7/10
Best Track: "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better"
Coming out a few months before The Beatles' Rubber Soul, The Byrd's Mr. Tambourine Man represents a huge step forward for pop music in 1965. "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better" prophetically foreshadows the classic rock of the 1970's to come a decade later.
7/10
Best Track: "Please Let Me Wonder"
According to Wikipedia, this is the first album Brian Wilson wrote while smoking marijuana, which is cool.
6/10
Best Track: "Strychnine"
Wild.
7/10
Best Track: "My Generation"
Tasty early album by The Who. There are a few great lesser-known tracks on this record (Much Too Much, It's Not True).
6.5/10
Best Track: "Respect"
An extremely enjoyable listen with great performances.
6.5/10
Best Track: "Help!"
The high points of "Help!" are incredibly high, but overall the album falters in some areas.
7/10
Best Track: "Subterranean Homesick Blues"
Similar to Freewheelin', Bringing It All Back Home features some of Dylan's best material, but as a whole the album lacks cohesion. While no songs on this album are bad, there is a noticeable gap between the good songs and the great songs.
7.5/10
Best Track: "In My Life"
The first great Beatles album. Side B is one of the best collections of songs The Beatles ever recorded.
8/10
Best Track: "Like a Rolling Stone"
Highway 61 is one of the most uninhibited albums ever recorded. Dylan sings each line with reckless abandon, but it is the great performances by Dylan's backing band that make this a true masterpiece.
6.5/10
Best Track: "House of the Rising Sun" (Best Track of 1964)
Good album, but they're kinda ripping off The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
5.5/10
Best Track: "My Home Is in the Delta"
The atmosphere created by this album is incredible, but the songs are fairly monotonous.
6/10
Best Track: "My Back Pages"
Lacks the intensity and bravado of his albums that came before and after.
6/10
Best Track: "Something Sweet, Something Tender"
The virtuosic musicianship and improvisational skills exhibited on this album are mind-boggling, but taking in the whole album in one sitting requires a lot of stamina.
5/10
Best Track: "Pain in My Heart"
While the title track is pretty great, the rest of this album is pretty run-of-the-mill pop.
6/10
Best Track: "You Really Got Me"
The first punk rock album. I especially love Ray Davies' (or is it Dave Davies'? both?) frantic guitar playing.
6.5/10
Best Track: "I Need You baby"
A solid effort straight up and down. Keith Richards' guitar playing is a stand-out element in these recordings.
6/10
Best Track: "Eight Days a Week"
The Beatles' emo album. While this is a contrarian opinion, I find this album to be far superior to its predecessor A Hard Day's Night. It's a little more raw, a little more mature, and a little more musically diverse.
7.5/10
Best Track: "With God on Our Side"
Best Album of 1964
While all of Bob Dylan's early recordings are great, The Times They Are A-Changin' is the most cohesive and complete statement of his "Spokesman for a Generation" era albums.
5/10
Best Track: "Can't Buy Me Love"
While no doubt a classic, it lacks the attitude and energy present in the albums of their colleagues (The Rolling Stones, Kinks, and The Animals). Much like With the Beatles, this sounds more dated than their debut.
5/10
Best Track: "You Really Got a Hold on Me"
Definitely a step back from Please Please Me. The album as a whole is pretty monotonous and the recordings do not have as much punch as their debut.
6.5/10
Best Track: "Anna (Go to Him)"
Although it's a cliché, this album is the definition of "ahead of its time." It completely stands apart from the other music being made in its time, and still sounds relevant today (I couldn't escape how much this sounds like a Pixies record).
6.5/10
Best Track: "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"
Some of Dylan's most iconic songs appear on this album, but ultimately it feels disjointed as a complete album.
7/10
Best Track: "Song to Woody"
Super under appreciated debut album from Bob Dylan. His vocal intensity on songs like "You're No Good" and "In My Time of Dyin'" is absolutely captivating.
7/10
Best Track: "Spoonful"
This album is about as raw as it gets.
6.5/10
Best Track: "You Don't Know Me"
Ray Charles shows incredible vocal chops on this record.
3/10
Best Track: "Summertime"
While I have nothing but respect for John Coltrane, this album, to me (admittedly not a heavy Jazz listener), sounds a little too much like "elevator jazz."
6.5/10
Best Track: "Hell Hound on My Trail"
It is almost impossible to review these recordings in any objective sense, due to their seminal and ubiquitous place in modern music and culture. King of the Delta Blues Singers is a raw and haunting collection of blues classics.
