10 Best Experimental Rock Albums Of All Time

3. Sgt. Peppers - The Beatles

After the surge of Beatlemania throughout the early '60s, it would have been perfectly acceptable for the Beatles to pack it in right then and there. Over the course of 5 years, they had turned rock inside out and produced a global fanbase that very few other rock stars could even hope to achieve. They may have left live performing behind, but their studio wizardry was just getting started.

Breaking down barriers with Revolver, Sgt. Peppers was the quantum leap that took the Beatles into greater sonic territory than anyone had ever imagined. Along with adopting the harsher sounds of rock coming from the likes Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, every song on this album feels like it's coming from a completely different band, from Paul McCartney going on jazzy ventures on Fixing a Hole to George Harrison sharing his Indian influence on Within You Without You.

Hell, there are some songs on the album that feel like they've completely separated from rock altogether, like She's Leaving Home with its harp and choir boy vocals or the circus like atmosphere generated from Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite. Before Sgt. Peppers, the '60s still felt like they were in black and white. Now we had a whole bunch of new colors to play with, and the Beatles started it all by painting a masterpiece.