‘Aftermath’ vs. ‘Between the Buttons’: Why Stones Fans Are Split on the Best Early Album

The real divide isn’t about quality—it’s about what you want from a mid-60s Stones record. Aftermath (1966) was the band’s first full album of original songs, and it flexes with the confidence of a group that just discovered it could write its own hits. Brian Jones’s sitar on “Paint It Black” and marimba on “Under My Thumb” gave it a strange, exotic texture that still sounds fresh. The songs are longer, moodier, and more experimental—a deliberate step away from the blues covers that built their early reputation.

Between the Buttons (1967) is a different beast: more pop, more playful, and often weirder in a quieter way. Songs like “Ruby Tuesday” and “Let’s Spend the Night Together” were huge singles, but the deep cuts lean into music-hall whimsy and Dylan-esque wordplay. Fans who prefer Aftermath usually point to its cohesive, edgy vision—this is the Stones as innovators, not imitators. The Buttons crowd values its lightness and variety, seeing it as the band’s sharpest batch of songs before the psychedelic turn of Their Satanic Majesties Request. Neither album is wrong to love; they just reward different moods.