"I always got a kick out of it when they called it [folk rock] the California Sound because it really came out of Liverpool and Greenwich Village," said Roger McGuinn about the genre of music he co-created with fellow Byrds Gene Clark, David Crosby, Michael Clarke and Chris Hillman. Even though The Byrds are largely associated with folk rock, they did dabble in all kinds of genres-country, bluegrass, jazz, eastern, psychedelia-as their highly influential first six albums can confirm. For a while, they were the only worthwhile American answer to the Beatles – only they had cooler shades and did way more drugs. Not only was Mr. Tambourine Man the Byrds' best record, but it also introduced the new genre of folk rock to the world. The album featured five original songs and seven covers, four of which were Bob Dylan penned tunes – including the massive hit single of the same name, "Mr. Tambourine Man," which topped the charts in both the U.S. and U.K. in the summer of 1965. The Byrds' debut stayed on the charts for thirty-eight weeks, peaking at number six on the Billboard Album chart, making it their highest charting non-compilation album. *****Like its predecessor, Turn! Turn! Turn! featured an abundance of cover songs, including two more Dylan tunes, but it was the Pete Seeger-penned title track that stood out the most, becoming the band's second (and last) number one hit. "Turn! Turn! Turn!" was a defining anthem of the sixties and has since become one of the most covered songs in pop music history with everyone from the likes of Dolly Parton to Bruce Springsteen performing renditions of it. **** The Byrds' third album in as many years was their most experimental thus far. Roger McGuinn employs John Coltrane's modal style in his guitar playing while main singer-songwriter Gene Clark quit, leaving behind a helluva parting gift: "Eight Miles High," the best original, non-cover Byrds song ever. Clark's decision to leave was reportedly based on his fear of flying, in which McGuinn told him, "You can't be a Byrd, Gene, if you can't fly." ****Emerging as an exceptional songwriter in his own right, Crosby contributed four tracks to YTY, including the classic "Everybody's Been Burned," possibly his best ever self-penned composition (solo-Byrds or CSNY). Sadly, because of constant infighting, Crosby was dismissed from the group in late 1967. But the record marked a turning point in the band's career: for the first time the Byrds did not rely on an overabundance of covers to fill out an album, employing only one (to the dismay of Crosby), the wonderfully reinterpretated Bob Dylan cover "My Back Pages." ***½…And then there were two. With Crosby being fired and drummer Michael Clarke leaving due to musical differences, Hillman and McGuinn were forced to use outside musicians to complete the recording of the album, most notably session drummer Jim Gordon and future full-time Byrds member Clarence White. In the almost forty years since its release, many consider The Notorious Byrd Brothers to be the Byrds' best album, despite the turmoil that surrounded its production. ****The really country sounding one. Originally McGuinn was looking for someone who could play jazz piano, but what he got instead was a country singer and guitarist who would transform the sound of the Byrds virtually overnight: Gram Parsons. The Dylan cover "You Ain't Going Nowhere," peaked at a dismal seventy-four on the singles chart, while the album itself only reached seventy-seven on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. Despite being a horrendous commercial flop at the time of its release, Sweetheart was seminal in the formation of country rock and the last truly great Byrds record. *****