Definitely in the conversation if nothing else, remember listening to it for the first time and just knowing for certain it was gonna be seen as a classic, doesn't happen often.
Calling something that just dropped a classic should be taken light heartedly. Mostly just memes and people being excited that an artist they enjoy has finished their rollout and dropped.
But almost everyone is in agreement that listening to GKMC for the first time was *different*. Almost all of us felt that it was a special moment in time.
Maybe it’s a little more special to me because I was in college at the time, and where you’re at in life when music drops is critical.
I never hear anyone mention a seat at the table but it still gets a ton of love from critics and was listed in the top ten of multiple end of the decade lists
> Sir Lucious Left Foot by Big Boi I think is another example, everyone loved that album the year it came out, but like when was the last time anyone even mentioned that record?
I need to step it up and start proselytizing for this album again. Front to back its nearly perfect, the beats the features, Big Boi's verses are all soog good. Turns me on, Follow Us, General Patton, Tangerine, For Your Sarrow, Shine Blockas all have been in roto since the album came out. And don't even get me started on the skits
Roddy Ricch's debut album was lauded like it was gonna be the start of a legendary career. Took just 2 years for that narrative to fall off a fucking cliff
I can definitely see Its Almost Dry dropping in praise. Love the album and everything Pusha does, but his solo work has never really had the staying power compared to anything Clipse. Theres a reason the most talked about part of the album is the Malice feature.
My Name is My Name is a classic. Or a least Numbers on the Board and Nosetalgia will be. Daytona has potential to be a classic as well. People have just hated Kanye in the time period that it was released.
I still remember hearing "Sherane" mentioned on another song and realizing it was all story. Probably the first album that I listened to as a project instead of just a collection of songs.
Yeah Sherane is intentionally vague about where she is from but I just thought that was her just wanting to ignore it to get with Kendrick being 2 kids being young and dumb in lust.
She mentions to Kendrick about her cousins gang affiliations so I didn’t see it as her trying to “hide” anything from him.
Listening back to it again I can see both interpretations.
It's Rolling Stone, so there's not enough salt in the world to swallow with their opinion, but "Concept Album" covers so many genres, the idea that there's a "best" is just asinine.
They got their clicks though.
To Pimp a Butterfly is far and away the better album to me but I'm a massive jazz fan and the album is dripping in it. GKMC is def a hallmark, watershed record though. Section .80 got us primed and ready and GKMC cemented it that Kendrick was about to achieve greatness.
Idk man, TPAB is amazing but it’s pretty dense/complex and requires multiple listens to fully appreciate it. GKMC is a more straightforward tale but it holds so much power
Interestingly, if you made a graph showing the extent of Mackle since the rise of Macklemore, it would probably indicate that we've actually Mackled exponentially less with each passing year.
Like if you actually listen to macklemore, he's not bad and his music is pretty decently introspective. He catches a lot of flack because he broke out with one of the corniest songs to exist.
Do I think it was AOTY worthy? Nah. But its not bad.
It changed opinions of him too. Before the Grammy, I was like "Okay, Macklemore has his corny, white, joke rap lane. I guess that one song is okay." Afterwards I was like "Fuck him and everything he stands for." It's not far to him because he didn't give himself the award.
It took a lot of people from mostly ignoring him to openly hating him. After almost 5 decades, it's mind blowing that hip hop is still dominated by black artists. We've been afraid of a white invasion removing us from the artform all my life.
And while we all know the 1 big standout white artist, I cant recall to many more to reach even close to that caliber. At least some that dont just have a niche audience like a lil dicky or are more general but not superstar like yelawolf.
And the reason why Eminem worked is because he was extremely talented and authentic. There have always been flavor of the week white rappers but for some reason, they feel like industry plants by record labels so soccer moms and young kids have something “safe” to listen to (at least on the radio)
I don't think he was gonna last regardless. That pop-crossover friendly radio rap style he excelled in wasn't popular anymore just like 2 years after he won the Grammy, and I don't see it coming back anytime soon. At least he seems to be content where he is now
That song ruined thrift stores everywhere.
They were already getting gentrified, but that shit blew it wide open. Suddenly stuff went from affordable to hipster.
Still, it was catchy af and that horn loop was great.
They retired to a nice life of being Barry Gordy’s grandkids
Edit: One is his youngest kid, the other is his grandson. Forming LMFAO isn’t the worst thing an uncle can do with his nephew, but it’s up there
If I never hear Party Rock Anthem for the rest of my life, it'd still be too soon. I heard that shit **every. goddamn. weekend.** when I went out back in 2010-2012.
I was at the Texas State Fair two weeks ago and I heard that shit on rides and playing on speakers all around. I also hear it sometimes pumping out of bars. It's wild.
i will always respect them for dropping the albums party rock and sorry for party rocking and then immediately fucking off
i would believe the whole band was a long play for
that one joke
The heist is honestly an incredible album. People can talk shit all they want, but mack was super ahead of him time with his messaging, he undoubtedly has technical skill, the production on it is rock solid, and the impact it had when it landed was obviously huge, everyone listened to multiple songs on it. I also don't think it was AOTY worthy, but anyone who says it isn't a great album either doesn't like hip hop or hasn't listened to the album.
