It may seem obvious to declare a dozen albums or so to be the standout work in a particular year, but you have to remember that up to 1967, no one was really treating the full-length long player as anything special. Consider this: the Everly Brothers had 27 Top 40 singles, but can you name a single one of their albums? (We’re pretty sure our own Will Harris could, but he’s a freak of nature.) The Beatles changed all that, of course, but it wasn’t until 1967 that everyone else caught up with the idea. And then, just when everyone had caught up, the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, thereby leaving everyone in the dust once again.
| The Beach Boys: Smiley Smile "Smiley Smile is one of the flakiest moments of the ‘60s, bar none." |
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The Beach Boys: Wild Honey "Wild Honey in its original release format, sans bonus tracks, clocks in at 24 minutes and 24 seconds. What the hell?" |
| The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band "No one saw Sgt. Pepper coming, and when it landed, it changed everything." |
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The Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour "You can almost taste the electric colors from all the acid dripping off a few of these songs." |
| Cream: Disraeli Gears "Ginger Baker, for as great of a drummer as he is, should never sing." |
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Bob Dylan: John Wesley Harding "John Wesley Harding was a simple statement, a palate cleanser for everything else that was out there at the time." |
| The Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead "For anyone with a strong interest in the rock history of the 1960s, this album is an essential piece of the puzzle." |
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Jimi Hendrix: Are You Experienced? "It’s still recognized in many circles as one of the greatest rock albums ever." |
| Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow "Surrealistic Pillow was pretty much another average folk-rock affair with a tinge of acid at the edges." |
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Love: Forever Changes "Forever Changes has become almost mythological in its critical and cult-like influence in the decades hence." |
| Pink Floyd: Piper at the Gates of Dawn "'Matilda Mother' is almost like 'The Sounds of Silence' on acid. Not necessarily a good thing." |
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Rolling Stones: Their Satanic Majesties Request "The drugs were singing just as loudly as Mick Jagger. " |
| Rolling Stones: Between the Buttons "The Stones still aren’t allowed to play 'Let's Spend the Night Together' in China." |
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The Who: The Who Sell Out "The Who Sell Out was not so much a part of the Summer of Love as it was a product of it." |