OPERATION: MINDCRIME

Operation: MindCrime is nothing less than a masterpiece by a once overlooked and unappreciated band. This is the album that first turned me on to Queensrÿche in the first place, and my copy has been played so much, the sound quality has dropped noticably in spots.

I would be so bold as to say that Operation: MindCrime is the best concept album out there, edging out such classics as Pink Floyd's "The Wall", The Who's "Tommy" and Rush's "2112", which is certainly no easy task. This is an album that must be heard from beginning to end, just to let the music, the lyrics and the story sink in. It did leave a couple of questions unanswered, but thankfully Geoff Tate decided to finish the story with the upcoming sequel after looking at a possible screenplay.