The Beatles’ first record to feature entirely original compositions, and the only one written solely by Lennon-McCartney, A Hard Day’s Night finds the songwriting partnership realizing its full potential, and the band in full swing. George’s jangling guitar had an immeasurable influence on the folk-rock movement, and Ringo’s propulsive rhythms serve as a driving force throughout. Although the group would achieve a higher degree of artistic and critical success in later years, this record stands as the pinnacle of their early work, the purest form of Beatlemania to be heard, and a sign of wonderful things to come. Standout Tracks: A Hard Day’s Night, And I Love Her, Can’t Buy Me Love, Things We Said Today, I’ll Be Back

Sonically innovative and deceptively layered, this record is the apogee of shoegaze. The dense, hypnotic atmosphere is created from a host of oxymoronic qualities: at once strong yet soft, up-tempo yet relaxed, lustful yet distant. Deliberately obscure lyricism adds to the instrumental quality of the wistful, lost-in-the-mix vocals of Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher, and Shields’ guitar work manages to virtually reinvent the instrument’s place in rock music. Standout Tracks: Only Shallow, When You Sleep, Sometimes, Blown a Wish

Punchy, funky dance-punk with a hedonist heart. Infectious, punctual hooks and well-crafted lyrics. Standout Tracks - Jacqueline, Take Me Out, This Fire, Darts of Pleasure, Michael

Punchy, funky dance-punk with a hedonist heart. Infectious, punctual hooks and well-crafted lyrics. Standout Tracks - Jacqueline, Take Me Out, This Fire, Darts of Pleasure, Michael

Sonically innovative and deceptively layered, this record is the apogee of shoegaze. The dense, hypnotic atmosphere is created from a host of oxymoronic qualities: at once strong yet soft, up-tempo yet relaxed, lustful yet distant. Deliberately obscure lyricism adds to the instrumental quality of the wistful, lost-in-the-mix vocals of Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher, and Shields’ guitar work manages to virtually reinvent the instrument’s place in rock music. Standout Tracks: Only Shallow, When You Sleep, Sometimes, Blown a Wish

The music on this record is sweet-sounding, gentle, vibrantly textured, yet hidden beneath is a dark underbelly of iconoclastic dread, mortality, and a sense of uneasiness. Arthur Lee’s words evoke a disillusionment with the 1960s counterculture, anticipating the ugliness that would erupt from the eventual demise of the quixotic flower-power movement, while the music matches these distressful themes with an air of bittersweet romanticism. There is an intoxicating blend of influences and styles to be heard, ranging from baroque pop to psychedelia, culminating in one of the greatest lasting impressions of the Summer of Love. Standout Tracks: Alone Again Or, A House Is Not a Motel, Andmoreagain, Live and Let Live, You Set the Scene

Upbeat, horn-driven soul and mellifluous folk-jazz merge to create an entirely original, wholly refreshing platform on which Van Morrison’s catchy poetics of nature, spiritual redemption, and self-affirmation are able to foster a listening experience that is cleansing, cathartic, and absolving. Standout Tracks: And It Stoned Me, Moondance, Caravan, Into the Mystic, Glad Tidings

Melodic, melancholic balladry, a few good songs here and there. Nothing special, nothing to hate. Standout Tracks: Writing to Reach You, Driftwood, Why Does It Always Rain on Me?

The Beatles’ first record to feature entirely original compositions, and the only one written solely by Lennon-McCartney, A Hard Day’s Night finds the songwriting partnership realizing its full potential, and the band in full swing. George’s jangling guitar had an immeasurable influence on the folk-rock movement, and Ringo’s propulsive rhythms serve as a driving force throughout. Although the group would achieve a higher degree of artistic and critical success in later years, this record stands as the pinnacle of their early work, the purest form of Beatlemania to be heard, and a sign of wonderful things to come. Standout Tracks: A Hard Day’s Night, And I Love Her, Can’t Buy Me Love, Things We Said Today, I’ll Be Back