3. The Wall - Pink Floyd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_C0SK490h8 You knew this one would be on here, right? Pink Floyd is either progressive rock or psychedelic rock, depending on whom you ask (and when), but theyre undeniably one of the best bands to come out of the late 1960s-1970s. What is so great about them is not just their incredible songswhich still get a lot of radio playbut the way their albums transfix listeners. Sitting down to a Pink Floyd album is really the equivalent of watching a movie, as the music and sound effects almost become visible. The Wall is the apotheosis of Pink Floyds sound. It tells the story of Pink, a musician whose life gradually falls apart (seems like a common theme to these concept albums) and withdraws from society. It includes snippets of conversation, giving it a cinematic feel. The album was complemented by both a film and theatrical live performances bringing The Wall to life. And the songs coalesce to present the horrific menace hiding beneath both everyday life and apparent success. The album arose out of songwriter Roger Waters irritation with the bands stadium tour of the late 1970s and the type of audience such tours bring. So in a way, The Wall both reflects the grandiosity of the 1970s and spells its demise.