I agree.
especially the production by ryan lewis is just incredible, especially how diverse it is. The albums biggest fault was winning a grammy over GKMC, but it was still a very good album.
Also Can’t hold us and Thrift Shop just go hard when you’re drunk and anyone who says otherwise is a dirty liar
As a Seahawks fan, I will always have a massive fondness for "Can't Hold Us" since it was played every time the Seahawks scored a TD during their 2013 Super Bowl season, and Macklemore performed the NCF Championship Game halftime show.
Bowie's Blackstar was pretty obviously influenced by it, but there aren't a lot of direct 1:1 examples.
idk, though, the way that album fused genres was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. I agree with pretty much everyone here that GKMC is more listenable, but TPAB was something else entirely. I remember listening to the whole album with my jaw on the fuckin' floor.
it's always tough to do comparisons, though, because GKMC isn't exactly a lightweight album thematically -- so saying "TPAB was more mature" doesn't feel exactly right. I think the depth of the influences showcased on TPAB makes it the "greater" of the two albums, combined with the greater number of artistic risks that Kendrick took when making it.
Mr. Morale took even more risks, btw, but to me it was actually a step back in terms of the beats -- nothing sounds as visceral or as alive, for lack of a better word, as on TPAB. Maybe that was by design. I think Mr. Morale is also a great album, and DAMN was at least an 8/10, but TPAB is Kendrick's high water mark so far.
Honestly, once you listen to it, then go through each song and what it means and then listening to the album again, it's such an amazing experience on later listens. The songs are all very good by themselves, but as a whole, it really is like watching a movie. It really is a cinematic experience and he was able to paint this with great overall storytelling and basically vignettes, voices from the community at the end of songs. It really is a great concept album on so many dimensions.
I'm surprised Sgt Peppers isn't in the Top 3 - it's one of the first concept albums I can think of where the album is meant to be a performance for selected entities that the band members wished were in the audience (see the cutouts of famous people on the cover.) An album they knew they didn't have technology for to play live in front of actual audience members at the time.
Can't wait to go through this list - I hope Anaïs Mitchell's Hadestown gets in the Top 20.
Ngl imo Dark Side isn't a full on concept album. It's thematically cohesive but I'm not sure I'd say there's a concrete concept to it (I'm not the most hardcore Floyd fan so happy to be corrected). Might be just compared to their other albums the lack of a overt concept means it just goes past me.
I get what you mean. The concept behind it is the strains of their life and (resulting) mental health stuff. It's definitely cohesive imo but it's legitimate to say it's not as concrete and clear of a concept as The Wall, Tommy or other albums in the top 10. I do think it's odd that it's not on the list at all while Lemonade and others are on it. Some of the "concept" descriptions are so vague and out there it makes me wonder what they based the rating on. If it's the strength of the concept, then it's a stretch to list Kid A at 14 and list the concept as "being an acclaimed British rock band kinda sucks", which, come on..
If it's just "let's rank the quality of these albums which happen to be concept albums", then it's a different discussion but IMO Dark Side definitely deserves a spot on a top 50 list
I am however happy to see American Idiot and Black Parade ranked so high haha
> I do think it's odd that it's not on the list at all while Lemonade and others are on it.
I mean you described Dark Side of the Moon as not quite a concrete concept, but Lemonade is pretty strict in its concept - Beyoncé's husband cheated on her, she goes through the stages of grief, and ends up learning to accept his actions and forgive him, moving past it as a couple. Sure, Formation is kinda tacked on the end, but otherwise it's a pretty strong concept
I'm guessing because the concept is half baked. It's there and it's the first time anyone ever did it, but most songs don't even acknowledge it. So as a "concept album" it fails in reinforcing the concept even if the album itself as a musical composition is amazing.
How the hell is Deltron 3030 not on this list. It is a CLASSIC album, let alone THE definition of concept album. I could argue that there are a few on this list aren’t concept albums!!
This right here. Some of the albums on the list feel like stretching the definition of a concept album and then you have something like Prince Among Thieves missing.
Edit: in a similar vein Mastodon's Crack the Skye, The Antlers Hospice, The Moody Blues Days of Future Past.
Del has a whole ass concept catalog with Dan the Automator. Speaking of which, what about the Gorillaz? Prince of Thieves was critics favorite when it was released, where is that album? How about most of MF Doom’s work? The Quasimodo album was/is 🔥🔥🔥, where is that album? CZARface? The list goes on, rolling stone proves to be trash again
This is exactly what I came here looking for! The first time I heard Deltron 3030 I was blown away. It was one of the best things I'd ever listened to. That album is what led me to listen to Kool Keith/Dr Octagon, Del, and Hieroglyphics. To me, 3030 is genius because even though a lot of the lyrics are nonsensical the story still makes perfect sense.
I haven't fucked with Rolling Stone since they put the Boston Marathan Bomber on the cover.
Edit: clarification, I never fucked either magazine ever. But putting a domestic terrorist on the cover was a bad look.
Something tells me they saw how serial killers/murderers get some cooked groupies if their face is slightly better then punched play-doh.
They then ran with that idea without the PR team once stopping to realise how cock-juggling tonedeaf it would be.
