10 Classic Rock Albums That Changed Music Forever

The Beatles seemed to be burned by their own celebrity by the time the mid 60's rolled around. The absolute hysteria of their live shows led to the band quitting the road completely and becoming a band that worked solely in the studio. Though many were speculating that the band been sucked dry of ideas, their next single "Strawberry Fields Forever" marked even stranger things just on the horizon.

Birthing the idea of the concept album, Paul McCartney decided that the band could use this in-studio opportunity to create an imaginary band for them to express their more outlandish ideas. After coming up with the name Sgt. Pepper, the band were off on a songwriting ride for the ages.

While McCartney wrote slice-of-life songs like "She's Leaving Home" and "Fixing a Hole," Lennon painted lush sonic pictures in the listener's mind from the psychedelic "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" to the circus scene of "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite." George Harrison also came into his own as a songwriter with the Eastern-inspired meditation of "Within You Without You." Everything culminates in the final track "A Day In The Life," where Lennon and McCartney form one track that crossed every boundary rock had limited itself to. Once the final piano chord faded at the end of the record, there was no going back. From now on, rock was going to be different.