2014

The year 2014 has been a bit of a disappointment in album releases. Where 2013 was one of the best years of all times, in 2014 I had to really search for albums that would really be something exiting. There were a lot of albums from bands that have been generally really good, that now released very indifferent albums. Then again, this list also includes some surprises. Bands I did not particularly care for before surprised me with great albums. The genres range from psychedelic rock to indie rock, Krautrock, post rock and folk. What strikes me in this list is that the bands are from very different areas. There are albums from UK and US, but also from France, Finland, Germany and Ireland. But enough general talk, here's my list of the best albums in 2014.

1963

1963 was a significant year in popular music for a couple of reasons. it saw the first two albums by The Beatles, who would change the whole music industry in just a couple of years. The same year was also good in folk music and surf rock. There are also some good jazz albums, but I don't think I can properly cover those, since my knowledge of jazz is not as good as it should be. Even though this year only has few exceptional albums, the historical significance of 1963 is great. Enjoy one of the last plunges to the album history.

1964

The year 1964. The hippy era has not yet fully began, and most of the beat bands are playing cover versions of famous 50's rock n' roll songs. There's quite a lot of folk music around, but it hasn't found the modern sounds yet, except for few exceptions. In US, surf rock is quite popular. This year's list consists mainly of these musical styles, but there's also some Indian sitar-music, jazz and early versions of modern pop. Some of the albums on this list are there merely as an example of albums that gave influences to later brilliant albums. The top three is pretty good though. I'm soon reaching the point, where I can't make these lists anymore, since good albums are getting scarcer as we move closer to the 50's when singles, not albums, were in fashion.

1965

The year 1965 takes us closer to the birth of modern pop-music. Most of the bands still make cover versions of old rhythm and blues and rock n' roll songs. Not many bands make full albums of their own music. This year, however, sees the rise of a few bands that in a few years time will be really popular. There are a few fabulous albums made this year, but it was hard to find ten good ones. The musical styles are mainly rock n' roll, r&b, folk and pop-rock. Some signs of the psychedelic movement are already there, but they haven't really evolved enough yet. There are great individual songs on this list, but only a few really good albums.

1966

The year 1966 is probably the earliest year in pop-rock music to have numerous fantastic albums. There are obviously some great albums made before that, but this year's list has ten fantastic albums. Not all the good albums made it to the list and the whole top six is quite phenomenal. This year sees the birth of psychedelic rock and first exceptional studio productions. The songwriting on these albums is quite extraordinary. There are a lot of folk albums on the list, but also great pop albums. 1966 may remain the last wholly great lists in this blog, since the good albums are getting scarcer as I move onwards to the past. So enjoy this terrific list of albums of 1966.

1967

1967 continues the trend of spectacular top 10 lists in the 60's. This year was, more than anything, a year for psychedelic rock. It seems that drugs had their part to play in almost all of these albums. Almost all of these albums are also the most iconic albums of the artists featured. There were numerous great albums that I had to leave out, because there simply wasn't enough room for all the great ones. I changed the order of these albums quite many times. this goes to say, that all of these ten albums are brilliant and it's really difficult to set them in any specific order. It's amazing to me that modern pop music was only a few years old at this point, but still, so many spectacular albums were made.

1968

1968 is yet another fantastic year in albums. Many good ones were left out. This year is in the heart of the flower power era, when most of the bands were moving in the footsteps of The Beatles in making melodic pop-songs. There is however a broader range in the musical styles than that. There's also some psychedelic  and experimental rock, folk, early attempts in heavy music and soul & jazz influenced rock on the list. Most of these albums I have been listening to for years, but there are also some that I've only listened to a little bit but really got into while making this blog. hope you enjoy the list as much as I do!

1969

Here we go! The 1960's. Birth of modern pop music. This decade is filled with classic albums that changed the world. Almost all of the modern music has their biggest influences on this decade. 1969 was the year of Woodstock and the summer of love. The list this year is again pretty amazing! Some of the best rock, pop and folk albums of all times are found on this list. I had to leave quite many great albums off the list as well. When it comes to rock music history, this year is one of the most legendary years. The top four are super-amazing!