10 Greatest Ever Rock Concept Albums

After the turbulent final show of Pink Floyd's 1977 In The Flesh tour, Roger Waters became increasingly frustrated and disheartened with the band's chaotic stadium shows. As a result, Waters developed the idea of a concept album that focused on his own feelings of isolation; a record that would go on to become The Wall. The album tells the life story of Pink (a character somewhat based on Waters himself), delving into his early childhood trauma and experiences that lead to him building a metaphorical wall of isolation from the outside world. Only after the wall is fully complete does Pink realise the magnitude of his actions.

The Wall opens on a grand, theatrical note with "In The Flesh?", introducing Pink and establishing the tone of the album. From here, each of Pink's reasons to isolate himself are explored, each of them being referred to as "bricks" in his wall. The death of his father in World War Two is described in "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 1)" and "Goodbye Blue Sky". Pink's overprotective mother is given attention in "The Thin Ice" and "Mother", whilst his poor treatment at the hands of abusive teachers is related in "The Happiest Days Of Our Lives" and the classic "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)". As Pink grows older, he becomes more despondent with his life as a rock star, evident on tracks such as "Young Lust", "One Of My Turns", "Don't Leave Me Now" and "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 3)". At the height of Pink's sadness comes the album's highlight, "Comfortably Numb", an epic and emotive ballad that conveys the main character's emotional state better than any other song on the album.

Even though every song on the album is amazing in their own right, the best way to experience The Wall is in it's entirety. The raw emotion and power that the record conveys is completely unique, and has not been matched by any other album since. In the 41 years since The Wall's release, it's still the gold standard by which all other concept albums are assessed by.