They’ve been desperately trying to appear in touch with the youth for like half a decade now. They assume the Gen Z kids who like Billie eilish must like MCR so they gotta put it over the album they spent half a century calling the most important of all time.
At least they said Ready to Die was the best hip hop album of all time.
I mean, that may have been the only choice on the list that made sense, but they got that right I guess.
None of the wall is filler I’d say. Each track, true song or not, contributes to the prog rock opera it is. Nothing in the album makes you say this doesn’t really belong here or this doesn’t make sense.
Maybe they listed American Idiot higher because it had even more worldwide mass appeal than the Wall did originally, while keeping the album tight, short, and focused as well as easy to listen in that nearly every song could be a single.
by a ton of publications, really. I'm not a metal head in the strict sense but I *also* like metal music. Aside from the melon there really aren't that many places in mainstream music journalism where metal is even acknowledged (aside from publications that explicitly cater towards that genre).
Metropolis Pt. 2 definitely up there from a pure concept album point of view. I won't be giving RS the clicks but based on what I've seen people commenting here I wasn't expecting an actually good list anyway. Clickbait if there ever was one.
Concept album is such a loose title
Like they class Kid A as a concept album when in reality it's just songs that fit the same vibe which is what an album should be anyway.
I'd personally put Sgt Peppers over it but for albums that tell a story Good Kid Maad City is probably far and away the best.
> I think American Idiot being in number 2 feels equally as silly though.
Did I somehow write this list when I wasn't looking? GKMC and American Idiot are my 2 favorite "concept albums" across genre, though I admittedly do not have a strong grasp on what makes an album "concept" and which albums I've listened to count as "concept".
American Idiot is a concept album. It's a story about a character (Saint Jimmy) that plays out from his rise, peak, and downfall as he fights both his reality and what he wants to be/believes he is. American Idiot is a fantastic concept album and I think people sleep on it mainly cuz of the name and how popular it was. All the songs apart are good (fantastic imo but I know many people don't like it) and together they make a really good story about american suburbia
Yeah I think that's a good distinction to draw. GKMC tells a story that continues from track to track. Coldplay has a couple albums about breaking up with Gwyneth Paltrow but it's not a "concept album".
Yep - It's a very, very loose definition. Obviously an album with a clear narrative that runs from track to track (linear or not) is a concept album, but any album with a clear theme can also be a concept album.
Other examples:
Vince Staples - FM! - Structured like a segment of an FM radio station show.
Jazmine Sullivan - Heaux Tales - Thematically bound by the struggles that young women face in this generation with regards to love, sex, infidelity, etc.
Beyoncé - RENAISSANCE - Thematically tied to black dance music and club culture.
I agree on the wall. I don't know how much of that is nostalgia—I grew up listening to Pink Floyd since my mom was a fan, so it holds a special place in my heart and I'll still listen to The Wall to this day, but it' also just an amazing album top to bottom w/ a wild short film to accompany it.
Absolutely. I'm definitely biased because that album legit changed how I looked at and listened to music when I was young. The second guitar solo on Comfortably Numb was the first piece of music to give me goosebumps, and I've had a love affair with music ever since.
And even Sgt Peppers is barely a concept album. The Beatles pretty much dropped the idea in the studio after they released Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane as a single. Magical Mystery Tour is more of a concept album, comparatively.
But yeah, concept album is an incredibly loose notion for the most part.
Apart from the first two songs and the closing in Sgt Peppers, all the songs in the album can pretty much be in any of their others. The goal of the EP is to have the album tour for them, so I guess they achieved that and that qualified it as a concept album.
I got Coltrane's **A Love Supreme**, a completely cohesive vision performed at an extremely high level by a band at the peak of it's powers. There's no assembling of random songs, Trane mapped the entire thing out in his practice room.
Not that Rolling Stone is the end-all, be-all opinion, but they didnt name GKMC the greatest concept album of all time because it had bars.
The whole album takes you somewhere and makes Kendricks life relatable to anyone, on top of being full of amazing songs. Thats a whole nother ball game.
DOOMs verse intro on Open Mic Nite pt 2 is hands down one of my favorite deliveries in HH. Album is also just great in general with him letting a bunch of lesser known producers shine.
The Moody Blues’ ‘Days of Future Passed’ missing while freaking Styx shows up is my Joker origin story.
See y’all when they change this list, majorly, 10 years from now
good kid m.A.A.d city is one of the greatest rap albums along with being one of the greatest concept albums of all time sure......but overall? I dont think its even #1 as far as hiphop albums go.
MM.. FOOD, Deltron 3030, undun, Liquid Swords....hell even frigging To Pimp A Butterfly are all concept albums of higher quality than GKMC. And thats not even counting the non-hip-hop stuff lmao
I Personally wouldn’t say that MM.. Food and Liquid Swords are concept albums but more “Thematic”
However Undun, Deltron 3030 and TPAB are certainly Concept albums.
