Best conceptual albums

[GarfieldModo]

Which conceptual albums do you think are the best and moving?

I say
Tomboy-Panda Bear(to be in conflict with oneself)
Berlin-Lou Reed(drugs, addiction, poverty and a love story)
Somewhere along the highway-Cult of Luna(male loneliness and suicide)
god kid, MAAD city-Kendrick Lamar(gang violence, peer presure, upbringin in Compton(L.A.))

[GeevyDallas]

The College Dropout

/thread

[Guest]

I'm never really sure what constitutes a concept album. Most of the albums I like tend to have some degree of cohesion and centre around one or two overriding concepts. I don't think an album has to have a clear or linear narrative to be a concept album, so why aren't more album described this way?

Anyway:

Roc Marciano - Marcberg (2010) / Reloaded (2012)

Marcberg is the sound of the gangster coming up, Reloaded of the gangster who's made it.

Harald Grosskopf - Synthesist (1980)

It doesn't have any lyrics, but the whole album repeats a few motifs throughout. It strikes me as being pretty sci-fi.

Red House Painters - Down Colorful Hill (1992)

Look at me I'm sad and 23 and I don't want to be sad or 23 and I'm sad.

Burial - Untrue (2007)

A night bus journey through any major UK city.

Mikey Dread - African Anthem (1979)

A dub album that sounds like a cartoon.

Dangerdoom - The Mouse and the Mask (2006)

A hip-hop album that's based on a cartoon.

Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (2005)

The clue's in the name.

Marty Robbins - Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs (1959)

Ditto.

Dr. Dre - The Chronic (1992)

Look I'm a gangster what listened to all these George Clinton records and now we get drunk and fuck bitches. But then sometimes our friends die and that's bad, but we get over it by getting drunk and fucking bitches.

DJ Quik - Rhythm-al-ism (1997)

Lots of raps about sex over really, really funky production.

Suga Free - Street Gospel (1997)

Lots of raps about being a pimp over really, really funky production.

Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein (2001)

New York is fucking grim if you live in the projects.

Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt (1996)

I'm a hustler.

Ghostface Killah - Fishscale (2006)

I sell really, really good cocaine.

Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (1995)

We're hustlers who sell really, really good cocaine.

Brain Eno - Ambient 1: Music For Airports (1978)

This is what music in airports should sound like, let's fuck with the passengers' heads.

Daniel Johnston - Songs About Pain (1981)

Songs about pain, mostly.

Frank Sinatra - Frank Sings For Only The Lonely (1958)

Songs for the lonely, mostly.

Frank Sinatra - Songs for Swinging Lovers (1956)

Songs for swinging lovers, mostly.

Weezer - Pinkerton (1996)

I'm socially awkward.

Pink Floyd - The Wall (1979)

Actually, this is just a mess. There's no concept of any sort, just a bunch of masturbatory guitar and production techniques that are thrown in to prove just how rich we are and thus how much money we can spunk on a novelty album. That's right, it's a novelty album, and all of our fans will buy it anyway and proclaim its' genius despite us just trolling them. Being Pink Floyd is fun.

[gtroda]

[gtroda]

As for best concept album I will nominate these two:

Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime

Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt. 2, Scenes from a Memory

[Guest]

[Guest]

[Jasonconfused]

[nutso42]

Allow me to point out the obvious:

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here and Animals

Roger Waters - Amused To Death

David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

Rush - 2112 and Clockwork Angels
(okay, so only half of 2112 is a concept, big deal)



There's a few other more obscure ones I really like, such as Hudson's 'Crimson' album, and especially The Antlers amazing 'Hospice', though how much of a conceptual album it is is the matter of some debate.

[Jasonconfused]

Welcome to My Nightmare - Alice Cooper
Freak Out! - The Mothers of Invention
Abigail - King Diamond