10 Perfect Albums That Started Rock Genres

In the aftermath of the Beatles' breakup, John Lennon was very much lost. Even though he had started the band all the way back in the late '50s, the process of being one of the most famous people in the world was starting to catch up with him, leaving him spiritually spent and having to undergo therapy to sort out his emotional issues. John had always been an artist though, and every single therapy session he had seemed to be getting channeled into his first solo album.

While Plastic Ono Band is still the John Lennon that we all know, there are no barriers between audience and musician here, as John gets extremely candid about his issues, like mocking the work system on Working Class Hero and venting his frustration at everything in the world, from spiritual advisers on I Found Out to his absentee parents on Mother to even the fans that were still holding onto the myth of the Beatles on God. As much as the frayed sound of this album might be a bit harsh coming after Abbey Road, this could actually be called the first true alternative rock album.

Coming right in the middle of the band's tumultuous end period, John seems to be feeding off of emotion most of the time and sounds closer to what alt rock would be like years later, from Isolation having the same feel as a Smashing Pumpkins song and the screams in Well Well Well feeling like they could have been done by Kurt Cobain at his absolute snottiest. John may have been trying to bring himself back down to Earth, but by becoming human to his audience, he turned in one of the most intimate rock albums ever made.