10 Classic Rock Albums That Got Better Over Time

If there's one thing that Pete Townshend will be commended for until the day he dies, it's going to be Tommy. Although songs like My Generation have etched themselves into rock history pretty prominently, the story of a deaf dumb and blind boy finding his calling through rock and roll is the kind of lightning in a bottle idea that no one saw coming. As any writer will tell you, you don't get that kind of idea without putting in the work first.

Long before Tommy was born in Townshend's mind, the Who were already looking to get more experimental than their contemporaries on the Who Sell Out, which stands as their first real concept record. Being inspired by the pirate radio stations that were popping up around the same time, this entire record plays out like a radio broadcast, complete with skits from the band connecting some of the tracks together.

Though the band would definitely get better from here, this is the record where they are the most zany, with songs like Odorono and Tattoo being a little bit tongue in cheek compared to the rest of what was going on during the Summer of Love. You can see the seeds of what's coming here as well, with Rael being one of the first long term pieces Pete would write and I Can See For Miles taking the idea of volume to its most logical conclusion. If anything, this album deserves its place in history just for Paul McCartney going on to make Helter Skelter specifically to try and best what the Who did here.