Best Albums of the 1960s

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Explore the best albums of the 1960s, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts.
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1960s decade summaryThe best artists of the 1960s were The Beatles, The Velvet Underground, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, John Coltrane and King Crimson.

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Abbey Road

The Beatles

"When I was curious about The Beatles I asked a friend who absolutely loves them where I should start. Without question he handed me Abbey Road and now I understand why. This album is the culmination of The Beatles' long and winding road together. It represents what each of the members brought to ..." [+] Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1969

Appears in:

3,770 charts

Rank Score:

54,299

Rank in 1969:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"An amazing album, but not the Beatles very best for me. Still though, when you have an album where every song is near perfection, you can't really complain." Reply

- clockworkfiction3 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +11 votes (12 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

3,623 charts

Rank Score:

46,724

Rank in 1966:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

91 (4,627 votes)

Comments:

488

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

The Beatles

"A true 'album,' Sgt. Pepper's is the ultimate psychedelic experience. The mood shifts from song to song are perfect, from the aching She's Leaving Home into the freak-circus Mr. Kite to the droning Within You Without You to the quaint, music hall of When I'm Sixty-Four into the psychedelia of Lov..." [+] Reply

Caesar01 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (10 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1967

Appears in:

3,519 charts

Rank Score:

40,738

Rank in 1967:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

90 (4,633 votes)

Comments:

494

The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Velvet Underground & Nico

"'The Velvet Underground And Nico' is arguably one of the two most groundbreaking and influential pieces of music ever to have been produced in the entire history of rock music. It is no exaggeration to say that alternative rock music was born the moment the Velvet Underground entered a recording ...""'The Velvet Underground And Nico' is arguably one of the two most groundbreaking and influential pieces of music ever to have been produced in the entire history of rock music. It is no exaggeration to say that alternative rock music was born the moment the Velvet Underground entered a recording studio. Most notably, their influence can be heard in the progressive and new-wave movements of the 1970s through to the post-punk and shoe-gazing movements of the 1980s and 1990s and beyond. The Velvet Underground's approach to their art was not as a commercial enterprise in order to satisfy the aspirations of record company executives and the public relations industry, but was deliberately intended to disturb and unsettle. Their music self-consiously explored the inner depths and recesses of the human pysche. Unlike their mainly pop contemporaries, the Velvet Underground were classically trained musicians who engaged in elongated suites and complex jams. The cultural tradition that the band aligned themselves with was not the jaded faction of the hippy movement, but the progressive movement that was to follow in its wake. The band were as far removed from hippy culture as it was possible to be, but paradoxically were also embedded within it to the extent that, like Frank Zappa, they were able to successfully garner a platform from which they critiqued and challenged the all-pervasive current that dominated it. So although the album was recorded during the time of the hippy movement, their 'darker' programme represented its antithesis. In this sense, they originated the 'pessimistic' strand of psychedelic music (as opposed to San Francisco's optimistic strand). Above all else, they originated a spirit of making music (independent, nihilistic, subversive) that ten years later will be labelled 'punk'. 'The Velvet Underground And Nico' recorded in the spring of 1966, includes an impressive number of masterpieces (mostly penned by Lou Reed and John Cale, and sung by Nico): the cold, spectral, autumnal odes of 'Femme Fatale', 'All Tomorrow's Parties', 'Black Angel's Death Song' and 'Heroin' are particularly stunning. The latter piece symbolizes the dark underbelly of hippydom like no other piece of music has ever done. Its sheer magnificence is unsurpassed. When I first heard this on the radio, I knew from that moment on my life would never be the same again. 'European Son' pounds to a dissonant tribal beat and a cross-fertilization of musical textures add to the incredible mix. A rich decadent spleen imbued with Indian raga, permeates 'Venus In Furs' which is immersed in a dark, almost oppressive atmosphere of decadence and oppulence. German expressionism and French existentialism is evident throughout the entire recording, as is the exhaltation of an epic libido: Each song is exumed with a sexual and fetishistic undercurrent for which no precedent exists in the entire history of music. " [+] Reply

- hairymarx1 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (13 helpful | 6 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1967

Appears in:

3,065 charts

Rank Score:

37,548

Rank in 1967:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"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

- bonnequestion | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +10 votes (10 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

2,882 charts

Rank Score:

36,683

Rank in 1966:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

88 (3,318 votes)

Comments:

361

The Beatles (The White Album)

The Beatles

"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

JulianR | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +12 votes (13 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1968

Appears in:

2,977 charts

Rank Score:

35,594

Rank in 1968:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

89 (3,859 votes)

Comments:

342

In The Court Of The Crimson King (An Observation By King Crimson)

King Crimson

"Some days, I just can't stop thinking: "Why do I listen to anything else?". I mean, isn't this near perfect? Can it get much better? At least it's the best I've heard." Reply

antiloopje | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +14 votes (14 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1969

Appears in:

2,088 charts

Rank Score:

26,640

Rank in 1969:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

89 (2,453 votes)

Comments:

221

The Doors

"One of the all time great debuts. Like The Velvet Underground's first record, it's one of those albums that took music to another level, a more atmospheric, cinematic version of pop. It's a classic from start to finish. Break on through, get things of to a great start, and it never lets up. Light..." [+] Reply

- garycottier | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1967

Appears in:

2,450 charts

Rank Score:

25,716

Rank in 1967:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"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

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (7 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1965

Appears in:

2,380 charts

Rank Score:

25,344

Rank in 1965:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

10.

"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

- 789alex1 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1965

Appears in:

2,356 charts

Rank Score:

25,221

Rank in 1965:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

88 (3,406 votes)

Comments:

263

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of the 1960s composition

Year	Albums	%

1960	59	6%
1961	66	7%
1962	50	5%
1963	49	5%
1964	70	7%
1965	90	9%
1966	98	10%
1967	139	14%
1968	185	19%
1969	194	19%

Artist	Albums	%

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

Country	Albums	%

	634	63%
	204	20%
	38	4%
	23	2%
	22	2%
	17	2%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	970	97%
Yes	30	3%

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

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

Best Albums of the 1960s chart changes

Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month
Up 2 from 66th to 64th Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme by Simon & Garfunkel
Up 1 from 99th to 98th Out To Lunch! by Eric Dolphy
Up 1 from 97th to 96th Goodbye And Hello by Tim Buckley

Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month
Down 1 from 27th to 28th The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn by Pink Floyd
Down 1 from 41st to 42nd Disraeli Gears by Cream
Down 1 from 48th to 49th Otis Blue / Otis Redding Sings Soul by Otis Redding

« View best albums of the 1950sView best albums of the 1970s »

Best Albums of 1964

1. A Hard Day's Night by The Beatles

2. Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz & João Gilberto

3. The Times They Are A-Changin' by Bob Dylan

4. Beatles For Sale by The Beatles

5. Out To Lunch! by Eric Dolphy

6. Another Side Of Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan

7. Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica by The Ronettes

8. Ain't That Good News by Sam Cooke

9. Where Did Our Love Go by The Supremes

10. Kinks by The Kinks