Top 200 Albums of the 1960s: 150-101

150. Frank Sinatra - September of My Years
A concept album about accepting middle age. Sinatra’s best album of the 60s and perhaps his last true masterpiece September of My Years is a particularly inspired album. Released shortly before Sinatra’s 50th birthday, he was clearly in a contemplative mood. Sinatra was somewhat obviously not a songwriter himself but nearly every number here fits that theme. Gordon Jenkins serves as the arranger here and decided 9 violins was a sufficient number for the title track. I won’t say young people can’t appreciate this album, but it definitely hits harder if you’re in your own personal September.

149. Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder
Lee Morgan had no shortage of great 60s albums, and I was certainly tempted to put Cornbread in this place. However, The Sidewinder is THE Lee Morgan album. The title track became a jazz standard and even made the pop singles chart. It is the record that allegedly saved Blue Note from bankruptcy. Aside from the legendary title track, the rest of the album is a perfect representation of hard bop. 

148. Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Believe it or not I wasn’t even going to consider this album for my list. Then I started listening to so much more inferior far out sixties music. Glad I did, since this album rules. When lead singer/organist Doug Ingle passed away I listened to every Iron Butterfly album. I can save you the time and state the obvious that this was their best. All but one song on the album were written by Ingle. Considered by many as a proto-heavy metal album it certainly feels heavier than most, but you might be alarmed when you hear “Flowers and Beads” and “Most Anything You Want”. I personally have grown to love the hippy love songs as much if not more than the legendary side long title track. That doesn’t mean that the title track isn’t essential listening, but “Are You Happy” might be my favorite on the album.

147. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - The Crazy World of Arthur Brown 
Every couple of months a novelty band seems to go viral for a hot second for whatever silly gimmick they have. One may argue they all owe a debt to Arthur Brown whose genuinely insane theatrical singing and even crazier stage show would inspire generations. If you’ve never heard the breakthrough hit “Fire” well go watch Hot Fuzz. There is no guitar on the album and most of the bass parts were played by foot pedals on the organ. Although a follow up was recorded, the band broke up before it was released, and the album wound up being shelved for nearly 20 years. Much of the overdubs were allegedly done to compensate for the out of timing drumming of Drachen Theaker. Part performance art, part psychedelic time capsule, and absolute insanity from start to finish.

146. Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt
Although technically his third album, Townes Van Zandt’s self-titled album very much feels like a new beginning. He even re-recorded four songs from his debut, most notably the prophetic and haunting “Waiting Around to Die”. Unhappy with the earlier overproduced versions, every song here is essentially a solo piece by Van Zandt. All of the songs benefit from the stark, stripped down approach. “Columbine”, “Lungs”, “For the Sake of the Song” are all classics. 

145. Gal Costa - Gal Costa
Caetano Veloso might have been the pioneer of tropicalia, but for my money Gal Costa was the star that shined brightest. After recording one album with Veloso she made her first solo album in 1969, not to be confused with the other self-titled album released in 1969 from her. Whereas that album occasionally touches on brilliance it is almost comically over the top. Things are still kept relatively in line here. Costa wasn’t a songwriter but her voice is what shines here. Even the slightly sappy love songs like “Baby” have an eerie undertone to them. It is perhaps the Brazilian album I return to most often, with each spin deepening my appreciation for it.

144. Leonard Cohen - Songs From a Room
This album at first seemed like a cursory listen, something to say I played and then moved on. Well obviously it made an impression upon me because here it is. The initial plan was for Cohen to record his follow up with David Crosby in LA. After these sessions fell apart, Cohen was ready to abandon the album entirely. Luckily for all of us, producer Bob Johnston helped convince him to come to Nashville and record there. The songs have a slightly more country approach than his debut as the scenery clearly wore off a little on the Canadian. The soon to be legendary Charlie Daniels was one of the session men brought in here, playing bass and some fiddle. “The Story of Isaac” is a stark re-imagining of the would-be sacrifice from Abraham, told through a first person Isaac’s perspective. “Bird on the Wire” would be Cohen’s preferred concert opener for years afterwards and became one of his most iconic songs.    

