Top 8 Rock Operas

The following ranks the entire albums that tell complete stories. The albums are ranked by their ability to tell their story through song, and how good the story itself is.

8. Berlin by Lou Reed

Story: Two people desperately try to keep their doomed marriage alive, eventually crumbling.

So dark it makes Kurt Cobain look like that jittery guy who's always setting up Christmas decorations way too early. Berlin is an album that lets itself out and isn't afraid to go into deep territory.

7. Purple Rain by Prince & The Revolution

An rising rock star balances his relationship with his girlfriend, trying not to repeat the mistakes of his father. 80's cheese never sounded so excellent. Just as overblown as Meat Loaf, but never to the degree that it seems fake, overblown, or lame. Technically a soundtrack, it features all original tunes by The Artist formerly known as and The Revolution.

6. Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory by Dream Theater

Story: A troubled man uses hypnosis to look back into his pervious life, and solve his last life's murder.

Long, long epics all put together with Pink Floyd style engineering. Metropolis Pt.2 isn't as much of an album as it is a surreal experience.

5. Arthur (Or The Decline & Fall of The British Empire) by The Kinks

Story: An immigrant, looks back on his life in Britain only to find it is nothing like it was in his childhood.

Ray Davies seemed like the days of You Really Got Me had passed by the time he came up with this bad boy. Theatrical, catchy, intelligent, and of course well written, Arthur is an experience like Metropolis.

4. The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars

Story: The manifestation of rock n' roll is created to save the earth in its final days, only to tear himself down through a life of excess.

While most of Glam Rock isn't being looked back on kindly, David Bowie's flat out genius keeps people from forgetting how good this album is. Martians, space oddities, and a song about the best city ever, is enough to make the nerdiest of sci-fi geeks look like Elvis.

3. The Wall by Pink Floyd

Story: A selfish rock star convinces himself that his life problems are caused by the people trying to help him. His depression turns to insanity, eventually sealing himself off from humanity, behind an imaginary wall.

Dark, gritty, and incredibly well sold. Roger Water's story of depression and insanity is arguably the last great Pink Floyd album. Even though the album is high on filler and songs that are just down right awful (The Trial), it has to be listened to entirely. Every song doesn't fade into the adjacent song for nothing does it?

2. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis

A young immigrant in New York is visited by his lost brother in his dreams. In an attempt to save his brother, he travels through New York City's underground to find fantastic creatures.

The last album before the infamous Phil Collins era, Lamb Lies Down is prog rock at its best point since Dark Side of the Moon. Inventive, original, and a tad goofy at points.

1. Quadrophenia by The Who

Story: A teenager slowly becoming an adult is determined to keep things the way they are. He runs away from his parents who insist he is schizophrenic. He is actually quadrophenic, meaing he has four different personalities. His experiences guide him as to which of the personalities will guide him to release from his problems.

80 minutes and not one minute that could be changed. If it was, this would cease to be an ultimately perfect album. Brilliantly told story, incredible song writing, and some of the greatest singles ever, makes this the best Who album, from Roger Daltrey's wails to Keith Moon's heavy accent.