# The most revolutionary albums in rock history **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 7, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285 "2010-06-07T16:08:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/1 "2010-06-07T16:08:49Z")
What I mean here are albums that played a big role in changing the course of music… i.e., not some obscure LP no one’s heard of that featured the first use of Moog synthesizer. I’ll give a few examples: 1. _The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan._ The success of this album, with its deep lyrics and a performance style that made absolutely no concessions to popular commercial trends, meant that vast new territories were now open to exploration. Although not itself a rock album, it opened the way to folk-rock. 2. _Are You Experienced_ by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. This album changed the sound of rock guitar forever, essentially setting forth a new vocabulary for the instrument. 3. _Music from Big Pink_ by The Band. This album kick-started the “back to the roots” movement, showing that music could have a strong strain of tradition and still be cutting-edge. As one example of its effect, as soon as Eric Clapton first heard it, he knew Cream was history. 4. _Ramones._ The Ramones’ debut got punk going. Thousands of kids heard this, thought “I bet I could do that too” and picked up instruments. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/2 "2010-06-07T16:18:11Z")
Some (relatively) obscure albums did end up having a major impact on the course of music, though; it just took a bit longer than the hit stuff. **Joy Division** and the first **Gang of Four** album, for instance, are still being copied by fairly successful “indie” bands today, and without _Zen Arcade_ you have no **Pixies** or **Nirvana**. For more “established” artists, I’d go with **Public Enemy** ’s _It Takes A Nation of Millions…_ and _The Velvet Underground and Nico_. Also _Revolver_. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/3 "2010-06-07T16:19:26Z")
The obligatory St. Pepper’s response. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/4 "2010-06-07T16:21:51Z")
There was a thread on [Fark.com](http://Fark.com) today discussing _Daydream Nation_ by Sonic Youth, and I think that album fits the “revolutionary” tag pretty well. You could release it today, 23 years after it was made, and it would still seem groundbreaking, despite countless attempts by lesser lights to ape its sound. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/5 "2010-06-07T16:24:10Z")
I’m no longer a fan, but \*Led Zeppelin IV \*(or whatever you want to call it) probably did more to redefine the limits of the possible than anything since. And then there’s _Nevermind_… Honestly, this is much easier with jazz. After Ornette Coleman’s \*Free Jazz \*came out, folks knew the game was up. Charles Mingus said it best: “We didn’t have to play like Ornette, but we HAD to stop playing like Bird.” _Kind of Blue_, _Giant Steps_, and \*In a Silent Way \*probably had similiar impact. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/6 "2010-06-07T16:33:46Z")
- The Velvet Underground and Nico \* and _White Light/White Heat_ by the Velvet Underground. If you made noise rock or art rock (and to some extent punk rock), it pretty much starts with those two albums. While sitting here thinking about it, _Daydream Nation_ is the other side of the noise rock tunnel, where noise rock starts making things that people would normally recognize as a song again. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/7 "2010-06-07T16:56:15Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > The obligatory St. Pepper’s response. I was thinking about that one. I guess it was revolutionary in that it firmly established the album as the creative unit of rock music… not just a collection of songs, but a work of art in and of itself. The Beatles were so influential that you could probably argue for three or four of their albums as being among the most influential in rock. There was also _With the Beatles_ (or its US counterpart, _Meet the Beatles!_), which started the British Invasion; _Rubber Soul_, which helped push rock towards greater maturity; and the White Album, which officially rendered psychedelia over and done with. I was also thinking that, before about 1963, it’s hard to argue that there were any really influential rock albums, because albums were just not that important – it was all about singles. So, for example, I wouldn’t list Elvis’ first album. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/8 "2010-06-07T17:00:27Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > The obligatory Sgt. Pepper’s response. The obligatory “_Pet Sounds_ was there first” response. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/9 "2010-06-07T17:09:57Z")
_Dark Side of the Moon_. Yeah, some people would say that _Wish You Were Here_ or _Animals_ was more influential, but a great number of recording techniques were invented for _Dark Side_. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/10 "2010-06-07T17:10:52Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > I was thinking about that one. I guess it was revolutionary in that it firmly established the album as the creative unit of rock music… not just a collection of songs, but a work of art in and of itself. > > The Beatles were so influential that you could probably argue for three or four of their albums as being among the most influential in rock. There was also _With the Beatles_ (or its US counterpart, _Meet the Beatles!_), which started the British Invasion; _Rubber Soul_, which helped push rock towards greater maturity; and the White Album, which officially rendered psychedelia over and done with. You forgot _Revolver_. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/11 "2010-06-07T17:11:39Z")
How about OK Computer by Radiohead. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/12 "2010-06-07T17:22:09Z")
_Trout Mask Replica_ is both fast and bulbous. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/13 "2010-06-07T17:37:55Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > You forgot _Revolver_. Mentioned it (and _The Velvet Underground & Nico_, which another poster brought up) in post #2. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/14 "2010-06-07T18:32:59Z")
_Days Of Future Passed_, by the Moody Blues, was a pioneer in combining orchestral and rock/pop music, as well as being one of the first concept albums. ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/15 "2010-06-07T18:59:17Z")
The soundtrack to “Saturday Night Fever” was influential, not in a good way. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/16 "2010-06-07T19:04:37Z")
> [@palindromemordnilap](#): > > The soundtrack to “Saturday Night Fever” was influential, not in a good way. I’d disagree. It was _popular_, to be sure, but I fail to see any real influence on the course of rock music. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/17 "2010-06-07T19:09:59Z")
The Who’s _Tommy_ ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/18 "2010-06-07T19:19:20Z")
many would list The Clash’s _London Calling_ as a major catalyst, exposing America to what was happening in the UK/punk movement… ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/19 "2010-06-07T19:21:24Z")
The Moody Blues _Days of Future Passed_ created progressive art rock. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285/20 "2010-06-07T19:23:42Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The obligatory “_Pet Sounds_ was there first” response. A truly brilliant album. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-revolutionary-albums-in-rock-history/542285.md?page=2)