I just played American Idiot and The Wall from start to finish. For me, both are absolute masterpieces. I wouldn’t be able to say which is better than the other.
What’s the best concept album for you?
Time by ELO
Kendrick Lamar - Good kid M.A.A.D. city
I’ve listened to most of the other concept albums mentioned in this thread, but I believe deep in my heart of hearts, this album has the strongest story and emotional impact.
My favorite is Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime. It gets pretty regular listenings still.
Hemispheres (the first side is one long concept piece, but the flip side is awesome too) - Rush
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Ayreon’s early stuff is great. The Final Experiment, Into the Electric Castle, and The Universal Migrator (pt I and II).
Kamelot’s back to back albums Epica and The Black Halo are top of my list though.
Kate Bush - The Ninth Wave
Roger Waters - Amused to DeathI’ve always preferred Radio: K.A.O.S. even if the concept of hacking nuclear bombs with a cordless phone is… really fucking dumb.
…i adore radio KAOS but its aesthetic sensibilities are definitely an acquired taste…
Chill Out by the motherfuckin’ KLF
My favorite is Get Equipped by The Megas. It’s the soundtrack of Mega Man 2 turned into a rock opera.
Act II: The Father of Death, by The Protomen.
The story, the music, it all works for me.
Fantastic album, would love to see them live at some point
The Kinks are The Village Green Preservation Society. (Also the first concept album if I remember correctly).
That is a really, really good pair.
21st Century Breakdown also does a good job, it’s a little different but it’s got the same album story.
Deltron 3030 is a stellar album about an intergalactic rapper. It’s produced by Del tha Funkee Homosapien and Dan the Automator, seriously, killer.
And before the Flobots came, there was Johnny 5 and Yak who made Onomatopoeia, another stellar album. It’s an underground 2000’s set though, so it gets gritty. But it’s very real and so well composed. That of course led to Flobots Fight with Tools, which may just be the best political album of all time.
666 by Aphrodite’s Child is pretty awesome.
It’s a concept album based on the Book of Revelation. This is also the band that Vangelis was in before he started scoring movies.
Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime, or
Dream Theater - Metropolis, Part 2: Scenes From a MemoryForeign Skies by The Dreadnoughts
It’s a concept album by a folk-punk/cider-punk band about WWI, released for the centennial. True to the punk roots, most of the songs deal with the dark, ugly, and gritty sides of war.
There’s “Anna Maria”, a metal love/revenge ballad about a sailor losing his beloved brigantine to a U-boat.
“Gavrilo” about the horrific consequences of the murder of Archduke Ferdinand.
“Black Letters”, a rather haunting song inspired by the last correspondence that a young Canadian soldier wrote to his wife.
“Back Home in Bristol” tells the story of a young man, afflicted by PTSD, facing court-martial for failing to obey orders due to his condition.
“A Broken World” is a reading of English poet Amy Lowell’s “September, 1918”, which is both heart-wrenching and blossoming with hope.
It’s not all bleak though. There’s also an original instrumental piece called “The Amiens Polka”. And am original shanty called “The Bay of Suvla”, which I feel is an upbeat prequel to The Pogues’ “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda”.
To top it off, they saved songs that didn’t make the cut and released a B sides album as well.
In my opinion, this album does such a great job of striking the emotions that it makes “The Wall” and any of the other “greats” seem vapid and mediocre.
Foreign Skies by The Dreadnoughts
Mmm. Just had a listen. I thought it was ok but not a challenger to the “greats”. Certainly not musically.
But that’s ok, different people like different things.
But that’s ok, different people like different things.
<3 That’s very fair.
I personally find most of the “greats” to be significantly overrated. They were incredible for their time as a departure from what preceded them but, over-produced and lacking in genuine-ness. They may have had higher levels of instrumental virtuosity but lack relatability, depth, and exploration of the human condition.
To be fair, there’s a lot of people who don’t want any of that. Many people want escapism, heavy bass with questionable lyrics, or something weird and fun to trip balls to at a laser show. That’s fine. I don’t care for out of touch celebrity musicians; I want something “real” that evokes emotions across the spectrum and unafraid to dwelling in unpleasant places when the subject matter calls for it.
