10 Greatest One Man Band Albums

Any one looking for a cursory knowledge of the folk rock genre needs to spin the Freewheelin Bob Dylan at least once. Being just in his mid 20s, Dylan became the unintentional voice of his generation with this album, speaking out against corrupt politicians while also dissecting how we treat each other in the modern age. All that, with just himself and a guitar.

For all of the bells and whistles that were about to come out of the '60s revolution, this record is about as bare bones as it gets, with a handful of studio musicians brought in for just one song. Aside from that, Dylan's voice is at the forefront, with nothing else happening other than a guitar and a harmonica if we're feeling fancy with the arrangements. Granted, it's not like that hasn't been divisive either, with Dylan's lyrics being one of the more nasal tones to ever come out of the rock genre.

However, this is a case where the actual personality tends to matter more to the performance than the actual singing. Compared to what you would find in a belter, this twentysomething kid feels like he's lived 5 lifetimes at this point and is here to impart some wisdom onto the generation going forward. Even half a century later, we're still peeling things back and seeing layers from this brilliant album.