"Classic Rock Presents Prog" readers' all time best prog albums

Voted for the poll winner, which was the correct winner. :)

people seriously listen to a band named spock's beard?

seriously though, no Magma, no cred.

okay love rush n'all but SNAKES & ARROWS?

and moving pictures is good but it's one of the least proggy rush records

lol token Opeth

tie between Brain Salad Surgery & Rock Bottom IMO

moss from the it crowd is in a band?

No Love Beach, no credibility.

Magenta: Seven

Oh jesus fucking christ. Apparently Spock's Beard are better than Gentle Giant, Gryphon, Nektar, Focus, PFM etc etc grrrr

Yeah I wanted to vote for Gentle Giant ;_;

voted for tull

I don't get Rock Bottom being on this list. Matching Mole, sure, even Live at Drury Lane...but that makes about as much sense as labelling Another Green World prog.

I wouldn't call Space Ritual prog either, but I'm tempted to vote for it.

Surprised myself slightly and went for Going For The One, which may well deserve it for "Awaken" alone, but there are other Yes albums pretty much equally deserving. (For me, it was always going to be between the Yes albums.)

even Relayer?

no fruup, no cred

and did i read that wrong or is there really no aphrodite's child? 666 slays half that list

close to the edge still feels like the perfect prog record to me

true. also, eloy > genesis

also baffled by lack of gentle giant but cmon dudes court of the crimson king is fucking awesome

no drama, no cred
man - in - a - white - caaaaaaaaaa

voted red

Torn between the two Crimson albums

I like Discipline more than either tho, even though it;s not really a prog album

olias of sunhillow or gtfo

VdGG for me, although Pawn Hearts is far from their best.

wanted to vote wyatt because he's my boo (not my fave album of his though), but voted court of the crimson king because i like that album better.

Obviously some of their readers are more familiar with recent prog than with older prog. The inclusion of those recent Rush albums still puzzle me though.

Spock's Beard are great, in spite of what you may claim, but "Snow" is not their best album. And Flower Kings are much better anyway.

Ach Geir, too many options on minority interest subject = poor poll. Also I don't have a bleeding clue here. Lots of records that deserve love, I can't think of one that I'd honestly place head and shoulders above. If Still Life was up there I'd find this do-able.

Also I take it you voted for The Lamb or am I way off-beam?

Yes, I did. Like the majority of "Prog" readers. :)

The Lamb = a side too far, as I've said before.

Tempted to vote for The Wake because it'll get no love, but that runs out of steam towards the end too. Also the best bits of Thick as a Brick are as good as anything here but the glue isn't all that tbh. Fuck I really can't do this at all.

Or, wait, no I didn't vote "The Lamb", I voted "Selling England" of course. The best ever album by anyone ever!

And "The Wake" does have its supporters on ILM. At least IQ do, unlike most neo proggers.

Its supporters = me and Pash, I think.

Most of these are terrible - I only like about, um, two and a half of these records. Agree with Magma, Eloy, Aphrodite's Child being much better. And while I don't really think of it as prog, Space Ritual absolutely kills everything else on this list, so that has to be my vote.

Opeth: Watershed

So is this the Opeth album of choice?

I'm happy enough to think of Hawkwind as prog, so voting Space Ritual was an easy choice.

I agree that the wrong Van Der Graaf Generator album is listed. I read the issue, fun stuff, though the articles are mostly too brief. I also did not realize proggies liked Muse. I always saw them as mere bombastic, poptastic Radiohead clones. I've heard all their albums and could never get into 'em.

None of these. Its the first Todd Rundgren's Utopia album. 'The Ikon' rocks.

have to give this magazine points for trying. barrel's drying out in terms of undiscovered garage/psych, kraut, and postpunk; prog might harbor the most remaining exciting finds. something tells me though that a magazine called classic rock presents prog, with a list like that (where's le orme?), isn't gonna end up being all that helpful of a lost treasures guide

Torn between the two Crimson albums

― ∅ us (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, July 17, 2009 2:05 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

if anyone votes for dream theater i am using suggest ban for the third time ever

Would have voted Still Life, am now probably edging towards Relayer. Surprisingly few albums I'd consider voting for. "Fear Of A Blank Planet" is probably inside my top 10 for god's sake

If ITCOTCK was all as good as Schizoid Man, it'd be out in front, but it's a great example of an album whose reputation basically hinges on the fact that it has four ok-to-very-good tracks and one stone-cold game-changing best-song-of-decade contender

Relayer for me. It's a tough call with CTTE and 2112 on there though.

