10 Perfect Rock Concept Albums

For most rock stars that are down on their luck, drugs can be one of the biggest short cuts to inspiration. Ask anyone from Steven Tyler to Keith Richards and they'll tell you that even though the drugs did a number on their body, they ended up being a gateway to creativity when the music wasn't really satisfying them. It's easy to lose yourself in that world though, and Alice in Chains gave us a sad picture of an addict on Dirt.

Recorded right around the time that Layne Staley began to get hooked on heroin, what unfolds on this record is the ugliest corners that the drug has to offer, as Layne reflects on his own mortality on tracks like Them Bones and Rain When I Die. While there are songs on here like Dam That River and Rooster that have nothing to do with Layne's problems, every single song is coated in the same buzzed haze, as if you're trying to walk through mud as you're listening to it.

By the time that the final track Would? rolls around, the band's tribute to Andy Wood feels like it could have been written by Layne himself, almost asking his fans to cut him a break as he proceeds to struggle with the needle, which eventually cost him his life after being found in his home in 2002. They may have used the songs as a way to conquer their demons, but this isn't the kind of optimistic record by any stretch. Knowing what we know now, it's painful seeing them pray for relief that's never going to come.