10 Greatest Concept Albums In Rock Music History
6. American Idiot - Green Day
Most of the greatest concept albums ever made tend to happen before Y2K really started. Ever since streaming became a thing and playlist culture became the normal way of listening to music, the idea of having an entire album work as a coherent piece of work isn't the most in demand product nowadays. Just when the pop punk explosion started to reach maximum capacity though, we got one amazing record out of the old brats from the '90s.
After seeing the horrendous political climate that was happening at the time in the US, Billie Joe Armstrong channeled all of his frustration into American Idiot, which functioned as a look at what the kids on the street were thinking at the time, seeing a country that was leaving them behind. As we pick up on the tales of people like Whatsername and St. Jimmy, there are a ton of connections to modern life, whether it be the dependency on being numb on Give Me Novacaine or people taking Wake Me Up When September Ends as a reaction to 9/11.
What no one expected though was the multi part suites on some of these songs, functioning as 9 minute exercises piling one great hook on top of another. While most of the greatest pop punk bands do have an expiration date on them, American Idiot is what happens when you never truly let go of your anger.