Best Albums of 1966

« View best albums of 1965View best albums of 1967 »

Explore the best albums of 1966, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts. Last updated: 6 hours ago

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1966 year summaryThe best artists of 1966 were The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, The Rolling Stones, Frank Zappa, Nina Simone, The Kinks, John Coltrane and 13th Floor Elevators.

View chart at point in time

Share this chart

Collector's summary (top 1,000) Log in or create an account to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!

Sort by

Revolver

The Beatles

"I finally listened to this album two days ago. I hadn't sat down to do so before, so I figured I'd see what was all the hype. I enjoyed it for the most part, but didn't think much of it at the moment. I put my headphones away and went to get ready for bed. I calmly brushed my teeth, flossed, shav...""I finally listened to this album two days ago. I hadn't sat down to do so before, so I figured I'd see what was all the hype. I enjoyed it for the most part, but didn't think much of it at the moment. I put my headphones away and went to get ready for bed. I calmly brushed my teeth, flossed, shaved, and washed my face prior to heading back to my bedroom. I decided to pull out my laptop and review a few albums. I settled on listening to several Switchfoot albums, but I found that just going a few seconds into the first song caused me to grow very, very tired. I fell asleep soon after the first song ended and my review was never completed. I had some interesting dreams that night. One of my dreams involved a giant talking tree named 'Joshua' and my struggle to fight him off as he grew hostile. Another dream involved some guy walking into a record store I was working at, slamming Refused's 'The Shape of Punk to Come' on the counter and asking me, "HOW MUCH?"; to which I responded with the price, but then he kept screaming at me about how he wanted it to rock his socks off. He came back later with his socks still on and proceeded to assault me for it. I woke up pretty early and felt odd. I wasn't myself, but I couldn't figure out what was going on. I turned over a few times but couldn't shake the feeling off, so I turned my light on to see of anything was different about me. I looked down at my legs to see that I was, in fact, not myself. I all of a sudden had legs like a beetle, and it was hideous and horrifying. Nothing like this had ever happened to me and I was speechless. I felt the legs with my hands and I wanted to vomit. I shook it off like it was a bad dream and fell back to sleep. My alarm went off and I wasn't able to reach my snooze button. I couldn't reach very far at all. I looked down to see that my covers were off and I now possessed the body of some disgusting insect, like a cockroach or a beetle. I exclaimed, "Oh, God! What is this? Why am I an insect? Why did this happen?" I tried to stand up, but I couldn't get out of bed. I struggled to turn myself over but it took me what seemed like twenty minutes to do so. I finally turned over completely but fell off the bed in the process. I was a massive, human sized insect, and this really sucked. My brother apparently heard a thump and came to see what happened. He didn't see me at first, but going to the other side of the bed, he appeared to be terrified, jumped up, and exclaimed, "WHERE IS MY SHOE?!?" He ran out of the room as I tried to pick myself up. 5 minutes later I finally got up and was able to kind of move around. Suddenly, I felt a hard blow to the back of my head. The blow came several times as my brother began beating me over the head with a shoe. I yelled, "Hey, it's me! I'm an insect now! Stop hitting me!!". My brother wasn't interested in what I had to say as he kept hitting me and yelling, "DIE YOU DISGUSTING BASTARD I HATE YOU STUPID THINGS YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN EXIST DIE DIE DIE!" He hit me for another minute until he finally stopped, glared at me, and said, "WHERE IS MY BIGGER SHOE?!?". He ran out of the room and I looked around the room. "Maybe I'll be back to normal tomorrow," I said as I gazed at the clock. It was 10:22. "OH GOD....I gotta go to work..." I opened the door, stepped out, and checked to see if the coast was clear. Seeing nobody, I headed out the door and headed towards my office building. After walking about a quarter of a mile, I was hit over the head with a shoe. "DIE, YOU DISGUSTING PIECE OF SHIT!!" yelled the businessman-looking guy. He hit me a few more times before heading off some other direction. Walking a little bit further down the road I was hit a few more times by a few other people. Finally, I reached my office building and walked through the door. Immediately, the 8 or so people in the main lobby were reaching for their shoes. I couldn't even get a word out before they all ran up and began to relentlessly slam the shoes over my head. I tried reasoning with them: "Guys! I work here! Stop it!" After 8 minutes, they stopped, and I headed towards my desk and sat down. As an animator, my current task was to animate some walk cycles. I spent ten minutes trying to finish the last few frames before my boss entered the room. "Hey, boss, I almost have the walk cy..." He began to hit me over the head with his shoe. I tried reasoning with him: "Hey! Boss! It's me, I work for you!" This seemed to register with him as he lowered his shoe. "Oh, you're him...ok, well show me what you've gotten done so far." my boss said. I hit the play button, and what happened next I could not explain. My character that I was working on had all the movements right, and his steps were flawless, but he was going backwards! My boss began hitting me over the head again with his shoe. "THAT WILL NOT WORK FOR ANYTHING YOU WORTHLESS BASTARD!" After 10 more minutes, he stopped, walked out of my workplace, and I continued to work in my task. After several hours, my workday was finally over. A few shoes were thrown at me or slammed over my head on the way home, but I had gotten used to it. I didn't even bother doing my typical routine as I plopped down on my bed and tried to sleep. I was woken up quickly with my brother yelling, "DIE, YOU PATHETIC INSECT SCUM!" as he slammed a gigantic shoe over my entire body, and just leaving it there, assuming it had killed me. I still didn't fail to fall asleep...and I drifted..and drifted...just wanting this nightmarish day to end. My alarm went off at 6:00. I reached over with no struggle to hit the snooze button as I tried to drift back off. I then realized that I had my own arm back. Ecstatic, I leaped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom mirror to see that I was myself again. Excited, I approached my brother and exclaimed, "HEY! I'M MYSELF AGAIN! ISN'T THIS GREAT?!?" "DIE YOU MISERABLE SACK OF SHIT!" he exclaimed as he hit me over the head with his shoe several times. "WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!?" I yelled as I struggled to get my brother to stop hitting me. This is what I get for listening to 'Revolver'. I wouldn't recommend it unless you want to become a disgusting, mutant creature and get pummeled with shoes.." Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 6

