10 Perfect Rock Concept Albums

Around the end of the '60s, the concept record was still a relatively new concept. Since the Beatles introduced us to what a concept album could be with Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, bands were already trying their hand at an album that could be linked together by something more than just a collection of singles thrown together without much thought. Albums may have been focused on creating a mood, but Pete Townshend had a story to tell when he first came up with Tommy.

After already honing his skills for longer narrative songs on A Quick One and Rael, Tommy was the first rock opera of its kind, bringing in orchestrations offset with guitars to give the listener a fully immersive experience with rock and roll, all while telling the story of a deaf, dumb, and blind kid trying to find a way to fit in in the world. Though the music on songs like Pinball Wizard might seem happy and playful for the most part, Tommy's life gets a lot darker when you start paying attention to the lyrics.

When his father dies in war, Tommy retreats inward, with his family trying everything they can to snap him out of it, using psychedelic drugs and bringing the Acid Queen in to cure his ailments. After being sexually assaulted by his uncle though, Tommy is set free, looking to form a cult around him and the good that he has to offer the world. Once people start listening though, Tommy is turned on, locked away in his own mind at the end of We're Not Gonna Take It. You can try to give the people what they want, but it only takes a few naysayers to bring you back to ground zero.