Pitchfork Ranks 200 Best Albums of the 1960’S
The 1960’s were important because of the upheaval in the U.S. surrounding our military operations in Viet Nam and Cambodia; unarmed protesters in America were being attacked, maimed, murdered and imprisoned, including clergy, race riots popped off, etc. It’s also the decade in which I was born…so this new Best 200 Albums list by Pitchfork hits home for me, and perhaps I’m not the only one…It represents the music to which I grew up and still lean on when I need that touch from music created in the trenches of the struggle…whatever that might have been during my more than half century on this turf. It’s always something. ~ JD
Here’s the official line on the newly created playlist which hits on everything from Funk to the British invasion of the Beatles:
PITCHFORK RANKS 200 BEST ALBUMS OF THE 1960’S; NAMES THE VELVET UNDERGROUND’S VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO NUMBER ONE**
**THE BEACH BOYS’ PET SOUNDS, JOHN COLTRANE’S A LOVE SUPREME, THE BEATLES’ THE WHITE ALBUM, AND NINA SIMONE’S WILD IS THE WIND ROUND OUT THE TOP FIVE**
Pitchfork yesterday unveiled its list of The 200 Best Albums of the 1960’s. Spanning an array of genres and cultures, the list features everything from New York rock’n’roll to German jazz to Jamaican rocksteady.
Topping the list is 1967’s Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground. “It’s hard to think of a record that marked a break between ‘before’ and ‘after’ more cleanly than Velvet Underground & Nico,” writes Pitchfork’s Philip Sherburne. “They invented a whole new kind of cool, their sound raw and shambolic… Lou Reed’s voice is high and nasal, and Nico—a fashion model from Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and Warhol’s Chelsea Girls—sounds about as lively as a drip.”
Number two on the list is The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, followed by John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, The Beatles’ The White Album, and Nina Simone’s Wild is the Wind.
The epic size of the list allows Pitchfork writers and editors to explore all corners of music during a decade widely accredited with being one of the most groundbreaking. From John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman changing the face of jazz, to Brazil’s Tropicália movement, to early electronic music from artists like Terry Riley and Pauline Oliveros—this expansive roster is a nod to those responsible for changing the way sound was imagined.
See below for a list of the top ten albums and go to Pitchfork.com to explore the complete list of The 200 Best Albums of the 1960’s.
Graphic by Noelle Roth
Also, be sure to watch Pitchfork’s Facebook Live TODAY (August 23) at 2:30pm ET for a lively conversation between executive editor Mark Richardson and managing editor Matthew Schnipper about the painstaking process of compiling the list. And check out Pitchfork’s special 1960’s playlist on Spotify.
TOP TEN ALBUMS OF THE 1960’S:
- Velvet Underground and Nico: Velvet Underground and Nico (1966)
- The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (1966)
- John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (1965)
- The Beatles: The Beatles (1968)
- Nina Simone: Wild Is the Wind (1966)
- Bob Dylan: Blonde on Blonde (1966)
- James Brown: Live at the Apollo (1963)
- The Beatles: Revolver (1966)
- Miles Davis: In a Silent Way (1969)
- Aretha Franklin: I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You (1967)
About the Author
Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.
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