Items12The creator’s order
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The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972)Released 1 Jan 1972David Bowie frames a loose science-fiction story around an alien rock star who arrives as Earth faces its last five years. Five Years opens on that countdown and Rock 'n' Roll Suicide closes with a direct appeal. The plot stays sketchy, which suits newcomers: Starman and Suffragette City carry the…0 - 2
The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)Released 1 Jan 1973Less a story than one long argument about the pressures that wear people down: time, money, conflict and madness. Heartbeats, tape loops and spoken fragments join the pieces, so Pink Floyd's record plays as a continuous suite. Money's cash-register loop lands harder after The Great Gig in the Sky…0 - 3
The Wall (1979)Released 1 Jan 1979Roger Waters's double album follows Pink, a rock star building a psychological wall out of loss, schooling and fame. The three parts of Another Brick in the Wall turn up at different stages in different moods, from Part 1's sparse, echoing guitar to Part 2's disco-tinged protest. Comfortably Numb…0 - 4
Tommy (1969)Released 1 Jan 1969The Who's 1969 double album tells of a boy left deaf, dumb and blind by trauma, and what the world makes of him. Overture states the main themes, and they return across all four sides until the "see me, feel me" refrain of We're Not Gonna Take It. Pinball Wizard is the famous single, but in…0 - 5
Quadrophenia (1973)Released 1 Jan 1973Pete Townshend's second rock opera follows Jimmy, a young mod in 1960s London whose split personality the record gives four musical themes, one for each member of The Who. Listen for those themes returning across the four sides, thickened with horns and synthesisers. The Real Me opens with John…0 - 6
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)Released 1 Jan 1974Genesis follow Rael, a Puerto Rican youth from New York, through a surreal underworld in Peter Gabriel's last album with the band. The story is dense and dreamlike, so it rewards reading the narrative printed with the record. The title track sets the street-level scene; The Carpet Crawlers is the…0 - 7
Operation: Mindcrime (1988)Released 1 Jan 1988Queensrÿche's 1988 metal thriller follows Nikki, a disillusioned addict drawn into an underground movement run by the mysterious Dr. X. Spoken interludes and sound effects link the songs like scenes in a film. Revolution Calling sets the stakes early, and the ten-minute Suite Sister Mary, with…0 - 8
good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012)Released 1 Jan 2012Subtitled A Short Film by Kendrick Lamar, the album follows a teenage Kendrick through a day in Compton. Skits, including voicemails from his parents, stitch the songs into scenes, so The Art of Peer Pressure plays very differently in sequence than alone. Swimming Pools (Drank) gains a darker edge…0 - 9
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)Released 1 Jan 1998Neutral Milk Hotel's second album is less a plot than a web of images, many drawn from Jeff Mangum's response to reading Anne Frank's diary. Singing saw, fuzzed acoustic guitar and brass recur throughout, tying the songs together. Start with The King of Carrot Flowers suite that opens the record…0 - 10
American Idiot (2004)Released 1 Jan 2004Green Day's punk rock opera follows the Jesus of Suburbia from suburban boredom to the city, with St. Jimmy and Whatsername as the other figures in his story. Two nine-minute multi-part suites, Jesus of Suburbia and Homecoming, show how far the band could stretch pop-punk without losing a hook.…0