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In 1965 the sound of popular music was quickly developing at a rate that’s hard for us to even imagine today. If you consider the songs that were at the top of the charts in 1963 and then 1964 and then 1965 it’s absolutely incredible how fast musical ideas were advancing at that time. The seven albums included in this article represent the changes of 1965 better than any other albums I can think of. To me that makes them the seven “must hear” albums of 1965.

The albums listed here are done so alphabetically by album name as I found choosing just seven albums difficult enough without then having to put them in order. Note that I didn’t call this the best or greatest albums of 1965. I’ve decided that my own opinion isn’t quite that important after all. To me it’s not so much about ranking music because I think ranking art is pretty silly when you get down to it. To me it’s more about appreciating great music. And that’s what I think this is, great music. I hope that you can also appreciate it.

#1 Bringing It All Back Home by Bob Dylan – Not quite as great as Dylan’s other 1965 album (Highway 61 Revisited) but still an easy choice for one of the seven must hear albums of ’67. This was the sound of Bob Dylan going from acoustic to electric for the first time. “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” “Maggie’s Farm,” & “Mr. Tambourine Man” are among more well known songs on the album. If you’re just getting into Dylan this may be a great place to start.

#2 Help! – Obviously it’s Rubber Soul and not Help! people think of when talking about The Beatles musical advances in 1965 but Help! came first and there were already real signs John Lennon & Paul McCartney’s maturing as songwriters. For one I think the title track often doesn’t really get the respect it deserves. Sometimes The Beatles music is just so good it’s like they are some other level. Imagine if some one hit wonder band had done “Help!” They could have based their whole career on it. That’s how good that song is. Then there’s “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” which is really beautiful and hard to imagine The Beatles having done in 1964. That’s how quickly they were progressing. Music that was unimaginable just one year earlier are now common place.

Of course the album includes “Yesterday” which arguably the most well known pop song of all time. But it’s remarkable not just because of it’s popularity or it’s timeless melody but also because of the very unusual arrangement. It’s often forgot how experimental the arrangement for “Yesterday” really was at the time. Rock bands just didn’t use strings back then. That was a new idea. It’s just become so ubiquitous since then that we forget that even a song that seems a bit “vanilla” like “Yesterday” was actually another advance forward in many ways.

#3 Highway 61 Revisted by Bob Dylan – Definitely one of Dylan’s greatest albums ever, it’s an easy choice for me. While I don’t enjoy it quite as much as his 1966 follow-up Blonde on Blonde (and I think that goes for music in general, I prefer ’66 to ’65) this is a fantastic album. Of course, everyone knows “Like a Rolling Stone” which was Dylan’s biggest hit single ever and the first track on this album. “Ballad of a Thin Man” may be my favorite song on the album (it features Dylan’s famous “Mr. Jones.”)

#4 My Generation by The Who – Sadly The Who don’t seem to get quite the same level of respect that it seems like they should get. This is The Who’s debut album and they definitely appeared on the scene in a huge way. It includes the famous title track and “The Kids Are Alright.”

#5 Out of Our Heads by The Rolling Stones – Includes the classic single “(Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” along with “The Last Time” and “Playing With Fire.” Like everyone else in 1965, The Stones were moving into new territory musically. It’s hard to imagine things moving so quickly today when popular culture seems to be standing still. I mean are people seriously still watching American Idol? Really? After years of that garbage, people still want more?

#6 Rubber Soul by The Beatles – This was The Beatles first album that was really heavily influenced by their use of drugs. When listening to songs like “Nowhere Man, “Girl,” & “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” I can practically smelly the smoke. This is really the first Beatles album that plays like a genuine work of art. And that’s really what is. There’s only two weak tracks (“What Goes On” & “Run for Your Life”) otherwise it’s close to perfection.

#7 Today! by The Beach Boys – Considering how well known their 1966 masterpiece Pet Sounds is known it’s somewhat strange that the precursor to that album, 1965′s Today! is largely ignored. While it’s not as good as Pet Sounds, you can hear the progression to Pet Sounds and it’s still a very good album. Side 2 in particular is worth hearing as it apparently represents the first music written by Brian Wilson after he started experimenting with drugs.

