Listen to some music here: podcasts.progrock.com/2023/05/09/sea-of-tranquilitys-ranking-the-albums-the-kinks/?fbclid=IwAR1_DuZyJnQUaMV1DEcKCPWW_U1IEPGYT1BtJ6nKXJkM9jlWQvjtKZmhMx8

Village Green is up there with being the greatest albums of all time.

Gawd, Pete. You made us wait for this. 1) "Arthur" - THE greatest concept album of all time. It was supposed to be made into a TV show but got cancelled. "Shangri-la", "Victoria", "Young and Innocent Days", "Some Mother's Son", the list goes on. Just an amazing album. 2) "The Village Green..." - The quintessential album of English country life. 3) "Sleepwalker" - After the "theatrical" period of disappointing albums, Ray Davies came back with a bang. This is great. "Sleepwalker", "Stormy "Sky", Life On The Road". 4) "Something Else" - "David Watts", "Death Of A Clown" and the greatest Kinks song of all time ""Waterloo Sunset". 5) "Lola vs Powerman" - Some of the songs were used in a TV play "The Last Train Through Harecastle Tunnel". "Powerman" and "Lola" are brilliant.

Village Green Preservation Society is a classic album masterpiece

Q:The Beatles or the Stones? A: The Kinks

Village Green is every bit the masterpiece that Who’s next or Abbey Road are Just not as widely known.

I know a lot of their fellow musicians cite The Village Green Preservation Society as one of the most influential albums ever. It was released during the period the band were banned (!) from touring America and as a result is quintessentially English. I would say it’s my favourite Kinks album.

My favorites: 1. The Village Green Preservation Society 2. Something Else 3. Give the People What They Want 4. Face to Face Also recommend: The Kink Kronikles

Pete I’m 47 until about 5-7 years ago I never really listened to them .but in the last 5 years I’ve come to realize how good they are ..muswell hillbies is a masterpiece..

“Arthur” is their masterpiece, and has always been my favourite Kinks LP. When I first took up guitar in the late 1970s, I bought an original songbook of sheet music for the album (still have it today). “Shangri-la” was one of the first songs I ever learned on guitar. “Lola VS the Money-go-Round” and “Village Green Preservation Society” are my second and third Kinks faves.

For me, this is your most surprising ranking so far. My top three: 1. Something Else 2. Arthur 3. Village Green Preservation Society

Village Green IS their Abbey Road. But I totally respect your opinion, Pete

Muswell Hillbillies would come very high on my list; some beautiful songs on that one. Thanks Pete.

1. Village Green 2. Arthur 3. Something Else 4. Face to Face 5. Kink Kontroversy

My personal favorites 1. Village Green 2. Arthur 3. Something Else 4. Muswell Hillbillies 5.Face to Face

10 Reasons to be a Kinks Fan: 1. They have lots of music: 24 studio albums and 5 live albums. 2. They cover 4 decades: sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties. 3. They have many popular songs: 26 Top 40 hits. 4. They have a wide variety of music styles: rock, pop, R&B, ballad, music hall, hard rock. 5. They have concept albums! 6. They were key members of the British Invasion of the mid 60s 7. Dave Davies: inventor of the “hard rock guitar riff”. 8. Ray Davies: master of social commentary and hero of the working class. 9. You can dance to The Kinks! 10. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.

I'm a huge Kinks fan so here's my full list for what it's worth: 1. Village Green Preservation Society 2. Arthur 3. Something Else 4. Face To face 5. Low Budget 6. Give The People What They Want 7. Lola Vs. Powerman 8. Misfits 9. UK Jive 10. Think Visual 11. Soap Opera 12. Kink Kontroversy 13. Percy 14. Kinda Kinks 15. Everybody's In Showbiz 16. Muswell Hillbillies 17. Prerservation Act I 18. State Of Confusion 19. Sleepwalker 20. Word Of Mouth 21. Schoolboys In Disgrace 22. Phobia 23. Kinks 24. Preservation Act II

You're one of the few who put The Kinks Arista era records deep into their top 10. Thank you! I'm a year older and that's exactly the time I got into them in a big way!

Waterloo sunset is a masterpiece.

