10 Bands That Started Hard Rock

Whenever people talk about the days of flower power, it seems to come with a much more optimistic tone. As much as the Vietnam War backdrop didn't bode well for some of the youth of America, the hippie ideal maintained the idea of being one people living together in harmony. When you have something that campy though, you sometimes need someone to remind you of the dangers you're getting into.

Emerging out of the sleazy side of Los Angeles, the Doors made psychedelia that was much more on their own terms than the folksy stuff populating the charts. While originally lighting up the charts with something like Light My Fire, the interior of most of their albums brought a new level of menace into psych rock, with songs like Break on Through being as much about hard rock as they were about the graphic imagery taking place in the lyrics.

Above all else, The Doors deserve all the credit in the world for introducing us to Jim Morrison, who's growing mystique and signature leather pants look would become the model for how almost every hard rock frontman would carry themselves in the years afterward. Though their star ended up burning out way too quickly for most fans to admit, the Doors' attention to aesthetic made them one of the calling cards for a whole new generation of disaffected youth.