The Best Vinyl Deals On Amazon This Week

Credit: Far Out

Greatest albums of the 1960s year by year: The 10 best vinyl deals available on Amazon this week

Sun 11 December 2022 12:00, UK

Welcome back to Far Out’s weekly vinyl corner feature, where we look to bring you a tempting selection of records from some of our favourite artists, bargain vinyl deals to look out for, and unmissable limited-edition releases. This week, we’re going back to the 1960s to pick out the greatest album from each year of the decade.

Last year, the vinyl comeback enjoyed another milestone year as record sales surpassed that of CDs for the first time in three decades. The return to plastic has steadily climbed since the invasion of streaming services in the late 2000s. While the weightless, highly accessible and practical format is great for discovering and consuming swathes of new music while you’re out and about, there’s nothing like coming home to a bit of vinyl.

Fellow collectors out there will agree if there’s an artist or album you love, there’s always a good reason to have the turntable at the ready and a 12” slot reserved on the shelf for inevitable expansion. The sound quality of vinyl brings something more hearty and vibrant with its analogue warmth and crisp definition that there really isn’t a substitute for.

So if, like me, you have a soft spot for these groovy discs of plastic, allow me to walk you through ten hot picks for this week. We have some classics from Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones, alongside some pioneering essentials from The Velvet Underground and The Beatles.

The following selections have been handpicked by Far Out Magazine, and as a result, we may earn from qualifying purchases.

The 10 best vinyl deals available on Amazon this week:

Etta James – At Last! (1960)

Etta James released her debut album and masterpiece, At Last!, at the beginning of the swingin’ ’60s. The music was a perfect marriage of blues and soul, given character and warmth through James’ spellbinding vocal prowess. The classic LP was produced by Phil and Leonard Chess and reached number 12 on the Billboard albums chart.

‘At Last’ was released as the album’s third of four singles, but has definitely stood the test of time as James’ most iconic track. Elsewhere on the album, ‘All I Could Do Was Cry’, ‘My Dearest Darling’ and ‘Trust in Me’ bring perfect mid-century nostalgia.

Available for purchase here for £17.10.

Elvis Presley – Blue Hawaii (1961)

In 1961, Elvis Presley released his fourth soundtrack album, Blue Hawaii, which served the ears during the film of the same name starring Presley. In America, the album spent 20 weeks at the number one slot and 39 weeks in the top ten on Billboard’s Top Pop LPs chart. On the US Top Pop Albums chart, Blue Hawaii is second only to the soundtrack of West Side Story as the most successful soundtrack album of the decade.

The classic soundtrack album is home to hits like ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’, ‘No More’, ‘Blue Hawaii’, ‘Moonlight Swim’, ‘Rock-A-Hula Baby’ and many more. At this price, it’s the perfect stocking filler for any old-school rock fans out there.

Available for purchase here for £16.22.

Booker T. and the MG’s – Green Onions (1962)

Booker T. and the MG’s almost single-handedly invented funk music with their jaunty rhythm and blues instrumental musings. The band’s 1962 debut album remains their most cherished and influential, mainly thanks to its highly successful eponymous hit.

By the mid-1960s, rock bands on both sides of the Atlantic were weaving Booker T. and the MG’s’ Memphis soul sounds into their music to give it a little funkiness. The album is a real treat for the ears with ‘Rinky Dink’, ‘Twist and Shout’, ‘I Got a Woman’, and ‘Stranger on the Shore’ among the record’s arsenal.

Available for purchase here for £19.73.

The Beach Boys – Surfin’ USA (1963)

While their masterpiece Pet Sounds was pipped to the top spot by The Beatles’ Revolver in 1966, The Beach Boys deserved mention on this list. 1963’s Surfin’ USA was undoubtedly one of the decade’s most important albums. It saw the surf rock’s biggest proponents bring rock ‘n’ roll to the beaches of California thanks to Brian Wilson’s upbeat compositions and their characteristic harmonies.

