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The 100 Best Psychedelic Rock Albums of The Golden Age

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  • Jason LeValley
  • May 5, 2021
  • 4:00 pm

The 100 Best Psychedelic Rock Albums of The Golden Age

When compiling a list of the greatest psychedelic rock albums of the Golden era, there are a couple of things to take into consideration.

First, one must determine the parameters of the era: when did it begin and when did it end? In this case, the beginning is much clearer than the end. The Byrds released the single “Eight Miles High” in March of 1966 followed shortly by The Beatles single “Paperback Writer” with the b-side featuring the acid-drenched “Rain. Prior to those two singles psychedelic rock didn’t exist, so it’s safe to say that 1966 was the beginning of psych-rock’s golden era.

The end of the era is a bit more difficult to determine. Psych rock appeared to be dying down toward the end of the 60s with the biggest bands of the decade (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Byrds, etc.) already moving on to other styles. The Manson murders occurred in fall of ‘69 followed by the stabbing of a man during the Rolling Stones set at Altamont and I don’t think it’s any exaggeration to say that these events damaged the psychedelic vibe. When the new decade took hold, psychedelic music faded fast, particularly in America. Most bands that had been playing psych moved on to progressive rock or hard rock. The new artists that emerged in the 70s did their own thing, be it singer-songwriter, glam rock, proto-punk, and weren’t interested in continuing the fads of their elder siblings. By the time punk and disco came to prominence in the mid to late 70s, psychedelic rock was dead as a door nail.

Vanilla Fudge debut album cover

In choosing my top albums and ranking them, I used a two-factor system: quality of album and psychedelic quotient. The Beatles were (almost inarguably) the best band of the era, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that their three overtly psychedelic albums made my top 10. Another of their long-players, the “White Album”, makes the list on the basis of a couple tracks sounding trippy, although it’s clear that they were moving away from psychedelia by the time the record debuted in late 1968.

Pink Floyd was a psychedelic band, but also perfected progressive rock and space-rock. Their opus The Dark Side of the Moon was all of these and, as such, it makes the list, but it doesn’t rate as high as their psych-rock masterpiece The Piper at the Gates of Dawn because the psychedelic quotient is less dominant in it.

Gandalf album cover

100 Greatest Psychedelic Rock Albums of the Golden Era

100 Green Tambourine–The Lemon Pipers
99 Little Games—The Yardbirds
98 Fever Tree–Fever Tree
97 The Dark Side of the Moon—Pink Floyd
96 A Beard of Stars—Tyrannosaurus Rex
95 Ptoof!–The Deviants
94 The Time Has Come—The Chambers Brothers
93 Da Capo—Love
92 Psychedelic Lollipop—Blues Magoos
91 Music in a Doll’s House—Family
90 Vanilla Fudge—Vanilla Fudge
89 Contact—Silver Apples
88 Side Trips—Kaleidoscope
87 No Way Out—The Chocolate Watchband
86 Cheap Thrills—Big Brother and the Holding Company
85 Yes–Yes
84 5th Dimension—The Byrds
83 Silver Apples—Silver Apples
82 Cauldron—Fifty Foot Hose
81 We Are Paintermen—The Creation
80 Cellophane Symphony—Tommy James and the Shondells
80 Brave New World–Steve Miller Band
79 Gandalf—Gandalf
78 Days of Future Passed—The Moody Blues
77 Move—The Move
76 Begin—The Millenium
75 Evolution—The Hollies

Buffalo Springfield Again album cover

74 The Birthday Party—The Idle Race
73 Nazz—Nazz
72 Tangerine Dream—Kaleidoscope (UK)
71 Maggot Brain—Funkadelic
70 The Story of Simon Simopath—Nirvana (UK)
69 It’s a Beautiful Day—It’s a Beautiful Day
68 OAR—Skip Spence
67 Studio—Tages
66 Nice—The Nice
65 Happy Trails—Quicksilver Messenger Service
64 Buffalo Springfield Again—Buffalo Springfield
63 Wheels of Fire—Cream
61 Together–Country Joe and the Fish
60 Sailor—The Steve Miller Band
59 I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die—Country Joe and the Fish
58 Balaklava—Pearls Before Swine
57 Easter Everywhere—The 13th Floor Elevators
56 Angel’s Egg—Gong
55 Ultimate Spinach—Ultimate Spinach
54 The Crazy World of Arthur Brown—Arthur Brown
53 Moby Grape—Moby Grape
52 Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus—Spirit
51 Odessa—The Bee Gees
50 Web of Sound—The Seeds