Cannot decide between Red and Space Ritual. Wd possibly vote for pretty much any other VdGG album.

lol at my post being stereotypical proggish choices for people who don't like prog etc etc (partly true and partly the list's fault)

I *do* like Pawn Hearts a helluva lot, and may vote for it

have to give this magazine points for trying. barrel's drying out in terms of undiscovered garage/psych, kraut, and postpunk; prog might harbor the most remaining exciting finds. something tells me though that a magazine called classic rock presents prog, with a list like that (where's le orme?), isn't gonna end up being all that helpful of a lost treasures guide

Well yeah the trouble with old-school prog fans in the UK is they all seem to think Marillion are some kind of Year Zero band, hence the love for Magenta and loadsa other shitty neo-proggers no-one's ever heard of. No way could a festival like NEARFest happen in this country, which is a shame really as the time is probably right to make prog a bit more acceptable. A lot of the NME old-guard have given up on it now it seems (apart from the ones at The Wire), and I think a lot of younger music fans don't know or care about the punk vs prog thing.

the latter point is inarguably a good thing

Marillion are probably very terrible from what I've heard

Hmmm.. Who voted for Spock's Beard? :)

I don't know but I'm trying to decide which is a worse band name - Spock's Beard or Ultimate Spinach.

Wow. Go VDGG!!! I can't remember what I voted but every VDGG album is great.

my fave "prog" album by opeth is still damnation. i've tried to get geir to listen to it more than once over the years, but i don't know if he has. it is NOT a metal album. there is NO metal on it. (i know that scares him)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IzLDT73bkk

really love 'weakness' from that album

i love this one even though all it really is is just a third-hand approximation of 70's prog or crimson king-era/moodys stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZixJQDgZrqA

it's just so pretty!

There's a killer double-disc of Opeth's best stuff to be made...the rest is pretty but totally unnecessary

no moody blues on that list is pretty sad. days of future passed invented all this stuff, for pete's sake.

and The Nice should be up there too. basically, Moodys + The Nice + Soft Machine = 99% of what came after

and gentle giant. jeez. and there should be a poll covering dave q threads pondering prog epistemology. for instance
Super Furry Animals vs. Gentle Giant

I downloaded Still Life. I like it but I don't think it contains anything as revelatory as "Plague of Lighthouse-Keepers". Which VdGG records emphasize the avant-garde side of the band?

Which brings me to the Hammill solo albums, which you really shouldn't overlook if you have any interest in VdGG. The early to mid 70s solo albums were recorded with the other VdGG members as musicians, and for all practical purposes are no different from VdGG albums. The key solo albums from this period are Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night, The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage, and In Camera. If you like the avant-garde side of VdGG, you can't really go wrong with any of these. I would put In Camera as being the most experimental (check out 'Gog' and 'Magog' in particular), but Silent Corner just edges it in terms of rounded songwriting. The following year, of course, Hammill struck out in a completely new direction with Nadir's Big Chance, but that's another story...

Many people will tell you Godbluff is the one. I've heard it a few times and while Scorched Earth is an amazing track, the other 3 haven't really clicked with me yet. Arrow for instance has all the overwrought emotional drama of Still Life without the poise, the majestic control-and-release.

louis shut up. Arrow is awesome. as is the whole album. Dont trust someone who says Hood is black metal!

Still Life Schmill Life

What did you vote for,tom?

Didn't vote

my fave "prog" album by opeth is still damnation. i've tried to get geir to listen to it more than once over the years, but i don't know if he has. it is NOT a metal album. there is NO metal on it. (i know that scares him)

I've listened some to Opeth, and they're OK as long as the singer isn't growling. But I miss the synths and the mellotrons that belong in prog, and I find that they end up sounding like a bad copy of Porcupine Tree.

it's mostly just conventional 80s metal songs stitched together by a loose "narrative" and a lot of heavy political jive talk....just doesn't really feel prog to me even though queensryche always got billed as prog metal, they don't do any exploratory type instrumental sections, no real feel of any kind of questing type soloing thing (or conversely any real mind garden type psych sonic landscapes either)...i dunno...listen to it and tell me if you think different but to me being a really pretentious metal concept album does not prog make

Agree regarding Queensryche, and also more recent Rush. But prog metal does exist in the case of Dream Theater, who are basically a 70s influenced symphonic rock band, only with large portions of metal added. Probably the hardest rocking band that I really like.

there are synths and mellotrons on damnation, geir! just listen to those two youtube clips i posted and i swear i'll leave you alone. no growling either! be not afraid!