143. The Beatles - For Sale
Released at the end of the very busy 1964 year and positioned between their two Richard Lester directed films, it is easy to forget about For Sale. The thing is once you actually listen to it you start to realize that even burnt out and “running out of ideas” Beatles is still superior to nearly every other artist of the time. It is perhaps the closest thing the Beatles have to a “cult” album and something that may actually be underrated for a change. “I’ll Follow the Sun”, “Eight Days a Week”, “No Reply”, and “I’m a Loser” are all classics. “Rock and Roll Music”, “Kansas City”, and “Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby” helped show that even when playing other artist’s well known songs they would forever be associated with the fab four.

142. The Impressions - The Young Mods’ Forgotten Story
Like The Temptations, I listened to a whole lot of Impressions before settling on this as their best. Curtis Mayfield was rapidly outgrowing his bandmates, but he was a masterful songwriter from the start. Once upon a time, “Choice of Colors” would have been the easy answer for my favorite Impressions song, but “We’re a Winner” takes that cake now. However that album mostly drops off a cliff when that omega level banger ends. Young Mods however is jam after jam. The title might make it sound a bit like a concept album, but that is more of a red herring. Mayfield was maturing as a songwriter and he chose to get both philosophical and introspected here. “Seven Years” was about the end of his first marriage, and “Love’s Miracle” clearly hinted that life goes on. For my money this is Chicago soul at its very best.

141. Pharoah Sanders - Karma
Of all the “next Coltrane’s” that came following the giant’s death, Pharoah Sanders picked up the torch perhaps the most prominently. In fact it was Sanders' somewhat wild and dissonant playing that began to influence ‘Trane's style towards the later part of his career. Sanders eventually did join Coletrane and first played as part of the free-form experiment Ascension. Karma was his third solo album and second for Impulse. “The Creator Has a Master Plan” even appropriates a bass riff from “Love Supreme”. However Sanders took that jumping off point and went in a truly mesmerizing direction with it. At over 32 minutes, that opening is essentially the entire album. I can see how it could get abrasive but the spiritual structure makes it feel transcendent. 

140. Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow 
Perhaps the defining album of the summer of love in 1967, Jefferson Airplane’s second album was the one that truly put them and the city of San Francisco on the musical map. Sure the city was something of a hip place to be culturally and sure seemed like it would have been something special before the tech industry ruined everything. That said I was on Haight Street and someone offered to sell me drugs so maybe the area hasn’t changed that much. Beyond the two monstrously successful singles which were both sung by the newly hired Grace Slick, are almost all strong. For the most part the group skipped the long winded jam sessions of their neighbors The Grateful Dead. Although original drummer and future acid casualty Alexander “Skip” Spence had already departed, he did contribute “My Best Friend” to the LP.

139. The Yardbirds - Roger the Engineer
History has remembered the Yardbirds more for the careers launched after, but they were a major force among the British Invasion bands in their day. Roger the Engineer was also released as Yardbirds and Over Under Sideways Down, which wouldn’t be the last album on this list with multiple titles. It was a showcase for new guitarist Jeff Beck, who even got to sing for some reason on “The Nazz are Blue”. Some catchy numbers throughout, it helped set the tone for a lot of the blues based heavy rock that would follow from Cream to the Jimi Hendrix Experience. 

138. The Supremes - Where Did Our Love Go
The second album from The Supremes is a highwater mark not just among early 60s girl groups, but Motown as a label. Using the same method as other early Motown albums this was largely just collecting already recorded Supremes singles, b-sides, and unreleased cuts as opposed to a conscious studio recorded LP. As such it is an incredibly strong collection with the monster hits “Baby Love”, “Come See About Me”, and of course the title track. There were no less than 6 singles released from this album and firmly planted Diana Ross and co at the top of the Motown mountain. 9 of the 12 songs were written by Holland-Dozier-Holland with a couple Smokey Robinson numbers to balance things out. 