49 Wake Up…It’s Tomorrow—Strawberry Alarm Clock
48 A Gift from a Flower to a Garden–Donovan
47 Trip Thru Hell–C.A. Quintet
46 Waiting for the Sun—The Doors
45 Whatevershebringswesing—Kevin Ayers
44 The Madcap Laughs—Syd Barrett
43 Crown of Creation—Jefferson Airplane
42 Joy of a Toy–Kevin Ayers
41 I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)–The Electric Prunes
40 Smiley Smile—The Beach Boys
39 H.P. Lovecraft I–H.P. Lovecraft
38 July—July
37 Children of the Future—The Steve Miller Band
36 Anthem of the Sun—The Grateful Dead
35 Spirit—Spirit
34 Ummagumma—Pink Floyd
33 H.P. Lovecraft II—H.P. Lovecraft
32 Aoxomoxoa—Grateful Dead
31 The Psychedelic Sounds of…The 13th Floor Elevators
30 Their Satanic Majesties Request—The Rolling Stones
29 Strange Days—The Doors
28 The United States of America– The United States of America
27 Would You Believe—Billy Nichols
26 In Search of the Lost Chord—The Moody Blues

Are_You_Experienced_-_album cover

25 The Doors–The Doors
24 Think Pink—Twink
23 Tomorrow–Tomorrow
22 Electric Music for the Mind and Body—Country Joe and the Fish
21 Axis: Bold as Love–The Jimi Hendrix Experience
20 Forever Changes—Love
19 In-a-Gadda-da-Vida—Iron Butterfly
18 The Who Sell Out–The Who
17 Roger the Engineer—The Yardbirds
16 Disraeli Gears–Cream
15 The Soft Machine vol. 2
14 The Soft Machine vol. 1
13 SF Sorrow—The Pretty Things
12 Part One—The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
11 Electric Ladyland—The Jimi Hendrix Experience
10 Heaven Is in Your Mind—Traffic
9 Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake–Small Faces
8 Odessey and Oracle—The Zombies
7 Magical Mystery Tour—The Beatles
6 Are You Experienced–The Jimi Hendrix Experience
5 A Saucerful of Secrets—Pink Floyd
4 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band—The Beatles
3 Surrealistic Pillow—Jefferson Airplane
2 Piper at the Gates of Dawn—Pink Floyd
1 Revolver—The Beatles

Related: Top 200 Songs from the Original Psychedelic Era

Related: Top 15 Psychedelic Songs by The Beatles

Related: The Top 100 Psychedelic Rock Artists of All-Time

Revised 12/6/2022

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22 thoughts on “The 100 Best Psychedelic Rock Albums of The Golden Age”

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← Older Comments
  1. Terry
    December 7, 2022 at 6:38 am

    West Coast Pop Art Experimental band vol.3, a childs guide to good and evil Is widely considered a masterpiece. Its also their most psychedelic record. It’s definitely superior to part one which is still a great record. Good list though.

    Reply
    • Jason LeValley
      December 7, 2022 at 8:46 am

      A lot of people love that album, but allmusic.com gives it just one and a half stars. https://www.allmusic.com/album/vol-3-a-childs-guide-to-good-evil-mw0000010250
      Thanks for the comment.

      Reply
  2. James O.
    August 8, 2022 at 7:01 am

    What about The Doors’ debut album?

    Reply
    • Jason LeValley
      August 11, 2022 at 6:23 pm

      You’re right! That’s a great one.

      Reply
  3. James Albee
    December 14, 2021 at 11:55 pm

    What about Hawkwind? What about Scorpions Lonesome Crow?? What about Santana Caravanserai??? Some trippy albums have been left off. Heavy trippy sounds. Share your fav not listed…Thanks.

    Reply
    • Jason LeValley
      December 16, 2021 at 12:28 pm

      James, I have to disgree with you on your picks. Hawkwind occasionally ventures into psychedelic territory, but they are pre-dominantly space-rock. Those Scorpions and Santana albums just aren’t psychedelic in my opinion.

      Reply
      • Don Kruse
        March 8, 2022 at 9:28 pm

        The Hermit of Mink Hollow by Todd Rundgren and Captain Beyond seem like they would fit into the category of psychedelic rock. Olivia Tremor Control is not from the same time period, but they have several albums that could qualify as psychedelic.

        Reply
        • Jason LeValley
          March 11, 2022 at 4:00 pm

          In our estimation, the psychedelic quotient is a little low on those two classic albums. The Olivia Tremor Control definitely made some psychedelic records, but they’re not from the Golden Age of Psychedelic Rock.

          Reply
  4. Greg
    September 13, 2021 at 4:17 am

    Hello,
    No Gong’s album ?

    Reply
    • Jason LeValley
      September 13, 2021 at 8:44 am

      We love Gong, but they are classified in so many different categories–psychedelia being just one. They certainly deserved consideration though.

      Reply
      • Mike R.
        May 26, 2022 at 5:20 pm

        They are on here (number 53) with Angel’s Egg.

        Reply
        • Jason LeValley
          June 1, 2022 at 8:51 am

          OK. So there you go!

          Reply

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