To me Face To Face is their Rubber Soul. It was the first time they put out a cohesive album of original songs instead of just a collection of tracks. I read that the LP was supposed to have sound effects between each track but the idea got lost in the recording. There are still some on there (intros to Party Line, Holiday In Waikiki, Rainy Day In June) though. I can't remember if they recorded End Of The Season at that time and held it back for Something Else (as they held back Village Green for VGPS) but it has a sound effect intro of birds singing too, so maybe. Following on Something Else I think of as their Revolver as they were experimenting in the studio rather than just getting it down. Ray was getting into producing by that stage. VGPS I see as their Sgt Pepper's- Ray's first concept LP. So many different styles and memorable songs. He was really going for it with that one. I'm a fan of everything they released on Pye but I go off them after that. I think Ray needed Dave to give his songs a kick but as time went Dave was increasingly sidelined in the band. Just my 2 cents. Thanks for the video.

Three bands had a hit called "Do It Again". The Beach Boys Steely Dan The Kinks All are great songs imo.

1 - Something Else 2 - Village Green Preservation Society 3 - Muswell Hillibillies 4 - Lola Versus Powerman 5 - Face to face Also Kink Kronikles is such a fantastic compilation which along with some of their biggest hits, contains some great singles and B sides.

Wtf?? Living on a Thin Line is an amazing song!

One for the Road was their defining album, I think - that live album was huge and everyone I knew had a copy

I was taken aback when you ranked Aftermath & Between the Buttons so low in your Rolling Stones video, but your Kinks album rankings are truly mind boggling. The Kinks strongest period was 1966-1971.

Here's a question for you guys: Why do the Kinks have a song called "Moving Pictures" and another song called "Permanent Waves"? And was a certain band listening to the Kinks at the time?

Very diverse band! I really like their late 60' s material. I've heard it described as Baroque pop? My top 3 3. Face to Face 2. Something Else 1. Village Green Preservation Society

I also recommend "The Kink Kronikles"...an excellent and interesting compilation album

The Kinks are among the earliest musical experiences I can remember. I loved and sang along to their songs before I even knew their name. My mama sang Stop Your Sobbing to me and with me if there was a need. Tired of Waiting, Sunny Afternoon, See My Friends, All Day and All of the Night were there with Mr Tambourine Man or Paint it Black or House of the Rising Sun (the Animals version) as my childhood soundtrack. Pete, I fully understand your reasoning about their albums. I can easily list 25+ top notch tunes from the Kinks and still think I missed a whole bunch, something that only happens with the Stones or Dylan and a few other. Their albums are a different story, they even made bad albums. Still they are a band I will always love and that have songs that I would not miss. And their best albums are great ones, one would have been my top 1968 album if Astral Weeks had not existed. 1. Something Else (Simplicity is not trivial, these are songs that are with me since 50 years, sometimes a melody or lyric line pop up from one's subconsciousness and when I trace it back it may be a Kinks tune. There is not s single bad note on this album, one of the most underrated gems in rock history. And if I hear Waterloo Sunset for the 5000th time I will still be moved by it.) 2. Muswell Hillbillies (Muswell Hill is the part of London where the original members grew up) 3. Low Budget (This one fits with where we are in the "Album per Year" series that runs here on the channel in parallel. As punk/post punk + new wave arrived, all these new bands payed tribute to the Kinks, they were like the blueprint band this new generation wanted to sound like. And somehow it returned the Kinks themselves to their own roots again.) 4. Face to Face (the first "real album" they made as an album, all earlier ones were the typical 60s releases of take some singles + add some covers + put some fillers, this time Ray Davies had an album in mind) 5. State of Confusion 6. Give the People What They Want 7. Everybody's in Showbiz 8. Village Green Preservation Society (only the Kinks could take such a topic - this is meant to be a concept album, right? - and make it interesting. I am not British.) 9. Arthur 10. Misfits 11. Word of Mouth 12. Lola vs Powerman (Sorry, as much as I love the Kinks as much do I hate Lola + Powerman, This Time Tomorrow however is classic Kinks stuff) 13. Think Visual 14. Sleepwalker 15. Kink Kontroversy 16. Preservation, Act 1 (Sweet Lady Genevieve is one of my best loved Kinks songs, Sitting in the Midday Sun is another classic, they save the album that is otherwise forgettable) 17. Schoolboys in Disgrace (Here is where their catalogue stops for me, this and the following albums are those I probably may not listen to ever again. Like I said, as much as I love the Kinks they did bad albums as well.) 18. Kinda Kinks (Look for 1989s Rhino Greatest Hits, you get all of the early stuff you need without the fillers - I'm Not Like Everybody Else invented punk more than a decade before the event) 19. First 20. UK Jive 21. Soap Opera 22. Phobia 23. Preservation, Act 2 24. Percy

I play in a Kinks tribute band. Interesting fact right there. My top 6 are... 1. Village Green 2. Lola 3. Something Else 4. Arthur 5. Face to Face 6. Muswell Hillbillies... The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society is right up there with anything the Beatles, Who or Stones ever produced. One of those albums I never tire of hearing.