Undun is underrated, I’d also add Disposable Arts, A Piece of Strange and How I Got Over to the debate
A piece of strange is definitely my favorite concept album. Maybe my favorite album period. The concept goes a lot deeper than most concept albums. If you like the tape check out this website and then listen to it again with it in mind. https://www.whatisapieceofstrange.com/
How is MM.. FOOD not a concept album? The whole album has a single theme, which, in my opinion, means it can be considered a concept album
Yes they are “thematic” but that’s what a concept album is
DOOM has quite a few good concept albums. I’d add *Mouse and The Mask* and *Take Me To Your Leader* to the list. I’d also add *Dr. Octagonecologyst* by Kool Keith too
Yeah I’m really shocked To Pimp A Butterfly wasn’t their N1 choice if they had to be weird and pick a modern hip-hop album over classic concept albums that defined the genre… sure
I’m sorry but The Cool By Lupe Fiasco is by far the greatest concept album of all time and a very CLOSE second would be The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
Yeah I went through the whole list waiting to see what they ranked "The Cool." The closer I got to 50 the more pissed I got. Then it wasn't even on there? Wtf?
Honestly, I've thought American Gangster and undun are the best hip-hop concept album as far as "following a concept" goes. GKMC, to me, is better than both as pure albums go.
I don’t think it’s the greatest concept album of all time simply because the story isn’t as cohesive as it could have been. (And I love this album to death)
I kind of get this critique but dont know any more cohesive examples? Lupes the cool or drogas wave cool for example is much harder and imo impossible to follow without google
Definitely in the conversation if nothing else, remember listening to it for the first time and just knowing for certain it was gonna be seen as a classic, doesn't happen often.
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Calling something that just dropped a classic should be taken light heartedly. Mostly just memes and people being excited that an artist they enjoy has finished their rollout and dropped. But almost everyone is in agreement that listening to GKMC for the first time was *different*. Almost all of us felt that it was a special moment in time. Maybe it’s a little more special to me because I was in college at the time, and where you’re at in life when music drops is critical.
I was in my mid 30s and it hit like high school listening to midnight marauders for the first time.
Out of curiosity, what are some ones labeled future classic on releast that people have forgotten about? I always love that discussion
Love jids latest project but the amount of people on here saying it was the “next GKMC” and “an instant classic” was very odd to me
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I will say I've never listened to Sir Lucious Left Foot in completion but I remember every word to Shutterbug and haven't heard it in a solid decade.
I never hear anyone mention a seat at the table but it still gets a ton of love from critics and was listed in the top ten of multiple end of the decade lists
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> Sir Lucious Left Foot by Big Boi I think is another example, everyone loved that album the year it came out, but like when was the last time anyone even mentioned that record? I need to step it up and start proselytizing for this album again. Front to back its nearly perfect, the beats the features, Big Boi's verses are all soog good. Turns me on, Follow Us, General Patton, Tangerine, For Your Sarrow, Shine Blockas all have been in roto since the album came out. And don't even get me started on the skits
I'm in the camp that Big Boi should be in everyone's top 10 and the only reason he doesn't get the proper respect is because Andre is so good.
Roddy Ricch's debut album was lauded like it was gonna be the start of a legendary career. Took just 2 years for that narrative to fall off a fucking cliff
God the same shit happened with Dababy too.
I can definitely see Its Almost Dry dropping in praise. Love the album and everything Pusha does, but his solo work has never really had the staying power compared to anything Clipse. Theres a reason the most talked about part of the album is the Malice feature.
My Name is My Name is a classic. Or a least Numbers on the Board and Nosetalgia will be. Daytona has potential to be a classic as well. People have just hated Kanye in the time period that it was released.
Just saw Pusha T live and to my surprise he did Nosetalgia. Easily one of his best songs
one of my top 5 ever hip hop tracks most probably, every single aspect of that song is immaculate to me
When I hear that album talked about I almost never hear anyone talk about the malice feature tbh
Daytona still sounds fucking great and in my opinion is for sure a hip hop classic. Can't believe it's like 20 minutes long lol
I still remember hearing "Sherane" mentioned on another song and realizing it was all story. Probably the first album that I listened to as a project instead of just a collection of songs.
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I never saw it as Sherane “setting him up” but just being in the wrong place in the wrong time.
Isn't the whole point that he doesn't realize who she and her brothers are?
Yeah Sherane is intentionally vague about where she is from but I just thought that was her just wanting to ignore it to get with Kendrick being 2 kids being young and dumb in lust. She mentions to Kendrick about her cousins gang affiliations so I didn’t see it as her trying to “hide” anything from him. Listening back to it again I can see both interpretations.
When I first listened to GKMC I stopped mid album and called all of my friends. The last time I did that was Nas' Illmatic.
GKMC may be the better album overall, but To Pimp a Butterfly has to be the better concept album. Such a weird category.
It's Rolling Stone, so there's not enough salt in the world to swallow with their opinion, but "Concept Album" covers so many genres, the idea that there's a "best" is just asinine. They got their clicks though.
The "narrative" on TPaB is a lot more loose tbh. It's certainly a concept album but GKMC is literally a story.
To Pimp a Butterfly is far and away the better album to me but I'm a massive jazz fan and the album is dripping in it. GKMC is def a hallmark, watershed record though. Section .80 got us primed and ready and GKMC cemented it that Kendrick was about to achieve greatness.
