The Top 10 Concept Albums of All Time

Features
By published

Rock music went to college in the Sixties. First it started pilfering from classical music and theater. Then someone had the psychedelic-induced idea to carry a single story over an entire album, just like in opera.

And thus the genie was unleashed: the concept record, simultaneously emblematic of rock at its most ambitious and its most pompous.

Some damn musicologist determined these to be the best examples of this form.

Image 1 of 10
Guitar World Staff
Guitar World Staff

Since 1980, Guitar World has been the ultimate resource for guitarists. Whether you want to learn the techniques employed by your guitar heroes, read about their latest projects or simply need to know which guitar is the right one to buy, Guitar World is the place to look.

More about music releases

“What started out as an instrumental album quickly changed”: Stone Temple Pilots’ Dean DeLeo announces One More Satellite – a new collaborative project that stars a host of special guests

“This song depicts all of the things Joe and I loved about pounding rock ‘n’ roll and the glorious guitar”: The SatchVai Band's second single is an ode to the instrument that made them famous – and it features Glenn Hughes on vocals

"With a rugged build and more gain than should be legal, this pedal is a must-have for any metal guitarist looking to chug": Solar Chug Lite high-gain distortion pedal review
See more latest
Most Popular
Jonathan Hultén wears white makeup and black lipstick and eye-liner and is photographed in the woods with an Ibanez acoustic electric guitar
“I will use mattresses for isolation and try not to bother the neighbors too much… I was just following the songs to see what happens”: How Jonathan Hultén channeled Nick Drake’s Pink Moon and recorded an entire album in his walk-in closet
David Hood of the Muscle Shoals rhythm section (The Swampers) performs on stage with Traffic at Birmingham Town Hall on Wednesday March 20 1973. He plays a Fender Jazz bass guitar.
“Paul Simon called Stax and said, ‘Who are those Jamaican musicians?’ They told him, ‘Those are some white boys from Alabama!’” David Hood on being starstruck by Aretha Franklin, what Otis Redding taught him, and tales from golden age of Muscle Shoals
The Legendary Eddie Hazel of Parliament-Funkadelic poses in a black-and-white archive pic; while his successor, Michael Hampton, aka Kidd Funkadelic, wears a cape and plays a solo onstage with George Clinton's band.
“Even today, there’s little nuances that Eddie did, and I can get close, but it’s about trying to capture the feeling”: Why George Clinton’s P-Funk All Stars never shined so bright as when ‘Kidd Funkadelic’ and Eddie Hazel joined forces on Maggot Brain
Mike Inez of Alice In Chains performs on stage on Day 3 of Sonisphere Festival on August 1, 2010 in Knebworth, England.
“A personal crowning moment for me was having Lemmy ask me to play on a Motörhead record!” Alice in Chains’ Mike Inez on why Cliff Burton ruled, Paul McCartney's influence – and what John Entwistle told him (that he already knew)
King Diamond and guitarist Andy La Rocque: The King is in his traditional stagewear, undertaker's hat, crossbones mic stand, totally morbid corpsepaint. La Rocque frets a chord on his signature ESP.
“Listening to Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert… all kinds of crazy-fast players. And you tried to keep up with them”: Andy La Rocque on why he is no longer a 120mph soloist – and what we can expect from the long-awaited King Diamond album
Randy McStine plays a sunburst Les Paul as he performs with Steven Wilson.
“This was specifically wanting it to have the sort of grandiosity of a Comfortably Numb-type guitar solo but without really referencing that vocabulary”: Randy McStine reveals all behind his cosmically epic solo on Steven Wilson's The Overview
Chris Holt
“I play the double-neck and trade solos with Joe Walsh on Hotel California. It’s a bit terrifying, but it’s the greatest thing ever”: Chris Holt landed The Eagles without an audition – but his gigs with Mike Campbell and Don Henley might have helped
Elliott Easton of the Cars plays a black Danelectro singlecut on a stage lit in purple.
“John Lennon hated doubling his vocals. The chief engineer at Abbey Road came up with a way to add a delay and put it onto another track. That’s what that pedal does”: The Cars’ Elliot Easton on the secrets of his pedalboard – and the wizard who made it
Mae Semones
“I wasn't familiar with PRS. If anything, I was like, ‘The birds are too flashy!’ But the moment I played one I was like, ‘Whoa, I can play faster now!’”: Meet Mei Semones, the Berklee graduate reimagining New Orleans vibes with an intricate indie flair
Peter Brewis of Field music is bathed in pink and blue lights as he performs live
“A lot of modern guitarists want to get all the notes right but if you listen to Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page, it’s beautiful playing, with loads of mistakes”: Peter Brewis on Field Music’s ‘collage rock’ – and why he owes his career to Robert Zemeckis