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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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
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.
Chill Out by the motherfuckin’ KLF
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.
My favorite is Get Equipped by The Megas. It’s the soundtrack of Mega Man 2 turned into a rock opera.
The Kinks are The Village Green Preservation Society. (Also the first concept album if I remember correctly).
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…
I really like the album Hospice by The Antlers. It’s about a hospice worker who falls in love with one of the patients
Ooh, ‘best’ is hard. I think I’d have to go with Operation Mindcrime by Queensrÿche because I only ever want to listen to it as a complete album, start to finish.
Runners up:
- Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
- Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - Iron Maiden
- Misplaced Childhood - Marillion
- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - David Bowie
- Elizium - Fields of the Nephilim
and, if it counts, Murder Ballads - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Came here to suggest Operation Mindcrime as well.
