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From garage rock rave-ups to mystic folk to Celtic enlightenment, Van Morrison<\/a>‘s catalog is filled with transcendence and wonder, as\u00a0outlined in the list below of Van Morrison Albums Ranked.<\/p>\n As the 19-year-old leader of the Belfast blues and R&B quintet Them, he found success early with the soon-to-be standard “Gloria,” a song that became a rite of passage for young rock ‘n’ roll bands and an often-covered favorite that has lasted from the ’60s (the Doors<\/a>) to the ’70s (Patti Smith<\/a>) to the ’90s (Tom Petty<\/a>) and after (Car Seat Headrest).<\/p>\n By 1967, Morrison was a solo artist with the Top 10 hit “Brown Eyed Girl.” But a record company switch the following year brought yearning for a new direction that has\u00a0persisted throughout his career.\u00a0Astral Weeks<\/em>, recorded over\u00a0a handful of sessions with musicians he barely knew, transformed both Morrison and the\u00a0boundaries placed on popular and\u00a0folk music at the time.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> The Top 100 Rock Songs of All Time<\/a><\/p>\n Moondance<\/em>, from 1970, began a run of hit albums that has lasted through the decades. (Morrison has charted a Top 20 album every decade in the U.K. since 1970.) It also introduced a restlessness that led Morrison to absorb and combine musical styles throughout his career; pop, jazz, soul, folk, blues, gospel and traditional Irish music have long been part of his repertoire.<\/p>\n In addition to the dozens of studio albums Morrison has released since 1967, also worth considering\u00a0is 1974’s live record It’s Too Late to Stop Now<\/a><\/em>, recorded with the 11-piece Caledonia Soul Orchestra at a time when Morrison was worried about becoming musically stagnant. No\u00a0problem there. It remains a defining concert statement from an artist who pushed against the parameters of popular music to become one of the genre-redefining greats.<\/p>\n From garage rock rave-ups to mystic folk to Celtic enlightenment, a catalog filled with transcendence and wonder.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nVan Morrison Albums Ranked<\/h2>\n