# 4 Must-Have Albums for Your Kinks Vinyl Collection

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/4-must-have-albums-for-your-kinks-vinyl-collection/
- Published: 2026-07-24T20:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-24T21:13:48+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/4-must-have-albums-for-your-kinks-vinyl-collection/
- Topics: Art, Celebrity, Culture, Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Four albums chart the Kinks’ stylistic evolution.
- Early picks emphasise Ray Davies’ songwriting.
- *State Of Confusion* represents their later commercial return.

## Summary

American Songwriter recommends four Kinks albums as the core of a vinyl collection, presenting them as a way to trace the band’s unusually broad career. The selections highlight the group’s movement from early guitar-driven rock into sophisticated pop, English social observation, concept-led songwriting and later commercial revival.

The list begins with *Something Else*, praised for Ray and Dave Davies’ songwriting and “Waterloo Sunset”, followed by the nostalgic, loosely conceptual *The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society*. *Muswell Hillbillies* is chosen for its more critical portrait of modern Britain, while *State Of Confusion* represents the band’s later period and includes the hit “Come Dancing”. The article acknowledges that the latter may not be among the Kinks’ four greatest albums, but argues it is important context for a rounded collection.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.