Top 20 Albums of 1965

Even though the long-playing album had been around for more than a decade, and artists were using the form to construct entire thematic works from individual songs, the format came of age in 1965.

Just as one of the most important decades in the history and evolution of popular music reached its midpoint, the album started to grow, too. Before 1965, most pop and rock albums were built around two or three great singles; quickly assembled covers, standards and other LP filler would be added to make a 30-minute album.

The tide started to turn in 1965, as artists such as the Beatles and Bob Dylan began to view their music as more than the mere disposable pop moment of the week. Jazz musicians and more “adult” singers had been using LPs to tell stories and reflect narratives about particular times and places. Now it was time for pop and rock artists to do the same.

READ MORE: Top 40 Songs of 1975

The list of the Top 20 Albums of 1965 below charts the initial shift of the music landscape that would become even stronger by the decade’s end. This was the year the LP grew up and changed how popular music was listened to. Pop singles would still be the format of choice well into the ’70s and even into the earliest part of the ’80s, but albums would soon become the preference of serious artists across genres.

The albums outlined below form the bedrock of a new movement. Decades after their release, many of them still are significant works and essential in any discussion about the history of popular music.