10 Essential Boomer Albums
Music critic Nelson George shares his list
by Nelson George, AARP The Magazine
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Archives/Getty Images
'Highway 61 Revisited' (1965)
Artist: Bob Dylan Dylan rankled folk fans by going electric, but he also expanded his audience and influenced a generation with songs that have been analyzed (and lionized) ever since.
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Alamy
'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' (1967)
Artist: The Beatles The culmination of years of artistic maturation and bold experimentation. The original rock concept LP.
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'What's Going On' (1971)
Artist: Marvin Gaye The sexy love man took on civil rights, the environment and inner-city turmoil, changing the tone of R & B, both lyrically and musically.
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'Tapestry' (1971)
Artist: Carole King King's songs of love lost, found and wasted spoke to the Me Generation's turn toward introspection.
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'Led Zeppelin IV' (1971)
Artist: Led Zeppelin Mystical and bombastic, acoustic and brash, Zeppelin defined '70s rock (and FM radio).
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'Exile on Main St.' (1972)
Artist: The Rolling Stones Incorporating blues, soul, country and gospel, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards dug deep into the era's spiritual malaise and made the Stones' most emotional album.
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'Innervisions' (1973)
Artist: Stevie Wonder The best of a series of innovative, hit-filled albums Wonder made in a 1970s creative surge, Innervisions changed the sound of popular music.
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'Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975' (1976)
Artist: Eagles The Southern California rock band was both romantic and cynical, diluting any sweetness with a bitter edge that reflected the compromises of adulthood.
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Ted Morrison
'Exodus' (1977)
Artist: Bob Marley & the Wailers The sensual, spiritual album that helped make reggae one of the most popular musical genres in the world.
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'Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track' (1977)
Artist: Various The percolating rhythms of disco captured the zest, decadence and hustling of the dance boom.
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