Iono honestly they changed up a bit and had some poppy and mainstream ones. Maybe go in a kind of chronological order of some of their respected typical albums. They have 26 studio albums which can be tedious.

For a old band like that I typically try to listen to at least 5-7 or so albums to get a good sample size and how their style sort of went from generic 60s British Invasion band to becoming their own thing

“Kinks” (1964). Their Debut and kind of a mess full of filler but of course you gotta to start there)m

“The Kink Kontroversy”(1965) Probably my favorite of their earliest stuff

“Face to Face” (1966) this is when there sound started to evolve

Something Else by the Kinks (1967)

“The Kinks are The Village Green Preservation Society” (1968) this is the album that kind of cemented them as a titan of pop/rock music. It bombed initially but became a cult favorite and considered their magnum opus)

“Arthur, Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire”(1969)

“Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One'” (1970)

This is a good sample size to kind of see who they are. After these albums their quality declined greatly and they became kind of self indulgent, campy and just too weird in a bad way. These albums are like their golden age era.

Some facts about the Kinks. A couple of the albums on this list are early examples of concept albums and have themes and narratives attached to them which was innovative for the era.

The Kinks, when compared to the Rolling Stones or Beatles, are more uniquely “British” in a way that Blir, The Smiths or the Libertines are. They were banned from performing in the USA between 65-69 which caused them write songs that don’t have an international audience in mind, hence their stylistic shift. They focused on themes and topics that are tributes, critiques, satire, and observations about British life, trends and society during the time period. Obviously anyone can listen to it but it’s kind of a window to that corner of the world.

Here are a couple bonus albums. These are NO WAY essential listening at all. but for novelty purposes and to see how they tried to stay afloat it might be fun to listen too. Like seeing them move further and further away from their roots.

Muswell Hillbillies (1971) considered their last decent album before they fell apart. It actually has a big country influence and was trying to blend rural Americana styles with British working class themes and was kind of a protest album against modern life in general.

Misfits (1978) considered a comeback album after years of trash. They adapted a bit and kind of absorbed influences from glam rock and arena rock genres that were popular at the time.

State of confusion (1983) arguably their “best” album of the 80s, which isn’t saying a lot. It’s pretty forgettable and pointless overall. But to me it’s still worth a listen to see their take on New Wave music