are the absolutely beautiful lonely sea, Brian's fist great ballad, and, noble surfer. There's quite a few..." [+] Reply
Year of Release:
1963
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Rank Score:
313
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Total albums: 15. Page 1 of 2
Best Albums of the 1960s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 59 | 6% | |
| 1961 | 66 | 7% | |
| 1962 | 50 | 5% | |
| 1963 | 52 | 5% | |
| 1964 | 69 | 7% | |
| 1965 | 91 | 9% | |
| 1966 | 97 | 10% | |
| 1967 | 140 | 14% | |
| 1968 | 187 | 19% | |
| 1969 | 190 | 19% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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|||
| The Beatles | 17 | 2% | |
| The Beach Boys | 15 | 1% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 14 | 1% | |
| John Coltrane | 13 | 1% | |
| Miles Davis | 12 | 1% | |
| Bob Dylan | 10 | 1% | |
| Nina Simone | 10 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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 |
637 | 64% | |
 |
201 | 20% | |
 |
38 | 4% | |
 |
23 | 2% | |
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23 | 2% | |
 |
17 | 2% | |
 |
11 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
