45 Best Summer Albums Of All Time Part 3; the conclusion to our list of the most summer-centric albums ever made.
Welcome back to the third and final installment of our list of the best summer albums of all time, covering a variety of genres and era. If you haven’t already, click here to read part one, and click here to read part 2 to see entries 45 through 15.
If you’d like to any of these albums, click on the album image to buy from Amazon, or click the album title (highlighted in blue) to get it on iTunes.
And now, for the Top 14:
14.Back In Black – AC/DC (July 21st, 1980)
[amazon_image id=”B000089RV6″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Back in Black[/amazon_image]
It seemed an insurmountable task to replace late AC/DC vocalist Bon Scott, and while one can argue Brian Johnson isn’t his equal, ‘Back In Black’ is a classic summer-ready hard rock, from the killer title track, to sleazy classics like ‘Shoot To Thrill’ and ‘You Shook Me All Night Long.’
13. Waiting for the Sun – The Doors (July 3rd, 1968)
[amazon_image id=”B000MCIBB6″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Waiting for the Sun[/amazon_image]
The Doors expanded their psychedelic sultriness on this disc, featuring sun soaked tunes like the title track, and the sonic pick up line ‘Hello I Love You.’
Click here for our Ray Manzarek Tribute Playlist
12. Definitely Maybe- Oasis (August 30, 1994) Parklife – Blur(April 25th, 1994)
[amazon_image id=”B00IN5KX06″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Definitely Maybe (Remastered Deluxe Edition)[/amazon_image][amazon_image id=”B000002TQB” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Parklife[/amazon_image]
The Oasis/Blur feud made for great press, and it also broke the Britpop movement en-masse in 1994. Both of their breakthrough albums are made for slacker summerdom, be it Oasis’s ‘Live Forever’ or ‘Supersonic’ and Blur’s ‘Girls and Boys’, and the title track.
11. Legend- Bob Marley & The Wailers (May 8th, 1984)
marl[amazon_image id=”B0000669JL” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers (New Packaging)[/amazon_image]
This compilation of the reggae masters greatest hits came out just in time for summer, a sunlight disinfectant for the Orwellian blues.
10. Ill Communication – Beastie Boys (May 23rd, 1994)
bea[amazon_image id=”B001R7IH1E” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Ill Communication [Vinyl][/amazon_image]
Every Beastie Boys album was summer ready, but ‘Sabotage’ and ‘Sure Shot’ were the summer anthems of 1994.
9. Raising Hell – Run-DMC (May 15th, 1986)
[amazon_image id=”B008DVJKGS” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Raising Hell[/amazon_image]
The pioneering rap act made the summer way cooler with party anthems like ‘My Adidas’, ‘It’s Tricky’ and the rap-rock ground zero of ‘Walk This Way.’
8. Siamese Dream – Smashing Pumpkins (July 27th, 1993)
[amazon_image id=”B005K8H8W0″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Siamese Dream[/amazon_image]
I played this album non-stop in the summer of 1993, it epitomized all the highs and lows or being young in that era, from the cathartic buzz-saw guitars of ‘Cherub Rock’, to the sad-yet-triumphant ‘Today’ (complete with a sunny video with Corgan as ice cream man) to unrequited romance anthems like ‘Soma.’
Click here for ‘Siamese Dream’ Turns 20
7. School’s Out – Alice Cooper (June, 1972)
[amazon_image id=”B001HADE0U” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]School’s Out[/amazon_image]
‘School’s Out’ is the best summer song ever made. The rest of the album doesn’t quite equal it, but regardless its mandatory summer listening.
6. Appetite for Destruction – Guns N’ Roses (July 21st, 1987)
[amazon_image id=”B000000OQF” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Appetite for Destruction[/amazon_image]
G N’R’s ultimate sonic document to the sleazy L.A. rock scene of the 80’s featured classic summer anthems of debauchery, and a few paeans to young love.
5. Rio – Duran Duran (May 10th, 1982)
[amazon_image id=”B00005BJ9W” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Rio[/amazon_image]
80’s summers became synonymous with Duran Duran; every video off ‘Rio’ was shot in tropical settings, which amplified the suave hedonism of the title track, ‘Hungry Like The Wolf’, and ‘Save A Prayer’.
4. Purple Rain – Prince & The Revolution (June 25th, 1984)
[amazon_image id=”B001DPC4SM” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Purple Rain [180 Gram Vinyl][/amazon_image]
Prince’s soundtrack to his own film is jam-packed with summer decadence and adolescent romance.
See where ‘Erotic City’, the B-Side to ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ ranks on our list of best B-Sides
3. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – The Beatles June 1, 1967
[amazon_image id=”B0025KVLTM” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band[/amazon_image]
Released just in time for the summer of love, this psychedelic masterpiece is full of idyllic, radiant sunny grandeur from start to finish.
2. Surfers’ Choice – Dick Dale & His Del-Tones (1962) /Walk-Don’t Run – All-Time Greatest Hits – The Ventures (1995)
[amazon_image id=”B00HF6THZ6″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Surfer’s Choice[/amazon_image][amazon_image id=”B00C9QPTNQ” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Walk – Don’t Run, All-Time Greatest Hits by Ventures [1995][/amazon_image]
Both of these instrumental virtuous invented the reverb soaked surf guitar sound, which is full of oceanic vibes, be it Dale’s ‘Misirlou’, or The Venture’s ‘Hawaii 5-0’ theme, to name just a scant few.
1. The Very Best of the Beach Boys: Sounds of Summer – The Beach Boys (June 10th, 2003)
[amazon_image id=”B000093BDX” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Sounds of Summer: Very Best of The Beach Boys[/amazon_image]
Every Beach Boys album is summer-ready, so go with the greatest hits featuring every surf-tastic track you could hope for; ‘Surfin’ USA’, ‘California Girls’, ‘Surfing Safari’, ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’, etc. etc. etc.
Or dive into the most comprehensive Beach Boys compilation of all time, with the ‘Made in California’ box set:
[amazon_image id=”B008XZKSRY” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Made In California[/amazon_image]