137. Rolling Stones - Out of Our Heads
This is the Stones album where the boys evolved from mere R&B interpreters to full fledged rock stars. That isn’t to say they weren’t fully original at the time. In the case of The Beatles, the UK editions were vastly superior and definitive, but the opposite was true for the Stones. The US version of this, Aftermath, and Between the Buttons are superior. “Satisfaction” written and nearly forgotten by a drunk Keith Richards would become the band’s most iconic song. “Play With Fire” is my personal favorite, and points to the darker route they would explore in the upcoming years. In general this is a prototypical early Stones album just with higher highs than the three that preceded it and their first that can truly be labeled a masterpiece.

136. The Paragons - On the Beach
For many Americans reggae music more or less began with Bob Marley, but the UK was quite hip to it from the beginning. The Paragons were Jamaica’s answer to The Four Tops or Delfonics and were one of the smoothest vocal groups of the decade. They are the answer to the trivia question of who recorded the original “The Tide is High”, but the title track, “Only a Smile” and “Happy Go Lucky Girl” were all standouts. A bit more of a party vibe, they weren’t hiding political messages in their songs like Desmond Dekker or Jimmy Cliff. It was their only album with John Holt (who also wrote their biggest hits) and remains a highwater mark of rocksteady.

135. Duke Ellington - And His Mother Called Him Bill
In 1967, Ellington’s longtime friend and arranger Billy Strayhorn died of cancer. Almost immediately Duke took to the studio to record his tribute. A celebration of Strayhorn it may also be Ellington’s best individual album. It showcased his range as a composer and arranger, with things ranging from re-recorded old favorites (“Rock Skippin’ at the Blue Note”) to never heard final compositions (“Blood Count”). Ellington’s entire orchestra played exceptionally well but it was often alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges who shines the brightest here. 

134. John Coltrane - Live at Birdland
Recorded live and in studio, Coltrane’s Birdland is one of the legends most accessible and enduring albums. “Afro Blue” is a tour de force captured live that shows his quartet to be a supremely locked in group. Birdland is something of a transitional album for Trane, who would get increasingly more experimental towards the later part of his life. For a “live” album though it seems only fitting that the best songs would be the studio tracks, particularly “Alabama” which was Coltrane’s response to the church bombing in that state several weeks earlier. The pacing of the song was set to follow Martin Luther King’s speech of the same name and became one of his best compositions. 

133. Ella Fitzgerald - Mack the Knife: The Complete Ella in Berlin
Coltrane might be my favorite jazz musician but there is no doubt who my favorite jazz singer was, and that’s none other than Ella Fitzgerald. Already something of a legend in the music world at the start of the decade she recorded this absolutely stellar live set in February of 1960. Backed by a quartet of musicians it foregoes a lot of the more orchestral arrangements much of her studio output had. The highlight was easily the title track, the then very popular “Mack the Knife”. Ella forgot the lyrics and just improvised and damned if it didn’t work in legendary fashion. 

132. The Who - My Generation
Where most British Invasion bands took a few years to peak, The Who came out of the gate dropping bombs. The title track alone has launched hundreds of bands and set the stage for power pop, punk, hard rock, metal and a whole lot more. As was the style at the time there are definitely differences between the US and UK versions, with shuffled track listings, songs included and omitted, but either version is golden. Despite starting as another white R&B band, and even including a couple James Brown covers, Pete Townsend demonstrated early that he was a unique songwriter of note. For those who can sometimes get lost in their later pretentious ambitions, this first album is full of near perfectly constructed mod rock.

131. Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain
This album almost didn’t make my list. Despite often thinking of this as the finest collaboration between Davis and Gil Evans my initial listen for this list did nothing. Luckily I decided to give it one last 11th hour spin and damn I must have been in a shit mood before. Davis went to see the flamenco dancer Roberto Iglesias and became obsessed. The other jumping off point was Evans and Davis’ plan to adapt Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez”. Their arrangement takes up nearly half the album and it is a masterpiece. Sticking with the Spanish theme they turned their attention to other Spanish folk songs to round out the sessions. 

130. Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Paul Butterfield Blues Band 
The history of Chicago blues is nearly as long as the history of the blues itself, with nearly every major figure spending some time in the Windy City cutting their teeth. Chicago native Paul Butterfield had the blues in his DNA, and his group quickly became the first great integrated Americans to take on the blues. The debut album opens with “Born in Chicago” and I’ll be damned if I don’t get chills when I hear it. Originally a quartet, second guitarist Mike Bloomfield was brought on board and took over nearly all the leads (Bob Dylan had a similar idea when he went electric). Although the group would get arguably more interesting as they progressed, the first album is a gem of mid-60s Chicago blues and essential listening. 

129. Herbie Hancock - Fat Albert Rotunda 
Released just under the wire in December 1969 Fat Albert Rotunda was Herbie’s first proper foray into funk. Fusion had already started to take over popular jazz with In a Silent Way and Tony Williams Emergency dropping. It was conceived for the TV special Hey, Hey, Hey It’s Fat Albert and that assignment was crushed. This was also Herbie’s first album for Warner Bros. and marked perhaps the most exciting creative period in his career. For those who thought Head Hunters came out of nowhere might be in for a very pleasant surprise here. Despite being uncredited on the original LP Bernard “Pretty” Purdie plays the drums on the first and last songs and I’ll be damned if those aren’t some of the tastiest beats put down.  

128. Duke Ellington and John Coltrane - Duke Ellington and John Coltrane
Not content to be merely an elder statesman of jazz, Duke Ellington sought out and worked with many of the major jazz luminaries of the 60s. From the stripped down Money Jungle (with Charles Mingus and Max Roach) to collaborations with Coleman Hawkins and John Coltrane, Duke repeatedly demonstrated he wasn’t done yet. I happen to think his album with Coltrane is his best. Members of each of their bands supplied the rhythm section here, working as a quartet throughout. Rather than simply tackle numerous Ellington standards, both men wrote new music for the session. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some classics being updated here, notably the opener “In a Sentimental Mood”. Perhaps the finest meeting of two legends in jazz.

127. Phil Ochs - I Ain’t Marching Anymore
For many years I was perfectly content believing Pleasures of the Harbor was Phil Ochs best album. This might be because it was the only Phil Ochs album I heard. Well this gem was hiding in plain sight the whole time. Ochs was cut from the same cloth as many other folk luminaries of the early 60s, and preferred to think of himself as a “topical singer” rather than a protest singer. This album features Ochs as a solo artist with no backing band on twelve originals and a couple of covers. Few lyricists could fit as much wit and wordplay into a verse as Ochs, with the opening title track being perhaps his signature song. The album was dripping with sarcasm and took the protest anthems of the day and injected a much needed morbid sense of humor to everything. Of course none of it would work if everything wasn’t so hook filled. 

126. Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air
Experimental American composer Terry Riley achieved a major breakthrough with In C in 1968. A year later he refined and expanded upon these ideas in the much more approachable Rainbow in Curved Air. Riley used tape loops to essentially overdub himself and play every instrument on the album. This practice would be copied often in the future but here it was particularly groundbreaking. The title track was largely improvised with multiple modal layers on top of each other. Everything tends to click together rather than the learning how to play an instrument in real time experiments of Sun Ra around the same time. It would prove to be a highly influential album as more electronic loops and experiments would follow. Pete Townsend paid his own tribute with “Baba O’Riley” named after Terry. 

