# I'm looking for albums that benefit from being listened to in the mandated order. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 28, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683 "2010-10-28T17:32:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/1 "2010-10-28T17:32:47Z")
The thread titles says it all. I’m looking for albums that don’t chop up well, but should ideally be listened to in a single sitting and with the tracks in the order they are listed. Obviously most musical theater cast albums qualify, but what others? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/2 "2010-10-28T17:36:11Z")
Pink Floyd–Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall The Who–Tommy note: heavy doses of intoxicants also add to the experience. As will a lava lamp. Particularly with certain intoxicants. Or so I have heard, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/3 "2010-10-28T17:37:07Z")
**Days of Future Passed** by the Moody Blues. It wouldn’t do to listen to Nights in White Satin first, or The Day Begins last. ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/4 "2010-10-28T17:38:26Z")
_Goodbye Yellowbrick Road_ ~ Elton John _Hounds of Love_ ~ Kate Bush Almost everything by Radiohead ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/5 "2010-10-28T17:43:28Z")
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/6 "2010-10-28T17:52:33Z")
Aside from _Dark Side of the Moon_ the only albums that come to mind that fit the title’s description are some Miles Davis things from the 50’s with Gil Evans. I could give some titles if you wish. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/7 "2010-10-28T18:05:54Z")
Wilco’s **A Ghost is Born** and Okkervil River’s **Black Sheep Boy** should be listened to in order. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/8 "2010-10-28T18:09:48Z")
_Quadrophenia_ _Psychoderelict_ _The Iron Man_ ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/9 "2010-10-28T18:11:21Z")
_Reign in Blood_ ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/10 "2010-10-28T18:17:09Z")
**Abbey Road** , of course—at least side two. I was almost tempted to say “All of them.” At least, the majority of albums from the “album era” were conceived with the idea that people would be listening to them straight through, from beginning to end, and the track sequence was more or less carefully chosen to flow well and provide a satisfying listening experience. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/11 "2010-10-28T18:17:16Z")
I haven’t heard it in a while, but I think _Operation: Mindcrime_ by Queensryche qualifies. Also, _Paradise Theater_ by Styx _The Wake of Magellan_ and _Dead Winter Dead_, both by Savatage ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/12 "2010-10-28T18:34:20Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Aside from _Dark Side of the Moon_ the only albums that come to mind that fit the title’s description are some Miles Davis things from the 50’s with Gil Evans. I could give some titles if you wish. Yeah, I need both artists & titles. I already have DSotM at hand. > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > _Reign in Blood_ By Slayer, yes? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/13 "2010-10-28T18:47:47Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Yeah, I need both artists & titles. I already have DSotM at hand. > > By Slayer, yes? Yes. It’s a very short album of very short songs (it was actually only one side in its original album form, with the entire album repeated on side B), and it plays kind of like one long song with a lot of different breaks and bursts with little pause between tracks. It’s all of a piece. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea, of course, but its one of the quintessential thrash albums (a lot of people say _the_ quintessential thrash album). ---
**Author:** ![SpartanDC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@SpartanDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpartanDC)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/14 "2010-10-28T18:52:23Z")
Basically any “prog rock” album could go on this list. And, oddly, a lot of rap albums, too. A lot of them have a narrative woven into them, though sometimes that’s just held together by the occasional “skit” between tracks. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/15 "2010-10-28T18:54:56Z")
I think that _Fallen_ by Evanescence sounds better in order the individual songs do apart. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/16 "2010-10-28T18:58:23Z")
**Lola vs. Powerman and the Money-Go-Round** by the Kinks. **On the Threshold of a Dream, In Search of the Lost Chord** and **To Our Children’s Children’s Children** by the Moody Blues ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/17 "2010-10-28T19:03:12Z")
_The Wall_, every time I hear Comfortably Numb on the radio it just bothers me, like someone only reading chapter 34 of _The Stand_. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/18 "2010-10-28T19:03:22Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > > [@Zeldar](#): > > > > Aside from Dark Side of the Moon the only albums that come to mind that fit the title’s description are some Miles Davis things from the 50’s with Gil Evans. I could give some titles if you wish. > > Yeah, I need both artists & titles. I already have DSotM at hand. In that case, look at [Miles Davis & Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Davis_%26_Gil_Evans:_The_Complete_Columbia_Studio_Recordings) for the full list. My favorite for fitting your requirements would be Disc 1 - Miles Ahead (masters released on Miles Ahead) The tracks are segued into each other so that it’s hard to separate one from the other. They meant that album to be heard as a set. I good sample of the music can be heard in this clip: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFaK4q0pxcQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFaK4q0pxcQ) Miles Davis & Gil Evans 1959 The transition from one track to the next is at 3:17. All the tunes on the album are done like that. I would bet that DSotM knew about Miles and Gil! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Acorns.but\_not\_Bacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@Acorns.but\_not\_Bacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acorns.but_not_Bacon)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/19 "2010-10-28T19:07:29Z")
Brian Wilson - Smile. Every song flows into each other beautifully. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683/20 "2010-10-28T19:09:51Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > I think that _Fallen_ by Evanescence sounds better in order the individual songs do apart. I am listening to _Fallen_ right now; it is the album I am discussing for the piece I’m writing and will be comparing the others too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-albums-that-benefit-from-being-listened-to-in-the-mandated-order/558683.md?page=2)