# What is the best jazz album of the 1960s?

> The 1960s exploded with jazz innovation: modal experiments, free-form improvisation, hard bop reaching its peak, and boundary-pushing artists redefining what music could be. Cast your vote for the album that captured it all.

*By YPB Team · Published April 21, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-jazz-album-of-the-1960s*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **A Love Supreme**
   John Coltrane's 1964 spiritual suite — the most important jazz album of the decade.
2. **Giant Steps**
   John Coltrane's 1960 harmonic tour-de-force that changed saxophone playing forever.
3. **Waltz for Debby**
   Bill Evans Trio's 1961 live classic — lyrical piano trio at its absolute peak.
4. **Out to Lunch!**
   Eric Dolphy's 1964 avant-garde masterpiece — angular, adventurous, ahead of its time.
5. **Speak No Evil**
   Wayne Shorter's 1964 post-bop essential with Freddie Hubbard and Herbie Hancock.
6. **Maiden Voyage**
   Herbie Hancock's 1965 modal masterpiece — oceanic, serene, endlessly influential.
7. **The Sidewinder**
   Lee Morgan's 1964 boogaloo hit that became Blue Note's biggest-selling single.
8. **The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady**
   Charles Mingus's 1963 symphonic jazz suite — ambitious, theatrical, profound.
9. **Free Jazz**
   Ornette Coleman's 1961 double-quartet improvisation that named a whole movement.
10. **Ascension**
   John Coltrane's 1966 collective-improvisation masterwork — spiritual jazz unleashed.
11. **Song for My Father**
   Horace Silver's 1965 soul-jazz classic, later sampled by Steely Dan's 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number'.
12. **The Real McCoy**
   McCoy Tyner's 1967 Blue Note debut after Coltrane — modal jazz at its most powerful.
13. **Spiritual Unity**
   Albert Ayler Trio's 1964 free-jazz lightning bolt — pure raw emotional intensity.
14. **Idle Moments**
   Grant Green's 1963 late-night Blue Note masterpiece — smoky, patient, perfect.
15. **Wes Montgomery - Full House**
   Wes Montgomery's 1962 live album — guitar mastery with a top rhythm section.

Tags: music, jazz, 60s, classic