It can be hard for younger music fans today to understand the hand-wringing that attached itself to rock & roll in the 1950s. At the time, rock music was barely out of its infancy. Bill Haley seems so quaint today, but back then, cultural highbrows warned of the end of polite civilization. (Note: cultural highbrows are forever warning about the end of polite civilization. It is their defining characteristic.)
The 1960s would see the music grow by leaps and bounds, out of that infancy, through puberty and adolescence, into its early adulthood, by which time many of its fundamental traits would be locked in. Like adolescents the planet over, the music experimented and matured. It got smarter. It imbibed more of the world and used the new experiences to deepen its impact.
I thought it would be fun, as a kind of cultural growth chart, to pick the best rock and roll album from each year of the growth spurt that was the 1960s to trace that development. Now, I shouldn’t have to say this, but I find that I do. When I say “best,” I am relying on my entirely subjective opinion.
The best rock album from each year of the 1960s
I do read a lot and talk to a lot of other music fans. And I listen to a lot. Those three things go into that opinion. But it is still just that. I didn’t conduct formal research or run a set of lab tests. You are free to disagree.
If I do my job right, I at least get you thinking about your “bests,” and maybe even introduce you to an album or two you have overlooked. And I welcome your polite replies, which could maybe open my eyes to some music I have also overlooked.
Enough of the disclaimer. On to the music.
Two qualifiers:
I am casting a fairly wide net and using a broad description of “rock & roll.” That will become apparent rather quickly.
And though we all can agree that the “dec” prefix in “decade” signifies “ten,” I am giving you fifteen albums. There will be four specials and another … well, read on, and you will see.
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