Surfin’ USA reached number two in the US charts and saw the Beach Boys solidify their position as a class act. This collector’s essential boasts the singles’ Surfin USA’ and ‘Shut Down’ alongside ‘Finders Keepers’, ‘Lonely Sea’, ‘Farmer’s Daughter’, and many more.

Available for purchase here from £15.00.

The Kinks – Kinks (1964)

In 1964, London band The Kinks began to steal some thunder from The Beatles as they released their eponymous debut album. The jewel in its crown is undeniably ‘You Really Got Me’, the band’s breakthrough hit that saw them join the invasion of the American charts. The track would later influence the metal and punk genres thanks to Dave Davies’ distorted power chords.

Elsewhere on this classic debut, you will enjoy covers of Chuck Berry’s ‘Beautiful Delilah’ and ‘Too Much Monkey Business’, and classic original hits like ‘So Mystifying’ and ‘Just Can’t Go to Sleep’.

Available for purchase here for £21.48.

Bob Dylan – Bringing It All Back Home (1965)

It would be pure insanity to leave out Bob Dylan in a 1960s albums list. Frankly, I could have put in at least 3 Dylan LPs, but in a bid for variation, I limited us to one. 1966’s Blonde on Blonde is widely heralded as the Nobel prize winner’s magnum opus, but leaving out The Beatles’ Revolver was unthinkable.

In my mind, Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde mark the peak for Dylan and all deserve a place here. Today, I’ve picked out the earliest of the trilogy. Bringing It All Back Home marked such an important moment for the artist as he transitioned from acoustic to electric and founded folk-rock.

Available for purchase here for £15.64.

Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home — Credit: Press

The Beatles – Revolver (1966)

In the mid-1960s, The Beatles began to transition towards a more psychedelic and experimental rock sound, detached from their roots in 1950s rhythm and blues music. Following the Bob Dylan-infused Rubber Soul of 1965, the Liverpool lads got to work on Revolver.

The album is widely considered the group’s masterpiece, although thanks to the strength of the following three albums, it’s a matter of violent contention. With classics like ‘Eleanor Rigby’, ‘Taxman’, ‘I’m Only Sleeping’ and ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, this one is sure to become well acquainted with your turntable.

Available for purchase here for £26.28.

The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)

The Velvet Underground’s debut album has to go down in history as one of the most iconic and influential records of all time. Sure, the 1960s had a host of exceedingly vital bands and musicians – especially in the British invasion cohort, but very few albums have the timelessness of this Andy Warhol-directed masterpiece.

Brian Eno once described the ongoing impact of The Velvet Underground and Nico perfectly: “I was talking to Lou Reed the other day, and he said that the first Velvet Underground record sold only 30,000 copies in its first five years. Yet, that was an enormously important record for so many people. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band!”

Available for purchase here for £18.59.

Van Morrison – Astral Weeks (1968)

In 1968, Van Morrison released his second solo album, Astral Weeks. The music takes a welcomed departure from his previous pop fodder, such as ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ and ‘Spanish Rose’. Astral Weeks presents a newfound maturity to Morrison’s lyrics, and instrumentally, it brings a more refined and progressive take on the folk tradition.

There’s not a dry second on this late-decade masterpiece, but if I were to extract a few highlights, I would name ‘Sweet thing’, ‘Astral Weeks’, ‘Madame George’, and ‘Cyprus Avenue’.

Available for purchase here for £20.91.

The Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed (1969)

Through the mid-1960s, The Rolling Stones weaned themselves from the sanctuary of their beloved blues covers as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards sharpened their songwriting skills. Their transition toward more pop-orientated hits sadly alienated founding member Brian Jones, who was dismissed from the group in June 1969, just a month before his tragic death.

At around this time, The Stones were becoming titans of the British rock scene. In 1969, they somehow managed to improve on the previous year’s Beggar’s Banquet with the brilliant Let It Bleed. This essential LP sealed off a highly successful decade and laid the blueprint for an even more successful ’70s.