10 Best Album Finales In Rock History
5. Outside the Wall - Pink Floyd
In the grand scheme of rock ambition, Pink Floyd's the Wall is the concept album to end all concept albums. With a direct storyline and even a movie being made around the same time as the actual release of the record, the sad tale of Pink's disconnect from society is a subtle allusion to the troubled life of a touring musician. Though there is a lot of amazing bits throughout the record, the resolution on Outside the Wall is the calm down we need...or is it?
Up until this point, we have just been through the Trial, as the judge reprimands Pink for becoming a shell of a human being with no real emotion to speak of. While the whole thing may seem antagonistic in the moment, the shout of TEAR DOWN THE WALL is exactly what Pink needs to move on with his life. As he faces a new day with this serene backing track, something more curious happens just as the record stops.
Hearing a subtle voice of "isn't this" at the end, the record finishes with the start of the sentence that started the album off with "where we came in." Leading you to play the record over again to get the full story, this little detail becomes an allegory for the lonely journey Pink went on, a nullification of society that he is condemned to repeat if he's not careful. For as cinematic and larger than life that the Wall seems at times, this is the movie ending that leaves you with more questions than it does answers.