Psychedelic Rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock from the mid-1960s that tries to recreate or evoke the mind-altering effects of drugs such as LSD.
Bands use studio effects like reverb, echo and tape played backwards, long improvised sections, and instruments such as sitar and organ alongside electric guitars. It developed at the same time in Britain and on the American West Coast, especially San Francisco. It led to progressive rock and hard rock, and differs from both in its loose, dreamlike feel.
Artists it is known for: Pink Floyd, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Jefferson Airplane, The Doors.
- Family
- Rock
- On Spotify
- A current genre
- What it is
- A genre
- From
- United Kingdom and United States, mid-1960s
- Also called
- psychedelia, psych rock
- Trackify listeners who play it
- 11%
About 9,300 of 83,000 Trackify listeners with public profiles have psychedelic rock among their top artists of the last four weeks. Rounded; updated 13 November 2026.
Psychedelic Rock artists
The Beatles
Pink Floyd
The Doors
The Beach Boys
The Velvet Underground
King Crimson
Jimi Hendrix
The Kinks
The Mamas & The Papas
The Who
The psychedelic rock artists most Trackify listeners have in their top fifty. Each opens on Spotify.
Sources
The definition is written for this site from open sources, and was checked against them on 13 November 2026.