Yay! You finally did a video on my favorite band of all time! Thank you! I think Ray Davies is the most underrated composer in rock. His lyrics were insightful, funny, and poignant and his music covered so many different styles! He wrote some really catchy sing-a-long stuff (Lola) and some just plain beautiful melodies (Days and Waterloo Sunset). I first got into them after getting the One for the Road album as a high school graduation gift. I started buying the early albums to see what the original versions of some of the songs sounded like. The first tour I saw them on was for Give The People What They Want. I saw them a total of 20 times over the years. An amazing live band and Ray is the consummate showman!

Actually, Village Green seems to be referred to as their Who's Next or Sgt. Pepper.

I was disappointed you didn't mention "Sweet Lady Genevieve" from Preservation Act 1, one of my all time favorite Kinks songs. I'd find it impossible to rate all their albums --- you should definitely do a Top 20 or 25 Kinks songs. There would be a tremendous amount of variety for sure.

Arguably "invented" riff-driven rock with You Really Got Me and All Day and All of The Night. assaulted my very young ears when released and was a fan instantly. very British and in particular,London-centric.(muswell hill being their manor in North London)

Can't say I agree with your initial statement that The Kinks lacked the definitive album. I feel their run of albums from 67 to 72 are as strong as any band outside the Beatles. Here is my partial ranking. 1. Arthur 2. Village Green Preservation Society 3. Lola 4. Something Else 5. Muswell Hillbillies 6. Face to Face 7. Everybody's in Showbiz 8. Sleepwalker 9. State of Confusion 10. Low Budget I'm a huge Kinks fan from way back. I love the quirky very British style of mid 60s to early 70s. I found the mid 70s theatrical albums to be much weaker songwriting. The late 70s early 80s arena rock period is quite enjoyable, but a bit "generic" compared to their 66-72 albums. I really enjoyed their last album Phobia. It may be overstuffed and not up to their classic standards, but it is linked to some happy times and positive associations. I encourage serious Kinks fans to pick up the Arthur deluxe 50th anniversary box set from last year. It's a treasure trove of Kinky goodness. Cheers!

My 5 favorite Kinks' albums. 1. Lola vs. Powerman & the Moneygoround Part 1 2. Muswell Hillbillies 3. Something Else 4. Everybody's in Showbiz 5. Low Budget

I am enjoying your rundown, Pete. Catch Me Now, I'm Fallin' is my favorite song from the Kinks. Out of all the rock bands that ventured into disco type beats for an album in the latter part of the 70s, I think Low Budget is the best and one of the less dated albums.

Pete`s and my rankings of albums are usually pretty close, with a few minor differences. But Pete and I differ big time on ranking the Kinks! Face to Face, Something Else, Arthur, and Village Green would be very high on my list. I do agree the concept era albums(Preservation Act, etc...) are a little more interesting than the first couple of albums. I think they really started finding they`re way with Face To Face, that`s when I think they`re albums started getting really good...

i was in a newsstand a few years ago and The Kinks were playing over the sound system. When i went up to pay for my magazine i asked the young lady behind the counter if she liked The Kinks. She looked at me like I was nuts and I realized that was totally unfamiliar with the band but thought i was some weirdo pervert asking about her sexual preferences. That'll teach me.

In England the 65-72 albums are the highest rated ones.After that they started to try and break America which made them too similar to generic rock acts.Best albums.1.Village Green.2.Arthur.3.Something Else.4.Lola.5.Face to Face.6.muswell.

I agree with you that the Kinks never had a truly defining album like other bands did. However, one of the contributing factors to their status in the U.S. is that they were banned from performing in the States from mid-1965 to 1969. It's hard to build a following if you can't tour. The Beatles, The Stones, The Who built a loyal fan base in the U.S. during that time.

I feel like it all came together on “Arthur”. My fav, anyway.

The Kinks are like the poster boys for bands that scream 'make your own compilation' because almost every album has at least 2 or 3 fabulous songs. That works for me anyways. I love 'Sleepwalker' since it just flows so well, sweet & to the point and 'Muswell Hillbillies' [for "Oklahoma" alone, one of top 3 Kinks songs for me] and those are the albums I'll go to when I don't do the compilation. Your right about the album covers too Pete.

