A Review: 'Classic Rock Magazine's' 100 Greatest Albums of the 60s

I think it's fair to say that I should begin putting "an opinion piece" in my titles, since it has become apparent that there are people who don't understand what the word opinion means, or don't bother to read the introduction where I clearly state the point of this article.

For those of you who do read the introduction, this piece is purely based on my own opinions—so don't worry about agreeing or disagreeing with me, because there may be a lot of different views being thrown around. I think Classic Rock Magazine is slightly biased in the way it defines "Classic Rock," and what is encompassed under that term. I mean, I think that they're very biased towards Led Zeppelin, and don't get me wrong Led Zeppelin are very good, but having a clear bias is never good for a music magazine.

I have loved Classic Rock Magazine for years, and I would actually argue that for reading feature articles about your favourite classic rock artists, MOJO Magazine is probably slightly better. But if you're looking for stuff that is solely about Classic Rock, then the magazine in question is probably ideal.

We are going to go through Classic Rock Magazine's 100 Greatest Albums of the 1960s, published in March 2019. Even though I don't agree with the whole list, I do however agree with the fact that they only have one album per artist/band. That sounds more fair than having your top ten Classic Rock Albums, with four of them being Led Zeppelin.

Of course, I'll only be commenting on the album placements that I disagree with, and this article will be fairly shorter than my last one, because of the fact there's no "bubbling under" section.

Let's have a look at whether I agree or disagree with the top 100 then!

100-91

100. Ptooff! by The Deviants

99. Chicago Transit Authority by Chicago Transit Authority

98. Take a Ride! by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels

97. The Sound of '65 by Graham Bond Organisation

96. United States of America by United States of America

95. Gorilla by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

94. Look Inside the Asylum Choir by Asylum Choir

93. Dirty Water by the Standells

92. Take a Heart by The Sorrows

91. Cristo Redentor by Harvey Mandel

90-81

90. Heavy by Iron Butterfly

89. The Fugs by The Fugs

88. The Sect by Downliners Sect

87. Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes by The Ronettes

86. 'Bookends' by Simon and Garfunkel

I don't agree with this placement purely, because Simon and Garfunkel are musically and poetically genius. I personally think that especially this album deserves better. Songs like "America"and "Mrs. Robinson"are brilliant. I would've personally put this album in the top 20, but again—Classic Rock Magazine seems to be biased away from this kind of music.

85. In a Silent Way by Miles Davis

84. The Electric Prunes by The Electric Prunes

83. Gloria by The Shadows of Knight

82. 'Tim Buckley' by Tim Buckley

This album deserves far more. An album that contains songs like "Aren't You the Girl"and "Wings" does not deserve to be at number 82. I would argue that this is probably one of the greatest albums to come out of 60s folk music, and some of the best songwriting of the 1960s. I would have put this in the top 30 at least. I hope you all enjoy this album as much as I do.

81. The Seeds by The Seeds

80-71

80. Yes by Yes

79. Mott the Hoople by Mott the Hoople

78. Surfin' Bird by Surfin' Bird

77. Live/Dead by The Grateful Dead

76. Incense and Peppermints by Strawberry Alarm Clock

75. The Gilded Place of Sin by The Flying Burrito Brothers

74. 'If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears' by The Mamas and The Papas

Yes, they put this album at 74. The song "California Dreamin'"alone deserves to put the album in the top 50, and yet, they dropped the album so low. Personally, I can't understand why this is, because this album is very iconic. Songs like "Monday, Monday"also deserve a space much higher than 74. I really do not understand this entry at all.

73. Leader of the Pack by the Shangri-Las

72. Undead by Ten Years After

71. The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of Onion by The Incredible String Band

70-61

70. The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack by The Nice

69. Rockin' at the Hops by Chuck Berry

68. Family Entertainment by Family

67. Monster Movie by Can

66. Santana by Santana

65. 'Summer Days (And Summer Nights)' by The Beach Boys

I personally think this album deserves to be a lot higher than this. This is, next to Pet Sounds, one of the Beach Boys' most iconic albums, and most well-made albums. Songs like "California Girls"and "You're so Good to Me" just deserve a space in the top 50. Dropping it to 65 almost seems slightly insulting.

