Apologies if this is posted elsewhere-- I scanned the threads and did not see it. Anywho, inspired by the "Are You Bored Enough" thread, I've been working on my 100 favorite albums of each decade starting with the 60s. I thought instead of posting this list in that thread, I'd make it a totally different thread, and it could serve as a resource for Metacric users who want some suggestions on where to start exploring decades with which they are unfamiliar.

I have very little knowledge of music pre-1960 (really pre-1964), So that is why I've chose to start with the 60s. Also, this is my "favorites" list. While I do enjoy Jazz, rap, electronica, country and other genres of music, Rock & Roll is, in fact, my favorite genre. So it is not an eclectic list-- sue me. I've put my list in chronological order by year and then alphabetical within each year. One more thing, only one album per artist on my list. I mean do you really need to see 4 Kinks' albums on here? I would rather make room for some of the lesser known acts of the decade. Enjoy and please feel free to comment and/or to post your own list!!

001. Elvis Presley – Elvis is Back! (1960)
002. James Brown – Live at the Apollo (1963)
003. Sam Cooke – Night Beat (1963)
004. VA – A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector (1963)
005. Holy Modal Rounders – Holy Modal Rounders (1964)
006. The Honeycombs – Here Are the Honeycombs (1964)
007. Bob Dylan – Bringing it All Back Home (1965)
008. Fred Neil – Bleecker & MacDougal (1965)
009. The Fugs – First Album (1965)
010. Jerry Lee Lewis – Live at the Star-Club Hamburg (1965)
011. The Sonics – Here Are the Sonics (1965)
012. The Association – And Then . . . Along Comes the Association (1966)
013. The Beatles – Revolver (1966)
014. The Blues Project – Projections (1966)
015. The Monks – Black Monk Time (1966)
016. Bobby Fuller Four – I Fought the Law (1966)
017. Tim Hardin – Tim Hardin 1 (1966)
018. The Isley Brothers – This Old Heart of Mine (1966)
019. Love – Love (1966)
020. The Mamas and the Papas – If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears (1966)
021. The Music Machine – (Turn On) The Music Machine (1966)
022. Wilson Pickett – The Exciting Wilson Pickett (1966)
023. Otis Redding – Otis Blue (1966)
024. The Remains – The Remains (1966)
025. The Seeds – The Seeds (1966)
026. Shadows of Knight – Gloria (1966)
027. The Standells – Why Pick On Me (1966)
028. The 13th Floor Elevators – The Psychedelic Sounds of . . . (1966)
029. The Yardbirds – Roger the Engineer (1966)
030. The Action – Rolled Gold (ca. 1967, released 2002)
031. Bee Gees – Bee Gees’ 1st (1967)
032. Tim Buckley – Goodbye and Hello (1967)
033. Buffalo Springfield – Buffalo Springfield Again (1967)
034. The Byrds – Younger Than Yesterday (1967)
035. The Chambers Brothers – The Time Has Come (1967)
036. Cream – Disraeli Gears (1967)
037. The Creation – We Are Paintermen (1967)
038. The Deviants – PTOOF! (1967)
039. Donovan – A Gift From A Garden To A Flower (1967)
040. The Doors – The Doors (1967)
041. The Easybeats – Friday On My Mind (1967)
042. The Electric Prunes – I Had Too Much To Dream [Last Night] (1967)
043. Aretha Franklin – I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967)
044. Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold as Love (1967)
045. The Hollies – Evolution (1967)
046. Etta James – Tell Mama (1967)
047. Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow (1967)
048. The Kinks – Something Else (1967)
049. The Lefte Banke – Walk Away Renee/Pretty Balerina (1967)
050. The Misunderstood – Before the Dream Faded (ca. 1965-67, released 1982)
051. Moby Grape – Moby Grape (1967)
052. Moody Blues – Days of Future Passed (1967)
053. The Monkees – Headquarters (1967)
054. The Nice – Thought of Emerlist Davjack (1967)
055. Nirvana – The Story of Simon Simopath (1967)
056. Phil Ochs – Pleasures From the Harbor (1967)
057. Pink Floyd – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
058. The Rolling Stones – Between the Buttons (1967)
059. Kaleidoscope – Tangerine Dream (1967)
060. West Coast Experimental Pop Art Band – Part One (1967)
061. The Who – The Who Sell Out (1967)
062. The Band – Music From Big Pink (1968)
063. The Jeff Beck Group – Truth (1968)
064. Blue Cheer – Vincibus Eruptum (1968)
065. Leonard Cohen – The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1968)
066. Deep Purple – Shades of Deep Purple (1968)
067. Incredible String Band – Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter (1968)
068. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks (1968)
069. The Nazz – Nazz (1968)
070. Os Mutantes – Os Mutantes (1968)
071. Pretty Things – S.F. Sorrow (1968)
072. Red Krayola – God Bless the Red Krayola and All Who Sail With It (1968)
073. Simon & Garfunkel – Bookends (1968)
074. Small Faces – Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake (1968)
075. Soul Children – Soul Children (1968)
076. Spirit – The Family That Plays Together (1968)
077. Traffic – Traffic (1968)
078. The United States of America – The United States of America (1968)
079. Fank Zappa – We’re Only In It For the Money (1968)
080. Michael Yonkers Band – Microminiature Love (ca. 1968, released 2003)
081. The Zombies – Odessey and Oracle (1968)
082. Chicago – Chicago Transit Authority (1969)
083. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Willy and the Poor Boys (1969)
084. Crosby, Stills & Nash – Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969)
085. Delaney & Bonnie – Home (1969)
086. Fairport Convention – Liege and Leaf (1969)
087. Fleetwood Mac – Then Play On (1969)
088. Flying Burrito Brothers – The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969)
089. King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)
090. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin (1969)
091. Renaissance – Renaissance (1969)
092. Silver Apples – Contact (1969)
093. Sly and the Family Stone – Stand! (1969)
094. Alexander ‘Skip’ Spence – Oar (1969)
095. Dusty Springfield – Dusty in Memphis (1969)
096. The Stooges – The Stooges (1969)
097. Townes Van Zandt – Townes Van Zandt (1969)
098. The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground (1969)
099. The Youngbloods – Elephant Mountain (1969)
100. Neil Young – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Maximum Jack,

