The Best Psychedelic Rock Albums of 2021

A list of the best psychedelic rock albums of 2021.

The Doors – Strange Days

Doors fans were in for a treat when the band announced that they would be re-releasing their 1967 album, Strange Days. The new version of the album includes previously unreleased tracks, alternate takes, and a remastered version of the original album. For fans of psychedelic rock, this is a must-have album.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland

In 1968, The Jimi Hendrix Experience released their third and final album, Electric Ladyland. Featuring a mix of psychedelic rock, blues rock, and hard rock, the album was a commercial and critical success. It peaked at #1 on the UK charts and #2 on the US charts, and has been hailed as one of the greatest rock albums of all time.

Pink Floyd – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Psychedelic rock is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s, inspired by psychedelic culture. Psychedelic rock attempts to replicate the experience of altered states of consciousness, often produced bypsychedelic drugs. It often uses new recording techniques and effects and draws on non-Western sources such as the ragas and drones of Indian music.

Pink Floyd’s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) was one of the first psychedelic pop albums. Syd Barrett’s songwriting was initially indebted to Beat poetry, British R&B, and music hall, but after Barrett’s LSD-fuelled break with reality, his lyrics became increasingly surreal. The Piper… includes early examples of feedback, musique concrète elements, and the use of sound effects as sonic textures that are integral to the album’s overall structure and conception.

The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

The Beatles’ eighth studio album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, is widely regarded as one of the most influential and important rock albums ever made. Released in 1967, the album revolutionized the way that rock music was made and listened to, paving the way for the psychedelic sound of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet

The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet, released in 1968, is considered one of the bestpsychedelic rock albums of all time. The album features classic tracks such as “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Street Fighting Man”.

The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico

It’s hard to overestimate the importance of The Velvet Underground’s 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico. This is the record that legitimized experimentation in rock music and inspired generations of musicians to push boundaries and explore new sonic territory. It’s also a beautiful, hypnotic, and moving album, full of unforgettable songs like “I’m Waiting for the Man,” “All Tomorrow’s Parties,” and, of course, “Sunday Morning.” The Velvet Underground may not have been commercially successful in their own time, but their influence on popular music is immeasurable.

Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV

One of rock’s most influential and defining bands, Zeppelin redefined what was possible in rock music. On their fourth album – commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV and featuring the band’s most well-known song, “Stairway to Heaven” – Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham created a record that would help solidify them as one of the greatest bands of all time.

King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King

In the Court of the Crimson King is the debut album from the English rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969 on Island Records in the United Kingdom and on Atlantic Records in the United States. The album is a landmark in progressive rock; combined with its sister album, In the Wake of Poseidon (1970), it has been cited as one of the most influential records of all time.

The album was recorded at Wessex Sound Studios in Highgate, North London over three weeks in August 1969 and produced by Alex Madsen. It features several of King Crimson’s most popular songs, including “21st Century Schizoid Man”, “I Talk to the Wind” and “Epitaph”.

In 2015, In the Court of the Crimson King was ranked number 40 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”.

Yes – Close to the Edge

Yes’s Close to the Edge is one of the most iconic and important progressive rock albums of all time. Released in 1972, the album is a tour de force of musicianship, songwriting, and production, and it has influenced countless other artists in the years since.

close to the Edge is an elegant and complex album that rewards repeated listens, and it remains one of Yes’s defining works.

Genesis – Foxtrot

Foxtrot is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Genesis, released in October 1972 on Charisma Records. The album was recorded following singer Peter Gabriel’s departure from the group, and features Phil Collins as lead vocalist. Keyboardist Tony Banks and guitarist Mike Rutherford were the main contributors to the album’s songwriting, writing all but two tracks between them; ” Watcher of the Skies” was co-written by all three members, and “Get ‘Em Out by Friday” was co-written by Collins and former member Anthony Phillips.

Foxtrot has been described as a concept album inspired by a road accident involving drummer Collins. It includes several Genesis classics, such as “Watcher of the Skies”, “Supper’s Ready” and “Can-Utility and the Coastliners”. The album was a commercial success upon its release; it reached number 12 in the UK charts and number 29 in the US. In 1973, it was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Album of the Year.