The Kinks, ‘Something Else by the Kinks’
Rolling Stone was right. This is the best soul album ever, from the sound of Franklin claiming Otis Redding’s “Respect” for the ladies to that moment in the gospel-flavored “Dr. Feelgood” when she lets her girlfriends know she’s got no time to “sit and chit and sit and chit-chat and smile” when Dr. Feelgood’s in the house. (March 10)
The Velvet Underground, ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’
It’s easy to see why hippies didn’t pay the Velvet Underground much mind. Lou Reed made drug-use sound so seedy, from “I’m Waiting for the Man” (”sick and dirty, more dead than alive”) to “Heroin,” a haunting portrait of one addict’s need to “nullify my life.” But they could also play it nice and easy, as “Sunday Morning” did a brilliant job of illustrating. (March 12)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience, ‘Are You Experienced?’
So much more than the greatest guitarhero album ever made, “Are You Experienced?” captures Hendrix reinventing rock and roll in his own psychedelic image, from the grinding funk intensity of “Purple Haze” to Technicolor blues and the title track’s mind-bending studio wizardry. (May 12)
The Beatles, ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’
There’s a reason this one tops so many greatest-albums-ever lists. And thankfully, it goes beyond the all-but-nonexistent concept. This is easily the Beatles’ most ambitious work, from “A Day in the Life” – with its exhilarating orchestral crescendo – to the circus-on-acid effect they brought to “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite.” (May 26)
Don’t let the unassuming title fool you. “Something Else” is a stunning collection of character studies and soap operas capped by the breathtaking “Waterloo Sunset,” where Ray Davies sneaks in a moment of quiet reflection while millions of people swarm like flies around Waterloo Station. And David Watts is one of rock’s great lead-off tracks. (Sept. 15)
Cream, ‘Disraeli Gears’
The catchier moments make Eric Clapton’s decision to bail on the Yardbirds for sounding too poppy that much more absurd, with “Outside Woman Blues” the only real concession to pure blues (unless you’re counting the guitar leads). But this album is a masterpiece of psychedelic pop, from “Sunshine of Your Love” to “Dance the Night Away” and “Tales of Brave Ulysses.” (Nov. 2)
The Beatles, ‘Magical Mystery Tour’
A thrown-together soundtrack to a made-for-TV-film debacle widely held to be the Beatles’ first resounding failure, this album never been given its due. But the music itself is amazing, from McCartney’s most endearing stab at an old-timey standard (“Your Mother Should Know”) to “Blue Jay Way,” “I Am the Walrus” and