10 Perfect Albums That Changed Rock History

As the Summer of Love was just about to get underway, the Beatles were also in the midst of entering a new phase in their career. Since they no longer had to worry about the hang ups of being on the road and not being able to hear themselves over the sounds of screaming girls, they could run wild in the studio and create any type of music they wanted to. And that's when Paul McCartney hit upon an idea that would change music forever.

Adopting a persona of sorts, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band was the moment where the Beatles jumped head first into new territory and never looked back. Though you could tell that they were listening to new acts like Jimi Hendrix from the sound of the title track, anything was fair game for them to try out, from John Lennon setting up a circus in your mind on Mr. Kite to the Indian experimentation going on in Within You Without You.

If anyone's the champion of this record though, it's Paul McCartney, putting together stories on songs like She's Leaving Home and guiding the rest of the band to the best that they can be. By the time you get to A Day in the Life, this wasn't just your average rock album anymore. This was a conceptual stroke of genius that turned rock into something that people could consider art.