Brave by Marillion. Of course, I lean to that being the best album of all time!

One of my all time faves is one that doesn't get a lot of talk. Alice Cooper's From The Inside. That album came out in 1978 and is a concept album of Alice in a mental institution. The real crazy part is Alice wrote the album with Bernie Taupin about Alice's very real stay in a mental institution.

Back in that time frame there really wasn't the facilities available for people to detox and/or dry out. While Alice was trying to kick his alcoholism his Dr. had him checked into a sanitarium in upstate New York to dry out.

Upon his release he set to work on the album and based all of the songs and characters in the songs on the actual inmates he met on the inside.
There are lots of Cooper classics including the sexy 'Nurse Rozetta', the romantic 'How You Gonna See Me Now' (based on a letter Alice wrote to his wife from the hospital), 'Serious' (which Alice has mentioned as one of his favourite songs ever) and the stunning epic closer 'Inmates (We're All Crazy').

Marvel Comics released a comic based on the album, Marvel Premier 50. In it, some of the albums characters were given names. The blonde in the blue dress from the song Wish I Were Born in Beverly Hills becomes Ms.Tiffany Sleek, The inmate admiring Nurse Rozetta is Jerome (He has a fetish for Nurse Rozetta's feet), the Doctor becomes the Deadly Doctor Fingeroth and Veronica is a Snake!

Track listing

From the Inside
Wish I Were Born in Beverly Hills
The Quiet Room
Nurse Rozetta
Millie and Billie
Serious
How You Gonna See Me Now
For Veronica's Sake
Jackknife Johnny
Inmates (We're All Crazy)

It's a fantastic album and an often overlooked one. Most people are drawn to Welcome To My Nightmare , Alice Cooper Goes To Hell or Killer as their Alice concept albums of choice.

How You Gonna See Me Now?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71-tS...eature=related

Millie and Billie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adTFo...eature=related

The following clips are from the tour he did in support of the album. Alice was incredibly sick and completely emaciated from his stay in the asylum. He was often throwing up blood first thing in the morning so he's no where near his best. To this day Alice refuses to re-release this home video as he finds it painful to see how bad off he was and feels his performance is horrible and not worth watching.

From The Inside
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9BSyzevTgY

Nurse Rozetta/The Quiet Room
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gAD4...eature=related

Serious
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF3Vz...eature=related

Opeth- Still Life

or

Gojira- From Mars To Sirius

Tommy has been one of my favorites but i have really gotten into Quadraphenia the last couple years. Some others i love to listen to are Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick and Pink Floyd's Animals.

To the op:
while i agree with 2112 not being a concept album, i dont see how DSotM isnt a concept album.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/...de-of-the-Moon
Though it may not be a clear cut theme, one exists on the album, the nature of human experience or life itself.

Alan Parsons Project..."Tales Of Mystery and Imagination"

(Can't say I like the whole album...but "The Raven" and "The System Of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether" are a couple good songs on there).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CHOFF09

Tommy has been one of my favorites but i have really gotten into Quadraphenia the last couple years. Some others i love to listen to are Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick and Pink Floyd's Animals.

To the op:
while i agree with 2112 not being a concept album, i dont see how DSotM isnt a concept album.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/...de-of-the-Moon
Though it may not be a clear cut theme, one exists on the album, the nature of human experience or life itself.

---

its no, b/c to be honest their would be holes in the story and, Pink Floyd themseleves never intended it to be a concept album

Quote:

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Originally Posted by a21schizoidman

its no, b/c to be honest their would be holes in the story and, Pink Floyd themseleves never intended it to be a concept album

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a concept album doesnt have to tell a story. a concept album that tells a story is most commonly referred to as a rock opera. The Wall is a rock opera. WYWH and Animals are both concept albums that dont tell a story, rather have an overall theme like DSotM. And just b/c they never intended to write a concept album doesnt mean they didnt.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CHOFF09

a concept album doesnt have to tell a story. a concept album that tells a story is most commonly referred to as a rock opera. The Wall is a rock opera. WYWH and Animals are both concept albums that dont tell a story, rather have an overall theme like DSotM. And just b/c they never intended to write a concept album doesnt mean they didnt.

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what is the theme in Wish You Were Here, only 3 of the 5 have to do with Syd, Welcome to the Machine and Have A Cigar have nothing to do with Syd, DSTOM? what does Money have to do with life? or Us and Them? there is no overall theme to the entire album, hell Brain Damage is an homage to Syd as well

Quote:

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Originally Posted by a21schizoidman

what is the theme in Wish You Were Here, only 3 of the 5 have to do with Syd, Welcome to the Machine and Have A Cigar have nothing to do with Syd, DSTOM? what does Money have to do with life? or Us and Them? there is no overall theme to the entire album, hell Brain Damage is an homage to Syd as well

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WYWH's theme is absence and as a whole meant as a tribute to Syd. Syd is not the theme. Welcome to the Machine and Have a Cigar relate to record companies as money making machines and the absence of artist expression. The rest of the album relates to syd's absence from the band.

Speak to Me/ Breathe is about birth.
On the Run is about the fear of travel.
Time is about growing old.
Great Gig in the Sky is about the fear of death. it also uses an altered/similar beat to "Breathe".
Money is about the evils money can bring you in life like greed.
Us and them is about mainly about war.
Any Colour You Like also shares the same beat/ similar chord progression as "Breathe".
Brain Damage is about insanity.
Eclipse acts as a climax to the album summing everything.

All those are emotions or experiences one would come across during their lifetime. also, the band tried to make the connection of all the songs relating together why else would they connect them without any breaks? the only time their is a break on the album is when you have to turn over the record after great gig in the sky, otherwise the album would play continuously without any pauses or breaks.
the definition of a concept album is very broad. DSotM may not be the best example of a concept album but i feel it still fits the criteria.

My favorites:

Still Life - Opeth
Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd (I regard it as a concept album. Some don't, some do).
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - Genesis
From Mars to Sirius - Gojira (aside of the opening track, which I can't stand)
Leviathan - Mastodon
Dreaming Neon Black - Nevermore
The Pick of Destiny - Tenacious D
My Arms Your Hearse - Opeth