Battle of the Prog Bands Finals (Over, don't vote)

 

They are the defintiion of progressive to me

 

so is Crimson obviously....

 

but I like Floyd better  :)

I can't speak for Walter, but I have mentioned in earlier threads my thoughts on this.  It really is a truly subjective response on my part--I just somehow have never thought of Pink Floyd as a Prog band.  That isn't a criticism of the group; it's a statement of how I perceive and think about the music I hear.   I was genuinely surprised a few years ago when I started picking up magazines (such as a Mojo special) that put Floyd on the cover as the best Prog band of all time.  

Please don't get me wrong, this has nothing to do with like or dislike for me.  I've been a longtime fan of Pink Floyd and think they are a simply stunning rock band, one of the best of all time.  It's just that somehow my head does not place them in the Prog category.  

I think it was Logan who made a great response in the earlier thread that the problem may be a distinction between Prog and progressive (however we want to make such distinctions).  I do think Pink Floyd has illustrated a progressive career, especially over the stretch of albums you mention, but they have never struck me as a Prog band.  But why that is, I still haven't been able to articulate fully.  As I say, it's a rather subjective thing for me.  

Having said all that, I think Floyd's progressive period runs from Pipers to Meddle.  The albums that come after are absolutely iconic in the rock canon, but I'm not sure I quite see the Prog or progressive element there.  I chose King Crimson because I think they have displayed a much more adventurous spirit throughout their career as a whole.  I can think of few bands who have reinvented themselves again and again so constantly and with such astonishing results.

My pick is certainly King Crimson, probably my all-around favorite progressive band.... I'm a Pink Floyd fan, but I don't love them.