It didn't work for Pete but the comments here support the view that Something Else was the Kinks at their best. Every track is a gem. Probably they are the hardest of all bands to categorise or classify. It was just wonderful they offered something for everyone.

"Come Dancing" is a wonderful song -- about his sister.

Totally agree with you that GTPWTW and Low Budget were awesome rock albums and often snubbed by die hard fans. Very consistent and all the songs fit well together. State of Confusion may have had hits but it didn't hold together well as an album - the songs were all over the place and it was difficult to listen to end to end. Same story for Word of Mouth. Their last few albums didn't have many hits but the songs fit together well.

The kinks kronikles! Great comp!

Enjoyed that. Thanks Pete. My own Top 3 would be: 1. Village Green Preservation Society 2. Something Else 3. Arthur

I’m a something else guy. Whole album is great.

My top ten; 1 Schoolboys In Disgrace 2 Low Budget 3 Lola Vs. Powerman 4 Sleepwalker 5 Everybody's In Showbiz 6 State Of Confusion 7 Give The People What They Want 8 Kinks 9 The Kink Kontroversy 10 Kinda Kinks “Schoolboys in Disgrace” is the only Kinks album that I like every song. Five favorite songs are “No More Looking Back”, “You Really Got Me”, “Sunny Afternoon”, “Celluloid Heroes” & “(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman”.

Muswell Hillbillies is a fantastic Kinks album. My favourite. A true classic!

I Saw The Kinks in 1980 what a fantastic show. They were every bit as good as the Rolling Stones when I saw them in 1972. What a musical treasure that band was. Muswell Hillbillies Arthur the decline and fall of the British Empire the Celluloid Heroes song. And many many many many more! Blessings stay safe

Quintessentially English band, in fact quintessentially North London, although Waterloo is south of the river. Every time I walk over Waterloo Bridge towards the station I hear The Kinks. Watching the sunset from there is as good as it gets.

1. Arthur: An early concept album. It is about a man - Arthur - who looks at himself and his family, and the world changing before him. Besides the creativity of the album, it has one of the greatest album covers EVER!!!! 2. Muswell Hillbillies. 3. Sleepwalker: The arena rock period, showcasing the underrated Dave Davies and his tasty guitar chops on title pieace and Juke Box Music. Periods: 64-66 British invasion period...Decent albums, but none stand out over the others. 72-75 Vaudevillian period...I thought Pete called that exactly!...Show biz my fav, here. 76 - 79 Arena rock...I include Schoolboys here. There is a bigger sound, thanks to Dave; and he does sound good! 80's - Commercial period...'Think Visual' the best here, IMO.

For me, not many bands had a run of 6 consecutive great albums like the Kinks did from Sleepwalker in '77 thru Word of Mouth in '84. I gotta go with Low Budget as my #1. Thanks, Pete. (BTW - I'm listening to Unleashed in the East as I watch this video)

Thank you so much for that explanation, that is very helpful. They put out so many albums!

And Something Else is another classic! One of the better albums of 1967 in fact.

Thanks for this, Pete ! Everybody can love the Kinks: whatever music you like, there's a Kinks album for you. My favorite: Arthur, and I love the early 70s albums.

Thank you for ranking the Kinks.🎤🎸🥁🎵

Great to see an American loving the Kinks and Other great British institutions! Nothing gets past this guy!

The Kinks had so many different eras in their music, and I have loved many songs from their entire career, but I just LOVE the full albums of Face to Face, Something Else By The Kinks, Village Green Preservation Society and especially Arthur. Those are the four I go to most often. Also have my own compilation of about 70 songs from all their eras.

Interesting observation: the Kinks had song titles on consecutive albums that became titles of consecutive albums by Rush a couple of years later: Permanent Waves on 1978s Misfit and Moving Pictures on 1979s Low Budget. Coincidence?

Good one Pete! Love the Kinks! You have to understand that when the Davies boys were growing up their parents would have piano song alongs, mainly old English shows tunes from the music halls. They were unapologetic British. They were also blacklisted by the stage unions here in the states due to bad behavior! This lasted for about 4 years where they did not tour here. If you get a chance check out a video of Apeman with a gorilla playing the piano. Ray doesn’t miss a beat while singing to this live on TV. It’s funny. Ray Davies was the best songwriter of the period I think. So underrated. Thanks for your videos. Peace!

Really helpful. I will have a look in my local record store when it opens again.

