Top 10 Concept Albums of All Time

Amazon.com ^ | 2009 | B. Carlson

[pissant]

1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by Beatles, The The list author says:

"The greatest ever. Period. Sorry revisionists."

2. Forever Changes by Love

"I would vote this right behind Pepper's as the 2nd greatest psychedelic album of the 60s. Listen to what Arthur Lee has to say. Mind blowing and genius."

3. Abbey Road by Beatles, The

"1/2 a concept album. But who cares, it's the Beatles."

4. A Salty Dog by Procol Harum

"Unreal. The apex of Procol Harum, one of the most under appreciated bands of all time. Perfect from beginning to end. Arg me maties."

5. The Notorious Byrd Brothers by Byrds, The

"Not your grandmas' Byrds. A masterpiece."

6. Arthur - Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire by Kinks, The

"Again, have you heard this? Think you know the Kinks? Think again. This poor album came out right after Tommy so was dismissed at the time. This album puts Tommy to shame."

7. The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society by Kinks, The

"Out of place and out of time. This Kinks concept album from 1968 could only belong in the head of Ray Davies. Defiant and serene at the same time. Beautiful."

8. Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies

"Another lesser known masterpiece. Definitely in the top 10. Magical and gets better every listen. Self-produced with full creative control and no studio musicians. Dig that mellotron."

9. Parachute by Pretty Things, The

"Never heard it? Voted Rolling Stone best album of 1970. Takes Abbey Road to the next level, Pretty Things style."

10. Ogden's Nut Gone Flake by Small Faces, The

"Steve Mariott and Ronnie Lane kicking it up. When this album came out it was in what looked like a tobacco tin for storing other types of...items. Great psychedelic brit-pop mod rock. Rollin Over baby!"

11. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust by Bowie, David

"Ok, this is number 11. I cheated. But how could I leave out Ziggy? Mick Ronson rips it up.

[pissant]

Not sure what the qualifications are for "concept album", but most of that listed I could do without ever hearing again.

In the meantime, I'll toss in my top 5:

[CASchack]

Pink Floyd easily could have contributed a few selections for top-shelf concept albums.

[MrLee]

“Space Hymn” by Lothar & The Hand People - 1969

[pissant]

Sounds like a blockbuster. LOL

[J40000]

What? No “Dark Side of the Moon”?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Absolutely.

[MarkL]

Pink Floyd easily could have contributed a few selections for top-shelf concept albums.

Agreed! At least one side of "Dark Side of the Moon," "Wish You Were Here," "Animals," "The Wall," "The Division Bell."

And what about Yes' "Tales from the Topographic Ocean?"

And in a class by it's self would be Genesis' "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.""

Mark

[seatrout]

"Thick as a Brick" just has to be there. When you hear the phrase "concept album", Jethro Tull is the first thing to come to mind! As for the "Small Faces", in my humble opinion, their 1967 album "There are But Four Small Faces" is the best. After all, it's got "Itchykoo Park" on it, and we all know what a constructive message that song had!

[Lou Budvis]

Gotta agree with you on Blood on the Tracks, Astral Weeks and Animals. Sgt. Pepper is so far over-rated it isn’t even funny. It wasn’t even the Beatles’ best.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

There are two 'concept' albums missing from this list that can only be described as pure musical genius;

1. "Tales From Topographic Oceans" by Yes

and...

2. "Songs From The Wood" by Jethro Tull

Any such list that does not list them is deficient in my opinion.

And why the hell isn't "The Wall" on this list?

[Westlander]

Beatles blow. The Stones Rock.

[Perdogg]

What about “Kilroy Was Here”

[seatrout]

— “Songs From The Wood” by Jethro Tull—

No argument there.

[stentorian conservative]

You beat me to it.

I also liked Operation: Mindcrime by Queensryche.

[Straight Vermonter]

I'm kinda partial to this one:

[wagglebee]

I consider side two of “Abbey Road” far superior to “Sgt. Pepper’s”.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

There is something timeless about that album. It reaches me and it touches me. I feel like a better person after having listened to it beginning to end. It just...has something.

[RobRoy]

Gee, what about my faves:

[Revolting cat!]

What about Celebration of the Pedestrian by Everybody?!

Rock'n'roll on a flute, oh yeah!

[WackySam]

This is numero uno in my book