5 Concept Albums That Will Blow Your Mind

Pink Floyd's "The Wall" (1982). Photo by MGM/UA/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock (5885495e)

Most albums these days just contain a series of songs put together in the most listenable order. These masterpieces, however, not only contain some fantastic songs but use those songs to tell a story. Some of these stories make more sense than others!

The Wall | Pink Floyd

The Wall tells the story of Pink, alone in his hotel room, looking back at his traumatic childhood. He describes each trauma as a ‘brick in the wall’ which he has built up between him and the rest of the world. The album contains some of Gilmour’s finest guitar work and Roger Waters’ most prominent lyrics. The two-sided album was also accompanied by a movie which is rated equally highly by critics and fans alike.

Tommy | The Who

Tommy is the story of a boy who is left deaf, dumb and blind after he sees his mother with another man. He turns to many people for a cure, including an ‘acid queen’ but has no luck. One day, he discovers a pinball machine in a junkyard and soon realizes he is a pinball wizard. He then becomes a rock god, gets his sight and hearing back then starts his own cult of obsessed followers. It’s absolutely bonkers but it is absolutely brilliant.

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

Ziggy Stardust is a Martian rock star who comes to Earth to deliver the message: let the children lead the way. He soon becomes a victim of his own rockstar success and well, that’s the ‘fall’ part.

Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness | Smashing Pumpkins

The concept is a lot simpler than Tommy or Ziggy Stardust. Smashing Pumpkins musically take you through the course of a day and manage to capture an entire spectrum of human emotions in the process.

Ladies & Gentleman We Are Floating Through Space | Spiritualized

It’s the best breakup album ever. The concept is that we are on a hunk of rock floating through space but he still just really misses his girlfriend. It’s dreamy and lovely and perfect to lay back and shed some tears to.