10 Greatest Concept Albums In Rock Music History
9. 2112 - Rush
It feels like a missed opportunity that Rush didn't go the conceptual route all that often. Since they love nothing more than to make long expansive songs with detailed stories, the idea of an album centered around one theme would have been a home run right out of the gate. When they did decide to go for broke though, we were left dumbfounded by something like 2112.
After having all of their recent albums selling either respectable numbers or next to nothing, the band were up against the wall to make something with more chart appeal. So of course they went ahead and made this album complete with a 20 minute song about space federations. And what's even crazier is how everyone got on board with this absolutely bonkers concept.
Ripped straight out of science fiction, the bulk of 2112 runs as a tale of one man's discovery of music, in a dystopian society where all free forms of expression have been banned. Though some elements like the vision he gets might seem a bit corny these days, the nerdy set of rock fans found a bit of a kindred spirit in this kind of music. Since the entire story revolves around a man wanting to express himself against a system that wants him to conform at every turn, never in rock history has art ever paralleled reality this accurately.