The concept of “best concept albums” often brings to mind the epic, sprawling works of progressive rock from the 1970s. However, the idea of weaving a narrative or theme through an album transcends genres, with contributions from funk, country, punk, and beyond.
These albums are not just collections of songs but cohesive stories or explorations of ideas, offering listeners a deeper, more immersive experience. From Marvin Gaye’s soulful introspection in Here, My Dear to Kendrick Lamar’s cinematic journey in good kid, m.A.A.d city, the best concept albums showcase the power of music to tell stories and evoke emotions.
Let’s dive in…
The 20 Best Concept Albums – Detailed List
20. Janet Jackson: Control (1986)
The Concept: The Jackson clan’s youngest member assumes responsibility for her life, career, music, image, and sexuality.
The Execution: In the middle of the 1980s, Janet Jackson dissolved her marriage and fired her manager, her father, who was known for being overbearing. She was no longer content to follow orders. Control, a liberating statement of purpose that would later shape New Jack Swing, was the result of her meeting with Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam, two members of Minneapolis funk legends the Time, through her new manager. In addition to the sultry kiss-offs “Nasty” and “What Have You Done for Me Lately,” Jackson’s airborne soprano and rebellious spirit can be heard on the upbeat “When I Think of You” and the lengthy slow jam “Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun).” Control is a high-octane pop-soul album, with seven of its nine tracks being singles. —M.J.
19. Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On (1971)
The Concept: A brilliant speech from a visionary who is prepared to go against the grain of Motown.
The Execution: When Marvin Gaye told the Motown label founder Berry Gordy that he preferred to make a protest album, the boss said, “Marvin, don’t be ridiculous. Doing so is going too far. However, Gordy gave the go-ahead after “What’s Going On,” which was influenced by the 1969 People’s Park uprising in Berkeley, peaked at number one on the R&B charts in early 1971. Gaye defied every rule in the Motown book, including lengthy sessions, songs that were fueled by marijuana and Scotch, and songs that boldly examined the destruction of Black urban life (“Inner City Blues”), pollution (“Mercy Mercy Me”), and drug addiction (“Flyin’ High [In the Friendly Sky]”). The album reached Billboard’s Top 10 and effectively ended Motown’s strict control over its artists’ output. —M.M.
18. The Who: Quadrophenia (1973)
The Concept: An existential identity crisis is the operatic struggle of a British teenager in 1965.
The Execution: The Who’s second rock opera conveys the roiling emotional essence of life in a teenage wasteland better than almost any other work of art, in any medium, you could name due to the chaos, grandeur, and classical scale of Pete Townshend’s combinations and the band that brought them to life. The idea that the the main character is “quadrophrenic” — caught between four different personalities that just so happen to mirror those of the members of the Who — doesn’t really hold up, but everything else does, from the ferocious bass-guitar kick of “The Real Me” to the prayer-like “Love Reign O’er Me”. —B.H.
17. Jackson Browne: Running On Empty (1977)
The Concept: For extra authenticity and atmosphere, the song was actually recorded while on tour, depicting life on the (classic rock) road in the 1970s.
The Execution: Running on Empty is more of an audio film than an album. During his summer ’77 tour, Browne didn’t just record new songs (like the title track, “You Love the Thunder”) and well-chosen covers (like Danny O’Keefe’s “The Road”), but he also taped them on buses, in hotel rooms, and onstage, bringing to life songs about drugs, roadie tedium, his hardworking crew, and the drummer who stole the backstage fan from the roadie. The only things missing are sloppy dressing room sandwiches and rolling paper. However, this timeless album is also about reaching that age (Browne was approaching thirty) when one starts to reflect on life’s decisions and consider what lies ahead. —D.B.
16. Sly and the Family Stone: There’s a Riot Goin’ On (1971)
The Concept: A very funky tour that takes you through the death of the Sixties.
The Execution: The Age of Aquarius was fully reflected in the color and diversity of Sly and the Family Stone’s recordings from the 1960s. There’s a Riot Goin’ On was the reverse negative of its predecessors, with a lot of footage shot in a Bel-Air mansion over sessions so lengthy that their specifics have been lost to time. In addition to reflecting the nation’s mental state following Kent State and the Vietnam War, Riot was muddy, dense, and lyrically allusive. At the time of recording, Sly had become heavily addicted to cocaine and PCP. Although it was uncomfortable, the grooves were so instantaneous that they made the entire darkness seem inviting. —M.M.
15. Beyoncé: Lemonade (2016)
The Concept: Disturbed with the discovery of her husband’s infidelity, Beyoncé creates a reflection on power, feminism, and Blackness.
