6 Albums Your Dad Will Love to Get This Father’s Day

IV, by Santana
For a guy with seemingly endless amounts of chill, Santana sure has put out a lot of records: 23 studio albums with his band, another seven on his own, and that’s not even counting live albums and singles. The guy’s a machine, and his upcoming double LP, IV, is another solid offering of Latin rock with long-haired progressive flourishes, available on gold vinyl exclusively through B&N. Santana’s aforementioned chill surfaces on the effortlessly groovy “Blues Magic” and “Anywhere You Want To Go,” and Ron Isley provides guest vocals for the more urgent “Love Makes The World Go Round.”

1, by the Beatles
Originally released in 2000, this album is a collection of 27 Beatles singles that were #1 hits in either England or the United States (and often both). As if that wasn’t enough of an accomplishment, this album became the fastest-selling of all time, thereby proving Beatlemania wasn’t a fad so much as a phenomenon, even decades after the band members went their separate ways. For this release, this double LP collection was remixed and pressed onto 180-gram heavyweight vinyl, and it comes with four art cards and a poster of single sleeve designs from all over the world. And, of course, all the best Beatles songs are present, from “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Yesterday” to “Penny Lane” and “Hey Jude.”

I Still Do, by Eric Clapton
Released in May 2016, I Still Do is Clapton’s 23rd studio album, a mix of original songs and covers including Robert Johnson’s “Stones In My Passway” and Bob Dylan’s “I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine.” A sturdy and enjoyable effort from start to finish, this record finds Clapton at a point in his career where he doesn’t need to impress anyone or prove anything, and is therefore free to do whatever he likes. It’s a great place to be, especially when the results have as much natural groove as “Spiral,” or as pleasant a vibe as “Catching the Blues.” This is a great album for your dad to put on when he’s relaxing somewhere comfortable, with the whole day in front of him to spend with his record player.

Kind of Blue, by Miles Davis
It’s funny that, in a heavily studied genre in which so much value is placed on obscurity, the best representation of it is also the most popular. Make no mistake: Kind of Blue is the best-selling jazz record of all time, having been certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA, and most jazz historians consider it a masterpiece. The album was Davis’s response to the trends of complex chord progressions and improvisation that were ascendant in jazz in the late 1950s; Kind of Blue is modal, with heavy emphasis on melody, and it soars above its contemporaries. A lot of the album’s success has to do with Miles’ incredible band, featuring John Coltrane as one of the saxophonists.

Freedom: Atlanta Pop Festival, by Jimi Hendrix
This stunning live album, released after Hendrix’s death, is his full set from the 1970 Atlanta International Pop Festival, which saw Jimi perform in front of his largest U.S. audience. It’s also the event where he played his now-iconic version of “The Star Spangled Banner.” Over the course of this 16-song performance, Jimi, along with bandmates Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox, tear the house down with thunderous takes on songs like “Purple Haze,” “Hey Joe,” “All Along the Watchtower,” and perhaps his best version of “Hear My Train A Comin’.” More than anything else, Jimi’s legend was built on his live performances, and this album illustrates why.

Guardians of the Galaxy Original Soundtrack
Guardians of the Galaxy was one of the more unexpected hits in modern film, and that good fortune extended to its soundtrack; its sales were second only to Frozen‘s in 2014. Consisting of the 1970s classic and yacht rock hits on main character Peter Quill’s mixtape, the Guardians soundtrack is well-curated, with songs like Blue Suede’s “Hooked on a Feeling,” the Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb,” and David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream” providing a nostalgic atmosphere. The film’s cinematic score, composed by Tyler Bates, is also included, and is a must-have for fans of the movie (as well as of movies The Devil’s Rejects and Watchmen, also scored by Bates).