The ranking of the 21 best rock albums of 1967, according to BBC Classical Music

1967 is one of rock's golden years. Now the BBC Classical Music magazine has shone a fresh spotlight on its formidable musical legacy, publishing a ranking of what it considers the "21 best albums of the year that changed the history of rock forever."
"1967," the magazine notes in its introduction, "is often remembered as the year of psychedelia, with its blazing colors, lysergic guitars and groundbreaking studio effects. But reducing it to that would mean ignoring the extraordinary musical variety that defined those twelve months. It was a year in which artists redefined the very concept of the album: the Beatles turned the recording studio into a creative instrument, the Velvet Underground chronicled the dark side of urban life, Aretha Franklin gave new power to soul, while Bob Dylan took a more stripped-back, reflective path. Rock, folk, blues, jazz, country, orchestral pop and the first stirrings of hard rock coexisted and cross-pollinated like never before. Music became at once more experimental and more personal, more political and more visionary. These 21 albums tell the story of an unrepeatable year that forever expanded the horizons of popular music."

Here, then, is the ranking of the 21 best rock albums of 1967, according to BBC Classical Music (full feature here).

21. Buffalo Springfield – “Buffalo Springfield Again”
20. Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band – “Safe As Milk”
19. Jimi Hendrix – “Axis: Bold As Love”
18. Cream – “Disraeli Gears”
17. Leonard Cohen – “Songs Of Leonard Cohen”
16. The Moody Blues – “Days Of Future Passed”
15. The Who – “The Who Sell Out”
14. Jefferson Airplane – “Surrealistic Pillow”
13. Bob Dylan – “John Wesley Harding”
12. The Kinks – “Something Else By The Kinks”
11. The Byrds – “Younger Than Yesterday”
10. Aretha Franklin – “I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You”
9. Pink Floyd – “The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn”
8. The Rolling Stones – “Between The Buttons”
7. Love – “Forever Changes”
6. The Beatles – “Magical Mystery Tour”
5. The Doors – “The Doors”
4. The Beach Boys – “Smiley Smile”
3. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – “Are You Experienced”
2. The Velvet Underground & Nico – “The Velvet Underground & Nico”
1. The Beatles – “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”

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