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

3,630 charts

Rank Score:

46,171

Rank in 1966:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"This album is an absolute masterpiece. It deserves any praise that it has ever gotten. From the colorful arrangements to the catchy pop tunes, this album just never disappoints. Although I do have certain favorites from this record, every one of the tracks (even the instrumentals) get stuck in my..." Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 7

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

2,887 charts

Rank Score:

36,296

Rank in 1966:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"My favourite Dylan album. It's sort of a combination of rock,blues,folk,and country, and at the same time it's none of these, I guess it's that wild mercury sound that Bob alluded to. Gone is the vitriol of his last album, and replaced with a cynical sarcasm, and a bit more humour. There's defini..." Reply

- garycottier | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 5

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

2,060 charts

Rank Score:

23,370

Rank in 1966:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"Under-appreciated classic. It's been overshadowed by Beggar's Banquet, Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile, but I'd take Aftermath over any of them except Let it Bleed. Highly focused, consistent record, each song is extremely satisfying, adding up to a rich experience over the course of the ..." Reply

- migglemo | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 3

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

693 charts

Rank Score:

4,312

Rank in 1966:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"A good Simon & Garfunkel album, though not as good as their later music. Some of this stuff drags a bit, but even the songs that drag are usually pretty." Reply

- clockworkfiction3 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 3

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

634 charts

Rank Score:

4,114

Rank in 1966:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

397

Average Rating:

80 (760 votes)

Comments:

Freak Out!

The Mothers Of Invention

"Zappa's debut is the first of his early-period classic trilogy. The first-ever double/concept album, Zappa's critique of mass consumption and satirical dissection of US society, is pionering and was a major influence on Sgt Peppers." Reply

- hairymarx1 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 5

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

589 charts

Rank Score:

3,491

Rank in 1966:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

487

Average Rating:

80 (748 votes)

Comments:

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme

Simon & Garfunkel

"Very good album. Can't help mentioning the arrangement of the traditional Scarborough Fair wich I think is one of the highest moments in recorded pop/rock history." Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 4

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

589 charts

Rank Score:

3,408

Rank in 1966:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"Some say that "I Put a Spell on You" is the closest that Nina Simone gets to pop, but I think this album has a great pop sensibility that keeps pushing track after track of tight, melodic songs. Highly recommended." Reply

Kaduken | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

291 charts

Rank Score:

2,371

Rank in 1966:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"More advanced musicianship and intricate song writing compared to their earlier, garage rock style albums. There are still great guitar riffs throughout the album, but they are couched in more lush compositions that would foreshadow the grandoise concept albums they'd put out in the late 60s and ..." Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 2

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

433 charts

Rank Score:

2,194

Rank in 1966:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

784

Average Rating:

80 (511 votes)

Comments:

10.

The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators

13th Floor Elevators

"This is a really good album even though the recording quality is terrible. It's obvious that the band was heavily influenced by LSD and it shows right from the start if not in the sound of "You're Gonna Miss Me" then certainly in "Roller Coaster". I find myself enjoying the songs towards the begi..." Reply

mdbaxter | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 3

Year of Release:

1966

Appears in:

434 charts

Rank Score:

1,993

Rank in 1966:

Rank in 1960s:

Overall Rank:

872

Average Rating:

78 (505 votes)

Comments:

« prev
1
2
3
4
...
75
76
next »
Goto Page:

Total albums: 751. Page 1 of 76

Best Albums of 1966 composition

Artist	Albums	%

Sun Ra	7	1%
Art Blakey	4	1%
Ornette Coleman	4	1%
Ennio Morricone	4	1%
Various Artists	4	1%
Buck Owens	4	1%
Wes Montgomery	4	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	424	56%
	104	14%
	23	3%
	23	3%
	21	3%
	20	3%
	19	3%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	717	95%
Yes	34	5%

Live?	Albums	%
No	721	96%
Yes	30	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	731	97%
Yes	20	3%

Best Albums of 1966 chart changes

Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month
Up 4 from 99th to 95th Contact High by The Godz (Psychedelic)
Up 2 from 88th to 86th Hold On, I'm Comin' by Sam & Dave
Up 1 from 84th to 83rd Them Again by Them

Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month
Down 3 from 35th to 38th The Exciting Wilson Pickett by Wilson Pickett
Down 2 from 39th to 41st Tim Buckley by Tim Buckley
Down 2 from 77th to 79th Walkin' My Cat Named Dog by Norma Tanega

« View best albums of 1965View best albums of 1967 »

Member Levels

stanchoiaz Level 7

badfaith Level 6

jackbrown8786 Level 5

Mehran Level 5

PepsiMan Level 4

AlexaPhilips Level 3

bushdoctor Level 3

HollyGarner Level 3

johnd6213 Level 3

rsongster Level 3

emiro Level 2

Jonathanai Level 2

musicgenius86 Level 2

mv86 Level 2

narak167 Level 2

ShutUpKen Level 2

Transmute Level 2

Web-Seo Level 2

Yurls Level 2

Well done to everyone who reached a new level over the last 7 days! 👏