5 Underrated Psychedelic Albums You’ve Never Heard Of

Are you a fan of psychedelic music in all of its iterations, from rock to folk to jazz? Even if you’re a diehard with a pretty substantial collection, you may not have heard these five underrated psychedelic albums. Let’s dive in!

1. ‘Ode To Quetzalcoatl’ by Dave Bixby

In the world of underrated psychedelic albums, Ode To Quetzalcoatl by Dave Bixby is particularly obscure. Bixby is often described as an artist trapped between old and new, and that much is clear on this album from 1969. It’s both ahead of its time and firmly placed in the golden era of psychedelic rock a la Pink Floyd, particularly the Syd Barrett era.

2. ‘Caedmon’ by Caedmon

This self-titled album from 1978 is one of the best acid jazz records from the late 1970s, particularly in England. It was Caedmon’s only studio release until the band reunited over three decades later, and that’s a real shame. We potentially missed out on a lot of great music! This record was a great introduction to what the band could do with traditional folk music through the lens of then-modern psychedelia.

3. ‘First Utterance’ by Comus

We don’t recommend taking any psychedelic substances before listening to this album from 1971. It deserves a spot on this list for its creativity, but this debut record from Comus is straight-up terrifying. It’s a great take on the dark side of psychedelic prog-folk, but it’s not for the faint of heart if the cover is indication enough.

4. ‘Sunrise’ by Eire Apparent (with Jimi Hendrix)

Jimi Hendrix produced and played a part on this record by Eire Apparent. It was heavily hyped up before its release in 1969, and its association with Hendrix is probably why it wasn’t very well-received at the time. Expectations were simply too high. That being said, it’s a very underrated album with a beautiful mix of psychedelic pop and fuzzy rock. If Sunrise wasn’t so heavily associated with Hendrix, it probably would have done much better critically.

5. ‘The Five Day Week Straw People’

This one-time release by The Five Day Week Straw People was an excellent piece of work to come out of the United Kingdom in 1968. The band featured the talents of John Du Cann (Atomic Rooster), but the band was really the sum of its parts. It’s a bluesy, riff-heavy psych-rock album with a few memorable moments. It would have been great to see the band release at least a sophomore record.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.