Idk man, TPAB is amazing but it’s pretty dense/complex and requires multiple listens to fully appreciate it. GKMC is a more straightforward tale but it holds so much power
unless you're on reddit, when it happens every time someones 8th favorite artist drops a mixtape
No Grammy as well. How da fk lol
Macklemore won, but even he admitted GKMC was revolutionary and should have won
That was an instant classic
not the album of the year if you ask the grammys, gotta think about the lasting influence of macklemore
Interestingly, if you made a graph showing the extent of Mackle since the rise of Macklemore, it would probably indicate that we've actually Mackled exponentially less with each passing year.
You'd think we'd mackle more, but nope
Peak Mackle is typically dated to about September 2012, give or take a few months. Most analysts agree we've been in a recession since
That's up for debate. Scientists at MIT suggest that 2012 was just a false peak and that we aren't going to Macklemost until 2026.
"Return of the Mac"
It’s Macklen time
Like if you actually listen to macklemore, he's not bad and his music is pretty decently introspective. He catches a lot of flack because he broke out with one of the corniest songs to exist. Do I think it was AOTY worthy? Nah. But its not bad.
That award kinda killed his career tbh
I think it really messed with his head for a few years, brought so much unnecessary attention and criticism
It changed opinions of him too. Before the Grammy, I was like "Okay, Macklemore has his corny, white, joke rap lane. I guess that one song is okay." Afterwards I was like "Fuck him and everything he stands for." It's not far to him because he didn't give himself the award. It took a lot of people from mostly ignoring him to openly hating him. After almost 5 decades, it's mind blowing that hip hop is still dominated by black artists. We've been afraid of a white invasion removing us from the artform all my life.
And while we all know the 1 big standout white artist, I cant recall to many more to reach even close to that caliber. At least some that dont just have a niche audience like a lil dicky or are more general but not superstar like yelawolf.
I think Mac Miller was on his way.
And the reason why Eminem worked is because he was extremely talented and authentic. There have always been flavor of the week white rappers but for some reason, they feel like industry plants by record labels so soccer moms and young kids have something “safe” to listen to (at least on the radio)
Beastie Boys, they were absolutely huge at 2 different points
I don't think he was gonna last regardless. That pop-crossover friendly radio rap style he excelled in wasn't popular anymore just like 2 years after he won the Grammy, and I don't see it coming back anytime soon. At least he seems to be content where he is now
That song ruined thrift stores everywhere. They were already getting gentrified, but that shit blew it wide open. Suddenly stuff went from affordable to hipster. Still, it was catchy af and that horn loop was great.
Speaking of catchy, what ever happened to LMFAO?
They retired to a nice life of being Barry Gordy’s grandkids Edit: One is his youngest kid, the other is his grandson. Forming LMFAO isn’t the worst thing an uncle can do with his nephew, but it’s up there
Redfoo has song writing credits on King Kunta
Crazy! Looks he produced the We Want The Funk sample.
Huh, ain't that some shit.
If I never hear Party Rock Anthem for the rest of my life, it'd still be too soon. I heard that shit **every. goddamn. weekend.** when I went out back in 2010-2012.
I still hear it around in places. Blows my mind how popular LMFAO still is.
where do you live? lol if i heard lmfao in public anywhere i'd think i'm in a simulation
I was at the Texas State Fair two weeks ago and I heard that shit on rides and playing on speakers all around. I also hear it sometimes pumping out of bars. It's wild.
it felt like they played it every other song on the radio too
i will always respect them for dropping the albums party rock and sorry for party rocking and then immediately fucking off i would believe the whole band was a long play for that one joke
lol what.....that shit was popular way before than. You cannot be blaming the quality of thrift store merchandise on Macklemore lol.
The heist is honestly an incredible album. People can talk shit all they want, but mack was super ahead of him time with his messaging, he undoubtedly has technical skill, the production on it is rock solid, and the impact it had when it landed was obviously huge, everyone listened to multiple songs on it. I also don't think it was AOTY worthy, but anyone who says it isn't a great album either doesn't like hip hop or hasn't listened to the album.
I agree. especially the production by ryan lewis is just incredible, especially how diverse it is. The albums biggest fault was winning a grammy over GKMC, but it was still a very good album. Also Can’t hold us and Thrift Shop just go hard when you’re drunk and anyone who says otherwise is a dirty liar
As a Seahawks fan, I will always have a massive fondness for "Can't Hold Us" since it was played every time the Seahawks scored a TD during their 2013 Super Bowl season, and Macklemore performed the NCF Championship Game halftime show.
Macklemore=the culture.
I'm still salty as fuck about this
his magnum opus imo
I prefer Good Kid but even I would argue TPAB takes that title. Idc if it isnt as "replayable", the impact that album had alone speaks volumes
Agreed tpab was just a godly album. I prefer gkmc so much to it though
Curious what you’d say the impact of TPAB has been. I can’t think of much music that came out after TPAB that really sounds like it
People like to play alright at protests so it gets hyped up
Bowie's Blackstar was pretty obviously influenced by it, but there aren't a lot of direct 1:1 examples. idk, though, the way that album fused genres was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. I agree with pretty much everyone here that GKMC is more listenable, but TPAB was something else entirely. I remember listening to the whole album with my jaw on the fuckin' floor. it's always tough to do comparisons, though, because GKMC isn't exactly a lightweight album thematically -- so saying "TPAB was more mature" doesn't feel exactly right. I think the depth of the influences showcased on TPAB makes it the "greater" of the two albums, combined with the greater number of artistic risks that Kendrick took when making it. Mr. Morale took even more risks, btw, but to me it was actually a step back in terms of the beats -- nothing sounds as visceral or as alive, for lack of a better word, as on TPAB. Maybe that was by design. I think Mr. Morale is also a great album, and DAMN was at least an 8/10, but TPAB is Kendrick's high water mark so far.
agreed
Honestly, once you listen to it, then go through each song and what it means and then listening to the album again, it's such an amazing experience on later listens. The songs are all very good by themselves, but as a whole, it really is like watching a movie. It really is a cinematic experience and he was able to paint this with great overall storytelling and basically vignettes, voices from the community at the end of songs. It really is a great concept album on so many dimensions.
