Album era

It’s hardly an original thought with me, but with streaming, generated playlists and shuffle play I sometimes miss the deep cuts you’d have to listen to to hear the hits, weird songs that have stuck with me to this day like “Land Ho!” by The Doors or “Going Mobile” by The Who. Terrible songs that earned a spot in my heart just from repetition.

Also I miss the transitions from one song to the next, in particular Queens “We Will Rock You” to “We Are The Champions” and Led Zepplin’s “Heartbreaker” to “Living Loving Maid”. Even if you listen to the tracks in order on Spotify it’s just not the same.

This article doesn't mention it but I always thought when U2 gave away the album "Songs of Innocence" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_Innocence_(U2_album) for free bundled with Iphones and people (and other commercial artists) found it incredibly annoying instead of delightful as the clear end of the album era.

There is a completeness, character, and story to an album that you don't get from disparate singles. It's a shame and I feel like it takes a lot out of music just bashing out occasionally "one size fits all" singles, especially in the mainstream/pop sphere.