The long project I began with the previous post continues below. My “best of” lists are in order of preference. If I return to a list months or years later, there would no doubt be changes in the order, but many of these choices have remained constant for decades, and my top choices tend to be unchanging. Also, I will probably forget some important favorites. Nevertheless, these are as close to accurate as I can get to listing of my favorite jazz and pop records

The Best LPs of 1966

1. Cecil Taylor: Unit Structures (Blue Note)
2. Sun Ra: Nothing Is (ESP)
3. Bill Dixon: Intents & Purposes (RCA)
4. The Kinks: Face To Face (Reprise)
5. Bob Dylan: Blonde on Blonde (CBS)
6. Albert Ayler: At Slug’s Saloon, Vol 1 (ESP)
7. Albert Ayler: At Slug’s Saloon, Vol 2 (ESP)
8. The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (Capitol)
9. Otis Redding: Dictionary of Soul (Atlantic)
10. Love: Love (Elektra)
11. The Rolling Stones: Aftermath (London)
12. The Godz: Contact High With the Godz (ESP)
13. Sonny Simmons: Staying on the Watch (ESP)
14. Pharoah Sanders: Tauhid (Impulse)
15. Byrds: 5th Dimension (Columbia)
16. The Beatles: Yesterday & Today (Capitol)
17. Nina Simone: High Priestess of Soul (Philips)
18. Simon & Garfunkel: Parsley Sage Rosemary & Thyme (CBS)
19. Sam Rivers: Involution (Blue Note)
20. Sam Rivers: A New Conception (Blue Note)
21. Cecil Taylor: Conquistador (Blue Note)
22. Sonny Rollins: East Broadway Rundown (Impulse)
23. Them: Them (Parrot)
24. Them: Them Again (Parrot)
25. Marion Brown: Three for Shepp (Impulse)
26. Tim Buckley: Tim Buckley (Elektra)
27. The Beatles: Rubber Soul (Capitol)
28. Nina Simone: Sings the Blues (RCA)
29. Wes Montgomery: Smokin’ at the Half Note (Verve)
30. Steve Lacy: The Forest and the Zoo (ESP)
31. The Beatles: Revolver (Capitol)
32. The Who: A Quick One/Happy Jack (Reaction, UK)
33. Byrds: Turn Turn Turn (CBS)
34. Simon & Garfunkel: The Sound of Silence (CBS)
35. Various Artists: The East Village Other (ESP)
36. The Yardbirds: Over Under Sideways Down (Epic)
37. The Thirteenth Floor Elevators: The Psychedelic Sounds (International Artists)
38. Aretha Franklin: Soul Sister (CBS)
39. John Fahey: John Fahey (Vanguard)
40. Tim Hardin: Tim Hardin (Verve)

A while back I hinted that I might at some point post my "ten best lists" of records for previous years. After about five minutes thought, I have concluded that this terrible idea was impossible to resist. I considered going back as far as 1959 because among other reasons, that was the year I was born and the year of perhaps the first L.P. masterpiece, Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue." I settled upon 1965 because that is the first year to which I can do justice. To finish this project I will no doubt be posting this things for months, if not years to come. I admit it is a lot of work for something perhaps no one will care about. So be it. In many ways I believe this futile effort is the spirit of this foolish thing called "blogging"


BEST LPs of 1965

1. John Coltrane: Ascension (Impulse)
2. John Coltrane: Meditations (Impulse)
3. Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited (Columbia)
4. Albert Ayler: Bells (ESP)
5. Albert Ayler: Spirits Rejoice (ESP)
6. Sun Ra: The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra Volume 1 (ESP)
7. Sun Ra: The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra Volume 2 (ESP)
8. Miles Davis: E.S.P. (CBS)
9. The Rolling Stones: Out of Our Heads (London)
10. The Rolling Stones: Now (London)
11. Jackie McLean: Right Now (Blue Note)
12. Frank Wright Trio (ESP)
13. Otis Redding: Pain In My Heart (Atlantic)
14. The Beatles: The Beatles 65 (Capitol)
15. The Beatles: The Beatles VI (Capitol)
16. Patty Waters Sings (ESP)
17. Archie Shepp: Fire Music (Impulse)
18. Jackie McLean: Consequence (Blue Note)
19. Milford Graves Percussion Ensemble (ESP)
20. Pharoah Sanders: Pharoah’s First (ESP)
21. John Coltrane: Om (Impulse)
22. Jackie McLean: Consequences (Blue Note)
23. The Who: My Generation (Brunswick)
24. The Byrds: Mr. Tamborine Man (CBS)
25. The Kinks: Kinks Size (Reprise)
26. The Kinks: Kinda Kinks (Reprise)
27. The Fugs: The Fugs First Album (ESP)
28. Nina Simone: I Put a Spell On You (Mercury)
29. Sonny Rollins: On Impulse (Impulse)
30. The Yardbirds: Having a Rave Up (Epic)
31. The Pretty Things (Fontana)
32. The Beach Boys: Today (Capitol)
33. The Supremes: Where Did Our Love Go? (Motown)