3 High-Minded Concept Albums From the 2000s We Love To Sing Along To

While the concept album was born decades before, artists in the 2000s kept the tradition alive. They understood the assignment. They knew that creating a cohesive LP with songs woven together was the goal.

Here below, we wanted to highlight three LPs from back in the day we still find ourselves returning to often. Indeed, these are three high-minded concept albums from the 2000s we love to sing along to.

‘American Idiot’ by Green Day (2004)

In the mid-2000s, Green Day was on a mission. They took a look around at the world and they, well, didn’t like what they saw. But no matter what you thought about their political opinions, you had to applaud the band’s efforts. Green Day came up in the 1990s as a California-born pop-punk group with a penchant for the munchies. But the band soon grew up, spoke its mind, and said what it believed. That’s admirable. While music doesn’t always have to be political, sometimes it should be. And Green Day’s 2004 concept album, American Idiot, sure was.

‘Kid A’ by Radiohead (2000)

Some concept albums are hidden in plain sight. While Radiohead lead vocalist Thom Yorke said that Kid A was not actually a concept album, we’re not sure we believe him. The record is rife with themes about anxiety and the potential problems with technology. If tech advances too far, what will human beings be left with? If the outside push goes too far, where will people shake out? These are themes—indeed, the sinews—that keep Kid A together. While writing the album, lead vocalist Thom Yorke was struggling with a breakdown. And you can feel all that in the album’s tracks, as well.

‘The Black Parade’ by My Chemical Romance (2006)

This 2006 rock opera by My Chemical Romance is a full-on, not-hiding concept record. Focusing on a main character known as The Patient, who is suffering from terminal cancer, the album touches on themes of death and the afterlife. With a dramatic, almost epic feel, the album gets to the center of ideas that aren’t always so easily discussed. Normally, when we look to pop music, we want to forget our troubles. But this record dives deep within them and should be applauded as a result.

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