To some music fans, shuffling is a sin. If you think back to its origin, the album form is one long piece of music, songs spinning into it each on a vinyl. But since the digital wave and the beautiful introduction of Spotify into our lives, the temptation to pick and choose out favourite tracks is too much to resist. But some albums demand more, they deserve the time, being crafted to perform best when enjoyed from start to finish in one sitting. Flowing through storylines or taking on a character, concept albums or just audio heaven, here are our top choices for albums you should be listening to from start to finish.

Hounds of love – Kate Bush

I’m going to argue that all of Kate Bush’s albums deserve the time, all deserving to be enjoyed as one continuous piece, but Hounds of Love demands it. Not only does it contain many of her biggest tracks including “Running Up That Hill”, “Hounds of Love” and “Cloudbusting”, the album, if you listen closely, is Kate Bush’s storytelling at it’s best. While side one is lively and hit-heavy, moving through the finest of her discography, side two gets a lot darker. Title ‘The Ninth Wave’, the albums second side is a narrative story of a woman floating at sea, battling to stay awake as she moves through dreams and nightmares. When you reach the albums final track, “The Morning Fog”, there’s a huge sense of relief and elation that you don’t feel as much if you shuffle. Listening from start to finish gives some of her more outlandish tracks the context they need, so put aside an hour and sink into Kate Bush’s own titanic story.

Pet Sounds – The Beach Boys

I don’t need to tell you that Brian Wilson is a genius, but allow me to remind you that Brian Wilson is a genius and Pet Sounds is a perfect showing of that. While all the songs stand strong on their own, listening to Pet Sounds from start to finish suddenly increases the scale, making you realise just how incredible the production on this album is and how varied the tracks are, really stepping outside of the all-happy, all-American stereotype than the band is burdened with. Ideally, listen to the stereo-mix with headphones on to capture the depth of each track, making you feel like you’re in the centre of the room, with the band and their musicians working their magic around you.

Histoire de Melody Nelson – Serge Gainsbourg

Considered to be his magnum opus, Histoire de Melody Nelson is a perfect example of a storytelling concept album where shuffling would do it an injustice. Telling a Lolita-esque story of an older man accidentally colliding his car with a younger girl’s bike, leading to a sin-filled seduction and romance, the album leads the listener from start to sordid end. Whether you know French or your grasp on the language starts and finishes with bonjour, you can still get a sense for the plotline as the music captures the mood of each chapter in the tale. With Melody played by Jane Birkin and each track dripping with cinematic orchestral glory, at only 28 minutes long you can definitely spare the time to enjoy this one properly. 

Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino – Arctic Monkeys

When Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino was released back in 2018 it was met with mixed reviews. Even in my own circle of friends, some loved it while some hated it but a pattern soon emerged. Those that hated it had shuffled it. Very different to their other releases, Tranquility Base does lack the rowdy bangers that you find on their older albums, but displays a refinement that Arctic Monkeys seem to be stepping into more with age. Featuring almost as much piano as there is guitar, this is a weirdly easy listening album from an indie rock band, providing the perfect backdrop for sunny evening socialising. But when you shuffle it, you’re hit with harsh song cuts and jump-starts as the transitions are cut up and lost. For one of the easiest play-and-go music choices, start Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino from the state and let it run as Alex Turner’s nostalgic crooning floats through the highs and lows of this futuristic tale. It’s worth it just for the transition between “One Point Perspective” and “American Sports”, tasty!

Days of Future Passed – The Moody Blues

A more experimental choice, The Moody Blues’ concept album collaboration with the London Festival Orchestra is one that needs to be listened to from start to finish to be understood. The story goes that the band were asked by their record label to record an adaptation of Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 to show off their latest recording techniques, but that story’s disputed. No matter how it came about, Days of Future Passed merges the recording style used by 60s pop and rock bands with the grandeur of a full orchestra. Telling the simple story of a day in the life of an ordinary man, the album spins around from morning to night, ending with the incredible “Nights In White Satin” as the band finally join forces with the full orchestra for a rapturous ended that’s all the more rewarding after a full listening party. Super unique as each track starts classical before dropping into exactly what it says on the tin, moody, blues-influenced 60s rock n’ roll. 

