Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Psychedelic Rock Albums – Top 50

image from ornakretchmer.wordpress.com

Originally posted on the DMDB Facebook page on 7/29/11. Updated 1/4/12.

These are the top 50 psychedelic rock albums of all time as determined by Dave’s Music Database. The list was created by consolidating 16 best-of lists into one aggregate. The albums on this list are almost exclusively from the latter half of the 1960s, when the movement started. Some of the biggest bands of the day (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Byrds) dipped their toe into the psychedelic rock pool while other bands (Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead) were birthed as a result of the movement. Check out the DMDB blog entry from last month (Psychedelic Rock Goes Mainstream: June 24, 1967) for a more in-depth explanation of psychedelic rock.

1. Pink Floyd Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
2. Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow (1967)
3. Love Forever Changes (1967)
4. The Pretty Things S.F. Sorrow (1968)
5. The Doors The Doors (1967)
6. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Electric Ladyland (1968)
7. The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
8. Country Joe & the Fish Electric Music for the Mind and Body (1967)
9. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced? (1967)
10. Jefferson Airplane After Bathing at Baxter’s (1967)

11. The Byrds Fifth Dimension (1966)
12. Cream Disraeli Gears (1967)
13. The United States of America The United States of America (1968)
14. The Thirteenth Floor Elevators The Psychedelic Sounds of the Thirteenth Floor Elevators (1966)
15. Big Brother & the Holding Company Cheap Thrills (1968)
16. Donovan Sunshine Superman (1966)
17. The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
18. The Grateful Dead Anthem of the Sun (1968)
19. The Beatles Revolver (1966)
20. The Doors Strange Days (1967)

21. The Grateful Dead Live/Dead (1969)
22. Traffic Mr. Fantasy/Heaven Is in Your Mind (1967)
23. The Soft Machine The Soft Machine (1968)
24. The Thirteenth Floor Elevators Easter Everywhere (1967)
25. The Rolling Stones Their Satanic Majesty’s Request (1967)
26. Iron Butterfly In-a-Gadda-Da-Via (1968)
27. The Small Faces Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake (1968)
28. Spirit Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus (1970)
29. Syd Barrett The Madcap Laughs (1970)
30. Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

31. Ultimate Spinach Behold and See (1968)
32. The Byrds Younger Than Yesterday (1967)
33. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Axis: Bold As Love (1967)
34. The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
35. The Moody Blues In Search of the Lost Chord (1968)
36. Frank Zappa Freak Out! (1966)
37. Pink Floyd A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)
38. Quicksilver Messenger Service Quicksilver Messenger Service (1968)
39. Jefferson Airplane Crown of Creation (1968)
40. It’s a Beautiful Day It’s a Beautiful Day (1968)

41. Syd Barrett Barrett (1970)
42. Incredible String Band 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion (1967)
43. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band Trout Mask Replica (1969)
44. H.P. Lovecraft H.P. Lovecraft (1967)
45. The Grateful Dead Aoxomoxoa (1969)
46. The Red Crayola The Parable of Arable Land (1967)
47. Moby Grape Moby Grape (1967)
48. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band Safe As Milk (1968)
49. Love Da Capo (1967)
50. The Zombies Odessey & Oracle (1968)


3 comments:

  1. Hey I think you've got a typo. "The Parable of Arable Land" was released in 1967 not 1957.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey I think you've got a typo. "The Parable of Arable Land" was released in 1967 not 1957.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the catch, Nathaniel. It has been corrected.

      Delete