4. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
The album that rocketed Dylan to superstardom and earned him his reputation as the voice of a generation, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan deals with a wide range of topics including nuclear war and racial insecurity while balancing them with love songs and the protest songs which he became famous for. The album opens with one of Dylan's most recognized works, Blowing In the Wind. The song has become such a part of popular culture, due to the hundreds of covers, that it probably lost some of its original power but it remains one of the defining songs of the 1960's. Arguably the most impressive highlight of the album is A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall, a complex protest song that twists and turns its way through seven minutes of poetic,apocalyptic imagery. Other highlights include the devastating break-up song Don't Think Twice, It's All Right, Oxford Town which supported the first black students to enroll at the University of Mississippi, and the hilarious I Shall Be Free. There are a few songs on The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan that aren't quite as impressive and one that Dylan didn't actually write but overall the album is a superb display of his songwriting prowess. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is one of the most iconic albums ever made and although it might not be quite as impressive stylistically as some of Dylan's later work, there is still massive amounts of talent on display here. Dylan combines humor, poetry, and ambition into one of the most impressive displays of songwriting ever seen up to that point. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan's earnest protests against inequality and its increasingly complex lyrics make it one of Dylan's best.