Purple Rain – Prince and the Revolution

Probably Prince’s best-known album, containing the anthemic “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry”, Purple Rain is in its essence, a musical soundtrack. Written to soundtrack the film of the same name, Purple Rain is a movie-musical which is somewhat autobiographical as Prince stars as The Kid, AKA. Himself. However, it’s nature as a soundtrack album means that Purple Rain is far more narrative than his other work with each song telling a chapter of the story. It’s also far bigger in sound, placing more emphasis on full-band performances and layering instruments for an almost orchestral impact. Packed full of dramatic guitars and synths with songs running into one another, Purple Rain maintains the same vibe throughout, making it an idea press-play-and-let-run album. Despite housing some of his most famous songs, you never feel like you’re waiting to reach the climax of the album as each song keeps the energy at a level so high only Prince could reach. 

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful – Florence & The Machine

I’d argue that any and all Florence & The Machine albums can be enjoyed from start to finish, letting you float on the glorious ocean that is Florence Welch’s insane vocal range. But How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful is one that is benefitted massively by a start to finish listen. Alongside the album in 2015, the band also released a short film called The Odyssey, moving through music videos as the story of the album comes to the forefront. All of their albums are lyrically beautiful, but I like that this one follows the same theme; heartbreak. Each song deals with a different stage in the experience, slowly untying a new layer of Florence’s memory and pain, making How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful feel like their most cohesive album yet when you listen to it from start to finish. But to do it properly, set aside 45 minutes and go watch the film.

Ghosteen – Nick Cave

The newest one on the list, however, if you follow my advice and listen to any of these albums in their entirety, make it this one. Nick Cave’s albums are always really cinematic, but he reached a new level on the haunting Ghosteen, an album that tackles grief and memory while weaving together glorious images of religion, myth and nature. The songs flow together so effortlessly but also each take on their own distinct imagery, making for an album that’s super vast but also really cohesive and perfectly finished off. Split into two albums, with the bulk of the tracks being in the first and then followed by three extended pieces on the second. I love that you hear the same lyrics fading in and out of different tracks on this, so you really feel enveloped in the vibe and the mindset of the album. It’s a sad listen, but musically so breath-taking and well-deserving of a full listen.

I love you, Honeybear – Father John Misty

If you’re looking for a concept album, without the exhaustion of trying to keep up with huge orchestral production, look towards Father John Misty’s I Love You, Honeybear. When speaking about the album, FJM claimed that the record is a narrative concept album about the trials of love and distance, written as he got married to his girlfriend Emma, an event detailed in the amazing, “Chateau Lobby #4”. What I like about this album is that you can get whatever you want out of it. If you need a good background music record, it is mellow enough to do that. But, Father John Misty also has a talent for super-specific narrative lyrics that will have you laughing one minute and crying the next. So, if you want to sit back with a drink and enjoy a very human and humbly told love story, this album is the perfect choice.

Magdalene – FKA Twigs

Short and sweet, FKA Twigs’ newest release is a great start-to-finish listen. Cinematic and emotive, the tracks on Magdalene all deal with the topic of relationships and heartbreak but in very different ways as you flow through from the heart-breaking “Home With You” into the vibey “Holy Terrain”. Sitting at the 38-minute mark, the shortness of this album makes it feel clean-cut and cohesive, which is perfect listening to while you cook dinner or soak in the bath. By the time you reach the finale of “Cellophane”, easily FKA’s finest work, you feel as if you have been on a real emotional journey through her voice, making her final question 'didn’t I do it for you?' extra heart-breaking yet 10x more beautiful.