An interesting thread. Here's my take:
In the 50s and through to the mid 60s, the emphasis was on singles - not LPs. Albums were quite incoherent until the LP became the favored media.
Mid 60s though the 70's to about 1985 or so was of course very much an Album Rock period, where there seemed to be an emphasis on the overall product at 22 mins a side or so.
If you think about it though, technology had its hand in this. You put on an album on the turntable in those days - and you let it play.
It was a pain in the ass to change it. Up needle -over arm - new album - over arm - down needle. And that's never minding a swipe with a brush on the vinyl or degauss the needle or whatever.
The concept still played out a bit from the established artists and producers who were used to the older traditions - so that as vinyl died, vinyl styles persisted. Tapes were a pain in the ass to forward through too - until the tech came out for fast forward cueing to compete with the news CDs. For a time in the mid to late 80s, we were in a transition between styles as vinyl, tape and CDs were all on store shelves.
Soon enough, vinyl was dead, the CD ascendancy over tape was complete by the end of the 80s and it was over. We were in a song centred approach to music, away from the album rock of the 1965-85 period. CD "albums" became more of a collection of singles than a coherent whole because the technology facilitated that approach.
And because hit singles are damned hard to write, its pretty rare that you get a disc with a lot of em on there in a row - let alone all of em.
So by 1990, we had come full circle. We were back to the 50s, essentially.
With the Mp3, it's even worse. It's Sesame Street on bennies. ADD reigns supreme. We're lucky to make it through listening to the whole song, let alone the CD.
So - for those listing "albums" from the 90s and onwards: nope. Sorry. I know you may love your particular CD or band - but it doesn't count. It just doesn't. By then a complete CD was an accident of production - not the result of focused intention. Not only were you born too late and missed the boat - but you have missed the point, too.
To add to the list:
AC-DC: Back in Black. There is no need - and generally no desire - to skip songs on this album.
Kansas: Leftoverture: Art rock meets album rock. Like Dark Side of the Moon - meant to be played at the beginning and left to the end.
Kiss: Music from the Elder: Now - this is neither a great album nor a very good example of Kiss. It's pretty iffy stuff. But it is an excellent example of making an album to be an album - and not a collection of songs.
Pink Floyd: Add in everything after Dark Side of the Moon up until The Final Cut and the departure of Roger Waters. It all counts as the essence of album rock.
Boston: Boston: Do you really need to skip songs on this album? Nope. You don't.
Sting: Nothing Like the Sun (better than Ten Summoners Tales because a) it is; and, b) it's coherent. Ten Summoners Tales was CD era and Sting getting lucky after swinging for the fences.)
Rush: Hemispheres to Hold Your Fire and all else in between: as examples of album rock - with Moving Pictures being the most popular and Grace Under Pressure as the most coherent.
U2: Joshua Tree and Unforgettable Fire.: These were released at a time when you could still get em on vinyl. The end of an era, indeed.
