The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time: 'The Who Sings My Generation'

The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time

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'The Who Sings My Generation'

Courtesy of Brunswick Records

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The Who
MCA, 1965

The Who exploded out of the West London Mod scene and pushed rock and roll to new levels of intensity and volume on their debut. They're in maximum-R&B mode: power-chorded reductions of James Brown ballads hurled forward by a manic freight-train rhythm section. When Pete Townshend was badgered by a manager into beefing up his laidback demo of "My Generation," the resulting explosion knocked a hole in the future. In its raw, delinquent intensity, My Generation is a blueprint for much of the garage-rock, punk and heavy metal that flourished after it was released.