Greatest Year In Rock & Roll : 1967 :]

[Newguy562]

Well it's pretty obvious if you see what albums were released this year
There wasn't a better year for music then 1967 :]

Jimi Hendrix
Are You Experienced?

The Beatles
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

The Beach Boys
Smile/Smiley Smile

The Beatles
Magical Mystery Tour

The Who
The Who Sell Out

The Doors
The Doors

Pink Floyd
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

The Kinks
Something Else by The Kinks

The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Rolling Stones
Their Satanic Majesties Request

Cream
Disraeli Gears

Love
Forever Changes

[Ron]

Probably.  I think since you said "Rock and Roll" though that you could make a really strong case for 1956, 57, or 58. 

[Ron]

Here's some from 1957.

Jailhouse Rock   Elvis Presley
Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On  Jerry Lee Lewis
That'll Be The Day  Crickets
Bye Bye Love  Everly Brothers
Great Balls Of Fire  Jerry Lee Lewis
School Day  Chuck Berry
Rock And Roll Music  Chuck Berry
Peggy Sue  Buddy Holly
Lucille  Little Richard
Rocking Pneumonia  Huey "Piano" Smith & the Clowns
All Shook Up  Elvis Presley
Searchin'  Coasters
You Send Me  Sam Cooke
Wake Up Little Susie  Everly Brothers
Susie Q  Dale Hawkins
I'm Walkin'  Fats Domino
Keep A 'Knockin'  Little Richard
Matchbox  Carl Perkins
C.C. Rider  Chuck Willis
At The Hop  Danny & the Juniors
Little Darlin'  Diamonds
Oh Boy!  Crickets
Get A Job  Silhouettes
Book Of Love  Monotones
Maybe Baby  Crickets
Young Blood  Coasters
Not Fade Away  Crickets
Walking After Midnight  Patsy Cline
Got My Mojo Working  Muddy Waters
Too Much  Elvis Presley
Diana  Paul Anka
Silhouettes  Rays
Short Fat Fannie  Larry Williams
Hey Bo Diddley  Bo Diddley
Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby  Carl Perkins
Teddy Bear  Elvis Presley
It Hurts Me Too  Elmore James
Treat Me Nice  Elvis Presley
Honeycomb  Jimmie Rodgers
Mr. Lee  Bobbettes
We Belong Together  Robert & Johnny
Bony Moronie  Larry Williams
To The Aisle  Five Satins
A White Sport Coat  Marty Robbins
Everyday  Buddy Holly
Be-Bop Baby  Ricky Nelson
Stood Up  Ricky Nelson
Blue Christmas  Elvis Presley
Jenny, Jenny  Little Richard
Raunchy  Bill Justis / Ernie Freeman
Words Of Love  Buddy Holly
The Stroll  Diamonds
My Special Angel  Bobby Helms

[Newguy562]

Here's some from 1957.

Jailhouse Rock   Elvis Presley
Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On  Jerry Lee Lewis
That'll Be The Day  Crickets
Bye Bye Love  Everly Brothers
Great Balls Of Fire  Jerry Lee Lewis
School Day  Chuck Berry
Rock And Roll Music  Chuck Berry
Peggy Sue  Buddy Holly
Lucille  Little Richard
Rocking Pneumonia  Huey "Piano" Smith & the Clowns
All Shook Up  Elvis Presley
Searchin'  Coasters
You Send Me  Sam Cooke
Wake Up Little Susie  Everly Brothers
Susie Q  Dale Hawkins
I'm Walkin'  Fats Domino
Keep A 'Knockin'  Little Richard
Matchbox  Carl Perkins
C.C. Rider  Chuck Willis
At The Hop  Danny & the Juniors
Little Darlin'  Diamonds
Oh Boy!  Crickets
Get A Job  Silhouettes
Book Of Love  Monotones
Maybe Baby  Crickets
Young Blood  Coasters
Not Fade Away  Crickets
Walking After Midnight  Patsy Cline
Got My Mojo Working  Muddy Waters
Too Much  Elvis Presley
Diana  Paul Anka
Silhouettes  Rays
Short Fat Fannie  Larry Williams
Hey Bo Diddley  Bo Diddley
Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby  Carl Perkins
Teddy Bear  Elvis Presley
It Hurts Me Too  Elmore James
Treat Me Nice  Elvis Presley
Honeycomb  Jimmie Rodgers
Mr. Lee  Bobbettes
We Belong Together  Robert & Johnny
Bony Moronie  Larry Williams
To The Aisle  Five Satins
A White Sport Coat  Marty Robbins
Everyday  Buddy Holly
Be-Bop Baby  Ricky Nelson
Stood Up  Ricky Nelson
Blue Christmas  Elvis Presley
Jenny, Jenny  Little Richard
Raunchy  Bill Justis / Ernie Freeman
Words Of Love  Buddy Holly
The Stroll  Diamonds
My Special Angel  Bobby Helms

