Your Top 10 Complete Prog Discographies

Beatles.......

I am a completist so I love this thread. The correct answer is Frank Zappa.

I don't own many physical copies, and even my digital "collection" of mp3s / ripped albums is gathering dust. Streaming is just too convenient when I work, run errands, commute etc. Another factor: I have an apartment so I don't want to bury it under CDs, especially of subpar / drink coaster quality; collecting is not my thing really. But for the sake of the thread I'll make a "wish list", taking into account average quality and granting bonus points to compact discographies that fit nicely on a shelf.

09. Atheist
08. Death
Short but very exciting discographies. Definitely fit my criteria.

07. Jethro Tull
"Songs from the Wood" remaster with bonus tracks, live DVD and 96 page booklet blew my mind in 2017. Now if I had it all, extended "War Child", "Stormwatch", "Minstrel", "Horses"... Their 1968-1979 run is just stunning and could easily steal #1 spot, but I deduct points for "Catfish Rising", "Under Wraps" and some other forgettable affairs. Just too much space.

06. King Crimson
My default pick for "favorite" prog band, if there is any. I don't need all KCCC or ProjeKcts released (God forbid), but would take studio albums and standout live material ("The Great Deceiver", "Absent Lovers" etc.).

05. Van Der Graaf Generator
Post-Present albums - no thanks, but up to that point they had a stellar run.

04. Wobbler
03. Opeth
02. Anekdoten
Scandinavian trio of extremely consistent bands that usually come with fantastic artwork. In this particular list "brevity" beats the Old Prog Gods, so there's that.

01. Änglagård
The best pound-for-pound discography as far as I'm concerned. Even if All Traps on Earth are excluded.

00. Type O Negative (honorable mention)
Not prog at all but just wanted to give them shout out again.


Edited by thief - July 06 2021 at 01:42

I kinda agree with what someone else said. I'm a studio album completist when it comes to bands I really love, though I'll admit some choice albums aren't really on my wishlist (like, say, Calling All Stations and Van Halen III). However with bands I enjoy but aren't huge favorites of mine, or with artists who really trail off significantly in quality at some point in their careers even if I really love them otherwise, I'm not likely to whip out much more than a buck for an album I don't really need in my collection.

Very few bands have discographies with no weak albums, from my personal perspective I'll go with 

JD wrote: ^And don't leave us hangin' here man !!! WHICH ONE ?? I mean...you'd buy 106 of them but just not one? That makes no sense whatsoever.

Psychedelic Paul wrote: chopper wrote: If I was going to be a completist it would probably be on Pendragon now. Rick Wakeman would be my number one choice for owning a complete discography. I currently only have his first five albums in a CD box set (not counting Piano Vibrations), but I'd like to own all but one of his 107 albums.

I can't actually think of any other than King Crimson, mostly because I never got around to replacing the vinyl copies I sold back in the 1990s. I already have some groups complete (as in just their studio albums), but as others have said, the longer a group exists the more likely there will be an album that just doesn't seem like the effort is worth it to acquire it just to complete things.

chopper wrote: If I was going to be a completist it would probably be on Pendragon now.