100 Greatest Albums of All Time

55. Electric Ladyland, The Jimi Hendrix Experience Reprise, 1968

Hendrix’s third album was the first he produced himself, a fever dream of underwater electric soul cut in round-the-clock sessions at the Record Plant in New York. Hendrix would leave the Record Plant to jam at a club around the corner, the Scene, and “Voodoo Chile” ”“ 15 minutes of live in-the-studio blues exploration with Steve Winwood on organ and Jefferson Airplane’s Jack Casady on bass ”“ reflects those excursions. In addition to psychedelic Delta blues, there was the precision snap of “Crosstown Traffic” and a cover of “All Along the Watchtower” that took Bob Dylan into outer space before touching down with a final burst of spectral fury.