10 Albums From The '60s That Changed Rock History

It’s hard to really compete with most musicians calling the ‘60s one of the greatest decades of all time for rock music. For as many great acts have come and gone in their wake, the Woodstock mindset has been one of the first times that rock had called for a cultural revolution, bringing new fashion and new ideologies that we had never heard before. Though it’s stretching to call these tunes the best rock songs ever made, this decade did manage to give us the greatest guitarist who ever lived.

Coming in like a ray of light from Seattle, Jimi Hendrix hit the British blues scene sounding like he was from another planet, playing with a whammy bar and doing outlandish things to his six string onstage. Once you picked up Are You Experienced, this wasn’t just a bunch of flash either, as Hendrix goes through nearly every genre he can think of and pulls it off effectively. The entire intro of Purple Haze practically feels like he’s kicking down the door to your subconsciousness, and from there you’re in for a ride through hard rock, soul, and some of the greatest solos you’ve ever heard.

Every single song on this record could practically be its own case study of how Jimi was able to talk through his instrument, from the raw aggression of Manic Depression to making a song that would be worthy of Bob Dylan’s songbook on the Wind Cries Mary. Although Hendrix’s life would be cut criminally short, it doesn’t even matter when you still have the music. His spirit was always in between these chords, and that’s a light that will last forever.