quote:

Originally posted by Maximum Jack:
One more thing, only one album per artist on my list. I mean do you really need to see 4 Kinks' albums on here? I would rather make room for some of the lesser known acts of the decade. Enjoy and please feel free to comment and/or to post your own list!!

I applaud this notion. A fine list, BUT (you knew that was coming, didn't you ) I'd replace two albums I feel are over-rated: replace Axis... with Electric Ladyland and The Doors with Strange Days.

Also, I think #98 should be Delaney and Bonnie.

You're certainly industrious, MJ. No wonder you like bees.

I've got Delaney & Bonnie at #84 with Home. #98 is this album.

Well, I stand corrected, MJ. I've never heard of Wendy and Bonnie. You can see where my error stems from.

1971, incidentally I've never heard that record.

quote:

Originally posted by Maximum Jack:
I mean do you really need to see 4 Kinks' albums on here?

But then you have to choose which one to include. I applaud your choice, but I for one would rather die than have to leave off Arthur and Village Green.

Ok, you got me, die is a slight exaggeration. Nice list MJ.

quote:

Originally posted by MajorNougat:

quote:

Originally posted by Maximum Jack:
I mean do you really need to see 4 Kinks' albums on here?

But then you have to choose which one to include. I applaud your choice, but I for one would rather die than have to leave off Arthur and Village Green.

Ok, you got me, die is a slight exaggeration. Nice list MJ.

As I've been working on all the decades simultaneously, I can assure you making a choice between two or three or four or five great albums by the same artist is much easier than just plain leaving an artist off completely. I'm down to 113 albums in the 70s and I have no idea how I'm going to make the final cut. It is by far the toughest decade for me.

