I cannot just give a list. I can, however, tell you about the two double albums that had the biggest impact on me:
Tommy by the Who. It was released the year I was born and as far back as I can remember, this was my favorite record. I requested it constantly, until my dad finally taught me how to use the record player myself when I was six years old. Then I played it whenever I could. The discs were arranged so that one disc had sides one and four and the other disc had sides two and three, so that you could stack them and play sides one and two without having to change them manually, then flip the stack over and play sides three and four. Eventually this scratched the discs so badly that a couple of the songs were plain unlistenable. Finally, at about age ten, I got sick of it and put it away. Every few years, though, I would bring it out and play it again and it still sounded good, scratches and all. Last year I bought the CD and it sounded better than ever. I didn’t even miss the hisses, pops and skips that I had previously memorized. Playing it, as I did, semi-constantly through years of early brain development has made this album an integral part of my being.
The Wall, Pink Floyd. I wanted this album so bad that I persuaded my grandfather that what my dad wanted for his birthday, more than anything else, was a copy of it. I, by then a latchkey kid, then proceeded to play it every single day after school for almost two years. Eventually, I developed a silent pantomime, acting out every scene portrayed in the lyrics (as I understood them at the time), pretending to play every guitar solo note for note, and mouthing every lyric. I had been playing the piano for 4 years, and one night I dreamt I was playing the song “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II.” It was very exciting and vivid, and when I woke up I remembered the chords I had played in my dream. I ran to the piano and, lo and behold, I had learned the song by ear in my sleep! Nothing like that has ever happened since.
Wow - how does someone with your screen name not pick The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway? It seems almost disloyal.
Mamboman - great picks, but [nitpick]Freak Out predated the 70’s by several years[/nitpick]. it would be one of my choices as well, along with the White Album and, ummm, either Electric Ladyland or Tommy.
You’re right, I definitely would consider that great Genesis album as one of the best, but it had already been mentioned, and since the earlier posts listed so many great double albums, I wanted to add three more great ones that hadn’t been mentioned yet.
The White Album. 