– Best Ever Albums score: 11,311
– Rank all-time: #154
– Rank in release year (1967): #7
Leonard Cohen initially had no intention of singing the songs he recorded for this album. Cohen intended to get other musicians to record the vocals for the songs he wrote—but his musician friend, Judy Collins, thought her audience would love to hear the songwriter sing instead. Collins convinced Cohen to join her onstage to sing “Suzanne,” the song Collins had recorded vocals for. Her influence ultimately led Cohen down a new path to what would become one of the most beloved records of the decade and a landmark in Cohen’s oeuvre.