The Execution: But in the end, Lemonade sounds more like an affirmation of Beyoncé’s values as a Black woman, mother, and daughter than a self-pitying exercise, even though her marriage to Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter is clearly at its core. Her fiery rock collaboration with Jack White, “Don’t Hurt Yourself,” ignites with righteous rage, and on “Formation,” she uses a joyful Southern bass to attack critics and bigots. In “All Night,” she uses a lavish love ballad to find closure and forgiveness. Though Lemonade makes Beyoncé’s intentions clear, it would be hard to talk about it without bringing up the excellent short film that goes with it, which she co-directed and contains references to feminist films like Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust. —M. R.
14. Radiohead: Kid A (2000)
The Concept: According to some, it concerns the first human clone. Some claim it has to do with 9/11, which would not happen for another eleven months. The true idea behind Kid A, however, is that “being an acclaimed British rock band kinda sucks.”
The Execution: The band underwent exposure therapy after becoming terrified of technology on OK Computer. They then embraced Pro Tools and glitchy synths, along with a dash of the ondes Martenot, a little-known French electronic instrument that sounds like an elf sobbing. The guitars and any connection to a rock band were gone, and the process was compared to “getting a massive eraser out” and starting over (take the ambient “Treefingers” or the gorgeous opener “Everything in Its Right Place” as examples). As Yorke explained to us last year, “We were trying to chase ourselves away and run as fast as we could in another direction.” “Trying to find a new place to go instead of where the fuck we were in.” — A.M.
13. David Bowie: Rise and Fall of the Spiders from Mars and Ziggy Stardust (1972)
The Concept: Arriving on a doomed planet, the androgynous alien turns into a rock star; this concept could have also served as Bowie’s autobiography.
The Execution: This suite concerning a supposed space invader might be one of pop’s most fortunate accidents, considering that the songs on Ziggy Stardust were composed prior to the idea for the album. Due to a decline in natural resources, Earth is expected to die in five years, and Ziggy comes from another planet to entertain the end of the world. Bowie sings from the perspectives of the shell-shocked populace, children who feel elevated by Ziggy’s arrival, and Ziggy himself, who struggles with his interplanetary fame, while Mick Ronson and the other Spiders make a happy glitter-rock commotion behind him. The album also explores how fans and the industry can both elevate and demolish rock stars, a theme that was regrettably even more foreboding than a dying planet. —D.B.
12. Janelle Monáe: The ArchAndroid (2010)
The Concept: The third part of a sci-fi epic with a futurist-soul aesthetic that draws inspiration from German expressionist film.
The Execution:Fritz Lang’s 1927 dystopian classic Metropolis served as the inspiration for the second and third chapters of the story that are included in The ArchAndroid. Compared to the first installment, Metropolis: The Chase Suite, released in 2007, Monáe appears less burdened with describing what happens to the protagonist of the story, Cindi Mayweather. Rather, the Atlanta artist presents her main character as a devoted prophet who warns of humanity’s brutality (“Cold War”) and its propensity for genocidal acts (“Locked Inside”). Produced by Monáe and her team from Wondaland, the music combines disco, funk rap a la Outkast, rockabilly, New Wave, and even Elephant 6-style psych-pop with the Athens, Georgia-based band Of Montreal. In the chorus of “Neon Valley Street,” her voice says, “May the song accomplish your heart.” —M. R.
11. The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
The Concept: The biggest band in the world creates ridiculous personas for their upcoming album as a way to cope with their career frustration.
The Execution: “Hey, how about we all disguise ourselves and get an alter ego, because we are the Beatles and we’re tired,” Paul McCartney recalled telling the other members of the band. Even though Sgt. Pepper’s has little of a theme beyond of its title track and its later reprising, their sense of experimentation, play, and reinvention makes them a sort of patron saint of virtually everything on this list. Whether it was “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” “With a Little Help From My Friends,” or the narrative hit “A Day in the Life,” the Beatles consistently made you wink and think. The idea for albums would never be the same as a result. —J.D.
10. Rosalía: El Mal Querer (2018)
The Concept: Rosalía’s second album, originally conceived as her graduate thesis at Catalunya College of Music in Barcelona, is a captivating adaptation of the 8,095-line 13th-century Occitan novel Flamenca.
The Execution: In order to capture the intensity and high drama of the toxic relationship at the center of the story, Rosalía skillfully blends dangerous strains of R&B and hip-hop with traditional Spanish customs using a brilliant palette of sounds that stems from her years of intense flamenco training. With each song, a different plot-turning chapter is represented: “Malamente,” the album’s eerie, sparse opening track entitled “Chapter 1: Omen,” is built around vocal loops and foreshadows the gloom of the romance at its heart. The melancholic interpolation of “Bagdad,” by Justin Timberlake, and the agony of “De Aquí No Sales,” which features motorcycle sound effects and revving engines, both pull the listener deeper into the tense and furious narrative. The beatific closer that closes it all is “A Ningún Hombre,” a celebration of female liberation and independence. — J.L.