that's a great year but 1967 is a tad better considering it's hendrix debut..pink floyd's debut...velvet undergound's debut.. and smile/sgt. pepper.

[Ron]

Here's some from 1958.

Johnny B. Goode   Chuck Berry
Summertime Blues  Eddie Cochran
Good Golly Miss Molly  Little Richard
For Your Precious Love Jerry Butler and the Impressions
Sweet Little Sixteen  Chuck Berry
Yakety Yak  Coasters
La Bamba  Ritchie Valens
Since I Don't Have You  Skyliners
Lonely Teardrops  Jackie Wilson
Sea Cruise  Frankie Ford
Rave On  Buddy Holly
All I Have To Do Is Dream  Everly Brothers
Reelin And Rocking  Chuck Berry
Rebel Rouser  Duane Eddy
Chantilly Lace  Big Bopper
Willie And The Hand Jive  Johnny Otis Show
Breathless  Jerry Lee Lewis
Stagger Lee  Lloyd Price
Tequila  Champs
It's Only Make Believe  Conway Twitty
Tears On My Pillow  Little Anthony & the Imperials
Dizzy Miss Lizzy  Larry Williams
One Night  Elvis Presley
Carol  Chuck Berry
Sixteen Candles  Crests
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes  Platters
Bird Dog  Everly Brothers
Splish Splash  Bobby Darin
I Wonder Why  Dion & the Belmonts
Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay  Danny & the Juniors
Whole Lotta Loving  Fats Domino
(Night Time Is) The Right Time  Ray Charles
Come On Let's Go  Ritchie Valens
Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree  Brenda Lee
Run Rudolph Run  Chuck Berry
Donna  Ritchie Valens
Little Star  Elegants
High School Confidential  Jerry Lee Lewis
It's All In The Game  Tommy Edwards
Twilight Time  Platters
Ten Commandments Of Love  Moonglows
It's So Easy  Crickets
A Lover's Question  Clyde McPhatter
Poor Little Fool  Ricky Nelson
Hard Headed Woman  Elvis Presley
There's A Moon Out Tonight  Capris
To Know Him Is To Love Him  Teddy Bears
Well...All Right  Buddy Holly
So Fine  Fiestas
Western Movies  Olympics
The Twist  Hank Ballard & the Midnighters
It's Just A Matter Of Time  Brook Benton
Devoted To You  Everly Brothers
Talk To Me, Talk To Me  Little Willie John
Lonesome Town  Ricky Nelson
Ooh! My Soul  Little Richard
Lollipop  Chordettes
Wear My Ring Around Your Neck  Elvis Presley
Fever  Peggy Lee
Tom Dooley  Kingston Trio
For Your Love  Ed Townsend

[Ron]

that's a great year but 1967 is a tad better considering it's hendrix debut..pink floyd's debut...velvet undergound's debut.. and smile/sgt. pepper.

... but 57 had significant singles or albums from Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, The Impressions, Ritchie Valens, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Patsy Cline, Bo Diddley, The Everly Brothers, etc. 

I know it's cool to say '67 is the best year, and it may be, but don't gloss over how ground shakingly great the early music was.  It was the last time in a long time (outside of HipHop) that music changed completely, and changed the world along with it. 

[Ron]

Also you didn't even mention the Mamas and Papas.  What kinda list you tryna run here dude?  Or Janis Joplin who had her first success in '67. 

