1969

Some would argue the "60s" were already over and it's easy to see why.  Things have changed a LOT by this point on these ten albums exemplify that perfectly.  There are some real recurring themes.

10.  The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground
Lou Reed boldly gives his band's third album and sneaky second chance at  the self-titled.  Perhaps this is how he would remember the influential band best.  It's quite a bit gentler than its predecessors and features many ballads.  Such songs, "Pale Blue Eyes" and "Candy Says," are fan favorites, but I think they're some  of the weaker tracks.  "After Hours," on the other hand is one of its finest moments, almost enough to forgive Moe Tucker for her future crimes against humanity in begetting the likes of Heather Lewis and Georgia Hubley.  My favorite is "The Murder Mystery" with its swirling mess of thick New York accents and trippy keyboards.

9.  The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
While their greatest songs were already behind them the Stones finally put together a perfectly solid album.  With maybe the strongest opening closing  tracks ("Gimme Shelter" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want"), the band is at its wildest and tightest here.  The whole thing is a party record, no matter where the  music goes as it features not only the band with both Brian Jones and Mick Taylor and semi-official member Ian Stewart but also collaborators like Al Kooper, Nicky Hopkins, Ry Cooder, Jack Nitzsche, and Leon Russell you're hard pressed to find an album with stronger credits.  Coated in tragedy and rock 'n' roll excess, Let It Bleed is perhaps the strongest "proper" document of one of rock's greatest bands.

8.  Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica
What is often (though falsely) considered the Captain's magnum opus is the all-time favorite of Simpsons creator Matt Groening.  Its surreal aesthetic and savvy humor is a clear influence.  At double length the album was recorded by Frank Zappa in a house-turned-recording device int he San Fernando Valley in cult-like  conditions.  Naturally,  it resulted in something completely unlike anything else ever.  The gruff vocals, dadaist lyrics, and bass clarinet are best remembered, but it's the spoken word bits and complex guitar interplay that have always been my favorite.  Well, that and titles like "Dachau Blues," "Frownland" and "Old Fart At Play"...

7.  Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
 The "New Yardbirds" kick off the last year of the 60s (January 12) with the heavy sounds of the future, exploding like the Hindenburg over New Jersey.  Beginning with "Good Times, Bad Times" rock's biggest band not only play but force the concept of "hard rock," with merely four players raising the standards of musicianship still to be bested.  This seemingly impossible task is easy for the likes of Jimmy Page, who also produces this and all their records, with he aid of pummeler John Bonham, incomparable vocalist Robert Plant, and the ultimate secret ingredient John Paul Jones.  The debut is perhaps the band's most eclectic, signaling just about everything that the 70s' most successful band would and could do in the future.

6.  The Flying Burrito Brothers - Gilded Palace of Sin
Gram Parsons leaves the Byrds and makes his definitive statement bringing along Chris Hillman to create his aptly-named "Cosmic American Music."  People call it country rock, but what an over-simplification!  Parsons himself will tell you about the soul and gospel influence and  if you're listening at all it's as dominant as Sneaky Pete's psychedelic pedal steel.  Songs like "Hot Burrito #2" and their rendition of "The Dark End of the Street" not only exemplify this, but are some of album's strongest cuts.  While Parsons' work signaled the transition of Los Angeles music from electrifying psych to bland dad rock, this album shows clearly which side the Harvard dropout Southern trust fund baby is on.  Nudie suits made more punk rock than anything Malcom McLaren and Vivienne Westwood ever hocked onto angry British teens.

5.  MC5 - Kick Out The Jams
After years of their legend growing in the new capital of heavy rock and from the 1968 DNC, the MC5 (not exactly an abbreviation for Motor City Five, as much as the sound of a car part) finally put out a debut full-length.  The set, comprised of material from two shows at Detroit's Grande (pronounced grandee) Ballroom sound is not a strong point, but energy is and that's what this band was all about.  The loud and tight quintet forces their sound through the speaking blinding the listener to all but the colors of  the American flag and Rob Tyber's afro flailing around his shiny satin suit.  Brother Wayne Kramer's "Ramblin' Rose" builds up the title tracks forceful demand and the boys burn down the motor city.  "Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)" will always be the standout, but "Starship" places the band as forgers not only of punk, but the most challenging kind of space rock.  RIGHT NOW

4.  The Kinks - Arthur (Or the Decline of the British Empire)
Never one to forget his nationality, Ray Davies finally constructs a true concept album about one Englishman's cynical loss of patriotism and eventual move to Australia.  Perhaps the epic size of these songs is what he wanted on Village Green because "Shangri-La" and opener "Victoria" are quite huge, giving birth to the drama he would explore to sadly disappointing effect in the 70s.  It gets darker with the military themes in "Yes Sir, No Sir," and the soul-crushing "Some Mother's Son," which is easily the greatest song about war written by a man (more about that much later).  "Young and Innocent Days" is easily one of  the Kinks' most perfect slices of nostalgia, and an amazing feat for a man of only 25.

3.  Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
After changing the face of rock, Zep quickly follow up with this set comprised mostly of explicit tributes to the blues.  While its sources are undeniable, originality is stiff a virtue on this energetic set with an even more bad ass cover than the last one.  Temporarily diverting from Page's anti-single stance, "Whole Lotta Love" shows the band not only could, but should do it all.  Neither Energy nor virtuosity ever wane on tracks like "Heartbreaker" and "Livin' Lovin' Maid" and "Moby Dick" forever remains the prime evidence of Bonham's place as "greatest drummer of all time."  Things never really get soft, even on the sweet "Thank You," which is just perfect as the heavy sound was so new we could wait a few more years for the band's sensitive side.  Always the perfect album to give a teenage boy.

2.  The Stooges - The Stooges
Though their live essence had yet to be captured, the dirty punk sounds from Iggy Pop, The Asheton Brothers, and the always under-appreciated Dave Alexander are first drudged out from Michigan's industrial hellhole by John Cale here.  Each member's distinct personality makes its vile, overpowering debut here on the heralded classics of "I Wanna Be Your Dog," "No Fun," and "1969."  Here are smart Midwestern people achieving the poetic stupidity long before the New Yorkers like the Dictators and Ramones turned the kids onto it.  As progressive rock got bigger these mop-topped thugs dressed in jackboots and aviators showed that all it took to rock was some distortion, a wah pedal, lots of anger, and a great sense of humor.  Instantly they invent glam rock while remaining above it the whole time, like they say it's a "Real Cool Time."

1.  Frank Zappa - Hot Rats
Instrumental for all but Captain Beefheart's unforgettable howl on the violin-dominated "Willie the Pimp," this is Zappa's most perfect work.  A composed avant-garde Jazz album by most standards, it takes out all of Zappa's influences into a very unified piece.  It has all his humor without the use of many words (apart form titles like "Son of Mr. Green Genes") and combines works like Lumpy Gravy and his flirtations with jazz into something that still rocks like the Mothers.  Zappa's talents for seeing into the future and the infinite possibilities of music are in the forefront as he collaborates with former Mother Ian Underwood and spots future legends like Shuggie Otis and Jean-Luc Ponty.  Everything great about FZ is present on this masterpiece and little  of what some find  irritating about him.  Easily it is his best work and certainly the most re-playable.  Recommended to anyone, enjoyed by most.

Tough year!