When you consider all of the records that were released in 1967, it's a pretty mind-rattling experience. From grand statements by established artists to brash newcomers ready to take on the world, it was one of the greatest eras in rock 'n' roll history, as you'll see in the below list of the Top Summer of Love Albums.

Experimentation and exploration were the typical order of the day, as artists took chances at every single turn. Rules were broken, and boundaries were pushed beyond their limits.

It's still amazing to recall that pop music went from from Freddie and the Dreamers to Jefferson Airplane, not to mention from "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to "A Day in the Life," in the span of just three short years. The advancements in recording techniques and technologies exploded in 1967. An album like the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band would have been unimaginable a couple years earlier.

It was also the year in which pop and rock music blossomed into a complete artistic endeavor, with the waves caused by this cultural shift still being felt decades later.

There is a huge stack of incredible albums from 1967, more than we've included here; we've gathered a handful of the ones that provided a soundtrack to that key summer. Keep in mind to qualify for our list of the Top Summer of Love Albums, an LP had to be released in the few months leading up to summer or during summer itself. So, some excellent records that came out later in 1967 were omitted because they didn't make any impact that summer. But they're still essential records from one of rock's most fertile eras.

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