When muscle cars emerged in the mid- to late-1960s, it ushered in the golden age of the American auto industry. With each year providing more pretty and powerful options, the appeal for muscle cars spread like wildfire. The fandom accelerated after cult-classic films and television shows used muscle cars in various ways; sometimes the cars themselves served as a main character.

With all of the ensuing popularity, car enthusiasts and collectors have wrestled in debate ever since: Which muscle car is the best of the best? We’ve compiled some of our favorites from the 1960s, along with, just for fun, some of their appearances in pop culture.

What are your thoughts? What would you have added or left off the list? Let us know in the comments.

1967 Pontiac GTO

Some people dream of Jeannie. We dream of her car.

Jeannie and Tony Nelson’s sky blue beauty was a 1967 Pontiac GTO, one of the finest muscle cars of any decade. John DeLorean, Russell Gee and Bill Collins came up with the GTO with an eye toward robust street performance. Their idea was to place as large an engine as possible on the lightest body frame.

Cosmetic changes were made from earlier versions of the car, such as altered tail lights — its predecessors’ louver-covered lights were replaced with four lights on each side — and a new chrome wire mesh front grille. The GTO emblems were moved from the rear part of the fenders to the chrome rocker panels. The result was a car lover’s road trip dream vehicle. The ’67 GTO came in three options: The hardtop was the most popular, with more than 65,000 units produced; followed by the convertible with 9,500; and the sports coupe with 7,000.

See Pontiac GTOs for sale here.

1967 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake

To own a Shelby is in and of itself an accomplishment. Perhaps the diamond of the bunch, the rare and powerful (800 horsepower with the additional Paxton superchargers!) 1967 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake was virtually unattainable, even in its day. The 1966 version had a mere two made — one went to Bill Cosby while the other went to its designer, Carroll Shelby. Shelby decided to turn his 1966 Shelby into a road-safe version, and thus was the 1967 Shelby born. To many, they are the zenith of muscle cars. Just don’t expect to see one on the freeway.

Its combination of beauty and scarcity mean Shelby Cobra 427 replicas show up often in Hollywood, in shows as varied as Charlie’s Angels, Iron Man, Miami Vice and Murder, She Wrote. Taylor Swift even used a replica in her music video for her song “Blank Space.”

1968 Dodge Charger

The 1968 Dodge Charger has been a popular muscle car from its heyday till now. Sales had dipped for 1967 Chargers (nearly 16,000 units), so some aesthetic changes were made, such as a kickup spoiler usually seen on race cars to increase stability, a hidden headlight grille, a curved body and a generous amount of chrome. This gave the car a rugged beauty that invoked both fear and awe. The changes worked — the 1968 Charger moved nearly 100,000 units. And for good measure, the 1968 Dodge Charger was used in the first three Blade movies as well as David Lynch’s cult-classic film Blue Velvet.

See Dodge Chargers for sale here.

1968 Plymouth Road Runner Hemi

Plymouth licensed the popular Road Runner name and likeness from Warner Bros. for $50,000 and then spent another $10,000 to perfect the "beep-beep" sound for the horn. But beyond those clever bits of marketing, the 1968 Plymouth Road Runner Hemi focused on what was under the hood. The car’s performance was what mattered, and enthusiasts responded by buying more than twice the number of cars the company had anticipated. The 1968 Plymouth Road Runner suffered a burning fate, however, for no discernible reason in Beyoncé and Jay Z’s music video for “Crazy In Love.”

See Plymouth Road Runners for sale here.

1969 Mustang Boss 429

The 1969 Mustang Boss 429 was among the last early Mustangs of any substance, and only 859 of them were made. Ford contracted an outside shop, Kar Kraft, to modify the engine since it was simply too big for Ford to build. To make space for the engine, they extended the inner fenders, removed the front transmission mounts and the battery block was placed in the trunk. There was also a hole placed in the hood, in which a manually controlled hood scoop was added. Ford was going head-to-head with Chrysler’s Hemi, so the large engine was necessary to compete. Jay Leno, perhaps the most well-known car enthusiast, featured the 1969 Mustang Boss 429 on an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage.

See Ford Mustangs for sale here.

1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Are you a Mustang guy or a Camaro guy? The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 settled this point of distinction for lots of muscle car folks. They only made 69 of them — to match the year it was made — so the rarity increases the mythology of this Camaro. The ZL1’s hand-built (16 hours!) 427-cubic-inch V-8 engine produced 500 horsepower. It was a drag racer’s dream, going from 0-60 in a mere 5.3 seconds.

See Chevrolet Camaros for sale here.

1969 Chevy Nova SS

The 1969 Chevy Nova SS, despite being one of the smaller muscle cars, had a relatively big engine — a standard 295 horsepower V-8 engine, with an option for a big-block engine which would raise the horsepower to 350-375. It certainly helped that it shared its chassis design with the Camaro, so the big-block option could fit without a problem. They didn’t become street rods at first — even with the black accents on the grille and tail, the simulated hood air intake and SS badges, it didn’t have the same striking appearance of some of its contemporaries. But looks can be deceiving, particularly when it’s coupled with a powerful engine hiding beneath the hood.

See Chevy Novas for sale here.

1969 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet

1969 saw the debut of the Mach 1 body style. With the Mustang 428 Cobra Jet, it came with three choices — a Ram-Air version (to aid in engine performance and cooling) which breathed through a shaker hood scoop; a non-Ram Air version; and a Super Cobra Jet, which came with the Drag Pack option. All three packed a powerful punch. In fact, the 1969 Mustang 428 Cobra Jet — in an attempt to avoid trouble with insurance companies and safety advocates — was marketed at a mere 335 horsepower, although many devotees claim the 428 Cobra Jet could get closer to 410 horsepower.

The inside of the car was an aesthetic delight as well. The flight deck now had a twin-pod dashboard and there was knitted vinyl on the high-back bucket seats. The car looked and drove better than a regular Mustang, which quickly returned the Ford Mustang back into conversations about the best muscle cars in the market.

Want more muscle cars? We do, too. Watch for the next article in our KSL Cars “Best Muscle Cars by Decade” series where we’ll be listing the top muscle cars of the 1970s.

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