578 10 1 750 The Beatles http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SKN7EYK4L._SL80_.jpg 9 One of the most famous and influential albums ever recorded, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band had a huge impact on the music world, signaling the beginning of a new era of sophistication and maturity in rock. The musical experimentation was dynamic and fresh, several tracks were edited to create seamless transitions, and even the visual design was more elaborate than anything previously attempted. Producer George Martin and The Beatles searched for new sounds and studio effects. They added crowd sounds and animal cries from sound-effects recordings, sped up Paul McCartney's vocals in "When I'm Sixty-Four" (to make him sound younger), and sustained a single piano chord for 40 seconds to end "A Day In The Life." The orchestrations, scored by Martin, were hailed by critics as bridging the gap between pop and classical music, and many people who had never bought a rock record bought Sgt. Pepper's. 2230 751 The Beatles http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41BMQS09H4L._SL80_.jpg 9 The Beatles' last days as a band were as productive as any major pop phenomenon that was about to split. After recording the ragged-but-right Let It Be, the group held on for this ambitious effort, an album that was to become their best-selling. Though all four contribute to the first side's writing, John Lennon's hard-rocking, "Come Together" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" make the strongest impression. A series of song fragments edited together in suite form dominates side two; its portentous, touching, official close ("Golden Slumbers"/"Carry That Weight"/"The End") is nicely undercut, in typical Beatles fashion, by Paul McCartney's cheeky "Her Majesty," which follows. 1323 788 The Beatles http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21IVvn7zGAL._SL80_.jpg 9 1054 752 The Beatles http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510D51P8YKL._SL80_.jpg 9 774 754 The Beatles http://a1.ak.lscdn.net/system/uploads/f5f500f4-d74c-7857-9cee-190a8393affa/autoscale-80x80.png 9 599 794 The Beatles http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41H2RGWMNAL._SL80_.jpg 8 559 758 The Beatles http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61-fIEhlMaL._SL80_.jpg 8 403 4473 The Beatles http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61V1mxQpBhL._SL80_.jpg 8 340 790 The Beatles http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31K9PD6V9EL._SL80_.jpg 9 429 798 The Beatles http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31JCXHRNYXL._SL80_.jpg 8 299