I was listening to Deloused in the Comatorium by The Mars Volta a few minutes ago when I went to pick up takeout from the local Asian spot. Totally irrelevant but I got something new: spicy Korean noodle soup (combo). Dayum it was tasty.
Anyway, while listening to that CD in my car, I thought about what an excellent album it was from start to finish, and how each song seemed unified somehow with an overall theme or tone or meaning of the larger album. I can't put my finger on that theme or tone or meaning, but it's there. It's something from the album as a whole that exists separate from any individual song.
So I'd like to know your favorite albums like that--I don't mean they all have to be Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon or The Wall. Just albums that when you think about them you get a feeling about the album itself that is entirely separate from any individual song. Probably all good albums have this, it doesn't mean it's some sort of prog rock manifesto. MF Doom's Doomsday is a great example--wait, how about De La Soul's 3 Feet High? Perfect example.
Here's the kicker. See if you can put your finger on what it is about the album.
I'll go back to Deloused in the Comatorium for the two people reading this who might be at a place where they can enjoy it. I'd say the feeling I get about the album is the damage done by heroin to a group of musicians who lost a close friend.