Thank you for doing a feature on the Kinks. I appreciate that you covered and clearly were familiar with their large catalog of studio albums. But the review is completely devoid of any historical context and any appreciation of their immense musical influence on rockers and on Brit-Pop, for example. The review also doesn't reflect any awareness of a certain critical consensus. As someone mentioned, the albums from 1966 to 1971, beginning with Face-to-Face and ending with Muswell Hillbillies, are widely perceived to be their classic material. Those six albums are all masterpieces that rank with the very best of the Who or the Stones. Pete Townsend has often sung the praises of Ray Davies and the Kinks. It is perfectly fine to go against the grain and reject the critical consensus, but a lack of awareness is problematic. Sleepwalker and Misfits have a special place in my heart because they came out when I was a teen. I still love them and your comments resonated with me. Kinks Kronikles is a phenomenal compilation as great as Hot Rocks or Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy, which I love. On the other hand, "It's the Kinks" is a low-budget (quasi-legitimate) compilation not worth mentioning. There are perhaps a dozen similar ones that include the same songs. I appreciate that the Kinks are a little bit outside the scope of music that you tend to feature on SOT, and I'm grateful you gave them some attention.

I wish i could fly like superman i had the 12' single on blue vinal years a go it had a disco mix of it 👍

I think Village Green and Arthur stack up against Sticky Fingers and Sgt Pepper. All four albums show their respected bands at some kind of artistic peak (even if they may have recorded better records), all feature some of their most iconic songs and all feature a couple of duds (even if they're still enjoyable duds). I can see what you mean about Lola possibly being the Kinks' big record due to the hit song, though in England you're more likely to see people coming together for a track like Waterloo Sunset, Days or Sunny Afternoon, songs that are almost English anthems in a similar way to what Bruce Springsteen is to New Jersey and Billy Joel to New York

I have watched so many of these and just now came across this episode about my favorite band the kinks!!

Hello Pete, long-time viewer here, although I do not comment much. But I just wanted to say I really love your recent best of the Year videos. But this video in particular is very close to my heart, since I am a very big Kinks fan. I must say my list and your list pretty much match up exactly! I think the only major difference from me would be that I would move the album Phobia from 1993 a bit higher. I know it's a long album with probably a few too many songs, but when you really get down to it...it is a great way to finish off their long and storied career. Also want to thank you for your channel, you were one of the Inspirations for me starting my own channel. So I thank you. Take care and all the best to you and your family. Cheers, Matthew Street

Love this Band!! Very underrated!!

Thank you for acknowledging the greatest band in Rock history. My only criticism is you misunderstood The KinKs. They are not a " songs" band. The KinKs are an album band. Each KinKs album from 1966 Face to Face through 1986 Think Visual is a theme in itself. They are all individual works of art. In order to truly appreciate their genius, you have to listen to each album, uninterrupted, from start to finish. No other band has accomplished the level of artistry Ray Davies and The KinKs have created. Not even close. I suggest you go back and listen specifically to the albums from the period of 1966 to 1986 and you may change your rankings. However, great job. I enjoyed watching. God Save The KinKs

I really enjoyed the initial examination of their style, hope I see more of that going forward. You know, telling personal stories is interesting yet hearing some considerations based on experience is much more enriching

Love the kinks one of my favorite songs Celluloid heroes

Hi, I follow your channel with a lot of interest.. but concerning the Kinks, I think you just miss the point (as I see it). The great albums are definitively the late sixties albums... They were banned from America and the albums they released were so british and they created sommething really different from the other bands... They will be remembered for these albums... I don't think that "low budget" will really be remembered (at least not in the UK)... But I get it : The who's "Face Dances " is a favourite of mine because it's the first album I ever bought!!!. So Here's my top five : -Something else by the kinks -Village green -Face to Face -Arthur -The Kink Kontroversy (for dedicated follower of fashion) And one really needs to have the singles of all the Pye Years : so many classic songs were just singles.

village green, arthur, muswell hill, lola v powerman, something else are the 5 best 4 me

Long time Kinks fan! My faves: 1. Something Else 2. The Village Green Preservation Society 3. Lola vs Powerman 4. Kink Kinkdom 5. Face To Face 6. Arthur 7. Everybody's In Showbiz

The Kink Kronikles..... my fav records... amazing list of songs....

