Something of a cliche for such a list anymore, but this album from 1967 arguably started the concept album (without really being one). From full orchestras to traditional Indian music, the more experimental than ever Beatles assembled an album as strange, beautiful, and diverse as the famous collage adorning the album cover that simply must be listened to from beginning to end.

By deactivated

As great as many of the individual tracks are, the album doesn't really hang together until you wedge Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields back in there -- preferably between sides A and B, to keep the flow. That also gives the album a kick in the pants at just the right juncture to carry you through the second half.

By fnoo

This is such a must-listen as the entire album that I actually have the whole thing as an uninterrupted mp3. I won't allow myself to skip around. Take that, short attention span!

By deactivated

The medley at the end? On the list of fav Beatles moments.

By girlfriday

Jeff Mangum's 1998 masterpiece as Neutral Milk Hotel is an intensely raw experience, describing in hallucinogenic detail his dreams about Anne Frank and other surreal visions. The songs frequently fade in and out of each other, gaining momentum from the ebullience or despair of the one before. Horns and other odd instruments color Mangum's acoustic guitar and keening voice, strung together like pa... Morerts of ancient records.

By chrismolnar

One of my favorite Green Day albums. Once that first distorted guitar riff starts to play you can't help but listen to the whole album. With close to an hour long runtime it never gets old or boring. Every track is a hit and every track is noteworthy of another listen. With a riveting message and a strong vibe, it's sure to stay in the hearts of punk fan's everywhere.

By TeaTimeWithPaul

A meditation of love and desire, each of the four tracks embodies its title: Aknowledgement, Resolution, Pursuance, Psalm. If you listen to only one track, you've missed the arc of this musical quest.

By jah

Serge Gainsbourg's 1971 album is a slinky, sexy affair featuring Herbie Flowers' deep, propulsive bass and Jean-Claude Vannier's epic string arrangements. Documenting (in French) a fictional seduction between Gainsbourg and the titular, teenage Melody Nelson, the repeating musical themes and Gainsbourg's speak-singing communicate classy desire no matter what the language. Although not quite a half... More hour long, listening to just one part can feel unsatisfying, like a love affair interrupted too soon.

By chrismolnar

'Hospice' is a concept album about a man in love with a mentally-ill woman. No matter how much he tries to take care of her, no matter how much he loves her and takes her abuse, there's no hope. The album is brutal, emotional, and beautiful, and it all bears repeating.

By gkruis

Funky intergalactic futuristic space hip-hopera, Del the Funkee Homosapien, with the help of Dan the Automator raps a dystopian world, an allegory for the present music industry, feuds, and the need for brotherhood among the disenfranchised. It's a saga, it's got the slickest beats, and some of the most inventive rapping out there. You'll recognize Del from the first Gorillaz album, "Clint Ea... Morestwood," but 3030 gives him the space to floss poetic:

"I used to be a mech soldier but I didn't respect orders/I had to step forward, tell them this ain't for us/Living in a post-apocalyptic world morbid and horrid/The secrets of the past they hoarded/
Now we just boarded on a futuristic spacecraft/No mistakes black it's our music we must take back!"

Yo, it's 3030!

By gkruis

Is it rock? Is it pop? Is it classical? why, it's all three! ELO is probably best known for very 70s-sounding songs like "Evil Woman" or "Don't Bring Me Down", but "Eldorado" is a perfect description of their more experimental side (where the "orchestra" part of the name comes into play). With beautiful songs that weave and fade into one another, this under-... Moreappreciated album is a must hear, all the way through.

By deactivated

Over a year before Sgt. Pepper and less than two months after Pet Sounds, Frank Zappa blew everyone's mind just a little with a satirical double-album that spewed a scum of impenetrable irony all over the then-current music and youth culture. "You're probably wondering why I'm here," Ray Collins sings, "And so am I. So am I." "You rise each day the same old way / And join ... Moreyour friends out on the street / Spray your hair / And think you're neat / I think your life is incomplete / But maybe that's not for me to say / They only pay me here to play." Good stuff.

By fnoo

One of the most intense concept albums I've ever listened to. Dave Bazan paints a bleak picture of human nature, marriage, corporatism, death, religion, &c. It's a lot to take in, but it's amazing to hear a man cover so much ground in 45 minutes, believing every word he's singing.

By gkruis

Have you ever heard of the group 10cc? Or, maybe the song "Cry" from the 80s? (I bet you have: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26DatRK-aqY&feature=related). Godley and Creme came from the former and are responsible for the latter.

"Consequences" is probably ... Morean album no one has ever even heard of, but I think it fits perfectly on an essential "experience as a whole" list because it's an amazing collection of music and weird sounds that just needs to be listened to. It's sort of a play (with narration/characters voiced by none other than Peter Cook), and just a huge treat for your ears. Here, have a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw2r0D3WPPU

By deactivated

Consisting of three epic songs linked by field recordings and voiceover, F#A# is the perfect soundtrack for the apocalypse, with slowly building guitar and strings leading to portentous denouements.

By chrismolnar

Tool will never sell their albums in digital format (on iTunes for instance) because they need to be experienced as a whole, in album format. "Wings for Marie" and "10,000 Days" (tracks #3 and #4) span something like 20 minutes, but yield some of the most beautiful moments on the album (its worth waiting through the slow build up).

By cte

Suites two and three of a planned four-suite opus, composed years ago and just recorded recently with help from Sean Combs. More than a concept album, the Metropolis project is the soundtrack to a movie that is yet to exist, based on a comic that is yet to be written. The music varies from swing to hip-hop to new wave to electro-pop, and bursts with both energy and a sharp intelligence.

By fnoo

Each song on the album has a transition at the end that flows seamlessly into the next track. Stuart Price, you are a god.

By SemtexGirl