Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield even started as a supergroup, despite being a group of then-unknowns. The band's timely and prophetically haunting hit "For What It's Worth" was a potent introduction to a young Stephen Stills, while Neil Young, the group's other powerhouse, sang two of his five contributions. (Richie Furay filled in admirably on "Flying on the Ground Is Wrong" and the breathtakingly enigmatic first single "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing," especially.) When Young did take the microphone, it was for the cynical-beyond-its-years "Burned" and the likely self-fulfilling "Out of My Mind." The band claimed that this album didn't catch its live energy, and the compact and mannered "Go and Say Goodbye," "Sit Down I Think I Love You," and "Everybody's Wrong" do feature skilled harmonies ahead of their adventurous musical chops, which are parceled out more lightly here than was true of the group at the time. However, as a debut album from 1966, Buffalo Springfield is a powerful first step from a legendary band.