Too often people dismiss Paul McCartney‘s entire career after The Beatles. It’s become such “conventional wisdom” that Paul McCartney was no good after The Beatles that a lot of people don’t even question it. But really the whole idea makes no sense. The guy who wrote so many of The Beatles greatest songs, the guy who was behind many of The Beatles greatest ideas, the guy who wrote such amazing bass lines with The Beatles, this guy is suddenly no good at making music because he’s on his own? It makes no sense, and it’s not true.

Paul McCartney recorded a lot of great music after The Beatles both as a solo artist, with his band Wings, and as a part of the experimental duo (with the producer Youth) The Fireman. In this article I feature the seven best post-Beatles McCartney albums that I recommend you check out. They are listed in chronological order.

Paul McCartney (1970) – Paul’s debut solo album is also among my favorites. I love the home studio “do it yourself” vibe to it. At the time a lot of people just looked at it as lazy or as unfocused (in comparison to the Abbey Road suite that Paul McCartney had largely been responsible for, I can understand that.) But I think it looks a lot better now, looking back at it. It was really a very “indie” sounding album. It’s just a singer-songwriter being creative and recording interesting music because he enjoys doing it. Plus it features what is arguably his best solo song “Maybe I’m Amazed.”

Ram (1971) – I think this may be my favorite solo Paul album. It’s just such imaginative music. Are the lyrics silly? Yes. So what? Paul’s best music was never about the lyrics even when he was with The Beatles. Unfortunately the music critics at the time didn’t get Ram and I think the criticism stung Paul pretty badly and that made him go into other directions. I personally wish he would have continued down this path a bit farther.

Band on the Run (1973) – His third album with Wings and his 5th post Beatles album. This is his best known post-Beatles album and it was the first one to really get a lot of good critical reviews. It’s definitely Paul in his “Abbey Road mode” where he’s really trying to create a “perfect album.” And while it’s not as good as Abbey Road, it is a really strong album with a lot of good songs. Unfortunately I think it was his last really good album for quite some time.

Flaming Pie (1997) – Perhaps it was The Beatles Anthology project that got Paul back in gear but he seems to have found his muse again beginning with this album (interestingly enough, I think this is about the same time Bob Dylan got it together again too after a similarly long period of sub par releases.) Now, I’d probably rank this about 7th out of these seven as it does have some not so great tracks on it, but it also has a number of songs that I do think are really inspired, “Calico Skies” probably being my most favorite.

Rushes (1998) – This is an ambient electronic music album he released under the name The Fireman. I have listened to this album many times, I find it to be really entrancing. For anyone who questions Paul’s “experimental edge” I beg of them to listen to this album and 2000′s Liverpool Sound Collage (which didn’t make this list, but I do think is very interesting too.)

Chaos & Creation… (2005) – This one was produced by Nigel Godrich (the producer for Radiohead & Beck among others) and it has a sense of purpose to it that is often missing from McCartney’s solo material. It may be his most consistently good solo album.

Electric Arguments (2008) – This album was also released under the name The Fireman (with the producer Youth being his collaborator on the project.) The Fireman project had been about very experimental electronic music, but with this album he marries that experimental approach with more pop/rock oriented songs and this very interesting album is the result. At times it’s slightly too new age or something for my tastes, but on many of it’s tracks this album is really exciting as it sounds like Paul at his most creative and vital since his days with The Beatles.

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Sadly I’ve found that many people think of The Beatles only as the band that sang songs such as “She Loves You” & “Can’t Buy Me Love.” While these simple early tunes are great and have lasted the test of time. It’s The Beatles more artistic, experimental songs that I feel are their real legacy. They are the songs that are still inspiring thinking musical artists nearly 40 years after they last recorded together.

These seven songs were The Beatles at their most experimental. Not all of these songs are among their best (although some certainly are) but they are all a cherished part of The Beatles back catalog to me.

#1 “What’s The New Mary Jane”

This song which features only John Lennon, George Harrison and Lennon’s soon to be wife Yoko Ono. It was not actually released until The Beatles Anthology 3. It was intended for The Beatles incredible 1968 double album known as The White Album (it was actually self titled.) It was not included due to time constraints.

The song features a simple piano part, bizarre lyrics, and insane sound effects. The last 4 minutes of the song is basically just spacey sound effects. It’s definitely one of those songs that’s quite hard to describe with words. It’s definitely a real trip.

