1 The Band: The Band
This is more than a collection of great songs, like the Band's first album, Music from Big Pink; it is an utterly cohesive portrait of the spirit of America as seen through its history and people.

2 The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
Brian Wilson's perfect fusion of faith and yearning.

3 The Beatles: Rubber Soul
This is the zenith of what I would consider the classic middle Beatles style.

4 The Beatles: Revolver
The variety and sense of adventurousness here are unsurpassed even by Sgt. Pepper.

5 The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper
This album epitomizes a certain state of consciousness as well as anything that can be imagined.

6 David Bowie: Station to Station
Hip and harrowing, especially in the epic title song, Bowie's best.

7 Buffalo Springfield: Buffalo Springfield
Their first album was a fresh breath that still causes one to sigh "ahhh."

8 Bush, Kate: The Dreaming
A conjuration of strange and mesmerizing songs, my favorite being "Night of the Swallow."

9 The Byrds: Mr. Tambourine Man
The classic, timeless Byrds folk-rock sound, with a generous helping of Gene Clark.

10 The Byrds: Younger Than Yesterday
The Byrds' "Revolver": lots of psychedelic experimentation and brilliant songs, such as "Time Between."

11 The Byrds: Notorious Byrd Brothers
A seamless, perfect space rock symphony.

12 The Church: Starfish
Moody and mystical anthems from Down Under.

13 Crosby, Stills & Nash: Crosby, Stills & Nash
Their first album is a peak experience of rock romanticism.

14 Derek and the Dominos: Layla
"Layla" was Eric Clapton's transcendent moment.

15 Donovan: Sunshine Superman
That divine voice, narrating sunset-tinged voyages into dream landscapes.

16 The Doors: The Doors
Their first album is a tapestry of visionary art, including Jim Morrison's greatest performance: "The End."

17 Bob Dylan: Blonde on Blonde
The songs are good but the sound is ultimate Dylan.

18 Bob Dylan: Blood on the Tracks
Tenderness, maturity, and mysticism.

19 Fairport Convention: Liege and Lief
British folk-rock at its best, featuring Richard Thompson and Sandy Denny.

20 Fleetwoord Mac: Rumours
Brilliant production and a stunning song-cycle.

21 The Flying Burrito Brothers: The Gilded Palace of Sin
Gram Parsons starring in the best country rock album ever.

22 Peter Gabriel: So
A passionate statement with many musical highs such as "In Your Eyes."

23 Jimi Hendrix: Electric Ladyland
The cosmic Jimi, with extended guitar journeys like "1983."

24 Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow
Folk-rock burgeoning into full-blown acid rock.

25 Jethro Tull: Songs from a Wood
Classic Tull sound laced with English folk.

26 The Kinks: Something Else
Essential for "Waterloo Sunset" and other great songs.

27 The Kinks: Village Green Preservation Society
My personal all-time favorite album. A quirky, quintessentially English evocation of village life.

28 The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies
A strong collection of songs fusing motifs from English and American society.

29 Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin IV
Keep climbin' that stairway.

30 Love: Forever Changes
Sunny LA psychedelica: this album IS the 60s.

31 Joni Mitchell: Blue
Deeply felt songs in a setting of great musical vibrancy.

32 Monsoon: Third Eye
An obscure but haunting album, a fusion of rock and Indian music. Sheila Chandra's first before embarking on her solo career. The reissue loses the original title and has extra tracks.

33 Van Morrison: Moondance
Because of who Van is, everything he sings is gold. But this album contains the brightest of the horde.

34 Van Morrison: Veedon Fleece
A personal favorite that evokes the mystical feeling of the Irish countryside.

35 Procol Harum: A Salty Dog
A grand theme: the voyage of life. And equally grand music.

36 R.E.M.: Fables of the Reconstruction
My personal favorite among the many great R.E.M. albums, perhaps because of the ringing Byrdlike guitar sound.

37 Renaissance: Scheherazade
The strongest of Renaissance's series of "classical rock" albums, this includes one of Annie Haslam's finest moments, "Ocean Gypsy."

38 Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed
Hard to think of a better representation of the Stones' greatness. "Gimme Shelter" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want" bookend the album.

39 Roxy Music: Avalon
From beginning to end, a magical blend of sonic ambrosia.

40 Bruce Springsteen: Darkness on the Edge of Town
For me, this is Springsteen's best, and includes some of the most powerful rock & roll anyone has ever sung, such as "Badlands" and "Adam Raised a Cain."

41 James Taylor: Sweet Baby James
The sensitive introversion of this album helped define the singer-songwriter role for a generation.

42 Richard and Linda Thompson: Pour Down Like Silver
This gets the nod for favorite RT album because of the appealing selection of songs and "Dimming of the Day."

43 Traffic: Mr. Fantasy
The first album defined the originality of Traffic's sound and contains some of Steve Winwood's best moments.

44 U2: The Joshua Tree
The most consistently great U2 record. Achieves majestic heights of driving guitar and vocal intensity.

45 The Who: Tommy
One simply cannot live without the Tommy riff.

46 The Who: Who's Next
The greatest album of the 70s? Certainly the best Who album.

47 Jesse Winchester: Jesse Winchester
His first album had a tender, earthy, pastoral Southern feeling and contained his best songs. It also had a classic simplicity in the Robbie Robertson production.

48 Stevie Wonder: Innervisions
I love the spiritual/political groove that Stevie got here; he was never better.

49 The Yardbirds: Rave Up
For side one alone, which is a pure blast of rock inspiration.

50 Neil Young: Sleeps with Angels
For the song that never seems to end and you never want to end: "Change Your Mind."