10 Classic Albums That People Originally Hated

10. The Soft Parade - The Doors

From the start of their career, the Doors never seemed to fit neatly in one genre. Going from one song to the next, these psychedelic giants always toed the line of what constituted rock and roll, from hard rock to showtunes to even down and dirty blues jams. Once the classical musicians were brought in though, people started to get a bit skeptical.

Looking back on it today, The Soft Parade is a terrific album from the group's mid-period, with Jim Morrison balancing his trademark sleaze rocker with a more pop friendly sound. However, the initial reaction to something like Touch Me and Tell All the People was quite a shock coming from the same band that did Light My Fire. I mean, who wants to see the Lizard King go out on stage and perform a song that could have been a demented version of a Frank Sinatra tune?

On the other hand, that exact kind of weirdness held up in their favor, with each jazzy flourish of the album turning into solid gold over the years. It's not like the old Doors had gone anywhere either, with songs like Shaman's Blues and the title track having just as much darkness as you would expect from Morrison's poetry. This is by far the most adventurous album the Doors ever made, but don't let that dissuade you from thinking it's of any lesser quality.