In 1965 the sound of popular music was quickly developing at a rate that's hard for us to even imagine today. If you consider the songs that were at the top of the charts in 1963 and then 1964 and then 1965 it's absolutely incredible how fast musical ideas were advancing at that time. The seven albums included in this article represent the changes of 1965 better than any other albums I can think of. To me that makes them the seven "must hear" albums of 1965.



The albums listed here are done so alphabetically by album name as I found choosing just seven albums difficult enough without then having to put them in order. Note that I didn't call this the best or greatest albums of 1965. I've decided that my own opinion isn't quite that important after all. To me it's not so much about ranking music because I think ranking art is pretty silly when you get down to it. To me it's more about appreciating great music. And that's what I think this is, great music. I hope that you can also appreciate it.

#1 Bringing It All Back Home by Bob Dylan - Not quite as great as Dylan's other 1965 album (Highway 61 Revisited) but still an easy choice for one of the seven must hear albums of '67. This was the sound of Bob Dylan going from acoustic to electric for the first time. "Subterranean Homesick Blues," "Maggie's Farm," & "Mr. Tambourine Man" are among more well known songs on the album. If you're just getting into Dylan this may be a great place to start.

#2 Help! - Obviously it's Rubber Soul and not Help! people think of when talking about The Beatles musical advances in 1965 but Help! came first and there were already real signs John Lennon & Paul McCartney's maturing as songwriters. For one I think the title track often doesn't really get the respect it deserves. Sometimes The Beatles music is just so good it's like they are some other level. Imagine if some one hit wonder band had done "Help!" They could have based their whole career on it. That's how good that song is. Then there's "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" which is really beautiful and hard to imagine The Beatles having done in 1964. That's how quickly they were progressing. Music that was unimaginable just one year earlier are now common place.

Of course the album includes "Yesterday" which arguably the most well known pop song of all time. But it's remarkable not just because of it's popularity or it's timeless melody but also because of the very unusual arrangement. It's often forgot how experimental the arrangement for "Yesterday" really was at the time. Rock bands just didn't use strings back then. That was a new idea. It's just become so ubiquitous since then that we forget that even a song that seems a bit "vanilla" like "Yesterday" was actually another advance forward in many ways.

#3 Highway 61 Revisted by Bob Dylan - Definitely one of Dylan's greatest albums ever, it's an easy choice for me. While I don't enjoy it quite as much as his 1966 follow-up Blonde on Blonde (and I think that goes for music in general, I prefer '66 to '65) this is a fantastic album. Of course, everyone knows "Like a Rolling Stone" which was Dylan's biggest hit single ever and the first track on this album. "Ballad of a Thin Man" may be my favorite song on the album (it features Dylan's famous "Mr. Jones.")

#4 My Generation by The Who - Sadly The Who don't seem to get quite the same level of respect that it seems like they should get. This is The Who's debut album and they definitely appeared on the scene in a huge way. It includes the famous title track and "The Kids Are Alright."

#5 Out of Our Heads by The Rolling Stones - Includes the classic single "(Can't Get No) Satisfaction" along with "The Last Time" and "Playing With Fire." Like everyone else in 1965, The Stones were moving into new territory musically. It's hard to imagine things moving so quickly today when popular culture seems to be standing still. I mean are people seriously still watching American Idol? Really? After years of that crap, they still want more?

#6 Rubber Soul by The Beatles - This was The Beatles first album that was really heavily influenced by their use of drugs. When listening to songs like "Nowhere Man, "Girl," & "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" I can practically smelly the smoke. This is really the first Beatles album that plays like a genuine work of art. And that's really what is. There's only two weak tracks ("What Goes On" & "Run for Your Life") otherwise it's close to perfection.

#7 Today! by The Beach Boys - Considering how well known their 1966 masterpiece Pet Sounds is known it's somewhat strange that the precursor to that album, 1965's Today! is largely ignored. While it's not as good as Pet Sounds, you can hear the progression to Pet Sounds and it's still a very good album. Side 2 in particular is worth hearing as it apparently represents the first music written by Brian Wilson after he started experimenting with drugs.