10 Greatest Album Intros In Rock History

Any good artist knows the importance behind the album experience. Instead of just throwing together a bunch of songs and praying that it finds an audience, the actual design of the album is a lot more about telling a story only through the means of music. Like any good story though, you need to have something good to get you hooked in.

Regardless of era, the real professionals of the genre know how to construct an opening that will get you bobbing your head immediately. While the name of the game might just be to put your greatest song at the top of the album, there's a little more to it than that. Oftentimes, some bands will put a polarizing song or even a slow ballad up front, almost acting as a way to subtly lure you into the adventure that you're about to go on.

It might not even be a song proper that does the trick, but rather an instrumental passage, opening chant, or even just a little interlude that acts as its own mini hook to lead you into the action. Even if these songs can work like gangbusters on their own, this is only a hint that things are just getting started.

Radiohead definitely had their work cut out for them after rewriting the concept of rock and roll on Ok Computer. After just one record, these guys who were originally pegged as one hit wonders were now being heralded as the next voice of rock and roll. Where to go from there? Abandon rock and roll altogether.

From front to back, Kid A is clearly a different beast from the previous effort, with glitchy electronic soundscapes and an overwhelming feeling that makes you feel like you're floating through the dark depths of oblivion. Radiohead aren't even subtle about the change either, with a buzzy synthesizer opening everything up on Everything In Its Right Place. For a moment, you do have to get your bearings as Thom Yorke's chopped-up vocals float in, but with each passing second, the melody and fractured rhythmic structure starts to work its way into your brain.

As the scene plays out, you realize that this song is a reflection of Radiohead as a whole, with every harmonic move sounding wrong on paper and somehow working when put into practice. This is also a perfect summation for the record as a whole, with swirling synths and drastic sound affects becoming the norm. The average Radiohead fan might have been turned off from this right at the outset, but it only takes a few seconds to realize that it's genius.