Speaking of garage rock, from a backyard near yours, check out Outrageous Cherry. Very pop sounding. Don't have a specific album recommendation.
Met a 72 year old engineer friend for dinner a few weeks back. I asked him what it was like being in high school in the 60s & he told a story about winning a battle of the bands contest put on by a local radio station (Melbourne, FL) back in 1968. He was 17, summer before he went off to college at Georgia Tech. What made this so hilarious is Kerry is the most linear, straight laced dude you'd ever meet. The imagine of him jamming with a bunch of long haired hippies was totally incongruous.
First prize was an hour in the studio to record two songs for a 45. He said they pressed like 500 copies, and joked his mom bought half of them. He told me the name of the band & the two songs they recorded, which I jotted down in my phone when I had a moment.
I got home and Googled them - holy cow, somebody uploaded both songs on YouTube!
A Side - Burlington Squires -
World (1968) 1:48
B Side - Burlington Squires
- Back Up (1968) 2:10
Tell you what, for a bunch of self-taught teenagers that ain't half bad. Both songs later appeared on a compilation album called "Psychedelic States Vol 3 - Florida in the 60s."
Always fun learning something new about a friend you've known for years.