Our 5 Picks Of Psychedelic Rock Albums Released In The 1960s

Psychedelia has been a major part of rock music history due to many prolific bands featuring it in their extensive material releases. Fueled by recreational, mind-altering substances of their liking, these rock acts turned their mental trips into a textured sonic landscape that would inhibit the mental faculties of their listeners even without the use of such substances. With that, here are some of our favorite psychedelic albums from the 60s.

The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

The Fab Four were widening their creative horizons come 1967’s Magical Mystery Tour. Gone were the pop-tainted, commercialized sound as they branched out to more exploratory sounds, which is most obvious on songs like “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “I am The Walrus”. 

Pink Floyd – The Piper At The Gates of Dawn (1969)

Led by the hyper-imaginative mind of Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd was able to push out something as ambitious as The Piper at The Gates Of Dawn. Songs like “Astronomy Domine”, “Interstellar Overdrive”, and “Bike” all show Barrett’s child-like curiosity yet mature songwriting merged in one seamless flow of thought.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold Is Love (1967)

Hendrix didn’t wait long after the Experience’s debut and went ham on the following record, Axis: Bold As Love. More than being a master on the instrument he trailblazer as a rock staple, Hendrix also featured some of his most mature works, like “Little Wing”, “Spanish Castle Magic”, and the outstanding acid blues of “If 6 Was 9”.

Grateful Dead – Anthem of the Sun (1968)

Even those well-versed in psychedelia couldn’t hide their surprise when they first laid ears to the Grateful Dead’s Anthem of The Sun. There’s no better word to describe it but “weird”, although there’s more to the album than just the eccentricity that stood out from the rest. When you let Jerry Garcia and company let loose in the studio with their favorite chemicals tagging along.

The Pretty Things – S.F. Sorrow (1968)

While The Who’s Tommy is one of the most successful rock operas to ever exist, it was The Pretty Things’ S.F. Sorrow that trailblazed the craft. Based on the fictional character Sebastian F. Sorrow, the album contained some of the heaviest themes powered by an emotive psychedelic sound that worked out pretty well for the record.