“To Pimp A Butterfly” by Kendrick Lamar. It’s a fantastic prog-rap view into his personal journey of gaining fame and the internal conflicts he experienced from it. The prog-rap nature of this album is unique and a work of absolute genius. There is an overarching poem that sums up the album and it is told in full at the end of the album, but is also given in parts throughout the album, with each song serving as an expansion of each individual part of the poem. There’s a great, cleverly-executed reveal at the end with an ‘impossible’ special guest.

“The Hazards of Love” by The Decemberists. A folk/rock album of a kind of folklore story of a girl who meets a boy who has a magical ability given to him by the personified queen of the forest, and they fall in love. The story is about their budding love, and the forces that try to keep them apart. The end of the story is absolutely gut-wrenching and bittersweet, and beautifully told.

The “Acts” albums (I through V) by The Dear Hunter. Follow the life story from birth through death of the main character, who is a flawed protagonist. There’s a variety of characters and they’re all interconnected, such as a Priest who moonlights as a brothel operator, where the protagonist’s mother once worked, unbeknownst to him, and where he meets the love of his life. The story takes place in the years leading up to and through WWI, and the character leaves the town to fight in the war before returning to the town with a stolen identity. Lots of issues ensue because of the protagonists poor choices, while he searches for redemption by the end of the story. The band incorporates lots of different styles and genres.

“Thirteenth Step” by A Perfect Circle. Addresses how addiction affects people. Each song kind of covers a different facet of addiction and the people affected by addicts. Dark, but beautifully written.

“Darkest Days” by Stabbing Westward. Follows the facets and emotions someone goes through after a bad breakup. Every 4 songs kind of personify 4 phases that such a person experiences following the breakup. Super dark and bleak, but with tones of hopefulness towards the end.

“Coma Ecliptic” by Between The Buried And Me. In a world where a machine exists where a person can trade their life to be allowed to experience their past lives, a man takes the offer and is not sure that if the past lives was a better choice than the life he was trying to get away from.

“Deloused In The Comatorium” by The Mars Volta. After entering a coma following a failed suicide attempt, a man discovers a bizarre and surreal world where he feels some sense of belonging, only to be pulled from it when he eventually wakes from the coma.

“In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3” (and most albums by) Coheed and Cambria. In a futuristic world, a family is torn apart when the controlling leaders discover that the family has the ability to destroy the universe. Prog-rock masterpieces, and almost all albums by C&C follow different aspects of this ‘universes.

“Passion of the Heist II” by I Am Abomination. This is a ‘part 2’ to a previous album in which, after being crucified on the cross, Jesus was resurrected, but done so by the aliens who created us. This album is about how the aliens decided that humans failed their experiment by killing Jesus, and decided to come back to earth to wage war on the planet. Starring Jesus as the cyborg main antagonist. Despite the goofy concept, the album is a musical masterpiece, incredibly well-structured, and is absolutely the best work by this incredible band.