125. Wilson Pickett - The Exciting Wilson Pickett 
Much of the great soul music of the 1960s seemed to come from either Stax in Memphis or Muscle Shoals, Alabama. For Wilson Pickett’s third album he recorded in both legendary studios, standing fully between both worlds. This became his best selling album and featured the enormously successful singles “Land of 1,000 Dances” and “In the Midnight Hour”, plus two more crossover hits. The non-hits are of a similar quality and feature some legendary studio musicians including Isaac Hayes, Steve Cropper, Roger Hawkins, and Donald “Duck” Dunn. Pickett’s unique gruff and powerful voice was the perfect match for the music here. It began a string of excellent mid-60s albums from Pickett, but this breakthrough remains the best.

124. Cream - Disraeli Gears
Cream were the prototype for the power trio, even before The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton, and Ginger Baker may have hated each other and fought throughout their brief history, but they undoubtedly recorded some of the best rock music of the decade. Disraeli Gears was their second, and easily best album. A big reason for this might be the lack of extended jamming (wanking) that characterized much of Wheels of Fire. “Sunshine of Your Love” is the only song that tops the 4 minute mark, and it became the most famous song the group recorded. Unlike Fresh Cream, every member got a chance to sing here, with Bruce and Clapton sharing lead vocals on several tracks and even Ginger Baker getting to sing “Blue Condition”. There might be a touch of filler, but the highlights more than eclipse those moments. Fun trivia, “Tales of Brave Ulysses” was the first song Jimi Hendrix heard using a wah-wah pedal.

123. Dusty Springfield - Dusty in Memphis
Initially conceived as an album to help boost her credibility and sales, Dusty in Memphis was Dusty Springfield’s debut for Atlantic records. Despite the success of the album’s best known song “Son of a Preacher Man”, the LP failed to find much initial success. Recorded in the aforementioned Memphis with Springfield adding her own vocals in New York over the backing tracks, her selection process for the songs to include was quite extensive. “Just a Little Loving” and “Son of a Preacher Man” being the only two easy sells on the album. Around 25 songs were eventually recorded, 11 of which made the final album. A mix of soul and pop it has since come to be regarded as not just her finest album, but one of the all time greats. 

122. Wanda Jackson - Rockin with Wanda
There were a number of discoveries I made while researching this list. Some didn’t quite make the cut and others seemed like missing pieces in my life. Rockin’ With Wanda was perhaps the first truly great rock and roll album by a girl, how crazy and novel. Jackson herself wrote several of the songs and stamps her personality all over the record. There is a mixture of country and rockabilly throughout, as well as the delightful novelty song “Fujiyama Mama” which ironically became a big hit in Japan. Despite never achieving the mainstream success of her male peers, Rockin’ with Wanda helped lay the groundwork for future female rockers for the next several decades.

121. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell - United
Despite the extraordinary talent Marvin Gaye had, Motown hadn’t quite figured out how to make him work as a successful artist. After a few duet albums had moderate success he was paired with Philadelphia’s Tammi Terrell who finally clicked and helped yield 4 hit singles. They would record two more albums as a duo before Terrell wound up dying tragically from a brain tumor. If you think that’s sad, wait until you hear how Marvin Gaye went out. Tragedy aside, the first pairing of these two was something truly magical, and by the end of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” you know these two were onto something. 

120. Otis Redding - Complete and Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul 
All this talk about Memphis and soul music I’m sure you were wondering when Otis Redding was going to appear on this list. Complete and Unbelievable would be Redding’s final studio album released during his lifetime and absolutely shows a legend in peak form. It might have seemed like a monumental task to top Otis Blue, so thankfully the edict was essentially not to fix what wasn’t broken. Lead single “Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)” was named after Otis’ tendency to sing horn parts and became one of his many signature tunes. As great as “Try a Little Tenderness” and his version of “Day Tripper” are, I think I prefer the second side which is mostly Redding originals, including “She Put the Hurt On Me”. Classic Stax soul and a hell of an album to go out on.

119. Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat
The Velvet Underground were one of the least successful but most influential groups of all time, and each of their four studio albums are essential listening. That said, it took a long time for me to come around on White Light/White Heat which is easily their most abrasive album. The group insisted on recording at the same volume they played their live shows at, which resulted in nearly everything sounding like the speakers were about to explode. Considering their first album was produced by Andy Warhol clearly the Velvet’s had no idea how studio recording worked and accidentally created magic. It was the last album to feature John Cale who despite his imminent departure seems to be fully locked in with Reed, trading lines, finishing each other’s songs, and making just as much racket. It certainly isn’t the album I would start with from VU, but it will be there waiting for you whenever you come around to its brilliance. 

118. The Beatles - Please Please Me 
There are not enough superlatives to describe the staggering impact The Beatles had on music and popular culture. Hearing where it all started shows a group capable of greatness while also showing room for improvement. “I Saw Her Standing There” could very well be the most important opening track in LP history, and with that the British invasion was off and running. Every Beatle gets a moment in the sun, I love Harrison’s slightly corny “Do You Want to Know a Secret?” and Ringo’s swinging “Boys”. Not unlike Dylan’s first album released around the same time, Lennon and McCartney were quickly showing their originals were the real highlights. 

117. Flying Burrito Brothers - The Gilded Palace of Sin
Hot off the triumph of Sweetheart of the Rodeo, Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman left the Byrds to form their own country-rock outfit. Even from the days of his International Submarine Band, Parsons was always dedicated to the merger of the two styles. The rock in question here was of a particularly soulful variety and sought out the merger of the Louvin Brothers with Otis Redding. Hillman and Parsons were perfectly fused working on this album, co-writing and sharing vocal duties on nearly every track. Commercially it failed to do much, but it inspired a number of artists particularly in the 80s country music scene. 

116. Aretha Franklin - Aretha Now
If you stopped this album after the first two songs, “Think” and “Say a Little Prayer” you might rush to the conclusion that Franklin was never better. That isn’t to diminish from the songs that follow, but man the bar was set so damn high, you can’t blame any album for dipping a bit. After I Never Loved a Man and Lady Soul, the Queen of Soul was untouchable, and this became another classic released in the turbulent year of 1968. Aretha went back to the Sam Cooke playbook for a lively rendition of “You Send Me”. The closing track “I Can’t See Myself Loving You” wound up being the third hit single from the album.

115. Mothers of Invention - We’re Only In It For the Money
It was evident from the beginning that Frank Zappa held much of his generation in contempt. Never a drug user, he often ridiculed phony hippies and their far out psychedelic ways. That focus of ire reached a fever pitch on We’re Only In It For the Money, the best of the early Mothers albums. The title and original album cover was a direct dig at The Beatles who he looked at as insincere sell outs. Since the commercialization of the counterculture, Zappa loved to poke holes in the hypocrisy. Satirical to a comical degree, the lyrics are prone to hitting you over the head but in a hilarious way. Unlike the first two Mothers albums, nearly all the vocal duties here were handled by Zappa himself as Ray Collins temporarily left the group. It wound up being the most successful album The Mothers released, as it was embraced by the very group it was making fun of.

114. Mama’s and the Papa’s - If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears
The debut album from the Mama’s and the Papa’s is truly one of those lightning in a bottle moments. Riding the success of The Byrds, John Philips and co. sought to further refine what would eventually be called the “Laurel Canyon sound”. They brought tight vocal harmonies with 12 string guitars, pop-rock sensibilities, and a few hip nods to really liking drugs. A lot of darkness would follow the group and individual members in the years ahead, but for their debut everything seemed to line up perfectly. Their two most enduring singles “Monday, Monday” and “California Dreaming” are just a small fraction of the great stuff inside. I personally love their take on The Beatles “I Call Your Name”. 

