Amazon is currently running a spectacular MP3 album deal that all fans of the band Rush cannot ignore — only $5.00 each for select titles in their rich history of work, and most of those albums are some of the band’s best in their long and still-going career, which saw last year as being one of the biggest and most successful years in recent memory for the band, with an extremely successful tour for their newest album Clockwork Angels and finally, a long-time-coming induction into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio; the official induction and accompanying ceremonies will take place early this year.

Hailing from Canada, Rush has been defying music critics and delighting progressive and hard rock fans for over 40 years. The trio mixes a basic framework of classic rock with impossibly amazing arrangements and hyper rhythms to create ear popping music which scores of bands try to emulate to much lesser degrees. All told, Rush set a standard and carved a niche in music which cemented their status as one of rock and roll’s best.

NOTE – Below is a breakdown of all the titles on sale, with a little bit of history and the stand-out tracks. Note, though some of the MP3 versions listed below are on sale, some of the CD versions are also on sale for as low as $4.99 and are “AutoRip,” which means that you get the MP3 download for FREE when you purchase the CD.

2112, the breakthrough album by the classic Canadian progressive rock trio Rush, is now available on MP3 format from Amazon this month for only $5. The CD is also currently on sale for only $4.99.

This is the album that put Rush on the map and suddenly found them in the heavyweight division of rock music. The title track, clocking in at over 20 minutes, stretches out the spacey futuristic Twilight Zone/Ayn Rand influences that started to become musically apparent on two previous Rush releases (Fly by Night and Caress of Steel) and presents them like a musical tale, keeping and refining the Rush sound into a listenable and challengeable experience. The cannabis fragrancy of “Passage to Bangkok,” the rare tune solely penned by guitarist Alex Lifeson “Lessons,” and the only song that drummer/main lyricist Neil Peart ever played in original Rush drummer John Rutsey style 4/4 “Tears” are not to be ignored, as is the high-pitched, bottom heavy vocal, bass attack of lead singer/bassist Geddy Lee. The influences of 2112 are still prevalent on subsequent Rush albums to this very day. Upon listening, it’s easy to see why.

Browse the main sale page to see all 100 albums on sale for only $5 each in MP3 format through the end of September 2012.

Every day here at Doom HQ we receive tons of tips from our readers about really cool stuff from the world of geek, as well as promotional materials for new films, comic books, collectibles, and much more. While we do our best to bring you as much of it as possible, we don’t always have enough geek manpower available to cover it all on a daily basis. But we hate the idea of all of this really cool stuff wasting away in our inbox. How could we NOT cover it? Hence why we’ve resurrected our long-defunct column Bits Of Doom, now rebranded and revamped as Doom Digest, a collection of easily digestible bits of news, videos, photos, and other goodies.

Today: Metallica performs the entire Black Album, a supercut of movies that could afford to use actual Beatles music, a short film about Canadian rock trio Rush, a video of MCA‘s opening lines from every Beastie Boys song, and a photo from Neil Gaiman‘s first-ever signing for Sandman, plus Bits Of Doom.

And the meek shall inherit the Earth…

Today is 2-1-12, or 2112… and I couldn’t let this day go by without mentioning this date day, a special one for us Rush fans.

In honor of today’s date, be sure to crank up Rush’s awesome, amazing, fantastic album 2112.

The 1976 concept album was the Canadian’s trio’s four studio effort, and after their previous album, Caress of Steel, was a financial flop, it was also Rush’s final chance with their record label, which was against the band doing another concept album. But the band – bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer Neil Peart, the latter of whom was the main lyricist — stuck to their guns and put out the album they wanted to with 2112. Not only was 2112 the band’s first commercial success, the album also went on to become one of the most popular rock albums of all time, with its Starman emblem as one of the most recognizable symbols in rock.

Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage
Directed by Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen
Starring Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart
Release date: June 7, 2010 (Europe), June 10, 2010 (US & Canada)

“˜What kind of band is Rush? It’s Rush!’ – Gene Simmons

The number three plays an increasingly significant part in the world of rock music. It is the number of chords in Status Quo’s famous three-chord boogie, the amount of sixes in the number of the beast, and the brain cell count of most drummers. It is also the amount of members of mega-selling Canadian rock trio, Rush. Three also happens to be the band’s place on the list of consecutive gold- or platinum-selling albums behind The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. On June 7, 2010, selected cinemas in Europe were host to a screening of a new music documentary about the lives and careers of these Canadian rock giants. For one night only, Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage made it to the big screen. Cool, eh?

Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage recounts the band’s expansive history through home movies, TV footage, and interviews with each band member and people who have been involved in or inspired by the music — from their modest childhoods in Canada to millionaire rock stars in the world’s biggest cult band.