Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon (DSOTM) is the greatest album ever made. Not because it has the best songs, or the most amazing musicality, but because it has the greatest flow of any album ever created. (Yes, I sound like Will Ferrell’s imitation of James Lipton using hyperbolic description, but it’s apropos for this idea.) I know I hear people disagreeing saying U2’s The Joshua Tree; Nirvana’s Nevermind; MJ’s Thriller; Jimi’s Electric Ladyland or even for some indie-folk Radiohead’s OK Computer are contenders. But when was the last time you listened to Nevermind? It’s dated after 20 years, albeit dated with a stamp of awesome. And Thriller is good, but it’s pretty cheesy in parts.

Those are all great records, but the songs present on those albums can stand alone and fit on any of their other discs. You can find radio friendly singles on them that don’t float ethereally into the next making a complete ball of soaring sound like DSOTM. Any song from DSOTM cannot be heard without humming the next track at its conclusion. Sure, “Money” or “Time” is heard on rock ‘n roll channels, but I’m always upset that they don’t lead into “Us & Them” and “Great Gig in the Sky” respectively.

Each of the ten tracks is perfectly placed to complement the others. It is a soundtrack for relaxation, contemplation, and exploration. Also, what other piece of music can fit itself into a classic movie? (For the uninitiated, DSOTM can be paired to make some interesting coincidences with The Wizard of Oz.) Yes, I watched them together after the third lion roar, and they do fit, and not just in some “Whoa, he said money when the color starts!” (which does happen, among others.)

50 million Elvis fans can’t be wrong, and the 15 million actual sales of DSOTM can’t be wrong either. It means that by estimating the population of the USA under 70—1 in 16 people have bought or owned the album. (Those are just sales. Have you ever met anyone over 25 who hasn’t heard DSOTM? I wouldn’t trust them.)

Sales are not the best indicator of the beauty of the concept. The simple lyrics and astral soundscape create a personal and particular moment each time you listen. Once, after an all-nighter, my friend Damian dropped me off at my house as the sun rose over a cold, leafless horizon. As he put the car in park, we heard, “Home, home again…it’s good to warm my bones beside the fire.” I know it’s simple, but it made sense at the time, and was a memorable moment. Many times, driving to work with my father in the dreary dawn of weekday workdays, we would hear Pink Floyd come on the radio and my dad would always mutter aloud in a peaceful, pleased manner, “It’s always Floyd.” I thought it was his way of acknowledging a good day, or the transient beauty of life’s small pleasures.

The cover is attractive too—a simple prism expanding white light into the spectrum of Earth’s colors. They didn’t need anything fancy, nothing to really investigate, but nothing to distract either.

You don’t have to agree. You can keep your #1. You don’t have to believe in my opinion. I’m only presenting an idea, a notion that those 43 minutes can transport you to a time in your past, or a time in the present—of living in the now. As you listen to that album, it forces absorption, captivating your energy into self-awareness of the world around you. “…Ten years have got behind you…” You cannot hear those words and not visualize yourself a decade ago, complete with your younger thoughts, ambitions and ideals. Inside, there is philosophy, “..all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be.”; poetry, “…there’s someone in my head, but it’s not me.”; recent politics, “…money…share it fairly, but don’t take a slice of my pie.”; and Zen wisdom, “…in the end, it’s only round and round.”

Music is the liberator of our emotions. It’s our life soundtrack. It’s more important than we appreciate. It sustains loneliness, eases depression, inspires dancing, and establishes memories. You never hear a couple saying, “Oh my gosh, this is our smell!” Many things are individualistic like sight or taste. No one can ever know what you’ve seen or eaten. But you can hit up youtube and play them a meaningful song from your soundtrack.

“Gangnam Style” reached over a billion people in the world and gave them an opportunity to dance goofy and smile. Music eases a troubled mind. David used his harp in the Bible; David Bowie used a guitar in the 70’s. They both had something inside only expressed through song. Learning an instrument is an important part of being human, it provides an ability to express what sometimes, cannot be said. Pink Floyd’s DSOTM helps me when I need it.

“There is no dark side of the moon, really, matter of fact, it’s all dark.” heartbeat()()()()()()()