113. The Monkees - Headquarters
Of all the American answers to The Beatles, The Monkees might have had the best shot at the crown. Created primarily for a TV show, they predated the modern somewhat manufactured pop acts of today. Controversy over them not playing their own instruments (audiences really didn’t know much about session musicians back then) led to an enormous backlash. As a result the group sought to wrestle control of their music and identity and vowed to do it all themselves for Headquarters. Despite not having the monstrously popular hits of the surrounding albums, Headquarters would come to be regarded as their finest individual record. Thankfully when it came to writing and playing their own material, they had an ace up their sleeve with Michael Nesmith who consistently delivered the band’s finest originals. “You Just May Be the One” might just be the best Monkees song ever and showed the band was certainly on par with other great acts of the time. On top of proving himself the group’s best vocalist, Micky Dolenz even offers his own original with the top notch closer “Randy Scouse Git”. An ideal place to start when you move past the greatest hits.

112. Dexter Gordon - Go
From the first time I heard “Cheese Cake” I knew this album was something special. Dexter Gordon leads his quartet through a series of showstoppers. Although that opening number was the only original, “I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry” was a standard torch ballad that arguably never sounded better here. “Second Balcony Jump” and Cole Porter’s “Love for Sale” continue the up-tempo to ballad pattern. Sonny Clark plays beautifully throughout with the competent rhythm section of Butch Warren and Billy Higgins but this is Gordon’s album through and through. A brilliant showcase for one of the more unsung heroes of the tenor saxophone. 

111. Can - Monster Movie
I didn’t get too many comments about omissions on my 70s list, but having no Can albums on there was one of the few. Including Monster Movie might seem like a consolation prize for this 60s list but the truth is, this might actually be my favorite Can album. Things would get a little more ambitious and out there over their next three masterpieces, but for me it all starts here. The foundation is solid, and things are kept a little tighter and more concise while still being in a far out experimental field. The first half of the album just seems like a warmup however for the epic “Yoo Doo Right” that takes up the entirety of side B.

110. The Kentucky Colonels - Long Journey Home
The Newport Folk Festival was an institution in the early 60s. A place where American music was embraced and celebrated, and electric guitars were famously booed. In 1964, the Colonels got to play the fest where this album was recorded. Mostly a quartet, the legendary Clarence White on guitar, and his brother Roland on mandolin were joined here by Billy Ray Lantham and bassist Roger Bush. A third White brother, Eric Jr. was originally part of the group but was replaced by Billy Ray at this time. The group set to modernize bluegrass music and helped lead a short lived revival of the style in the middle part of the decade. Frankly anytime that banjo gets to picking and those sweet vocal harmonies start the music just speaks to me. This live set is mandatory listening for any fan of bluegrass.

109. Big Brother and the Holding Company - Cheap Thrills
After making a name for themselves at Monterrey in 1967 a debut album quickly followed. Their follow up however would break the group and lead vocalist Janis Joplin to the mainstream. It was the group’s only number one album and featured the signature song “Piece of My Heart” as well as a damn brilliant rendition of “Summertime”. Even the album cover by cult comic book artist Robert Crumb has had an enduring legacy. Despite being foremost a showcase for Joplin, the playing from the rest of the band is quite exceptional throughout. So even long winded acid jams like “Ball and Chain” still sound riveting. One of the era’s defining records and a beautiful time capsule of LSD influenced blues rock.

108. Howlin Wolf - Howlin Wolf
Often referred to as the “rocking chair album”, Howlin’ Wolf’s self-titled second album is blues music perfected. I cannot emphasize enough how many times I randomly find myself saying “Wang Dang Doodle” at work, a song that was immortalized by fellow Chess artist and Chicago legend Koko Taylor. Nearly every song was written by Willie Dixon, and these versions served as the blueprint for the great blues revival of the 1960s. Nearly every song here was covered by someone from Sam Cooke, Cream, The Rolling Stones, to The Doors. What no one could ever replicate was Howlin’ Wolf’s incredible, visceral delivery (although Captain Beefheart gave it an honest try). 