You know what? I just listened to Pawn Hearts. And yeah, of course it deserved to win. Absolutely astonishing music.

Well, the one that won the original poll was the one that deserved to win, and at least "Selling England" did get quite some votes here too, which was nice to see. BEST ALBUM EVER !!!!

Hey - I DO really dig SEBTP! Firth Of Forth, TBOEF and The Cinema Show especially. Dudes knew a tune, and a narrative.

The songs posted above surely sound nice enough. Still not their typical style though.

i like still life and godbluff more than pawn hearts

and nadir and black box and over more than pawn hearts most days too

Favourite Van Der Graaf Generator Album?

I'll check out some of those other VdGG/Hamill albums. My 1st exposure to them was Nadir's Big Chance, actually, which really put me off them until I heard Pawn Hearts. (This was maybe 10 years ago! I feel old!)

I still think Close to the Edge deserves to win any prog poll but I would.

Opeth guy reminds me of Greg Lake on "In My Time of Need."

I like Selling England by the Pound but I don't see why it would be the best Genesis album. There's no one track that's as great as "Supper's Ready" and as an album, it's not as consistent as either The Lamb or Nursery Cryme. I usually skip from "Firth On Fifth" to "The Cinema Show". "Dancing With the Moonlight Knight" is great though.

its not the best genesis.

It is the typical fan favourite (even though the same people have "Supper's Ready" as the fave track), while non fans tend to go for "The Lamb" or "Nursery Cryme". I guess it's just the most typical Genesis album stylistically.

nice top picks :)

Van Der Graaf Generator: Pawn Hearts 19
King Crimson: Red 14
Yes: Close To The Edge 12
Hawkwind: Space Ritual 12
King Crimson: In The Court Of The Crimson King 10
Robert Wyatt: Rock Bottom 10

It is the typical fan favourite

Not really, ask most long-term Genesis fans which one they like best and it'll be Trick of the Tail or Wind and Wuthering.

Only those who like 80s Genesis. Hardcore Genesis fans prefer Peter Gabriel.

(And not one negative word about those two albums - they are great, but the Peter ones are mostly even better)

Only those who like 80s Genesis. Hardcore Genesis fans prefer Peter Gabriel.

Trick Of The Tail is by far my fave Genesis album. I love that album to death. and i have no time at all for 80's genesis. well, i don't hate 80's genesis, i like some of abacab and duke a lot, but i don't listen to it.

and wind & wuthering is probably my 2nd favorite! hmm, maybe i'm a peter gabriel hater after all.

also: Trespass has to be one of my LEAST favorite prog albums. by any band. ugh.

Only those who like 80s Genesis. Hardcore Genesis fans prefer Peter Gabriel.

If I was ever going to get drunk with power and abuse mod privileges, I would probably delete all of your posts where you made claims about anyone's likes and dislikes other than your own. It would probably take a month.

You know, Yes "Relayer" sounding better and better as years go by. I'm surprised there's no dedicated thread...

I read this whole thread after searching for Gnidrolog. The most bizarre assertion herein is that Eloy is better than anybody, I've heard three of their records and they're laughable.

Have you heard the concept album where some stoner travels back to the Middle Ages in a time machine and teaches a princess how to smoke weed?

I skipped that one, I'm sure THAT's going to be the album to convince me they're awesome, ha ha.

Pawn Hearts getting 10x the votes as Dark Side of the Moon warms my heart on this cold spring day

I wonder if we reran this exact pill whether ILM would get it so gloriously correct a second time

Don't understand who would pick Moonmadness as the best of this batch. The Snow Goose is quite nice but the albums where they write lyrics and sing them are not.

Will Romano's book Mountains Come Out of the Sky lists Moonmadness as the 5th best/most important prog album, but I thought his love of Camel was a personal peculiarity, not a trend.

Camel a big favourite for White Van Man Prog along with Yes and ELP. Must be the stoner feel to it.

They're apparently a big influence on neo-prog bands, maybe it's the straightforwardness that they find easier to emulate than the more arcane or complex stuff.

Bingo