Best Albums of the 1960s
Explore the best albums of the 1960s, based on over 2 million album rankings across 61,000 charts
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"Most great bands have at most one or two great songwriters, the Beatles had three! And I think no other album represents the Moptop Lyricist Trinity better than their seminal 1969 album 'Abbey Road', where the Fab Four for once put their differences aside to record a farewell worthy of their lega..." Reply
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
53,682
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"This is my pick for the best ever album. Everything you'd want in an album is here: The perfect ballads ("Here, There And Everywhere" and "For No One"), the perfect rockers ("Taxman", "She Said She Said" and "And Your Bird Can Sing"), brilliant psychedelia ("I'm Only Sleeping", "She Said She Said..." Reply
Year of Release:
1966
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Rank Score:
46,085
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"I'm not disputing any of that. I think that Sgt. Pepper's is as overblown and self-indulgent of an album as you're likely to find anywhere(and this is coming from someone who is a fan of Yes' "Tales From Topographic Oceans") and I think it gets far, far too much credit for its supposed "revolutio..." Reply
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40footwolf | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 20
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Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
40,389
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"One of the finest compliments I can pay this album is that despite the fact it's a product of the "classic rock" era, it still gets virtually no radio airplay on classic rock FM radio. You are still far more likely to hear it on college radio. More than 45 years later, it's still too "out there" ..." Reply
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Decurso | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 22
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Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
37,066
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"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
Appears in:
Rank Score:
36,236
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"This album has it all. From gorgeous songs like 'while my guitar gently weeps' and 'blackbird', to just great songs like 'happiness is a warm gun' and 'im so tired', to hard rock (for the time) like 'helter skelter' and 'birthday', to blues jams like 'why dont we do it in the road' and 'yer blues..." Reply
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JulianR | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 13
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Year of Release:
1968
Appears in:
Rank Score:
35,181
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"21st Century Schizoid Man is a serious contender for best song ever recorded and the rest of the album is not all that far behind. A masterpiece indeed." Reply
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Bork | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 15
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Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
26,306
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"A drunk poet, a classically-trained pianist, a flamenco guitarist, a jazz drummer and no bassist at all: the Doors were just destined to be unique. All four members of the band took the different traditions of their diverse musical backgrounds and applied them within a rock context, making possib..." Reply
Year of Release:
1967
Appears in:
Rank Score:
25,313
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"I'm a late arrival to Bob Dylan's music. Like a lot of people my age, I couldn't get past his style and never gave him a chance. That all has changed, and now that I actually listen to what he is saying, I am flat out blown away. To say this record is genius would be putting it mildly, and that's..." Reply
Year of Release:
1965
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Rank Score:
25,035
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"Most consistent, raw, best harmonies, best everything. Cannot believe this is 56 years old. Not one weak track on here in my opinion. My favorite Beatles record as well as my favorite record." Reply
Year of Release:
1965
Appears in:
Rank Score:
24,871
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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100
Best Albums of the 1960s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 57 | 6% | |
| 1961 | 66 | 7% | |
| 1962 | 50 | 5% | |
| 1963 | 49 | 5% | |
| 1964 | 71 | 7% | |
| 1965 | 90 | 9% | |
| 1966 | 99 | 10% | |
| 1967 | 139 | 14% | |
| 1968 | 184 | 18% | |
| 1969 | 195 | 20% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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|||
| John Coltrane | 17 | 2% | |
| The Beatles | 17 | 2% | |
| Miles Davis | 15 | 2% | |
| The Rolling Stones | 15 | 2% | |
| The Beach Boys | 15 | 2% | |
| Nina Simone | 10 | 1% | |
| Bob Dylan | 10 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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| |
635 | 64% | |
 |
204 | 20% | |
 |
38 | 4% | |
 |
23 | 2% | |
 |
22 | 2% | |
 |
17 | 2% | |
 |
10 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Best Albums of the 1960s chart changes
| Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Up 4 from 100th to 96th |
Up 4 from 74th to 70th |
Up 2 from 95th to 93rd |
| Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Down 4 from 83rd to 87th |
Down 2 from 70th to 72nd |
Down 2 from 72nd to 74th |
