10 Albums That Changed The Face Of Rock Music
6. Abbey Road - The Beatles (1969)
By this point the Beatles were well established as the biggest innovators of their generation.
You could point to a number of their records that preceded Abbey Road as seminal works. Rubber Soul made pop edgy and cool. Sgt. Pepper's birthed the concept album, seeing rock music become artsy and progressive. The White Album managed to beat Black Sabbath to the metal punch with Helter Skelter. It seemed like there was no end in the Fab Four's ability to keep moving forward.
Abbey Road remains a defining moment, not only in the band's career but in the world of rock music. The general consensus was that this was a record riddled with, power struggles, Yoko Ono and a general sense of fractured unease. But that's not the impression you get from listening to the songs. It's far more cohesive than the White Album and feels far more contemporary than Sgt. Pepper's.
Trying to appreciate the sounds on this record without the lens of the '60s is near impossible. But tracks like Come Together and Carry That Weight could be released today and still feel relevant.