Very surprised that Low Budget was #1 for you Pete. My top 3 #1 - One For The Road #2 - Low Budget #3 - Give The People Want They Want

I am a long time original Kinks fan (from the 60's). Your assessment that while they are a great band and have a ton of great songs I agree that no one album is a 100% excellent all the way through. It was usually a 60/40 split between very good songs and meh songs. "School Boys in Disgrace" and "Preservation 1-2" were the albums where they lost their audience (these would be at the bottom of my list). I saw the Kinks live several times during that era (Capital Theater- Passaic NJ, Byrne Arena-NJ, Schaffer Music Festival NYC Central Park etc.). My top picks are below. On any given day the order could change. 1. Village Green 2. Misfits 3. Arthur 4. Lola VS the Powerman 5. Sleepwalker 6. Everybody's in Showbiz

Were all on a low budget!Love your list.Totally fun.Cheers to you!😀

Wish I could discuss music with you man. Got such a similar taste. Love the vids keep em coming

God Save The Kinks!

I haven’t heard all of the albums, but my favorite and one of my favorite albums of all time is Lola vs Powerman and The Moneygoround.

Much of the reason they ended up sounding so "British" is that they were unable to enter the US for 4 years following their 1965 tour. They did not pick up the influences of late 60s America that other British Invasion bands did and therefore Ray started using domestic situations for inspiration. The double album compilation The Kink Kronikles covers this period well, from 1966 (Face to Face) to 1970 (Lola).

Great show Pete from one of my favorite bands 70 era my favorite I own the whole catalog. There concept albums are my favorite I also agree. And have often said. A lot of people really don't know how to take the kinks

I think Thick As A Brick and Village Green are perhaps the two greatest concept albums of all time, and what I like about Village Green is it is so naturally a concept album, not like someone set out to create a concept album, but it just naturally turned out that way. It really shows Ray Davies to be a great song writing talent.

"Preservation Act" is the exquisite cult operetta performed by Ray Davies. Specifically "Preservation Act 2" is the most musically interesting work of the band in the decade of the 70s.

Nice one for doing the kinks.

The Kinks were the band that got me into rock right around the Give the People What they Want album. I've got them all and love them all. It's cool to see you rank Misfits so high. I thought I was the only Kinks fan that ranked that one towards the top!

good list...some of my favorite l.p.'s are...'schoolboys in disgrace'...'everybody's in show-biz'...and 'village green preservation society'...but i do agree that each album has songs you don't want to miss....nice job...stay well pete...

Muswell my personal #1 of the most underrated band of all time, great point about the definitive album like their contemporaries. The song writing brilliance is definitely spread across those 24 albums. Great video man love your channel!

Great. Thanks Pete. Village Green my favourite BTW

very astute observation and spot on analysis

I'm a big Kinks fan, but really feel like their quintessential period was from 1968-1973. If you really like any of their albums in that period, you should check all of them out. I wanted to give a little shout out in favor of the soundtrack to Percy. To me it fits right in with that period. It's at the bottom of the pile for that time period in their catalog, but to me I enjoy it a good bit more than some of their later albums. If you are looking for a particular song to check out from Percy, give the song "Moments" a listen. I feel if that song was on one of their other studio albums in that period, it would be much more known, and could have even been a minor "hit". In my mind, it's almost as good (and beautiful) as Waterloo Sunset. If you are a Kinks fan, and don't know it, give it a listen.

My surprise was no mention of Kinks Klassics: From Percy: "God's Children" and "The Way Love Used To Be"; Sleepwalker: the background vocals alone in "Full Moon" are worth the price of admission - great song and most underrated; Schoolboys In Disgrace: great album, top 3...again, the background vocals on "Headmaster" worth the price of admission...there's no "B" side on this album; Soap Opera: who else but Ray writes a line: "What's the point of cracking up all because of Shepherd's Pie?"; Their GOAT: "Victoria" - not just a single...watch their live video from the 1979 tour;

Thank you!

1. Village Green 2. Lola 3. Arthur 4. Muswell Hillbillies 5. Something Else 6. Give the People What They Want 7. Misfits 8. Low Budget 9. Face To Face 10. Kontroversy Also need to mention The Great Lost Kinks Album, which is fantastic.

Being the ultimate Kinks fan, I love ALL their music. The reason the Kinks wern't as big as the other groups you mentioned was 'cause they were banned from the states for the most important years in music history

You can tell the Kinks were a great band when a classic like Village Green Preservation Society comes in only at number SEVEN among their albums. Most bands would kill to have ONE album that good (although I would personally rank it higher).

I've seen them live four times-- never disappointed!!