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Three best and worst years for prog
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nick_h_nz View Drop Down
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Points: 6737 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 04 2022 at 15:44
Originally posted by Nogbad_The_Bad Nogbad_The_Bad wrote:

Originally posted by nick_h_nz nick_h_nz wrote:

Originally posted by Nogbad_The_Bad Nogbad_The_Bad wrote:

Interesting approach, I'm intrigued, my version was pretty easy to check as I just had to write a quick check against my database of my collection in excel and run the numbers versus checking each years top 100 on PA. I'm now wondering what this would generate for me. I may be back.

I don’t have a database of my collection, so I’d have to go through all my CDs and downloads to find the years of release. I knew the approach I took was not going to be 100% reliable or accurate, and would still take some time, but it still seemed the “easiest” way to go about it. 🤷🏻‍♂️


So what I discovered is that prog collection diverted from the mainstream pretty much once the classic period was over

In the 70's I averaged 25 top 100 albums per year with the peak being 72-75 with 30% each year. Around 55% of my 70's collection is top 100 albums.

The 80's and 90's were pretty fallow averaging 8 top 100 albums per year in a period where I have 400 albums. So around 40% of my stuff is actually top 100. So I wasn't finding anything anywhere else either.

From 2000's forward I average 12 top 100 albums per year in a period with 1200 albums. So the percentage of top 100 albums in this period has dropped to 20%.

When you put it that way, my results somewhere above are quite misleading. Because I am probably fairly similar percentage wise. Almost all of the ‘70s music in my collection is prog. But only a small proportion of my collection is prog when it comes to the music of any of the decades following.

But I guess that doesn’t change the idea of which years were best for me. As great as the ‘70s are, there’s so much more I enjoy from today’s music.

I think the ultimate answer is one so many have already given, including myself, and that is that there are no worst years for prog. There are just some years that don’t cater for personal preferences as much as others.
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The Dark Elf View Drop Down
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Points: 13056 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote The Dark Elf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 04 2022 at 16:01
I don't think you can top 1969-1975 for prog rock, and 1971-1973 is in the epicenter of that era. You can try to argue otherwise, but you would be wrong. And that's okay. I will defend your right to be wrong. Just don't expect me to agree. 
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Originally posted by The Dark Elf The Dark Elf wrote:

I don't think you can top 1969-1975 for prog rock, and 1971-1973 is in the epicenter of that era. You can try to argue otherwise, but you would be wrong. And that's okay. I will defend your right to be wrong. Just don't expect me to agree. 

I certainly won't disagree with you!

However, the question I've always asked is WHY?  What was it in those years that made such an amazing period of musical performance? 

Was it youth and enthusiasm?  Introduction to new instruments (synth, Mellotron, devices)?  The drugs? 

I think it was a blend of those three!! 

However, for all the high quality, I find it odd that women were largely left out of the formula from 1971-73.  Annie Haslam being the lonely exception.  Even today, we don't have nearly as many women in prog as I think we should have...they can bring remarkable energy, instrumental skills and passion! 
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Points: 1587 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hugh Manatee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 04 2022 at 21:26
Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

However, for all the high quality, I find it odd that women were largely left out of the formula from 1971-73.  Annie Haslam being the lonely exception.   

Grace Slick was also doing some great stuff in this period, culminating in "Manhole", which was recorded in '73 and released in January '74.


Edited by Hugh Manatee - April 04 2022 at 21:26
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nick_h_nz View Drop Down
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Points: 6737 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2022 at 01:07
Originally posted by The Dark Elf The Dark Elf wrote:

I don't think you can top 1969-1975 for prog rock, and 1971-1973 is in the epicenter of that era. You can try to argue otherwise, but you would be wrong. And that's okay. I will defend your right to be wrong. Just don't expect me to agree. 

I’m not sure anyone is trying to argue otherwise, if looked at objectively, and in terms of impact, innovation and influence. But I think many people here are sharing what are the best and worst years FOR THEM, which is quite independent of what are recognised as the best years, if we attempt objectivity (without getting into that messy debate AGAIN).

Ian made me take another look at the ranking I gave (for me!), when he spoke about percentage of collection by year. And that really does indicate the objective over the subjective, as while it might appear that the 2000s are better years than the 1970s, that’s looking only at the prog albums (as per the PA top 100) in my collection. If I look at my entire collection, the 1970s appear better than the 2000s, simply because almost the entirety of my 1970s albums are prog, while prog makes up only a tiny portion of my 2000s albums.

So, again, I think most people will agree the best prog years FOR PROG were the ones you specify, regardless of personal preference - but the best prog years FOR THEM are likely to highly different and individual.

As for worst prog years, I think objectively it probably is somewhere in the mid to late 1980s, where (regardless of how good any prog released at that time might be), prog simply wasn’t important or impactful in the mainstream.

The 2000s have seen a renaissance for prog, though - so that much even if it can never make the impact it did in the 1970s, it has a relevance and popularity that is second only to the 1970s. And, for this reason, the best years for prog for many will be….now!
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Points: 6737 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2022 at 01:15
Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

Originally posted by The Dark Elf The Dark Elf wrote:

I don't think you can top 1969-1975 for prog rock, and 1971-1973 is in the epicenter of that era. You can try to argue otherwise, but you would be wrong. And that's okay. I will defend your right to be wrong. Just don't expect me to agree. 

I certainly won't disagree with you!

However, the question I've always asked is WHY?  What was it in those years that made such an amazing period of musical performance? 

Was it youth and enthusiasm?  Introduction to new instruments (synth, Mellotron, devices)?  The drugs? 

I think it was a blend of those three!! 

However, for all the high quality, I find it odd that women were largely left out of the formula from 1971-73.  Annie Haslam being the lonely exception.  Even today, we don't have nearly as many women in prog as I think we should have...they can bring remarkable energy, instrumental skills and passion! 

The women in prog back in the day definitely stood out, and we possibly had to, because they were in a minority. But prog is nowhere near the male-dominated domain it once was. If it appears so, still, that is possibly more an indication of which genres of prog one listens to, rather than a lack of women in prog. This forum is rather male-heavy, but I think that is down to the type of medium. As I have said before, this sort of forum is rather outdated (even though it serves a purpose), and a lot of people simply won’t visit this sort of forum when they can get the interaction they want from social media. Any FB prog group or page I’ve frequented has had a good deal of female participation. On FB, at least, the stereotypical old man prog fan is effectively a dinosaur that is nearing extinction, and which tend to meet in their own groups where they can be the echo chamber they desire.
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