Inside the Rock Era: Five Best: Pink Floyd

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Five Best: Pink Floyd

While operating mostly out of the mainstream for years, this legendary English group had their one and only big hit with "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" in 1980. That really marked the time when their album sales began to pick up to the monumental status we see today. Dark Side of the Moon, of course, was on the album charts for longer than any other album, but its sales in the early days weren't astronomical. Rather, it was a steady good seller. What the album "Another Brick in the Wall" did was not only draw attention to the album The Wall, but it got millions of people listening to Pink Floyd that had never done so. That's what hits do. It not only did that (inspired people who grew up at the same time that the group was recording music to listen more to them), but it attracted a new generation of fans.

In this case, though, it was really the first time that the masses began to appreciate this band for what it is, a band that sifts through complex messages that often have several different meanings, and mixes it with expert, precise, stellar music played by great musicians.

The Five Best* category on Inside The Rock Era showcases those artists that in fact have at least five great songs to feature. There are several artists, however, in which five songs doesn't even begin to capture their story. You can tell which artists are the best in history by those in which five isn't enough. In those cases, we will feature more than five.

With Pink Floyd, their catalog presents an opportunity to feature 20 or more fairly easily. We broke it down to 19 tracks that we believe are the cream of the crop. Enjoy!