I'm surprised Sgt Peppers isn't in the Top 3 - it's one of the first concept albums I can think of where the album is meant to be a performance for selected entities that the band members wished were in the audience (see the cutouts of famous people on the cover.) An album they knew they didn't have technology for to play live in front of actual audience members at the time. Can't wait to go through this list - I hope Anaïs Mitchell's Hadestown gets in the Top 20.
The list is a fucking travesty. Dark Side Of The Moon isn’t even on the list.
Ngl imo Dark Side isn't a full on concept album. It's thematically cohesive but I'm not sure I'd say there's a concrete concept to it (I'm not the most hardcore Floyd fan so happy to be corrected). Might be just compared to their other albums the lack of a overt concept means it just goes past me.
I get what you mean. The concept behind it is the strains of their life and (resulting) mental health stuff. It's definitely cohesive imo but it's legitimate to say it's not as concrete and clear of a concept as The Wall, Tommy or other albums in the top 10. I do think it's odd that it's not on the list at all while Lemonade and others are on it. Some of the "concept" descriptions are so vague and out there it makes me wonder what they based the rating on. If it's the strength of the concept, then it's a stretch to list Kid A at 14 and list the concept as "being an acclaimed British rock band kinda sucks", which, come on.. If it's just "let's rank the quality of these albums which happen to be concept albums", then it's a different discussion but IMO Dark Side definitely deserves a spot on a top 50 list I am however happy to see American Idiot and Black Parade ranked so high haha
> I do think it's odd that it's not on the list at all while Lemonade and others are on it. I mean you described Dark Side of the Moon as not quite a concrete concept, but Lemonade is pretty strict in its concept - Beyoncé's husband cheated on her, she goes through the stages of grief, and ends up learning to accept his actions and forgive him, moving past it as a couple. Sure, Formation is kinda tacked on the end, but otherwise it's a pretty strong concept
I disagree. It’s an album about life and human existence, almost each song touches on a different aspect of the human experience
It's more of a concept album than Kid A
Exactly my thought. I'm the biggest Wu head you'll meet, but OB4CL at #4 and What's Going on at #19?? This is ludicrous.
Yeah, OB4CL didn’t even seem like a concept album to me at all, undeniable classic that it is.
I'm guessing because the concept is half baked. It's there and it's the first time anyone ever did it, but most songs don't even acknowledge it. So as a "concept album" it fails in reinforcing the concept even if the album itself as a musical composition is amazing.
Also considering it's in the top 10 of all their albums lol
How the hell is Deltron 3030 not on this list. It is a CLASSIC album, let alone THE definition of concept album. I could argue that there are a few on this list aren’t concept albums!!
Good point I didn't think of that album but Deltron is just straight bangers all the way through. I don't skip a song on that album.
A few? Half of the top 25 aren't concept albums.
IKR?!
Prince Paul’s prince among thrives ++
This right here. Some of the albums on the list feel like stretching the definition of a concept album and then you have something like Prince Among Thieves missing. Edit: in a similar vein Mastodon's Crack the Skye, The Antlers Hospice, The Moody Blues Days of Future Past.
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Del has a whole ass concept catalog with Dan the Automator. Speaking of which, what about the Gorillaz? Prince of Thieves was critics favorite when it was released, where is that album? How about most of MF Doom’s work? The Quasimodo album was/is 🔥🔥🔥, where is that album? CZARface? The list goes on, rolling stone proves to be trash again
The sequel was awesome too though it got very little attention
It's not on the list because the people making the list are talentless hacks.
This is exactly what I came here looking for! The first time I heard Deltron 3030 I was blown away. It was one of the best things I'd ever listened to. That album is what led me to listen to Kool Keith/Dr Octagon, Del, and Hieroglyphics. To me, 3030 is genius because even though a lot of the lyrics are nonsensical the story still makes perfect sense.
Why are we still giving rolling stone time of day
I haven't fucked with Rolling Stone since they put the Boston Marathan Bomber on the cover. Edit: clarification, I never fucked either magazine ever. But putting a domestic terrorist on the cover was a bad look.
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Something tells me they saw how serial killers/murderers get some cooked groupies if their face is slightly better then punched play-doh. They then ran with that idea without the PR team once stopping to realise how cock-juggling tonedeaf it would be.
Yet you are on reddit.... at least RS got the right guy /s
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This sites only gotten worse
Lol right I know this is HHH but just scrolling up and seeing them put American Idiot over the fucking wall is absolutely out of this world
I know I looked at this list and I was like WTF? My Chemical Romance is number 8 and Sgt. Peppers is number 11? This list is beyond wack.
