The Best Psychedelic Rock Albums of 2017

A list of the best Psychedelic Rock albums of 2017.

The Doors- Strange Days

Doors’ second album, Strange Days, is full of weird America – the kind that existed before the country was fully formed, when it was a wild and untamed land. The opening track, ‘People Are Strange’, is a perfect example of this – a song about how weird and wonderful people can be, set against a backdrop of swirling organ and tribal drums. The rest of the album is just as good, with songs like ‘When the Music’s Over’ and ‘My Eyes Have Seen You’ becoming classics in their own right.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience- Are You Experienced

The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s psychedelic masterpiece, 1967’s Are You Experienced, is one of the most influential debuts in rock history. The record not only announced Hendrix as agenerational talent, it changed the way music was made and heard. Anchored by hits like “Purple Haze,” “Fire” and the anthemic title track, Are You Experienced expanded the sonic possibilities of what a rock band could do with feedback, distortion and sheer volume. It also paved the way for Hendrix’s pioneering experience with drugs – particularly LSD – which informed both his vision and his songwriting.

Pink Floyd- The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Pink Floyd’s debut album is a Psych Rock masterpiece. It is made up of mostly Syd Barrett penned tracks which are all great. The album features the classic “Lucifer Sam” as well as the mind-bending “Interstellar Overdrive”. If you are looking for a Psych Rock album that is out of this world, look no further than Pink Floyd’s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

The Grateful Dead- Anthem of the Sun

The Grateful Dead’s second album, 1968’s Anthem of the Sun, was the product of a band in transition. The group — Jerry Garcia (guitar, vocals), Bob Weir (guitar, vocals), Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (keyboards, harmonica, vocals), Phil Lesh (bass, vocals), Bill Kreutzmann (drums) and Mickey Hart (drums) — was shedding its jug band and bluegrass skins and evolving into something far more experimental.

Cream- Disraeli Gears

Cream’s 1967 album Disraeli Gears cemented the band as one of the most important groups of the psychedelic rock era. The album’s catchy, blues-based songs like “Sunshine of Your Love” and “Strange Brew” helped to define the sound of psychedelia and influenced countless other bands.

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

The Beatles’ eighth studio album, released in 1967, was a critical and commercial success. It is often cited as the most important and influential rock album ever made, and it topped the Billboard 200 album chart for 15 weeks. The album features complex arrangements, experimental sound effects, and some of the group’s most iconic songs, including “With a Little Help from My Friends,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” and “A Day in the Life.”

The Rolling Stones- Their Satanic Majesties Request

The Rolling Stones- Their Satanic Majesties Request is the best psychedelic rock album of 2017. It is a psychedelic rock album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 8 December 1967 in the United Kingdom and on 1 December 1967 in the United States by London Records. The album was recorded during a period when the group were experimenting with psychedelia and is often credited as being a strong influence on subsequent psychedelic music.

The Velvet Underground- The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Velvet Underground’s debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico, is one of the most influential and important records ever made. Released in 1967, the album is a masterpiece of proto-punk, art rock, and avant-garde noise that laid the foundation for generations of musicians to come. Featuring the iconic Warhol-designed banana peel cover, the album is as essential as it gets.

The Kinks- Something Else by the Kinks

The Kinks released their third studio album Something Else by the Kinks in 1967. The album is considered one of the best psychedelic rock albums of all time. The Kinks show their range on the album with songs like “Waterloo Sunset” and “Death of a Clown”.

The Who- Sell Out

The Who- Sell Out is one of the best psychedelic rock albums of 2017. It was released on May 5, 1967 by Track Records in the United Kingdom and Decca Records in the United States. The album is a concept album, structured as a collection of unrelated songs interspersed with faux commercials and public service announcements. The album was an attempt by the band to create an experimental studio project that would mirror their live performances, and was also a send-up of British pop culture of the time.

The album was a commercial success, reaching No. 4 in the UK and No. 37 in the US, and has been critically acclaimed since its release. In 2003, it was ranked No.220 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and in 2004 it was ranked at No.38 on Pitchfork Media’s list of the top 100 albums of the 1960s.