Pink Floyd and 4 Other Bands That Mastered the Art of the Concept Album

Concept albums are always a joy to experience. Rather than just being a collection of loosely connected songs, a concept album follows a narrative. And many of those narratives explore complex ideas, emotions, and stories. The following five bands have more or less mastered the art of the concept album, and we think those albums are worth revisiting.

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1. Pink Floyd

This wouldn’t be a list of bands that mastered the art of the concept album without mentioning Pink Floyd. The Dark Side Of The Moon from 1973 is a true conceptual masterpiece, and it also manages to deliver individual songs that stand out on their own. Pink Floyd took things a step further by mastering the art of the concept album again with The Wall in 1979.

2. The Who

Bands who have mastered the art of the concept album often have some sort of inspiration to go off of. For The Who, that inspiration was the Indian spiritualist Meher Baba. The band took his teachings and created Tommy out of them in 1969. However, Tommy goes far beyond the teachings of a spiritual leader. It’s a fascinating story about a young traumatized boy who accepts his truth, breaks the shackles of his past, and becomes a cult leader of sorts.

3. Green Day

A more recent entry on this list, you just can’t go wrong with the 2004 album American Idiot by Green Day. This critique of early-to-mid-2000s culture and politics in the United States was openly received by the youth of its time, and few punk records have stood the test of time like this one. American Idiot follows the story of Jesus of Suburbia, a young anti-hero living in middle-class America.

4. Lou Reed

More of an individual human enigma than a band, we just had to include Lou Reed on this list. Berlin was ahead of its time in 1973, and few concept albums also manage to be memorable rock operas like this one. The album follows the story of a couple in the throes of drug abuse, and the narrative explores themes of domestic violence and depression.

5. The Beatles

The Beatles are more than worthy of a mention on our list of bands that mastered the concept album. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band from 1967 is one of the world’s most loved 20th-century concept albums, after all. This colorful, psychedelic record marks the first time the band moved into conceptualized work.

Photo by Andrew Whittuck/Redferns

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