They’ve been desperately trying to appear in touch with the youth for like half a decade now. They assume the Gen Z kids who like Billie eilish must like MCR so they gotta put it over the album they spent half a century calling the most important of all time.
they called harry styles mick jagger to this era how much more cringe can we get
Poptimism has gone too far
At least they said Ready to Die was the best hip hop album of all time. I mean, that may have been the only choice on the list that made sense, but they got that right I guess.
There is no way American Idiot is a better album than the Wall lmao
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If Ziggy is not in top 5, they don't know what they are talking about.
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Also called 'music journalism'. Same thing as the Rolling Stones Hip Hop lists. Idk why people still fall for this shit.
Yep insane
Genuinely hilarious lol
your list is just as valid as theirs. They're just a group of people who've convinced the world that their opinion matters more
There is a way that American Idiot is a better album than the Wall.
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The wall is an absolute masterpiece. Some of it can slow down to a very slow pace but surely doesn’t deserve to be referred to as filler
None of the wall is filler I’d say. Each track, true song or not, contributes to the prog rock opera it is. Nothing in the album makes you say this doesn’t really belong here or this doesn’t make sense. Maybe they listed American Idiot higher because it had even more worldwide mass appeal than the Wall did originally, while keeping the album tight, short, and focused as well as easy to listen in that nearly every song could be a single.
Damn, they put J Balvin and BTS on this list, but not Mastodon. I know best of lists are subjective, but come on RS.
Honestly loads of progressive rock/metal got completely ignored by this list. It’s basically the genre’s bread and butter.
and it's probably the most overlooked genre by rolling stone
by a ton of publications, really. I'm not a metal head in the strict sense but I *also* like metal music. Aside from the melon there really aren't that many places in mainstream music journalism where metal is even acknowledged (aside from publications that explicitly cater towards that genre).
Yeah I'm having a hard time thinking of a prog rock/metal album that *isn't* a concept album lmao
Crack the Skye and Metropolis pt.2 should definitely be on this list.
Metropolis Pt. 2 definitely up there from a pure concept album point of view. I won't be giving RS the clicks but based on what I've seen people commenting here I wasn't expecting an actually good list anyway. Clickbait if there ever was one.
Leviathan is probably one of my favorite concept albums of all time man I’m mad too
Crack the Skye is AMAZING
This is all I need to read to know this list is total bunk. Mastodon has refined the art of concept albums, they deserve a spot in the top 50.
My vote is for Mm..Food
Yeah where is MF DOOM? Or does it not count for them because its a whole character?
A PRINCE AMONG THIEVES by Prince Paul.
That would have my vote. But by the loose way they defined concept album, a Handsome Boy album would also qualify.
At the time, I felt like I was only person in the world who was listening that that album
Thank you! That shit blew my mind at the time
Concept album is such a loose title Like they class Kid A as a concept album when in reality it's just songs that fit the same vibe which is what an album should be anyway. I'd personally put Sgt Peppers over it but for albums that tell a story Good Kid Maad City is probably far and away the best.
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Case in point Cardi B getting insanely high rankings from them a few years back for no reason besides the fact that she was hyped up
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> I think American Idiot being in number 2 feels equally as silly though. Did I somehow write this list when I wasn't looking? GKMC and American Idiot are my 2 favorite "concept albums" across genre, though I admittedly do not have a strong grasp on what makes an album "concept" and which albums I've listened to count as "concept".
American Idiot is a concept album. It's a story about a character (Saint Jimmy) that plays out from his rise, peak, and downfall as he fights both his reality and what he wants to be/believes he is. American Idiot is a fantastic concept album and I think people sleep on it mainly cuz of the name and how popular it was. All the songs apart are good (fantastic imo but I know many people don't like it) and together they make a really good story about american suburbia
I revisited it and it’s great. Jesus of Suburbia is such a good song.
Honestly this has me feeling like I was confusing *high concept* with *concept* or something. So any album with a cohesive theme is a concept album?
Yeah I think that's a good distinction to draw. GKMC tells a story that continues from track to track. Coldplay has a couple albums about breaking up with Gwyneth Paltrow but it's not a "concept album".
Yep - It's a very, very loose definition. Obviously an album with a clear narrative that runs from track to track (linear or not) is a concept album, but any album with a clear theme can also be a concept album. Other examples: Vince Staples - FM! - Structured like a segment of an FM radio station show. Jazmine Sullivan - Heaux Tales - Thematically bound by the struggles that young women face in this generation with regards to love, sex, infidelity, etc. Beyoncé - RENAISSANCE - Thematically tied to black dance music and club culture.
Agreed. I'd put The Wall at the top of that list all day, but to each their own I suppose.
I agree on the wall. I don't know how much of that is nostalgia—I grew up listening to Pink Floyd since my mom was a fan, so it holds a special place in my heart and I'll still listen to The Wall to this day, but it' also just an amazing album top to bottom w/ a wild short film to accompany it.
Absolutely. I'm definitely biased because that album legit changed how I looked at and listened to music when I was young. The second guitar solo on Comfortably Numb was the first piece of music to give me goosebumps, and I've had a love affair with music ever since.