#2 “Revolution #9″

This 8 minute track was included on The White Album and has probably become The Beatles most infamous track. Many hate it. Some love it. Count me among those that loves it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t listen to it every time I put the album on, it’s not that kind of track. But when I do listen to it, I still find it fascinating.

#3 “Tomorrow Never Knows”

Incredibly the last track on Revolver, “Tomorrow Never Knows” was actually the first song recorded for the album. I think that’s incredible as the song, even 42 years later, still sounds like the future. With lyrics from the book The Psychedelic Experience (which was based upon the Tibetan Book of the Dead), backwards guitars, insane sounding tape loops, this was a song that sounded thousands of years removed from the mop top hits of just 2 years previous.

#4 “Wild Honey Pie”

This is a strange little song which was completely sung and performed by Paul McCartney. It just consists of the refrain “Honey Pie” and some bizarre sounding guitars.

#5 “I Am The Walrus”

Possibly The Beatles most perfect weird psychedelic song. It’s endlessly listenable as there are so many layers to it that one can literally hear something they’ve never heard before even on their 1000th listen.

This was The Beatles at the peak of their “studio as an instrument” phase and it’s still inspiring countless experimental rock musicians to this day. Forget “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” it’s all about “I Am The Walrus.”

#6 “Strawberry Fields Forever”

If “Strawberry Fields Forever” isn’t quite as weird as “I Am The Walrus,” it’s probably even more perfect. It’s a truly brilliant song and much like “I Am The Walrus” it’s the an amazing example of the “studio as an instrument” aesthetic that The Beatles perfected in 1967.

#7 “Within You Without You”

I feel this song often gets short shrift. And yes, it’s very experimental. A “pop” song with an all Indian instrumental? Sure there was “Love You To” & “The Inner Light” before, but this one took it to the next level. I think it’s a brilliant song that fits on Sgt. Pepper perfectly. It’s a trip through some bizarre carnival and you have to make a stop in India while you are there, of course.

Christmas (and birthday) shopping for a Beatles fan has never been easier than it is now with the release of three new very cool Beatles products on 9/9/9 (these three new products will be the first three Christmas gift ideas listed.) In all this article features seven great gift ideas for any Beatles fan among your family & friends.

#1) The Beatles in Stereo Box Set – This is probably the most obvious choice as it’s a comprehensive collection of every Beatles song released from 1962 through 1970 in newly remastered sound (these CDs sound far superior to the old Beatles CDs) and with really great packaging (much better than the old CDs.)

#2) The Beatles in Mono Box Set – This is the best choice for the really serious Beatles fan who wants to hear The Beatles music as it was originally intended to be heard. Also, since these box sets are being made in limited quantities – it’s a great gift idea for anyone who considers themselves a “collector.” Who knows how many copies of these will be made? In my view this box set is just as essential as the stereo box set and to my ears many of these mono mixes actually do sound better than the stereo mixes (and they often sound quite different which makes them essential for a completest.)

#3) The Beatles Rock Band Video Game – Completing the first three gift ideas of new products released in 2009. Of course this game requires a video game console of some kind (either a Wii, PS3, or an XBox 360) but don’t think that this game is only for those who love games. I actually think many older Beatles fans who have never got into playing video games before will love playing this game. Also, it’s a really great way to improve your drumming and your singing!

#4) The Beatles Anthology DVD Set – Many Beatles fans already own these of course, but if you notice that they don’t then this would make an excellent gift! Every fan should own The Anthology. It’s a 10 hour documentary for God’s sake! It’s brilliant!

#5) The Beatles Anthology CDs – There were three sets of Anthologies released in the mid 1990s and they are all really great gift ideas (obviously you may want to snoop around and see if they already own them.)

#6) Love – The Love CD was released a couple of years ago and it’s really a very interesting “mash-up” of The Beatles music. It really sounds fantastic and gives a new perspective on their songs. This hasn’t really sold in huge quantities so I think there’s a good shot that the fan in your family may not already own it!

#7) The Capital Box Sets – Not too long ago there were two Capital box sets released which contain the band’s first 8 American LPs on CD for the first time. After those first 8 American LPs, the same LPs were released in the UK & and in the US but for for the first couple of years there were totally different albums released in America and many older American fans still remember those albums and would probably love to have them on CD!