64. Mose Alive! by Mose Allison

63. The Five Faces of Manfred Mann by Manfred Mann

62. Spooky Two by Spooky Tooth

61. The Progressive Blues Experiment by Johnny Winter

60-51

60. Barabajagal by Donovan

59. I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! by Janis Joplin

58. Evolution by The Hollies

57. Blind Faith by Blind Faith

56. Da Capo by Love

55. Scott 4 by Scott Walker

54. Jack Orion by Bert Jansch

53. Animal Tracks by The Animals

52. Book of Taliesyn by Deep Purple

51. 'At Newport 1960' by Muddy Waters

I'm mad. Muddy Waters at Newport Folk Festival was probably one of the best things even, and they dropped this album below 50. I'm not going to lie, it may not be very famous—but it sure is a great album, and deserved to be at least in the top 30. Muddy Waters never deserves below the top 50, ever.

50-41

50. Again by Buffalo Springfield

49. We're Only in It For the Money by Mothers of Invention

48. Liege and Lief by Fairport Convention

47. Here are the Sonics by The Sonics

46. Safe as Milk by Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band

45. Nazz by Nazz

44. Sailor by Steve Miller Band

43. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band by Paul Butterfield

42. In the Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson

41. The Angry Young Them by Them

40-31

40. Boogie with Canned Heat by Canned Heat

39. 'Hot Rats' by Frank Zappa

I love this album, and I have no idea why. I personally would've put this album in the top ten purely because of how much I love it. It's experimental and artistic, and it's musically interesting, and so brilliant. It combines all the strange deformities of art and music to create a brilliant album. The song they picked was "Peaches of Regalia,"but I would also argue that the title track is also brilliant. It's a great album.

38. Everybody Knows This is Nowhere by Neil Young

37. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

36. Mr. Fantasy by Traffic

35. The Second Album by the Spencer Davis Group

34. King of the Delta Blues Singers by Robert Johnson

33. On the Threshold of a Dream by the Moody Blues

32. Younger than Yesterday by The Byrds

31. Live at Kelvin Hall by The Kinks

30-21

30. Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies

29. Gris Gris by Dr. John, The Night Tripper

28. Five Live Yardbirds by The Yardbirds

27. Otis Blue by Otis Redding

26. The Pretty Things by The Pretty Things

25. White Light/White Heat by The Velvet Underground

24. Wheels of Fire by CREAM

23. Crosby, Stills and Nash by Crosby, Stills and Nash

22. Pretties for You by Alice Cooper

21. 'Bayou Country' by Creedence Clearwater Revival

You will have no idea how much I adore Creedence Clearwater Revival, and how upset I was that they at least didn't make the top ten. The song "Born on the Bayou"is a damn classic, and that song alone should be able to push the album up to top ten. "Proud Mary"is damn brilliant, and this is one of their best albums. If you haven't listened to them then you're seriously missing out.

20-11

20. A Hard Road by John Mayall

19. 'John Wesley Harding' by Bob Dylan

So you're telling me, an album with songs like "All Along the Watchtower," "The Wicked Messenger," "As I Went Out One Morning," and the epic "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest,"only made it to 19? It should be number one. It should definitely be number one. I mean it's one of the best albums that Bob Dylan has ever put out, and yet, it's only at number 19. What the hell is wrong with this magazine? I would put it at number one.

18. There Are But Four Small Faces by Small Faces

17. Vincebus Eruptum by Blue Cheer

16. The Stooges by The Stooges

15. Stand Up by Jethro Tull

14. Kick Out the Jams by MC5

13. Tommy by The Who

12. Astral Weeks by Van Morrison

11. Surrealistic Pillow by Jefferson Airplane

10-1

10. The Doors by The Doors

9. Ummagumma by Pink Floyd

8. David Bowie by David Bowie

7. Then Play On by Fleetwood Mac

6. Truth by Jeff Beck

5. Tons of Sobs by Free

4. Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin

3. Let it Bleed by The Rolling Stones

2. The White Album by The Beatles

1. Axis: Bold as Love by The Jimi Hendrix Experience