Mr. Tambourine Man
Artist: The Byrds
Community Score: 6.51

One of the greatest debuts in the history of rock, Mr. Tambourine Man was nothing less than a significant step in the evolution of rock & roll itself, demonstrating that intelligent lyrical content could be wedded to compelling electric guitar riffs and a solid backbeat. It was also the album that was most responsible for establishing folk-rock... Read More

Donovan's Greatest Hits
Artist: Donovan
Community Score: 7.38

Epic's Greatest Hits may not be a perfect collection -- for instance, it contains re-recordings of his earliest folk songs, "Catch the Wind" and "Colours," not the originals -- but for many casual fans, that may not matter since the remaining nine songs offer an excellent summary of his hit singles. And, as these songs prove, Donovan and... Read More

Jools & Brian
Artist: Julie Driscoll

The debut album from the formation of Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity, this record introduced to America a group that had been making some noise in England for some time already. The album is a bit fragmented, containing a few Julie Driscoll solo tracks, as well as some Auger/Trinity efforts without Driscoll. One of the most amazing... Read More

The Paul Simon Songbook
Artist: Paul Simon
Community Score: 9.60

The first album to use this title is one of the most mysterious in Paul Simon's output and almost belongs more with Simon & Garfunkel's discography, given its 1965 recording date. Following the failure of Simon & Garfunkel's first, all-acoustic folk revival-style album, Wednesday Morning, 3 AM, Simon headed off to England to see about pursuing... Read More

Goodbye and Hello
Artist: Tim Buckley
Community Score: 7.75

Often cited as the ultimate Tim Buckley statement, Goodbye and Hello is indeed a fabulous album, but it's merely one side of Tim Buckley's enormous talent. Recorded in the middle of 1967 (in the afterglow of Sgt. Pepper), this album is clearly inspired by Pepper's exploratory spirit. More often than not, this helps to bring Buckley's awesome... Read More

Greatest Hits
Artist: Simon & Garfunkel
Community Score: 7.80

This album was released within weeks of the duo getting back together for a benefit concert at Madison Square Garden on behalf of George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign. Simon & Garfunkel's work had never been compiled before, but their albums were still selling so well as catalog items that this record should have been superfluous.... Read More

Bookends
Artist: Simon & Garfunkel
Community Score: 8.03

Bookends is a literary album that contains the most minimal of openings with the theme, an acoustic guitar stating itself slowly and plaintively before erupting into the wash of synthesizers and dissonance that is "Save the Life of My Child." The classic "America" is next, a folk song with a lilting soprano saxophone in the refrain and a small... Read More

Fairport Convention - 1ST
Artist: Fairport Convention

By far the most rock-oriented of Fairport Convention's early albums, this debut was recorded before Sandy Denny joined the band (Judy Dyble handles the female vocals). Unjustly overlooked by listeners who consider the band's pre-Denny output insignificant, this is a fine folk-rock effort that takes far more inspiration from West Coast '60s... Read More

Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Artist: The Byrds
Community Score: 5.00

The Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo was not the first important country-rock album (Gram Parsons managed that feat with the International Submarine Band's debut Safe at Home), and the Byrds were hardly strangers to country music, dipping their toes in the twangy stuff as early as their second album. But no major band had gone so deep into the... Read More

The Notorious Byrd Brothers
Artist: The Byrds
Community Score: 7.00

The recording sessions for the Byrds' fifth album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, were conducted in the midst of internal turmoil that found them reduced to a duo by the time the record was completed. That wasn't evident from listening to the results, which showed the group continuing to expand the parameters of their eclecticism while retaining... Read More

The Byrds' Greatest Hits
Artist: The Byrds

Without question, the Byrds were one of the great bands of the '60s and one of the few American bands of their time to continually turn out inventive, compelling albums. As they were recording a series of fine records, they turned out a number of classic singles that unquestionably defined their era. The Byrds' Greatest Hits does an excellent... Read More

Younger Than Yesterday
Artist: The Byrds
Community Score: 7.33

Younger Than Yesterday was somewhat overlooked at the time of its release during an intensely competitive era that found the Byrds on a commercial downslide. However, time has shown it to be the most durable of the Byrds' albums, with the exception of Mr. Tambourine Man. David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, and especially Chris Hillman come into their... Read More

Fifth Dimension
Artist: The Byrds
Community Score: 6.16

Although the Byrds' Fifth Dimension was wildly uneven, its high points were as innovative as any rock music being recorded in 1966. Immaculate folk-rock was still present in their superb arrangements of the traditional songs "Wild Mountain Thyme" and "John Riley." For the originals, they devised some of the first and best psychedelic rock, often... Read More

Turn! Turn! Turn!
Artist: The Byrds
Community Score: 7.33

The Byrds' second album was only a disappointment in comparison with Mr. Tambourine Man. They couldn't maintain such a level of consistent magnificence, and the follow-up was not quite as powerful or impressive. It was still quite good, however, particularly the ringing number one title cut, a classic on par with the "Mr. Tambourine Man" single.... Read More

Sunshine Superman
Artist: Donovan
Community Score: 10.00

Paced by the title track, one of Donovan's best singles, 1966's Sunshine Superman heralded the coming psychedelic age with a new world/old world bent: several ambitious psychedelic productions and a raft of wistful folk songs. Producer Mickie Most fashioned a new sound for the Scottish folksinger, a sparse, swinging, bass-heavy style perfectly... Read More