Best Concept Album of all Time?

William Haskins · Jan 24, 2008

poll coming.

obviously there are not enough poll slots to list all of the concept albums that have influenced music, so i provide an option for "other".

and, yes, i've listed mostly those that have stood the test of time. i do recognize that nine inch nails' "the downward spiral" and "year zero", green days' "american idiot" and my chemical romance's "three cheers for sweet revenge" (among other more modern concept albums) deserve some consideration.

you're welcome to make the case for those if you'd like.

DWSTXS · Jan 24, 2008

Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick

William Haskins · Jan 24, 2008

good answer, and one i didn't include for space reasons.

there are blackheads on his shoulders and he pees himself in the night...

KTC · Jan 24, 2008

You know, I love almost every one you listed there, William. But I was alive and freaking with Bowie. That album changed me drastically when it came out. I was there for the Wall...but by that time I was already changed.

dpaterso · Jan 24, 2008

Rick Wakeman: The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

...Tho' I appreciate that Ziggy belongs somewhere in the top 3.

-Derek

DWSTXS · Jan 24, 2008

Rick Wakeman ............reminds me of his 'Journey to the Center of The Earth'

poetinahat · Jan 24, 2008

A couple more honorable mentions:

The Stranglers: The Gospel According to the Meninblack
The Damned: The Black Album (well, not actually a concept, but the full-side-length 'Curtain Call' is a magnum opus)

robeiae · Jan 24, 2008

What about Deep Purple's Made in Japan?

Seriously, they're all fine albums, but come on...

One, two, three, four...
*guitar*
We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band...

mscelina · Jan 24, 2008

See, this is totally not fair. I think that The Wall was the first concept album that impacted me, but I still have Zigy Stardust on vinyl... decisions, decisions.

Wham bam thank you ma'am.

Don Allen · Jan 24, 2008

Aside from being a huge Beatle fan, the pepper album was the first, and actually produced as a concept album, not determined to be a concept album as a second thought. In addition, Pepper had two songs removed from the album due to space constraints that you will recognize as Penny Lane, and Strawberry Fields. This is significant because those were the first rock and roll songs where a concept short movie was deliberatly produced to accompany the music. (The unofficial birth of MTV) It was McCartney's idea for the concept of a band that had been around for ages and still going strong 20 years later. Lennon's "Lucy in the sky" and "being for the benefit of Mr. Kite" turned the industry upside down as the first songs ever included on an album that couldn't be readily reproduced live, "in concert" at the time.. My two favorite quotes about the album come from the Beach Boys and the then head of the London C.S.O (I think it was him at least) The Beach boys-"We were sitting around patting ourselves on the back talking about what great music we put out on "Pet Sounds" when we got an advance copy of Pepper... We just looked at each other dumbfounded, knowing that we just listened to the greatest album ever made. The CSO guy - Until Pepper the beatles were a nice little pop group to be dismissed as a fad... after Pepper, the Beatles became musicians to be taken seriously.

William Haskins · Jan 24, 2008

you've watched "the compleat beatles" documentary, yes, don?

Don Allen · Jan 24, 2008

Yeah, that was the one made just after Lennon got shot, "84 I want to say.. I still think it was one of the better documentaries on the Lads.

William Haskins · Jan 24, 2008

agreed.

Don Allen · Jan 24, 2008

Oh, and Will, one other thing, I love just about all the albums you have listed and a good argument could be made for just about all of the them, Tommy, Wow! Dark side of the moon wins so many catagory bests it's silly... as a concept album it has to take a back seat to itself, if you know what I mean. Another not listed here is Metallica ... help me I had a brain fart, the name of the album????? UUUGGG

William Haskins · Jan 24, 2008

and justice for all?

Priene · Jan 24, 2008

Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds.

Shadow_Ferret · Jan 24, 2008

I wonder why DSOM would be considered a concept album.

Other concept albums of note:
Yes: Tales from Topographic Oceans
Dream Theater: Metropolis Pt.2: Scenes from a Memory
Nektar: Remember the Future
Hawkwind: The Chronicle of the Black Sword (simply because of their association with Michael Moorcock)
Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (which influenced Sgt. Pepper)

Stew21 · Jan 24, 2008

I can't possibly choose. Each title I read I'd say "ooh, that one!" then I'd read the next, "ooh, no~that one!"

Bowie, Pink Floyd, Beatles, Genesis, Mothers Of Invention.

You can't make me choose. You can't.

Don Allen · Jan 24, 2008

That's the one... the one with one....

III · Jan 24, 2008

As much as I love 2112, my all time favorite is still...

Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime

Mindcrime made a huge impact on me in college with its dissident lyrics and brilliant music. If you learn to play that album on guitar, you'll see Chris DeGarmo invented just about every chord that was played. And what a raw, gripping story. Truly an album without any missteps that's held up over time.

Honorable mention to Dream Theater's Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From A Memory

jst5150 · Jan 24, 2008

I have a few add-ons:

Extreme -- III Sides to Every Story.

the who - quadrophenia

jimi hendrix - axis bold as love

Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed

Meatloaf - Bat Out of Hell

but my winner is ...

Jesus Christ Superstar

Devil Ledbetter · Jan 24, 2008

It wasn't easy to choose, but had to go with Ziggy Stardust - something that never gets out of heavy rotation with me for long.

Quadrophenia is another essential, for me.

Too bad you didn't have room for Frank Zappa Joe's Garage. It's a brilliant send-up of concept albums.

Stew21 · Jan 24, 2008

ooh. Love Joe's Garage!

ChunkyC · Jan 24, 2008

I went from being an 8 year old boy to being a teenager during Beatlemania, so it definitely has to be Sgt. Pepper for me. All of those are great albums, though.

Shadow_Ferret said:
Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (which influenced Sgt. Pepper)

Absolutely brilliant album. Don't know how much it influenced the Beatles while making Pepper, but I remember an interview with Mike Love years later where he talked about Pepper blowing him away when it was released about a year after Pet Sounds.

What an amazing time for music that was. Everything was shifting, from the syrupy Love Me Do type of song to songs like Day in the Life. In the mid sixties, people were still listening to music on monophonic equipment, stereo was a relatively new fad. I burned out our old Seabreeze turntable listening to Beatles 45s.

*nostalgic sigh*

otterman · Jan 26, 2008

Quadrophenia lover here, too.

Best Concept Album of all Time?

The best concept album of all time is:

Pink Floyd: The Wall

Pink Floyd: Animals

Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon

Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here

The Who: Tommy

The Who: The Who Sell Out

Genesis: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

David Bowie: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

The Kinks: Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

The Kinks: Village Green Preservation Society

Mothers of Invention: Freak Out!

The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Jethro Tull: Aqualung

Rush: 2112

Other

poet

Mr Mojo Risin...

poet

Stand in the Place Where You Live

Also in our Discord and IRC chat channels

Mr Mojo Risin...

Numbers are beautiful

Touch and go

Teh doommobile, drivin' rite by you

Seeking a Sanctuary of Intelligence

poet

Seeking a Sanctuary of Intelligence

poet

Seeking a Sanctuary of Intelligence

poet

Out to lunch

Court Jester

Seeking a Sanctuary of Intelligence

rockin the suburbs

Vorpal Comics. Weekly Podcast. Twitch Artist. Vet

Come on you stranger, you legend,

It's hard being green

Word Voyeur