9. Frank Sinatra: In the Wee Small Hours (1955)
The Concept: When the former teen idol turns forty, he records one of the first (and most depressing) concept albums and observes his relationship with another celebrity fall apart.
The Execution: At first, artists and labels didn’t see the LP as a means of making meaningful statements; a few singles and filler would do. The LP was first introduced in the late 1940s. Other plans were in the works for Sinatra, who was then involved in a turbulent relationship with Ava Gardner. He chose a few of the most melancholy and romantically depressing songs from the Great American Songbook, including Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hart, in collaboration with producer Voyle Gilmore. In the end, the song cycle essentially developed the phrase “mope pop.” Both the restrained heartbreak in Sinatra’s voice and Nelson Riddle’s arrangements, which evoke deserted, late-night saloons, maintain the mood. You can almost see Sinatra by himself in the bar, sipping a drink and smoking a cigarette, wondering where it all went wrong, from start to finish. —D.B.
8. My Chemical Romance: The Black Parade (2006)
The Concept: A man who has been diagnosed with cancer transforms his life into a thrashing, stomping work of emo-glam musical theater.
The Execution: Its grand scale is demonstrated by the fact that Liza Minnelli’s appearance is just one of the high-drama scenes in My Chemical Romance’s 2006 depiction of a man near death. With incredible songs that have become timeless hits for generations, the New Jersey group’s third full-length album is undoubtedly a stunning statement, blowing up the emo-pop box they were placed in. The piano ballad “Cancer” is stark both due to its arrangement and its depiction of the titular disease; “Teenagers” tackles generational divides with its glam-stomp swagger and dark humor; and “Welcome to the Black Parade,” which serves as a sort of quasi-title track, turns the march toward death into a loud, triumphant celebration. Additionally, Minnelli’s appearance on “Mama” combines the outrageous melodrama of Broadway with the fever pitch of punk, a combination that perfectly captures the spirit of this fervently ambitious band. —M.J.
7. Rush: 2112 (1976)
The Concept: A man discovers a guitar in a dystopian, collectivist future and starts to envision a better world, but the leaders of his society reject it.
The Execution: Technically, 2112 is only half a concept album because the six songs on the second side are unrelated, even though the first side is a coherent song suite. But the first side, which features Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart honing their band’s original creation—fusing heavy metal with the progressive sound of Yes and Genesis—is so powerful and influential that it deserves to be on this list. Through the fast-paced instrumental interplay of the song’s overture, Rush embodies everyone’s desire for freedom, from the band’s own futuristic protagonist to the suburban kids listening at home. The idea is expressed more effectively than words could ever hope to by the way the bass, guitar, and drums all interlock and gallop past one another at the same time. The power of it all is so undeniable that everyone, including Peart himself, can agree to forget the story’s Ayn Randian beginnings. —B.H.
6. Liz Phair: Exile in Guyville (1993)
The Concept: Conveniently, this song-by-song critique of the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Mainstreet also serves as a critique of white male indie-rock oppression.
The Execution: Liz Phair masterfully carried out her critique of the male-dominated music industry, crafting comebacks for every song on Exile on Main Street. You easily recognize the songs as conversations between Phair and Mick Jagger if you compare “Rocks Off” with “6’1,” or “Happy” with “Fuck and Run.” She demonstrated that her music could be as wild and raunchy as the Stones’ with lines like “I want to fuck you like a dog/I’ll take you home and make you like it.” An emotionally honest low-fidelity masterpiece that stands alone, Exile in Guyville is hailed by critics as one of the greatest albums of the 1990s. —A.W.
5. The Who: Tommy (1969)
The Concept: One of the earliest and most meticulously planned theme records, it addressed sexual abuse, murder, childhood trauma, and the strange influence of cults.
The Execution: The Pretty Things’ S.F. Sorrow the year before is credited with originating the concept of a rock opera, but Pete Townshend’s careful and reflective Tommy elevated it to a level that few have surpassed, either before or since. The double LP, which tells the tale of Tommy Walker’s transformation from traumatized child to phony messiah, is still regarded as one of pop’s most coherent and self-immolating concept records. Townshend uses it to analyze rock culture and fame in general. The way that Tommy’s words and ideas never overpower the music, even after more than 50 years, is what makes it so beautiful. The most impactful early Townshend songs, such as “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” “Pinball Wizard,” “The Acid Queen,” and “I’m Free,” guarantee that fans of lyric reading and air guitar will enjoy Tommy. —D.B.
4. Raekwon & Ghostface Killah: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (1995)
The Concept: After this final big score, two young hustlers on the streets of New York make the decision to give up the life of crime.
