100 Greatest Albums of 1969

1969 record album covers for Abbey Road, Tommy, Led Zeppelin II, and Let It Bleed
Criteria: These albums were chosen for their initial and lasting popularity and their influence and impact on rock music in general. Also considered is critical acclaim. The list includes rock and roll and related genres that were influential on rock music.

Edited By:
Note: Yearly album lists go by earliest 'release date'.
Not necessarily the year an album peaked in the U.S. charts.
  1. Abbey Road - The Beatles
  2. Tommy - The Who
  3. Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin
  4. Let It Bleed - The Rolling Stones
  5. Led Zeppelin I - Led Zeppelin
  6. The Band - The Band
  7. Stand - Sly And The Family Stone
  8. In The Court Of The Crimson King - King Crimson
  9. Green River - Creedence Clearwater Revival
10. Crosby, Stills And Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash
11. Hot Buttered Soul - Isaac Hayes
12. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere - Neil Young and Crazy Horse
13. Willy And The Poor Boys - Creedence Clearwater Revival
14. Dusty In Memphis - Dusty Springfield
15. Kick Out The Jams - The MC5
16. The Stooges - The Stooges
17. From Elvis In Memphis - Elvis Presley
18. The Chicago Transit Authority - Chicago
19. Blood, Sweat & Tears - Blood, Sweat & Tears
20. Santana - Santana
21. The Meters - The Meters
22. Jimmy Cliff - Jimmy Cliff
23. The Gilded Palace Of Sin - The Flying Buritto Brothers
24. Trout Mask Replica - Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band
25. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground
26. Five Leaves Left - Nick Drake
27. The Allman Brothers Band - The Allman Brothers Band
28. Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire) - The Kinks
29. Liege & Lief - Fairport Convention
30. On The Threshold Of A Dream - The Moody Blues
31. Stand Up - Jethro Tull
32. The Young Mods' Forgotten Story - The Impressions
33. Blind Faith - Blind Faith
34. Bayou Country - Creedence Clearwater Revival
35. Live/Dead - The Grateful Dead
36. Happy Trails - Quicksilver Messenger Service
37. Nashville Skyline - Bob Dylan
38. Volunteers - Jefferson Airplane
39. Cloud Nine - The Temptations
40. With A Little Help From My Friends - Joe Cocker
41. Beck-Ola - Jeff Beck Group
42. Then Play On - Fleetwood Mac
43. Ummagumma - Pink Floyd
44. A Salty Dog - Procol Harum
45. Aoxomoxoa - The Grateful Dead
46. It's A Beautiful Day - It's A Beautiful Day
47. Ssssh - Ten Years After
48. Oar - Alexander "Skip" Spence
49. Monster Movie - The Can
50. Volume Two - The Soft Machine
51. Second Winter - Johnny Winter
52. Joe Cocker - Joe Cocker
53. Streetnoise - Julie Driscoll with Brian Auger & The Trinity
54. Odessa - The Bee Gees
55. Songs for a Tailor - Jack Bruce
56. I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! - Janis Joplin
57. Testifyin' - Clarence Carter
58. Koko Taylor - Koko Taylor
59. Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud - James Brown
60. The Progressive Blues Experiment - Johnny Winter
61. Goodbye - Cream
62. Clouds - Joni Mitchell
63. It's a Mother - James Brown
64. Soul '69 - Aretha Franklin
65. Grand Funk - Grand Funk Railroad
66. Tons of Sobs - Free
67. The Brothers: Isley - The Isley Brothers
68. To Our Children's Children's Children - The Moody Blues
69. Three Dog Night - Three Dog Night
70. The Israelites - Desmond Dekker & The Aces
71. I'm A Loser - Doris Duke
72. 20/20 - The Beach Boys
73. Valentyne Suite - Colosseum
74. Mercator Projected - East of Eden
75. Phallus Dei - Amon Düül II
76. Arzachel - Arzachel
77. Get Ready - Rare Earth
78. Buying A Book - Joe Tex
79. Music Emporium - The Music Emporium
80. Bless Its Pointed Little Head - Jefferson Airplane
81. Deep Purple - Deep Purple
82. Pickin' Up The Pieces - Poco
83. Mendocino - Sir Douglas Quintet
84. Barabajagal - Donovan
85. Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 - The Jackson 5
86. Morgen - Morgen
87. Can I Change My Mind? - Tyrone Davis
88. Sea Shanties - High Tide
89. Four Sail - Love
90. Free - Free
91. It's Our Thing - The Isley Brothers
92. Puzzle People - The Temptations
93. It's My Thing - Marva Whitney
94. Yes - Yes
95. The Spice of Life - Marlena Shaw
96. Heart & Soul - Johnny Adams
97. First Take - Roberta Flack
98. The Age Of Aquarius - The 5th Dimension
99. Spooky Two - Spooky Tooth
100. Hollywood Dream - Thunderclap Newman


Abbey Road album cover
Tommy by the Who album cover
Led Zeppelin II album cover
Let It Bleed album cover
Led Zeppelin I album cover
The Band album cover
 DigitalDreamDoor Editor Picks for 1969
  Bruce's choice - An unheralded great album from 1969
 •  In Philadelphia - The O'Jays
  Adam's choice:
 •  Harlan Country - Jim Ford
  Brian's choice:
 •  What We Did On Our Holidays - Fairport Convention
  Lew's choice:
 •  Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde - The Byrds
  Brett's choice:
 •  Hollies Sing Dylan/Words And Music By Bob Dylan - The Hollies


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