As a companion piece to the 1970s thread, I think it would be interesting to see what albums people list as the most important 60s ones. Here's my faves:
1- In The Court Of The Crimson King- KING CRIMSON: one of the most influential albums ever made in prog- very few prog bands that emerged in the 1970s didn't cite this grandiose masterwork as an influence.
2- Highway 61 Revisited- BOB DYLAN: one of the first rock albums that didn't contain any filler whatsoever- just 9 sublime tracks of lyrical and musical brilliance.
3- Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band- THE BEATLES: to be honest, any Beatles album from 'Rubber Soul' through to 'Abbey Road' could be included, but this was the one where the whole psychedelic boom became really big, and the mainstream world became fully aware of a new counter culture. It remains one of the best produced albums ever made, too.
4- Pet Sounds: THE BEACH BOYS: another pioneering album, which featured perhaps the most ambitious arrangements in pop music ever conceived at the time.
5- The Who Sell Out-THE WHO: a brilliant album, and a fascianting snapshot of the 1960s ethos, with parodies of radio jingles and songs of varying genres.
6- Oddesey And Oracle- THE ZOMBIES: one of the most underrated albums in rock, as it featured beautifully elegant pop tunes with complex arrangements, featuring swathes of mellotrons and organs, with utterly sublime harmonies.
7- Trout Mask Replica- CAPTAIN BEEFHEART: still a fascinating album, as it is incredibly hard to label under any specific genre. It also met with commercial success, which is incredible to believe considering how wilfully uncommercial this album is.
8- Hot Rats- FRANK ZAPPA: a pioneering album in the jazz rock/fusion genre, as unlike previous projects in the genre, it met with massive commercial success, due to its wonderfully intricate musicianship.
9- Beggar's Banquet- THE ROLLING STONES: after some ill advised attempts to ride the psychedelic bandwagon, this album did the potentially disastrous step of stripping down the Stones to the basics during the psychedelic 60s- instead, it was probably their best album and showed the band at their best- it also influenced a whole genre of roots rock music that would soon emerge.(Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Flying Burrito Brothers)
10- The Notorious Byrd Brothers- THE BYRDS: an astonishing opus, that features some hugely ambitious production effects and the pioneering use of the moog synthesiser on a rock album.
11- From Elvis In Memphis- ELVIS PRESLEY: perhaps the most astonishing comeback in rock, and by far Elvis' best album ever- after years of poor soundtracks scattered with poor novelty songs and leftovers, this showcased a man singing his heart out to save his career.
12- The Gilded Palace Of Sin- THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS: a pioneering album in country rock, and if not the first, it remains the best.
13- Led Zeppelin- LED ZEPPELIN: this is still a towering album, and must have been astonishingly heavy in 1968, when it was first released.
14- Electric Ladyland- THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE: one of the early double rock albums, and showcased Hendrix's superb skill and ambition better than any other album.
15- Spooky Two- SPOOKY TOOTH: this remains a touchstone album, as it fused the rootsiness of The Band, the looseness of Traffic and the heavy rock of Vanilla Fudge seamlessly, to make an album that influenced a plethora of 70s bands.
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Most important 60s albums
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basurero de pie wrote:
That's truly an important album. That presented full free improvisation as music. You should remember this LP, when you dig at Wetton-era KING CRIMSON improvisations. 
