“Rush’s last album (Clockwork Angels) is a concept album. Tells the story of a guy (probably modeled after Neil Peart) that heads out looking for adventure. While Geddy can’t hit the high notes in the old songs (some might say that’s a good thing!), the music is better than ever in many respects. Most of Rush’s albums have a theme and a rhythm to them - I listen to the entire CD.”
Yup. And it is probably the first Rush album in which the entire album is built around a central concept; previous albums included concept pieces, but most of those had one side with a unifying theme and a few other unrelated pieces on the other side.
I tend to lean toward artists that can hold my attention for an entire album, which is why I lean toward progressive rock.