100 Greatest Songs: 1960-1969

by Alex shaffner

The 1960s was a decade of change. Not just musically, but politically and socially as well. It's fascinating to witness evolution in music. I mean, could ANYONE have seen the psychedelic era coming in 1962? There's one artist above all that dominated this decade. I'm sure you've heard of them. The Crickets? No, sorry that's not it. Ah, that's right, The Beatles. The four lads from Liverpool that changed music forever and easily the greatest artist of the 20th century. But they weren't the only "British Invasion" band that made their mark. Artists like The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks and The Zombies all made significant music throughout the decade.

But what about the good ol' US of A? Of course since rock music was created in the US, there's plenty of great American artists. Bob Dylan led the pack in that department, delivering some of the greatest songs ever and two of the twenty greatest albums ever in "Highway 61 Revisited" and "Blonde on Blonde". He's on my musical Mt. Rushmore for sure. He along with The Beatles and The Beach Boys helped change Rock and Pop from "entertainment" into "art" with their releases from 1965 to 1967. Some people don't like this truth and often turn up their nose at "Progressive" and "Art" Rock and Pop as being "pretentious" or "boring". Their loss, I say.

So white guys playing guitar of course wasn't the only great thing to come from this wonderful time in music. We saw the rise of four of the greatest and most recognizable black artists ever in Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson (with the Jackson 5) and Stevie Wonder. Though the latter three artists' prime were in the decades that followed, it's interesting to observe their beginnings. In the Jazz world, it gave way to Rock and Pop as the dominant music genres by the middle of the decade, but there wasn't a shortage of Jazz classics. John Coltrane and Charles Mingus both released their greatest achievement, "A Love Supreme" and "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady", respectively. And we surely can't ignore the lovely Girl Groups during this time. Trust me, at best, this isn't mediocre "teen" pop in the slightest. The Supremes? I'll take them over most rock bands. And the single greatest pop song of all-time? From the Girl Group genre. I rest my case.

I could go on and on about talking about this era. We have never seen music change more drastically from the beginning to end of a decade than the 60s. I feel though as I can safely say that when you look at popular music, the 60s was without a doubt the pinnacle in quality. So let's get psychedelic and take a look at the best songs the decade had to offer.

1) A Day In the Life - The Beatles

2) Be My Baby - The Ronettes

3) Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan

4) God Only Knows - The Beach Boys

5) Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones

6) I Want You Back - Jackson 5

7) Hey Jude - The Beatles

8) All Along the Watchtower - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

9) Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks

10) Desolation Row - Bob Dylan

11) My Favorite Things - John Coltrane

12) Tomorrow Never Knows - The Beatles

13) Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys

14) Sympathy For the Devil - The Rolling Stones

15) My Generation - The Who

16) I’m Waiting For the Man - The Velvet Underground

17) Strawberry Fields Forever - The Beatles

18) River Deep Mountain High - Tina & Ike Turner

19) I Wanna Be Your Dog - The Stooges

20) The Boxer - Simon & Garfunkel

21) Light My Fire - The Doors

22) A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles

23) The Weight - The Band

24) Just Like a Woman - Bob Dylan

25) While My Guitar Gently WeepsThe Beatles

26) Shangri-La - The Kinks

27) Paint It Black - The Rolling Stones

28) A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam

Cooke

29) Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin

30) In My Life - The Beatles

31) Jumpin' Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones

32) Heroin - The Velvet Underground

33) Care of Cell 44 - The Zombies

34) I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles

35) Green Onions - Booker T. & The M.G.'s

36) The Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson

37) She Loves You - The Beatles

38) Miserlou - Dick Dale & His Del-Tones

39) Sweet Thing - Van Morrison

40) Group Dancers - Charles Mingus

41) I Want You - Bob Dylan

42) Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles

43) A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum

44) Hey Joe - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

45) Sunday Morning - The Velvet Underground & Nico

46) (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones

47) Wouldn't It Be Nice - The Beach Boys

48) Babe I'm Gonna Leave You - Led Zeppelin

49) Help! - The Beatles

50) Papa's Got a Brand New Bag - James Brown

51) The House of the Rising Sun - The Animals

52) What Goes On - The Velvet Underground

53) Stand By Me - Ben E. King

54) You Can't Always Get What You Want - The Rolling Stones

55) California Girls - The Beach Boys

56) Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End - The Beatles

57) Suzanne - Leonard Cohen

58) Subterranean Homesick Blues - Bob Dylan

59) Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds - The Beatles

60) Don't Worry Baby - The Beach Boys

61) Venus In Furs - The Velvet Underground & Nico

62) Rain - The Beatles

63) She's Not There - The Zombies

64) Respect - Aretha Franklin

65) I Can See For Miles - The Who

66) Purple Haze - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

67) You Can't Hurry Love - The Supremes

68) Visions of Johanna - Bob Dylan

69) I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye

70) Heroes and Villains - The Beach Boys

71) Come Together - The Beatles

72) The Tracks of My Tears - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

73) Space Oddity - David Bowie

74) Eight Miles High - The Byrds

75) Runaway - Del Shannon

76) The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine

Anymore - The Walker Brothers

77) Mr. Tambourine Man - Bob Dylan

78) Reach Out I'll Be There - The Four Tops

79) California Dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas

80) You Really Got Me - The Kinks

81) (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding

82) White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground

83) Leader of the Pack - The Shangri-Las

84) Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley

85) I Am the Walrus - The Beatles

86) Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival

87) Blowin' In the Wind - Bob Dylan

88) 21st Century Schizoid Man - King Crimson

89) The Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel

90) Louie Louie - The Kingsmen

91) The Girl From Ipanema - Stan Getz, João Gilberto & Astrud

Gilberto

92) Ballad of a Thin Man - Bob Dylan

93) Everyday People - Sly & The Family Stone

94) With a Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles

95) You Keep Me Hangin' On - The Supremes

96) Peaches en Regalia - Frank Zappa

97) White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane

98) Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands - Bob Dylan

99) The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - The Band

100) A Love Supreme, Pt. 4: Psalm - John Coltrane