A ranked map of psychedelic rock
Fifty bands.One altered horizon.
From San Francisco ballrooms and Texas garages to London studios, Tropicália, electronic experiment, space rock and Japan’s acid underground. This is a guided route through psychedelic music—not a wall of fifty identical cards.
How to use the list
Start with the summit, jump to a chapter, or follow any band into its full history and essential records.
Ranks 01–10
The summit
The groups that most decisively turned distortion, studio colour, improvisation and altered perception into durable musical languages.
01
Jefferson Airplane
San Francisco, USA · Psychedelic Rock
02
The Grateful Dead
Palo Alto, California, USA · Psychedelic Rock
03
The Doors
Los Angeles, USA · Psychedelic Rock
04
13th Floor Elevators
Austin, USA · Psychedelic Rock
05
Love
Los Angeles, USA · Psychedelic Rock
06
The Byrds
Los Angeles, USA · Psych / Folk Rock
07
Traffic
Birmingham, England · Psych / Jazz Rock
08
Quicksilver Messenger Service
San Francisco, USA · Psychedelic Rock
09
Moby Grape
San Francisco, USA · Psychedelic Rock
10
Spirit
Los Angeles, USA · Psychedelic Rock
Ranks 11–20
The first wave spreads
Garage urgency, British studio invention, acid-folk imagination and heavier amplification carry psychedelia well beyond its most famous scenes.
The Pretty Things
Sidcup, Kent, England · Psychedelic Rock
12Country Joe and the Fish
Berkeley, USA · Psychedelic Rock
13Tomorrow
London, England · Psychedelic Rock
14Kaleidoscope
Los Angeles, USA · Psych / World
15The Electric Prunes
Los Angeles, USA · Psychedelic Rock
16Blue Cheer
San Francisco, USA · Psych / Proto-Metal
17Big Brother & the Holding Company
San Francisco, USA · Psych / Blues
18The United States of America
Los Angeles, USA · Psych / Electronic
19The Incredible String Band
Edinburgh, Scotland · Psychedelic Folk
20Pearls Before Swine
Eau Gallie, Florida, USA · Psych / Folk
Ranks 21–30
The wider psychedelic world
British studio invention and American heavy psychedelia push the form from compact pop and blues transformation toward louder, stranger album-scale experiments.
Pink Floyd
London, England · Psychedelic Rock / Space Rock
22The Jimi Hendrix Experience
London, England · Psychedelic Rock / Acid Rock
23The Beatles
Liverpool, England · Psychedelic Pop / Psychedelic Rock
24Cream
London, England · Psychedelic Blues / Acid Rock
25Santana
San Francisco, USA · Latin Rock / Psychedelic Rock
26The Zombies
St Albans, England · Psychedelic Pop / Baroque Pop
27Small Faces
London, England · Psychedelic Rock / Mod
28Iron Butterfly
San Diego, USA · Acid Rock / Heavy Psychedelic Rock
29The Seeds
Los Angeles, USA · Garage Psychedelia / Acid Rock
30The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
Los Angeles, USA · Psychedelic Rock / Experimental Pop
Ranks 31–40
Heavier and stranger horizons
Electronic pulse, hard-rock weight, cosmic repetition and more radical studio practice reveal how many futures were hiding inside psychedelic rock.
The Red Krayola
Houston, USA · Experimental Psychedelia / Avant-Rock
32Strawberry Alarm Clock
Los Angeles, USA · Psychedelic Pop / Sunshine Pop
33Vanilla Fudge
New York metropolitan area, USA · Heavy Psychedelic Rock / Proto-Metal
34Blues Magoos
The Bronx, New York, USA · Garage Psychedelia
35The Chocolate Watchband
Los Altos, California, USA · Garage Psychedelia
36Silver Apples
New York City, USA · Electronic Psychedelia / Experimental Rock
37Fifty Foot Hose
San Francisco, USA · Electronic Psychedelia / Experimental Rock
38Soft Machine
Canterbury, England · Psychedelic Rock / Canterbury
39Hawkwind
London, England · Space Rock / Psychedelic Rock
40Gong
Paris, France · Psychedelic Rock / Space Rock
Ranks 41–50
The deep catalogue
Cult records, regional scenes and singular experiments complete the route. These bands reward listeners who keep moving beyond the canonical centre.
Os Mutantes
São Paulo, Brazil · Tropicália / Psychedelic Rock
42Flower Travellin’ Band
Tokyo, Japan · Japanese Psychedelic Rock / Heavy Psych
43Les Rallizes Dénudés
Kyoto, Japan · Japanese Psychedelic Rock / Noise Rock
44July
Ealing, London, England · British Psychedelic Rock
45Blossom Toes
London, England · British Psychedelic Rock / Acid Rock
46Kaleidoscope (UK)
London, England · British Psychedelic Pop
47The Move
Birmingham, England · Psychedelic Pop / Art Rock
48The Smoke
Yorkshire, England · British Psychedelic Pop / Freakbeat
49The Creation
Cheshunt, England · Freakbeat / Psychedelic Rock
50Ultimate Spinach
Boston, USA · Psychedelic Rock / Bosstown Sound
Keep digging
Fifty bands are only the entrance.
Continue into the album archive for the records, key tracks and deeper context behind this ranking.
Explore the psychedelic album guides →