Ranking My Favorite Albums of the Sixties

What better way to follow up my 30 years of albums in my wheelhouse than to do a countdown for each decade, beginning with the Sixties and ending with the Twenty-Teens. I won’t bother you with much background; if you follow this blog, you are currently a music nut like me. So, if the Rock & Roll era began with Bill Halley & His Comets’ hit “Rock Around the Clock,” then the Rock era probably began in 1965, with all kinds of genres and subgenres coming at us over the years. And, although the music of today gets a bad reputation thrust upon it, rest assured that rock & roll IS evolving. Where, I am afraid that jazz, country, blues and gospel, all part of the melting pot known as rock & roll, were limited in their vocabularies, rock is only held back by the musician’s imagination (as well as the industry’s conservative nature).

So, let’s celebrate the music of each decade that I find to be primo! Here’s my picks from the Sixties.

100. Nick Drake – Five Leaves Left (1969)

99. The Kinks – Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969)

98. The Monks – Black Monk Time (1966)

97. The Left Banke – Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina (1967)

96. Blue Cheer – Vincebus Eruptus (1968)

95. The Rolling Stones – The Rolling Stones/England’s Newest Hitmakers (1964)

94. Link Wray & the Wraymen – Link Wray & the Wraymen (1960)

93. The Shirelles – Baby It’s You (1962)

92. Cream – Wheels of Fire (1968)

91. The Sonics – Here Are The Sonics!!! (1965)

90. Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley is a…REVOL (1961)

89. The Beatles – With The Beatles (1963)

88. Dick Dale & the Del-Tones – Surfer’s Choice (1962)

87. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Trout Mask Replica (1969)

86. The 13th Floor Elevators – The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators (1966)

85. Booker T & the MG’s – Green Onions (1962)

84. Elvis Presley – Elvis Is Back (1960)

83. The Lovin’ Spoonful – Do You Believe in Magic? (1965)

82. The Meters – The Meters (1969)

81. The Pretty Things – S.F. Sorrow (1968)

80. Ike & Tina Turner – The Soul of Ike & Tina Turner (1961)

79. Otis Redding – Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul (1966)

78. John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers – John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton (1966)

77. The Rolling Stones – Out of Our Heads (1965)

76. The Impressions – People Get Ready (1965)

75. Elvis Presley – From Elvis in Memphis (1969)

74. The Beach Boys – The Beach Boys Today! (1965)

73. Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention – Freak Out! (1966)

72. The Impressions – The Impressions (1963)

71. The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

70. Traffic – Mr. Fantasy (1967)

69. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Willy and the Poor Boys (1969)

68. The Kinks – The Kink Kontroversy (1965)

67. The Yardbirds – Five Live Yardbirds (1964)

66. Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger (1960)

65. Blood, Sweat & Tears – Blood, Sweat & Tears (1969)

64. The Small Faces – Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake (1968)

63. The Beatles – Please Please Me (1963)

62. Cream – Fresh Cream (1965)

61. Leonard Cohen – Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967)

60. The Moody Blues – Days of Future Past (1967)

59. The Byrds – Mr. Tambourine Man (1965)

58. Santana – Santana (1969)

57. Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow (1967)

56. The Beatles – Help! (1965)

55. Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)

54. Jeff Beck Group – Truth (1968)

53. Love – Forever Changes (1967)

52. The Who – The Who Sings My Generation (1965)

51. Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963)

50. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River (1969)

49. Pink Floyd – Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)

48. Cream – Disraeli Gears (1967)

47. The Flying Burrito Brothers – The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969)

46. Isaac Hayes – Hot Buttered Soul (1969)

45. The Kinks – Something Else (1967)

44. MC5 – Kick Out the Jams (1969)

43. The Who – Tommy (1969)

42. Crosby, Stills & Nash – Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969)

41. The Who – The Who Sell Out (1967)

40. The Kinks – Face to Face (1966)

39. James Brown – Live at the Apollo (1963)

38. The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

37. Otis Redding – Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965)

36. King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)

35. Etta James – At Last (1960)

34. Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold as Love (1967)

33. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin (1969)

32. Chicago – The Chicago Transit Authority (1969)

31. The Zombies – Odessey & Oracle (1968)

30. Simon & Garfunkel – Bookends (1968)

29. Aretha Franklin – I Have Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967)

28. Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison (1968)

27. Ray Charles – Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962)

26. The Monkees – The Monkees (1966)

25. Sly & the Family Stone – Stand (1969)

24. Aretha Franklin – Lady Soul (1968)

23. The Doors – The Doors (1967)

22. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks (1968)

21. Phil Spector (and Others) – A Christmas for You (1962)

20. Bob Dylan – Bringing It All Back Home (1965)

19. The Beatles – Rubber Soul (1965)

18. The Stooges – The Stooges (1969)

17. The Kinks – The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968)

16. Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland (1968)

15. The Band – Music from Big Pink (1968)

14. Dusty Springfield – Dusty in Memphis (1969)

13. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II (1969)

12. The Rolling Stones – Beggar’s Banquet (1968)

11. The Beatles – The Beatles (a.k.a. The White Album) (1968)

10. The Band – The Band (1969)

9. The Velvet Underground – Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)

8. Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited (1965)

7. The Beatles – Revolver (1966)

6. The Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed (1969)

5. Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced (1967)

4. The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

3. Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde (1966)

2. The Beatles – Abbey Road (1969)

1. The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds (1966)