[Newguy562]

that's a great year but 1967 is a tad better considering it's hendrix debut..pink floyd's debut...velvet undergound's debut.. and smile/sgt. pepper.

... but 57 had significant singles or albums from Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, The Impressions, Ritchie Valens, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Patsy Cline, Bo Diddley, The Everly Brothers, etc. 

I know it's cool to say '67 is the best year, and it may be, but don't gloss over how ground shakingly great the early music was.  It was the last time in a long time (outside of HipHop) that music changed completely, and changed the world along with it. 

i agree with you 1957 changed music forever but so did 1967 and also 1971 was one hell of a year too

Marvin Gaye
What's Going On

David Bowie
Hunky Dory

John Lennon
Imagine

T. Rex
Electric Warrior

The Who
Who's Next

Black Sabbath
Paranoid

The Rolling Stones
Sticky Fingers

Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin [IV]

[Newguy562]

Also you didn't even mention the Mamas and Papas.  What kinda list you tryna run here dude?  Or Janis Joplin who had her first success in '67. 

janis joplin is ok..i just named a few groundbreaking albums i didnt think she big brother company were qualified to even be on my list.

[cablegeddon]

1966>1967

Off the top of my head 66 has :

Revolver
Pet sounds
Blonde on blonde
Sounds of silence
A quick one

[MyGlove]

thats my favorite year!!!

[Jason]

that's a great year but 1967 is a tad better considering it's hendrix debut..pink floyd's debut...velvet undergound's debut.. and smile/sgt. pepper.

If it wasn't for that year that you so easily and casually brush off, all of those other groups wouldn't even exist.

[Newguy562]

that's a great year but 1967 is a tad better considering it's hendrix debut..pink floyd's debut...velvet undergound's debut.. and smile/sgt. pepper.

If it wasn't for that year that you so easily and casually brush off, all of those other groups wouldn't even exist.

if that's the case then let's all praise 1955 :]

[Chocolate Shake Man]

if that's the case then let's all praise 1955 :]

That was an important year. After all, that's when the flux capacitor was invented. People, it made time travel possible!

[guitarfool2002]

It's tough to group things like this by year, because nothing happens in a vacuum, and the year when the song was actually created and recorded may be more important to the year it was released. Likewise the year it became a hit may be one or even more after the year it was made or released. Everything happening around it contributed to the creation of a classic record, the true classics.

In that way I think it's hard to separate 1966 from 1967 from 1968, musically at least. Socially, the world of 1966 was different than 1967, especially after that summer. That's a media thing, though. It took them some time to finally catch on and catch up, and when the public caught on, it was all over.

1966, 1967, 1968 - it's hard to separate them in terms of the music because it was one of the most creative and most aggressive (and progressive) musical time periods of the past 100 years, in terms of pop music and pop culture. By the latter part of 1968, the optimism was gone. The music was still great, but the optimism wasn't there.

The only reason why I might separate 66-67-68 from any time in the 50's was the notion that kids could pick up their guitars, write their own songs, form a band in a garage, cut a 45rpm single, and become stars. The late 50's, apart from notables like Buddy Holly and Phil Spector with his Teddy Bears, were much more controlled in how the big show process worked. You wanted to be a star, the machine swallowed you up and you went along with it.

Not that it doesn't and didn't happen every year after up to this day, unfortunately, but the whole post-Beatles 60's garage rock phenom was a glorious time for kids who loved to play music, and being a polished show-biz professional wasn't as important as making a great record no matter how rough or raw.

[MyGlove]

^this is true.

1966 and 1967 are almost inseperable. It seems to be when everyone was trying to get to the most experimental and in turn influential music. Not only that, but it also saw the release of some of the most acclaimed albums ever made. Those years were the end of the transitional period that rock was really going from another form of music to becoming art. However 1966 almost seemed to be the final transition into 1967 and beyond. It was the difference between beauty and perfection. Rock music hit an almost kind of perfection in that year that really has yet to be surpassed.