Coming soon: 100 Favorite Albums From the 1970s

At 93...Skip Spence with Oar....fantastic album.

Forgotten not entirely it seems...niiiiiice....

okay, I can do this. I think. Hmmmm. 100 favorites? Need some r and b, some soul, MC5, hmmm...

Great work. I probably would have squeezed in the Beach Boys (Pet Sounds?). I actually prefer Loves "Forever Changes" to earlier works as well.

I have a great Holy Modal Rounders album called Have Mercy. (Have Moicy?). I thought I was the only person who had such an album (maybe in Australia). That might make your 70's section.

quote:

Originally posted by Benno:
Great work. I probably would have squeezed in the Beach Boys (Pet Sounds?).

I took the Ishy approach to this, as he said it "I adore Pet Sounds, but it's been praised enough." Stay tuned, the Beach Boys are coming!!

quote:

I actually prefer Loves "Forever Changes" to earlier works as well.

Of course I'd never heard Love until Elektra reissued Forever Changes in 1990. I had been hearing and reading about that particular album for ages, however. When I finally heard it, I think it had been built up so much that it could never quite meet my expectation. Years later when I discovered their more straight-forward, garage-rock masterpiece of a debut it instantly snagged a place on my list of great albums.

quote:

I have a great Holy Modal Rounders album called Have Mercy. (Have Moicy?). I thought I was the only person who had such an album (maybe in Australia). That might make your 70's section.

I'm not familiar with that particular HMR album, is it some sort of compilation? Oh and the one artist rule applies across decades (unless of course the same artist recorded under a different name).

I took the Ishy approach to this, as he said it "I adore Pet Sounds, but it's been praised enough." Stay tuned, the Beach Boys are coming!!

Well Beatles, Stones, Dylan etc have been praised plenty as well. I think Pet Sounds (for all its praise) is better than one or two in that list. I am not sure I think a 70's album from the Beach Boys will trump Pet Sounds (or a couple of others).

Still what list is perfect? And who wants perfection anyway. This is rock music and rock likes flaws - celebrates them really.

Listen to Forever Changes again. Like all hyped albums its hard to get to the essence - imagine youngsters today getting Blonde on Blonde or S. Pepper. Best Album of all time? - no way they will say.

Seek out Have Moicy. You have the Fugs and HMR in your list - so you NEED Have Moicy.

I will look at one or two albums that escaped my grasp. A couple I tried to get once, but were not available. Times have changed (Thank you Amazon) and us Aussies can now enjoy a wide choice.

Oh don't worry I've listened to Forever Changes dozens of times and I do love (ha!)it-- just not as much as I love Love. And your point is well taken about leaving the Beach Boys off a list of 60s Favorites-- blasphemy, perhaps. In the end, lists are about compromises and compromises generally stir up ire.

Ishy be glad Jack take his approach.

Celebrate the forgotten.

I found another gross oversight. I only own one album by Donovan, but it is indeed one of my favorite albums of all-time, A Gift From A Flower To A Garden from 1967. I adjusted my list by deleting the Wendy & Bonnie album; however, if you like psychedelic folk with angelic harmonies, please seek that album out.

quote:

Originally posted by Benno:

Still what list is perfect? And who wants perfection anyway. This is rock music and rock likes flaws - celebrates them really.

Like that sentence. perfection is so tense...

I did think it was a great list perfect or not even for the sole purpose of me bookmarking this page and referring to it any time I wanted to listen to something great that i haven't listened to yet.
The sixties is a good decade to start the best album list as it is probably all down hill after that. (well not quite but those were definably extremely fine music years )

I like your list and I think it's concise but I have a few gripes. I disagree with your three notions of:
1. Only one album per artist/band
2. Ranked only in order of release
3. Leave off albums that get "enough love already" (Pet Sounds)

This may be difficult but can you make a list with your favorite albums of the 60s? Meaning, rank them from 100-1 (best-bestest), use as many albums from artist/bands as you want and include your best.

