This was a tougher list to compile. New York didn't have the unifying scenes as Los Angeles (folk-rock) or San Francisco (psychedelic). The Greenwich Village folk scene was big, but with alot of people not from New York.....including Bob Dylan.

This list is thin, but there's a bit of everything from pop to folk to girl groups to psychedelic to poet/avant garde.

I'm sure there's someone big I likely missed.....there are not any real Web pages/lists of New York groups as with LA or SF.

(For Neil Diamond, think more early Bang recordings....though some of his soft adult contemporary stuff started later 60's as well)

The Lovin' Spoonful.

Ronettes - greatest singles ever recorded IMO

I collect most of the names above.

Simon & Garfunkel.

Lovin' Spoonful was the first that came to mind before I even saw the list, so they get my vote.

Wow, I dislike everything on that list but Simon & Garfunkel and The Velvet Underground and even there the VU put out some unlistenable junk.
Maybe I'm a little too young for some of that stuff, but Blues Magoos, Fugs, Vanilla Fudge-ick. And girl groups do nothing for me and I'm not really a fan of much 60s singer/songwriters, so no wonder this list is rough for me.
So, my vote goes to Velvet Underground by default. So there.

I voted for the Rascals. My older sister was a huge fan of theirs, so I got to hear their albums quite a bit, and have always liked them. Good songs, very good singers, and great musicianship and arrangements.

I like Neil Diamond, and also like a lot of what Carole King has done over the years.
As time goes on, I listen to the Phil Spector stuff less and less. I'm not sure why, but it just doesn't thrill me like it used to.

Tough call for me among the Lovin' Spoonful, Simon & Garfunkel and The (Young) Rascals.

Ditto for me, but I had to say S&G, since I went to the same high school they did (Forest Hills High School).

Lovin Spoonful

I voted for S&G, but Neil Diamond would be #2 if we can consider his 70s output.

Velvet Underground, although admittedly for the scene they were part of as much as their music. The whole Warhol factory underworld is fascinating to me, more so than any other 60s counterculture movements.

Wow, this is one of the tougher lists. While Simon and Garfunkel got my vote, there are a whole lot of close runner-up choices: The Ronettes, Shangri-La's, Rascals, and the Lovin' Spoonful. I have to admit that I only know 4-5 Velvet Underground songs, so I can't really judge them intelligently.

Three names on that list for sure,but went with S+G.The others in order of preference would be The Lovin' Spoonful and The Rascals.The Left Banke are another New York group that I also value highly from the 60s.

Simon & Garfunkel for me, too. AFAIC Simon is the best songwriter of the rock generation, probably second only to Gershwin in the 20th century. Some of this material is a bit precious and he improved in the 70s and 80s but there's still a lot of great work with S&G.

The Rascals would probably be next, then the Spoonful. Not sure where VU fits. On any given day they could be at the top of the list or off it completely.

Spoonful

Paul and Artie for me, hands down!

If we go only by '60s output, then Neil Diamond. If we consider career output, then S&G.

Probably my biggest screw up on this one....Walk Away Renee is one of my favorite songs.

I voted for the Velvet Underground....wouldv'e likely been followed by the Blues Project, Shangri-La's, Fugs, Ronettes, Lovin Spoonful, Rascals.

I figured S&G would be the runaway winner.....can only guess how the voting wouldv'e gone if Bob Dylan was included)

Spoonful, then S&G then Velvets in that order.

I wish I could un-vote, having listened to some more VU last night and coming to the conclusion I only really like 4 or 5 songs.