Perhaps Aretha Franklin's most well-known album, I Never Loved includes the hit single "Respect," which continues to be an anthem for Black and female empowerment. "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" and her cover of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" are soulful classics, too.

Along with the Supremes, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas starred as one of Motown records' most successful girl groups. The group's signature song, "Dancing in the Street" came to represent for many the energy of urban uprisings that broke out in the mid 1960s. "Nowhere to Run" and "Jimmy Mack" are just two of the many additional highlights of this collection.

An early album from the funk band, Stand! is full of provocative, lively songs about sex, euphoria, and racial unrest.

Perhaps the album that best represents the turbulent years of the late 1960s, What's Going On is a collection of some of Gaye's most legendary and most powerful soul songs.

This soundtrack, released after the film, reflects the dark mood of the late 1960s. On funky tracks like "Freddie's Dead," "Superfly," and "Pusherman," Mayfield croons about the plight of the hustler and hints at his tragic fate.

As one of Sly and the Family Stone's later albums, Riot was not a hugely successful album. Produced during a turbulent, drug-smeared period in the group's relationship, its experimental sound and sparse lyrics turned many listeners off to the group. Still, in songs like "Family Affair," "Time," and "Thank You for Talkin' to Me Africa," Sly Stone reveals chaos, pain, confusion, and self-destruction that reflect the crises of the early 1970s.