Okay here is my stab at the wonderful sixties - chronological - less rock oriented

1960
Miles Davis "Sketches of Spain"
Wes Montgomery "The Incredible Jazz Guitar"
1961
Dave Brubeck "Time Further Out"
Benny Carter "Further Definitions"
Ray Charles "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music"
Rosemary Clooney "The Girl Singer"
John Coltrane "My Favorite Things"
Bill Evans "Waltz for Debby"
Dizzy Gillespie "An Electrifying Evening with"
Elmore James "The Sky is Crying"
Jack McDuff "The Honeydripper"
Savoy "Hot Rod"
Dick Wellstood "Uptown and Lowdown"
1962
Hoyt Axton "Flashes of Fire"
LaVern Baker "Soul on Fire"
James Brown "Live at the Apollo"
Wild Bill Davison "Blowin' Wild"
Various "The Orginal Folk Blues Festival"
Anita O'Day "The Diva Series"
Original Broadway Cast "Oliver!"
1963
Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto "Getz/Gilberto"
Dexter Gordon "Our Man in Paris"
John Mississippi Hurt "Avalon Blues"
Hobart Smith "In Sacred Trust"
Phil Spector "A Christmas Gift for You"
1964
Louis Armstrong "Hello Dolly"
Stan Getz "Getz Au Go Go"
Buddy Guy & Junior Wells "Chicago Bluesfest"
Dale Hawkins "Daredevil"
Clarence Frogman Henry "Ain't Got No Home"
Rolling Stones "England's Newest Hit Makers"
Mary Wells "My Guy"
1965
Beatles "Rubber Soul"
Bob Dylan "Highway 61 Revisited"
Howlin Wolf "Real Folk Blues"
Ramsey Lewis "The In Crowd"
Martha Reeves "Heat Wave"
Frank Sinatra "September of my Years"
Irma Thomas "Time is on My Side"
1966
Cannonball Adderley "Mercy Mercy Mercy"
Beach Boys "Pet Sounds"
Buffalo Springfield "Buffalo Springfield"
Eddie Cochran "Somethin Else"
Orginal Broadway Cast "Cabaret"
Jimmy Witherspoon "Jazz Me the Blues"
Frank Zappa "Freak Out"
1967
Cream "Fresh Cream"
Doors "The Doors"
Duke Ellington "And His Mother Called Him Bill"
Arlo Guthrie "Alice's Restaurant"
Buddy Guy "Left My Blues in San Francisco"
Jimi Hendrix "Are You Experienced?"
Jefferson Airplane "Surrealistic Pillow"
Kinks "Something Else"
Magic Sam "West Side Soul"
Moody Blues "Days of Future Past"
Charlie Musselwhite "Stand Back"
Pink Floyd "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn"
Royal Guardsmen "Snoopy vs the Red Baron"
Velvet Underground "The Velvet Underground & Nico"
1968
The Band "Music from Big Pink"
George Benson "Shape of Things to Come"
Big Brother & The Holding Company "Cheap Thrills"
Blood Sweat & Tears "Child is the Father of the Man"
Mike Bloomfield "Super Session"
Johnny Cash "At Folsom Prison"
Love "Forever Changes"
Van Morrison "Astral Weeks"
Orginal Broadway Cast "Hair"
Buddy Rich "Mercy Mercy"
The Who "Magic Bus"
The Zombies "Odessey & Oracle"
1969
David Bowie "Space Oddity"
Creedence Clearwater Revival "Willie and the Poor Boys"
Isaac Hayes "Hot Buttered Soul"
John Lee Hooker "Get Back Home"
Thad Jones "Central Park North"
Albert King "King of the Blues Guitar"
MC5 "Kick out the Jams"
Joni Mitchell "Clouds"
Peter,Paul, & Mary "Peter,Paul, & Mommy"
Iggy Pop "The Stooges"
Santana "Santana"
Sly and the Family Stone "Stand!"
Dusty Springfield "Dusty in Memphis"
Johnny Winter "Second Winter"
Niel Young "Everybody Knows this is Nowhere"