Some of my favorite albums of every decade (1960s - 2010s)

Index

• 1960s
• 1970s
• 1980s
• 1990s
• 2000s
• 2010s

• 1960s [back to top]



1. Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
• Genre: Psychedelic Rock
• Favorite tracks: Astronomy Domine, Pow R. Toc H., Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk, Interstellar Overdrive, Bike
• Fun fact: This is Pink Floyd's first album and the only one with founding member Syd Barrett.


2. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground (1969)
• Genre: Pop Rock
• Favorite tracks: Candy Says, Pale Blue Eyes, I'm Beginning to See the Light, The Murder Mystery, After Hours
• Fun fact: This is the first album by The Velvet Underground after the leave of John Cale and his replacing with Doug Yule.


3. The Beach Boys - SMiLE (Unreleased, 1967)
• Genre: Progressive Pop
• Favorite tracks: Heroes and Villains, The Old Master Painter, Cabinessence, Vega-Tables, Surf's Up
• Fun fact: Albeit worked on for many months between 1966 and 1967, the album was ultimately unfinished and unreleased in part due to the sheer ambition and complexity of the project. A simplified, reworked, re-arranged and re-recorded version of the album, called Smiley Smile, was released in 1967 instead.


• 1970s [back to top]



1. Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom (1974)
• Genre: Canterbury Scene
• Favorite tracks: Sea Song, Alifie, Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road
• Fun fact: This album was the first solo effort by Robert Wyatt since 1970. It was recorded and partly written after he lost the ability to walk by falling out of a fourth-floor window in a party in 1973.


2. Paul & Linda McCartney - Ram (1971)
• Genre: Pop Rock
• Favorite tracks: Too Many People, Ram On, Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey, Smile Away, The Back Seat of My Car
• Fun fact: Although originally received negatively by fans and critics alike, this album was later praised as being a precursor to the indie pop movement.


3. Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978)
• Genre: New Wave
• Favorite tracks: Thank You for Sending Me an Angel, The Girls Want to Be With the Girls, Found a Job, Artists Only
• Fun fact: This is the first of three Talking Heads albums produced by the legendary Brian Eno.


• 1980s [back to top]



1. King Crimson - Discipline (1981)
• Genre: Progressive Rock
• Favorite tracks: Elephant Talk, Indiscipline, Thela Hun Ginjeet, Discipline
• Fun fact: This is the first King Crimson album since 1974, and the first album of their fourth lineup, which remained intact from 1981 - 1984.


2. Arrigo Barnabé e a Banda Sabor de Veneno - Clara Crocodilo (1980)
• Genre: Avant-prog
• Favorite tracks: Acapulco Drive-In, Diversões Eletrônicas, Infortúnio, Clara Crocodilo
• Fun fact: This album was composed using a composition style known as twelve-tone technique, where all twelve notes are used, regardless of key.


3. Los Jaivas - Alturas de Machu Pichu (1981)
• Genre: Progressive Rock
• Favorite tracks: La Poderosa Muerte, Antigua América, Sube a Nacer Conmigo Hermano
• Fun fact: This album was inspired by the works of Chilean politician and poet Paulo Neruda.


• 1990s [back to top]



1. Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (1997)
• Genre: Space Rock
• Favorite tracks: Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, I Think I'm in Love, No God Only Religion, Cop Shoot Cop...
• Fun fact: The album was recorded shortly after the breakup of the band's frontman, Jason Pierce, with the band's keyboardist, Kate Radley, who had secretly married The Verve's Richard Ashcroft.


2. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing... (1996)
• Genre: Instrumental Hip Hop
• Favorite tracks: Building Steam With a Grain of Salt, Stem / Long Stem, Organ Donor, Midnight in a Perfect World
• Fun fact: This album was made entirely with samples. There have been attempts at compiling every sample online since the 90s, however to this day some are still unknown.


3. Ween - God Ween Satan: The Oneness (1990)
• Genre: Experimental Rock
• Favorite tracks: Tick, I'm in the Mood to Move, Don't Laugh (I Love You), Never Squeal, L.M.L.Y.P., Marble Tulip Juicy Tree
• Fun fact: While technically being their first album, Ween at that point had released several low-fidelity D.I.Y. tapes in the 80s. Many of the songs in this album are re-recordings of songs from those tapes.


• 2000s [back to top]



1. Avey Tare and Panda Bear - Spirit They're Gone Spirit They've Vanished (2000)
• Genre: Neo-Psychedelia
• Favorite tracks: Spirit They've Vanished, April and the Phantom, La Rapet, Alvin Row
• Fun fact: This was retroactively cataloged as the first album by the band Animal Collective.


2. Radiohead - Kid A (2000)
• Genre: Electronic Rock
• Favorite tracks: Everything in Its Right Place, The National Anthem, Optimistic, Idioteque
• Fun fact: This album was greatly polarizing when it came out, being a dramatic shift from Radiohead's previous work.


3. Madvillain - Madvillainy (2004)
• Genre: Abstract Hip Hop
• Favorite tracks: Accordion, Raid, All Caps, Great Day, Rhinestone Cowboy
• Fun fact: Madvillain is a duo consisting of rapper MF DOOM and producer Madlib.


• 2010s [back to top]



1. Kanye West - The Life of Pablo (2016)
• Genre: Pop Rap
• Favorite tracks: Ultralight Beam, Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1, Waves, FML, Wolves, Fade, Saint Pablo
• Fun fact: Originally released in February of 2016, the album was continuously updated up until June of the same year, with mixes of songs being tweaked, split, and eventually even a new song, "Saint Pablo", being added.


2. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach (2010)
• Genre: Art Pop
• Favorite tracks: Rhinestone Eyes, Empire Ants, Broken, Plastic Beach, Pirate Jet
• Fun fact: Gorillaz is a project primarily by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett. The "face" of the band is a cast of cartoon characters that star in the music videos and most press releases. In the story of the fictional band, the bassist Murdoc kidnaps the singer 2D along with a bunch of other musicians, taking them to an island made entirely of trash (which the album is named after) to make the album.


3. Car Seat Headrest - Twin Fantasy (2011/2018)
• Genre: Noise Pop
• Favorite tracks: Beach Life-in-Death, Bodys, High to Death, Famous Prophets
• Fun fact: Originally released in 2011 as a one-man low-fidelity project by the band's frontman Will Toledo, the album was re-recorded and re-released in 2018 with a full band and some re-arrangements.