Best 1960s Albums Ranked
In North America and Europe the decade was particularly revolutionary in terms of popular music, as it saw the evolution of rock and the beginnings of the album era. At the beginning of the 1960s, pop and rock and roll trends of the 1950s continued; nevertheless, the rock and roll of the decade before started to merge into a more international, electric variant. In the early-1960s, rock and roll in its purest form was gradually overtaken by pop rock, beat, psychedelic rock, blues rock, and folk rock, which had grown in popularity. The country- and folk-influenced style associated with the latter half of 1960s rock music spawned a generation of popular singer-songwriters who wrote and performed their own work. Towards the decade’s end, genres such as Baroque pop, sunshine pop, bubble gum pop, and progressive rock started to grow popular, with the latter two finding greater success in the following decade. Furthermore, the 1960s saw funk and soul music rising in popularity; rhythm and blues in general remained popular. The fusion of R&B, gospel, and original rock and roll was a success until the mid-part of the decade. Here are the best 1960s albums ranked.
Don’t miss out on the music of 1960 below! Click to find out why 1960 is one of the greatest years of rock ever!
10. John Coltrane, A Love Supreme (1965)
“Jazz has a supernatural presence when crafted correctly. Through all its agitation—the off-kilter drum fills, furious horn solos, and rolling bass lines—there’s an underlying heartbeat centering the rhythm when it almost falters. Released in 1965, John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme was certainly celestial. With its cascading percussion and pervasive wind instruments, Supreme felt like a humid summer day: there’s the pleasant morning breeze that awakens you”
9. James Brown, Live at the Apollo (1963)
“On October 24, 1962, James Brown recorded his performance at the Apollo Theater despite his record label’s opposition. King Records didn’t think that this kind of live recording, one without any new material, would sell well. Brown ended up fronting the recording costs—which not only went on to earn commercial success, but ultimately become one of the most essential live albums respective to an artist’s catalog.”
8. Johnny Cash, At Folsom Prison (1968)
“The Man in Black was also no stranger to pinstripes as he’d been arrested twice in 1965—for smuggling Dexedrine capsules across the Mexican border and trespassing in Starkville, Miss., to pick flowers. But his interest in prisons dated back to 1953, when he saw Crane Wilbur’s drama Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison. His 1955 hit “Folsom Prison Blues” resulted in invitations from inmates around the country to come play their prisons, something he did fairly regularly early in his career.”
7. The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced? (1967)
“As his all-too-brief recording career bloomed and wilted, sonic virtuoso Jimi Hendrix grew into his role as a recording studio visionary, helping change perceptions of what a rock song could sound like. He perfected his blend of psychedelic songwriting and wizard-like electric guitar flourishes on 1967’s Axis: Bold as Love, but on Are You Experienced?, his debut album with The Experience (drummer Mitch Mitchell, bassist Noel Redding), he harnessed the sound of a raw, thrilling power trio at the peak of its power.”
6. Bob Dylan, Blonde on Blonde (1966)
“After going electric and releasing two records full of raving existentialism and subversive societal commentary in Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited, Dylan took a broader, more tender approach to his 1966 double album Blonde on Blonde. Though still rife with surreal imagery, the album tackles more love-centric themes with songs such as “Visions of Johanna,” “I Want You” and “Absolutely Sweet Marie.”
5. The Beatles, Revolver (1966)
“Picking “the greatest” Beatles album is like a mother picking her favorite child: You know you really shouldn’t, and saying “They’re all equal” is an appropriate response, even if you secretly know the truth. The band’s 1966 masterpiece, Revolver, is my secret favorite child—it’s The Fab Four’s most melodically beautiful album, and the headphone-worthy details drift by like soothing psychedelic clouds, even at its grittiest (the reversed guitars on George Harrison’s biting “Taxman,” Paul McCartney’s mind-numbing bass runs on the underrated “And Your Bird Can Sing”).”
4. The Rolling Stones, Let It Bleed (1969)
“The Rolling Stones released Let It Bleed on Dec. 5, 1969. One day later, one murder and three accidental deaths occurred at the Altamont Speedway Free Festival. While it’s likely that the proximity of the two dates was coincidental, the end of the hippie era came right after The Rolling Stones released an album that spoke to the tumultuous times surrounding the present day. “Gimme Shelter” infamously opens their album, warning about the violence and crime lurking just around the bend. Keith Richards wrote some of his finest riffs on Let It Bleed, filling out their songs alongside Mick Jagger’s darker lyrics on war, drugs and loneliness.”
3. The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds (1966)
“Up until 1966, it was hard to think of anything else than waves, surfboards and summer heat when referencing The Beach Boys. But all of that changed with the release of Pet Sounds, an initially unsuccessful album for the group that is now its most beloved. The album’s recording started shortly after chief Beach Boys songwriter Brian Wilson—who battled with depression, anxiety and other mental issues while on tour with the group—left the road in 1965 to focus on studio recording.”
2. Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited (1965)
“Highway 61, much like the thoroughfare that stretches from Dylan’s native Minnesota and follows the Mississippi down to New Orleans from which it takes its name, represents a certain musical journey. While Highway 61 is the route the delta blues took to travel north, Highway 61 is Bob Dylan’s path to the stratosphere.”
1. The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
“In a decade defined by sweeping cultural paradigm shifts, The Beatles’ music helped the world’s youths make sense of the changing times around them. The Fab Four’s golden years took place from approximately 1965-1969, during which they transformed themselves and continually progressed on the grandest of scales. As John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr went from delightful hand-holding mop-tops to psychedelic luminaries, they offered a way for the world to understand the complex and radical changing of the guard.”
