10 Perfect Debut Albums In Rock Music History

Most bands have to wait years before actually settling into their particular sound. The Rolling Stones had to spend years being a blues cover band before honing their craft, and even the Beatles had to wait a full half of their career before turning in their boy band image for something a lot more intellectual. Those artists might be far away from their debut, but most rock fans remember where they were the first time they heard Jimi Hendrix.

Although you can hear different parts of rock history in Hendrix’s playing, there’s almost no way to put his music into any particular category, taking the sounds of blues, psychedelia, and his own heart and putting them into every single song he played. Lighting up the charts over in England initially, what turned up on Are You Experienced is some of the most aggressive rock and roll that the world had ever known at this point, twisting the idea of peace and love into something a lot more forceful on songs like Hey Joe and Manic Depression.

Outside of the heavier stuff though, the main draw was just Hendrix himself, using his guitar as practically an extension of his body while he played, making melodies that you could sing with ease on tracks like The Wind Cries Mary. Other artists might try to put on a certain image whenever they take to the stage, but there was never any act going on whenever Jimi strapped on his guitar. This was a man who had found his voice on a six string, and was prepared to show us musical colors that no one else could have seen.