Top Ten Albums of the 1960s

Only three bands featured in the top ten best selling albums list for the 1960s - The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and The Monkees.
The Beatles dominated the top ten best-selling albums list for the 1960s with six albums in the chart. But there were also signs of listening tastes moving away from pop and towards a more harder rock sound shown by the two Led Zeppelin albums. The band was to do well in the top ten albums of the 1970s chart as well.

The only other band to reach the top ten albums were The Monkees, a band seen by many as Beatles imitators and whom had their popularity boosted by having their own television series.

The White Album – The Beatles
This double album actually has no name. Its all white cover earned it the nickname The White Album by fans and the name stuck. Released in 1968, it was the band’s ninth album and the first one on the Apple label. Key tracks included “Back in the USSR”, “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” and the George Harrison song “While My Guitar Gentle Weeps”.
Led Zeppelin II – Led Zeppelin
This was the band’s second album, and the second to be released in 1969. It contained what was to become one of their best known tracks – “Whole Lotta Love”.

Abbey Road – The Beatles
The eleventh album by The Beatles, Abbey Road was released in 1969 and had some quirky songs such as “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” and “Octopus’s Garden” as well as “Here Comes the Sun” by George Harrison.

Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – The Beatles
This was the Beatles’ eighth studio album and was released in 1967 and is still regarded by many as the band’s finest album. As well as the title track, on the album were songs such as “With a Little Help from my Friends”, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “When I’m Sixty-Four”.

Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin
The English rock band’s debut album was released in 1969. They already had a following thanks to Jimmy Page of The Yardbirds and the band was initially called The New Yardbirds. They toured briefly in 1968 with that name before Page changed the name to Led Zeppelin and they recorded this album.

Magical Mystery Tour – The Beatles
The version of this released in 1967 in the UK was a six-track double EP and the version in the USA was an eleven-track LP. It was the USA version that was eventually released on CD. The A side of the LP contained the six songs from the EP, which were featured in the film of the same name. The B side contained singles such as “Penny Lane” and “All You Need is Love”.

Rubber Soul – The Beatles
This was the band’s sixth album and was recorded in just four weeks so it could be released in time for the Christmas rush in 1965. It contained the controversial “Run for your Life” as well better known tracks such as “Michelle”, “Nowhere Man” and “Norwegian Wood”.

More of the Monkees – The Monkees
This was the band’s second album and was released in 1967. The title lacked a little imagination to say the least. The twelve tracks included “I’m a Believer” and “Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow”, both written by Neil Diamond.

The Monkees – The Monkees
Released in 1966, this was The Monkees’ first album and was the first of four consecutive number one albums in the USA. There were twelve tracks on the album including the theme from their TV show.

Revolver – The Beatles
Revolver is The Beatles’ seventh studio album and was released in 1966. The two best known tracks among the fourteen it included are “Yellow Submarine” and “Eleanor Rigby”.

Top Ten Albums of the 1960s
The Fab Four dominated the 1960s music scene and many of the other big name bands of the era followed in their footsteps. Their success triggered The Mersey Beat phenomenon and imitators from around the world. But the pop sound did not have it all its own way as the emergence of bands such as Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones showed. Nevertheless, the 1960s laid the foundation for a new era of music the influences of which can still be felt today.