[BananaLouie]

Personally my favorite year for rock/pop music was 1966, it was a peak year for creativity, some great albums from 66 are

Revolver
Pet Sounds
Blonde On Blonde
A Quick One
Freak Out
Aftermath
Buffalo Springfield
Fifth Dimension
Hums of the Lovin Spoonful

[Newguy562]

ALL OF YOU PEOPLE HAVE GREAT TASTE IN MUSIC

[Chocolate Shake Man]

I'm a 1966 guy myself. I think apart from a few major artists, the pop album didn't really hit mainstream until 1967. Were there great albums before that? Absolutely - but I think that the single still was the thing until 67. I am not one to privilege one over the other, quite honestly. Part of what makes 1966 great are the albums (my top two favourites - Revolver and Pet Sounds, but also Blonde on Blonde, Aftermath, etc.) but mostly it is driven by incredible singles: Paperback Writer/Rain, Good Vibrations, Try a Little Tenderness, Ain't Too Proud To Beg, You Can't Hurry Love, Gimme Some Lovin', I Am A Rock, Hold On I'm Coming, and so on. Man, what a great time that must have been.

[BananaLouie]

I almost forgot Simon and Garfunkel's excellent two 1966 albums, Sounds of Silence and PSR&T.

[Alex]

Well it's pretty obvious if you see what albums were released this year
There wasn't a better year for music then 1967 :]

Jimi Hendrix
Are You Experienced?

The Beatles
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

The Beach Boys
Smile/Smiley Smile

The Beatles
Magical Mystery Tour

The Who
The Who Sell Out

The Doors
The Doors

Pink Floyd
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

The Kinks
Something Else by The Kinks

The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Rolling Stones
Their Satanic Majesties Request

Cream
Disraeli Gears

Love
Forever Changes

Are we just outright dismissing R&B/Soul music?

[Mike's Beard]

I'd say that 1965 to 1971 were all equally the best years for rock/pop music. If I had to pick one specific year, I'd go for 1968.

[Rocker]

I don't care for years or decades. But if I had to pick something, I'd go with the 50s. Probably '56/'57.

Are we just outright dismissing R&B/Soul music?

+1

[nickdunning]

Well it's pretty obvious if you see what albums were released this year
There wasn't a better year for music then 1967 :]

Jimi Hendrix
Are You Experienced?

The Beatles
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

The Beach Boys
Smile/Smiley Smile

The Beatles
Magical Mystery Tour

The Who
The Who Sell Out

The Doors
The Doors

Pink Floyd
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

The Kinks
Something Else by The Kinks

The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Rolling Stones
Their Satanic Majesties Request

Cream
Disraeli Gears

Love
Forever Changes

Are we just outright dismissing R&B/Soul music?

R&B/Soul wasn't album-orientated until a little while later - 'Hot Buttered Soul' and 'What's Going On' being pioneering. The first couple of Sly and The Family Stone albums aren't strong either - 'Stand' being the first coherant one.

[Ron]

The only reason why I might separate 66-67-68 from any time in the 50's was the notion that kids could pick up their guitars, write their own songs, form a band in a garage, cut a 45rpm single, and become stars. The late 50's, apart from notables like Buddy Holly and Phil Spector with his Teddy Bears, were much more controlled in how the big show process worked. You wanted to be a star, the machine swallowed you up and you went along with it.

I don't know man.  It's easy to think that, but the notion that it was easier to be a start in the late 60's than the late 50's I don't believe is true.  I don't know why you'd only mention Buddy Holly or Phil Spector of all people, you realize there were tons upon tons of singers (virtually everybody you've heard of) who did just that, don't you?  Sure much of it was driven by the machine, but did the machine have anything to do with Chuck Berry?  Little Richard?  Jerry Lee Lewis?  Those are the founding fathers right there, and they all did things their way.  They went from nothing to everything on their own merits.

Hank Ballard and the Moonlighters.  Hank was a completely self-made man, he wrote and got famous on his own.  Elvis Presley literally worked his ass off to get famous.  Johnny Cash became famous by writing his own music and working from nothing to superstar.  Etc. Etc. list goes on and on.

I think there's nothing any more or less "big Show" about the late 50's and the late 60's.  Hell look at the Beach Boys.  They started the band in their living room.  It was completely possible to make yourself a star with your own music in the late 50's, just as much as it was in the late 60's.