My Favourite Albums of the 1960s

Apologies for the indulgence, regular readers, but over on Facebook I've been listing my all time favourite albums, following my raised eyebrow at the NME's list. It started small and then sprawled. So ignore the next few posts if you're not interested.

When it comes to favourite albums - well, they differ by decade. I was only 2 at the end of the sixties so these were picked up later, usually be a circuitous route. I was a "fan" of the Beatles in the 70s but the actuall albums meant very little to me compared with the 62-66 and 67-70 compilations where I first encountered the tracks. It was in the early 80s that my dad borrowed the records from his boss and taped them for me - and quite a bit later before I bought them myself. I came across "Aftermath" and "Beggars Banquet" by the Rolling Stones in a bargain bin on cassette whilst in Australia in 1985; other artists I'd read about in rock history books without having any way of hearing - and it took a lot of courage to pick up "Trout Mask Replica" or "Forever Changes" unheard as that might be the only album I'd afford that week. (That said, I'd play it until I loved it!) I came to Love via Aztec Camera, Capt. Beefheart via the Fall, the Velvet Underground via Bowie and Joy Division. Later; it was hip hop samples or retro compilations that got me listening to albums by the Temptations or Sly and the Family Stone (and - to be fair - magazines like Mojo, and the whole CD reissue phenomenon.) I still come across good 60s albums - and there are plenty of things missing. I don't really know the Kinks and Small Faces albums from the period, as I've generally listened on compilations, and a truly accurate list would surely include "best ofs" for the Shirelles, Marvelettes, Shangri-las, Supremes et al. It appears that my late 80s love of psychedelia (via the Paisley Underground) has survived the years - see Country Joe and the Fish and Jefferson Airplane - and more recently I've grown to love the English folk revival, especially Fairport Convention and the Incredible String Band. The order isn't arbitrary but I guess the top twenty I couldn't live without, the next twenty or so I've loved at various times, and maybe the last few are just good albums.

1	Velvet Underground and Nico	Velvet Underground and Nico
2	Forever Changes	Love
3	Blonde on Blonde	Bob Dylan
4	In a Silent Way	Miles Davis
5	A Love Supreme	John Coltrane
6	Trout Mask Replica	Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band
7	Pet Sounds	Beach Boys
8	Unhalfbricking	Fairport Convention
9	Crown of Creation	Jefferson Airplane
10	Kick out the Jams	MC5
11	Velvet Underground	Velvet Underground
12	The Beatles	The Beatles
13	Alice's Restaurant	Arlo Guthrie
14	68 NBC Comeback Special	Elvis Presley
15	The Band	The Band
16	Everything Playing	Lovin' Spoonful
17	Aftermath	The Rolling Stones
18	Electric Music for the Mind and Body	Country Joe and the Fish
19	Dusty in Memphis	Dusty Springfield
20	SF Sorrow	The Pretty Things
21	Absolutely Free	Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention
22	Da Capo	Love
23	Revolver	The Beatles
24	Highway 61 Revisited	Bob Dylan
25	In the Court of the Crimson King	King Crimson
26	Beggars Banquet	Rolling Stones
27	Sketches of Spain	Miles Davis
28	Bookends	Simon & Garfunkel
29	First Take	Roberta Flack
30	Happy Sad	Tim Buckley
31	The Who Sell Out	The Who
32	Younger than Yesterday	The Byrds
33	Live at Folsom Prison	Johnny Cash
34	The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter	Incredible String Band
35	Abbey Road	The Beatles
36	Basket of Light	Pentangle
37	Liege & Lief	Fairport Convention
38	The Stooges	The Stooges
39	Love	Love
40	Tommy	The Who
41	Surrealistic Pillow	Jefferson Airplane
42	Silver Apples	Silver Apples
43	Fifth dimension	The Byrds
44	All Summer Long	Beach Boys
45	Eli and the 13th Confession	Laura Nyro
46	Cloud Nine	Temptations
47	White Noise	White Noise
48	Cruisin' With Ruben and the Jets	Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention
49	Ummagumma	Pink Floyd
50	Let it Bleed	Rolling Stones