One last thing that I forgot to include in my previous post. Although the themes I described occurring throughout Desperado and Hotel California certainly sound very negative and depressing, I don't look at either work themselves as being depressing. Quite the contrary, they can be very uplifting. The 'messages' of these albums were meant to be warnings, lessons to be learned, for individuals, as well as society. For Desperado, 'Don't let this happen to you', Stop, make the right (or at least better) decisions. Don't end up like this, full of regret, etc. For, HC, It's more like 'Don't let this happen to US, Let's not be like this, let's make changes for a better society, etc.' They are intended to be 'wake-up calls' to people and society. Thus, we can follow these stories, feel for what the characters are going through, and use that to determine how to not make the same mistakes in our lives, or to somehow better ours. Neither album is what anyone would call 'cheery', they are quite downbeat, but overall, I think both make very positive contributions towards people's attitudes and lives. Anyway, just wanted to add that, as it may have seemed that I thought the albums were depressing, when they really are not. They are cautionary tales.
Anyway, I think part of the reason these albums have become so iconic is because of this depth of vision beyond just the superficial setting of the song, or the 'radio-friendly' sound. These albums and song cycles are not only musically-satisfying, but have these deeper levels of meaning and broader significance that make the whole album just that much more special than a collection of miscellaneous songs. These broader themes and concepts lift the overall album into another level of meaning and importance.
Thanks for the opportunity to express myself about this.