The Execution: The RZA, at the height of his genius, planned the most ambitious epic in the history of the Wu-Tang Clan empire. Raekwon and Ghostface Killah play two Shaolin hoods in Cuban Linx, which aims for a cinematic storyline similar to a hip-hop Goodfellas. According to RZA, the album’s theme is two guys who were prepared to move on after growing tired of the bad life but still had one last sting to pull off. Raekwon intended to name the album Wu-Gambinos because he was so enamored with the Mob concept. However, that changed when some gentlemen from the real Gambino crime family called the label boss. — R.S.
3. Pink Floyd: The Wall (1979)
The Concept: Rock stars lose themselves in their egos and turn into fascist drug addicts who believe that their mothers, wives, and elementary school teachers are their worst enemies, but it’s always just them.
The Execution: Pink Floyd perfected concept songs like “Time” and “Money” in the early 1970s before moving on to Animals, their Orwellian critique of Thatcherism. The Wall, their next album, was their masterpiece, a double-LP meditation on humanity, war, and the terrible results of requesting pudding without eating your meat. It relates the tale of Pink, a rock star who, while a war rages inside of him, isolates himself from the outside world. In addition to “Mother,” “Run Like Hell,” and “Comfortably Numb,” which featured a stunning David Gilmour guitar solo, becoming instant classics, and Alan Parker’s Pink Floyd – The Wall becoming a midnight movie staple, producer Bob Ezrin’s insistence on a disco beat on “Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)” helped the album achieve a Number One hit. —K.G.
2. Green Day: American Idiot (2004)
The Concept: A teenage slacker and his friends’ perspectives on life in America after 9/11.
The Execution: Few albums better encapsulated the dazed-and-confused spirit of America in the early 21st century than Green Day’s massive project, which featured songs that subtly disparaged Dubya Bush and zinged the way news media was turning into just another kind of entertainment. The plot is a little unclear, as is the case with most concept albums. However, we are all familiar with Jesus of Suburbia, the main character, and his extroverted persona, St. Jimmy. Additionally, the songs demonstrate Green Day’s ability to transcend the boundaries of punk and incorporate stadium roar, Seventies glam, and mature-moshhead balladeering. It makes sense why American Idiot was briefly adapted into a Broadway musical. —D.B.
1. Kendrick Lamar: Good Kid, m.A.A.d City (2012)
The Concept: Compton is where Lamar grows up, experiencing both the city’s many joys and the constant danger of gang strife and police violence.
The Execution: The rapper delivers on the promise of “a short film by Kendrick Lamar” on the cover, with a coming-of-age masterpiece that has been appropriately compared to the cinematic works of Tarantino and Scorsese. With local flair, including amusing “dominoes” skits starring the rapper’s parents, Good Kid, m.A.A.d City eloquently depicts a day in K. Dot’s life. Intimate lovers’ discussions on “Poetic Justice” and the dangers of binge drinking on “Swimming Pools (Drank)” are among the subjects discussed here. Its central song, “Sing to Me (I’m Dying of Thirst),” tells the intricate story of Lamar’s eventual conversion to Christianity and his escape from the gangland traps of his city. Importantly, but subtly, the album rejects the G-funk aesthetic that characterized L.A. hip-hop for many years. Though not exclusively, Lamar claims to be a member of a new generation that is aware of the city’s illustrious past thanks to cameos from MC Eiht and Lamar’s mentor Dr. Dre.— M.R.
Where to Listen to the Best Concept Albums Right Now
Here are the top 5 platforms where you can listen to your favorite concept albums right now:
- Spotify – Extensive library with curated playlists and recommendations.
- Apple Music – High-quality streaming and exclusive content.
- YouTube Music – Access to official albums and fan uploads.
- Tidal – Offers high-fidelity audio for an immersive experience.
- Amazon Music – Includes a vast catalog and offline listening options.
Conclusion
The best concept albums are more than just music—they are artistic statements that challenge conventions and push boundaries. Whether exploring personal struggles, societal issues, or fantastical narratives, these albums demonstrate the limitless creativity of artists across genres. From the 1970s to today, concept albums continue to captivate listeners, proving that music is not just about sound but about storytelling and connection.
FAQs: Best Concept Albums
1. What defines a concept album?
A concept album is a record where all songs are unified by a central theme, narrative, or idea, creating a cohesive listening experience.
2. Are concept albums only in rock music?
No, concept albums span various genres, including R&B, hip-hop, country, and even disco, showcasing their versatility across musical styles.
3. What is the most famous concept album?
Pink Floyd’s The Wall and The Who’s Tommy are among the most iconic concept albums, often cited as benchmarks for the genre.