107. Shirley and Dolly Collins - Anthems in Eden
Have you ever been to a renaissance faire and thought “Man I could listen to this music all day”? Well good news, I got an album for you. Sisters Shirley and Dolly Collins decided to go way, way back into English folk for a timeless re-interpretation of old classics fashioned into something of a concept album about women in war time. Even the instrumentation relies on old mostly obsolete instruments, including a personal favorite the sackbut. Cornets, recorders, and harpsichords adorn the recording with everything sounding like it could have perfectly fit in several hundred years ago. I just know it makes me want to grab some cider, eat a cheese fritter, and maybe order a turkey leg while watching some jousting.

106. Les McCann/Eddie Harris - Swiss Movement
Among the many jazz albums I listened to for this list were several from Eddie Harris and Les McCann. Turns out their best work was a live collaboration at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1969. McCann even takes a stab at singing on the opening “Compared to What” in addition to handling his piano duties. Recorded as fusion was starting to take over jazz this takes a more soulful approach to jazz. The album is often funky, hip, and propulsive. These two giants were a perfect match as Swiss Movement became a jazz and R&B hit. 

105. James Brown - Say it Loud: I’m Black and I’m Proud
Much of James Brown’s 60s albums were shoddily thrown together mixes of one single and a bunch of instrumentals from the JBs. As the Godfather of Soul began to turn his attention to funk he dropped a bomb of a black power anthem with the title track. Brown’s regular drummer Clyde Stubbelfield brings the funk and sets the table beautifully. Although the rest of the album didn’t carry the same overt black power messaging, there definitely was more funk, particularly on the jam “Licking Stick”. Brown couldn’t resist a good ballad though and “I Guess I’ll Cry, Cry, Cry” stands up to many of his early staples. This would be his finest studio album until he dropped the Payback.

104. Jimmy Cliff - Jimmy Cliff
For reasons that were somewhat obvious, I did not include The Harder They Come on my list of greatest 70s albums. The main reason is because it was a compilation of numerous 60s songs. Jimmy Cliff laid the groundwork for that in 1969 with his self-titled album. Anyone who saw that film would absolutely recognize “Many Rivers to Cross” which comes right after the brilliant opener “Time Will Tell”. Cliff himself wrote 9 of the 11 songs here and “Vietnam” and “Wonderful World, Beautiful People” became standards covered countless times afterwards. Cliff had mastered that subtle Jamaican art of hiding scathing social protest in infectious island rhythms perhaps better than anyone. 

103. Buffalo Springfield - Again
Buffalo Springfield’s second album has drawn a few comparisons to The Beatles White Album, mostly because of the dysfunction and nearly every song being independently recorded and produced without the other members. In the case of Neil Young’s “Expecting to Fly”, Young recorded it with session musicians during one of the many times he quit the group, expecting it to show up on a solo album. Third guitarist Richie Furay contributes a number of originals here, and the one constant with Again is no matter who was writing or singing, everything worked. Coincidentally enough the “live” audience sounds on “Broken Arrow” were actually from a Beatles performance. 

102. Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul
Released at the beginning of 1968, it became immediately apparent that I Never Loved a Man was no fluke. It was an album of contrasts, as evident by its best remembered singles “Chain of Fools” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”. Franklin herself wrote “(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone” and “Good to Me as I am to You” which her soon to be ex-husband/manager would claim credit for. The latter of which features Eric Clapton as the most overqualified session guitarist. One of the Queen of Soul’s defining albums, Lady Soul spawned three top ten singles and helped define the era.

101. Ray Barretto - Acid
After stints as a session musician and defined by the somewhat limited pachanga style, Ray Barretto turned his attention to boogaloo, a New York grown marriage of Cuban and Puerto Rican music with R&B. His first album for the Fania label would be his definitive release. This isn’t a prolonged acid trip as the title and cover might suggest. It does point to an evolution in latin music, which was becoming more of a melting pot in the later 60s. Pulling inspiration from everywhere, Barretto made damn sure the rhythms were exceptional. “El Nuevo Barretto” opens the album and is a perfect litmus test for how much you’re going to love this record.