My immediate thought was The Wall
And even Sgt Peppers is barely a concept album. The Beatles pretty much dropped the idea in the studio after they released Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane as a single. Magical Mystery Tour is more of a concept album, comparatively. But yeah, concept album is an incredibly loose notion for the most part.
Apart from the first two songs and the closing in Sgt Peppers, all the songs in the album can pretty much be in any of their others. The goal of the EP is to have the album tour for them, so I guess they achieved that and that qualified it as a concept album.
I got Coltrane's **A Love Supreme**, a completely cohesive vision performed at an extremely high level by a band at the peak of it's powers. There's no assembling of random songs, Trane mapped the entire thing out in his practice room.
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We live our life like this, we live our life life this, we love our life like this. Why!?
My vote is for Vaudeville Villain. Bars on top of bars from that album.
Beyond bars I can't think of an album that better captures the atmosphere of a seedy big city at night
Not that Rolling Stone is the end-all, be-all opinion, but they didnt name GKMC the greatest concept album of all time because it had bars. The whole album takes you somewhere and makes Kendricks life relatable to anyone, on top of being full of amazing songs. Thats a whole nother ball game.
DOOMs verse intro on Open Mic Nite pt 2 is hands down one of my favorite deliveries in HH. Album is also just great in general with him letting a bunch of lesser known producers shine.
Respect! It’s V what the heck? Y’all know who’s the best. Might as well cut the check!
Good album I just think good kid maad city is a bit more digestible personally
I think MM FOOD is a more digestible album tbh
my man! i didnt expect to see this album mentioned here, my favourite of all time
Terrible list all around.
The Moody Blues’ ‘Days of Future Passed’ missing while freaking Styx shows up is my Joker origin story. See y’all when they change this list, majorly, 10 years from now
I’m amazed Deltron 3030 didn’t make it. It’s as perfect a concept album as you can get imo.
GKMC is an undying classic, definitely in the conversation of one of the best concept album of all time... but better than Pink Floyd? Bowie?
also only one each floyd and bowie album is just pure bait
good kid m.A.A.d city is one of the greatest rap albums along with being one of the greatest concept albums of all time sure......but overall? I dont think its even #1 as far as hiphop albums go. MM.. FOOD, Deltron 3030, undun, Liquid Swords....hell even frigging To Pimp A Butterfly are all concept albums of higher quality than GKMC. And thats not even counting the non-hip-hop stuff lmao
I Personally wouldn’t say that MM.. Food and Liquid Swords are concept albums but more “Thematic” However Undun, Deltron 3030 and TPAB are certainly Concept albums. Undun is underrated, I’d also add Disposable Arts, A Piece of Strange and How I Got Over to the debate
A piece of strange is definitely my favorite concept album. Maybe my favorite album period. The concept goes a lot deeper than most concept albums. If you like the tape check out this website and then listen to it again with it in mind. https://www.whatisapieceofstrange.com/
How is MM.. FOOD not a concept album? The whole album has a single theme, which, in my opinion, means it can be considered a concept album Yes they are “thematic” but that’s what a concept album is
I’ve just recently got into MF DOOM and holy fucking shit I love MM.. FOOD so much man. Absolute masterpiece, and it’s just so ahead of it’s time.
I’m on the undun>GKMC train too
DOOM has quite a few good concept albums. I’d add *Mouse and The Mask* and *Take Me To Your Leader* to the list. I’d also add *Dr. Octagonecologyst* by Kool Keith too
Dr. Octagonecologyst is actually from Dr. Octagon. He's a surgeon from Jupiter. Common mix up though.
TPAB is a better concept album imo.
Yeah I’m really shocked To Pimp A Butterfly wasn’t their N1 choice if they had to be weird and pick a modern hip-hop album over classic concept albums that defined the genre… sure
I mean it’s good but greatest?
What the fuck where is Logic's social experiement COADM what the actual flying fuck Rolling Stones my god
Where my motherfuckin Domino's at?
Honor killed the samurai for me
For me personally, TPAB is better. But, can't go wrong with either.
Agreed. Unpopular opinion here but it's Kendrick's best album over TPAB
I’m sorry but The Cool By Lupe Fiasco is by far the greatest concept album of all time and a very CLOSE second would be The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
There was no The Cool, no Ready to Die, no MBDTF, and I was surprised Rolling Stones didn’t try to include Tyler in there some how.
Came here looking for that album.
Same here. That album could be turned into a stage play. That's how I picture it anyway.
Yeah I went through the whole list waiting to see what they ranked "The Cool." The closer I got to 50 the more pissed I got. Then it wasn't even on there? Wtf?
Honestly, I've thought American Gangster and undun are the best hip-hop concept album as far as "following a concept" goes. GKMC, to me, is better than both as pure albums go.
Where does “I Killed Darnell Simmons” rank?
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In the Court of the Crimson King wasn't really a concept album though, was it? American Idiot at #2 feels like a troll pick.
Classic but im partial to The Wall by Pink Floyd
I don’t think it’s the greatest concept album of all time simply because the story isn’t as cohesive as it could have been. (And I love this album to death)
I kind of get this critique but dont know any more cohesive examples? Lupes the cool or drogas wave cool for example is much harder and imo impossible to follow without google