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Tapfret 
Special Collaborator 
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: August 12 2007 Location: Bryant, Wa Status: Offline Points: 8619 |
 Posted: August 17 2007 at 04:23 |
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OK...I think I got it now...though I may change my mind several times during the typing of my results.
My criteria: As stated before, with the number of directions progressive music can take, this list has to take on very personal criteria in addition to particular musical elements as structure and complexity.
1. How did this album really hold true to progressive standards? Was it a symbol of the genres evolution or just a rehashed de-evolution?
2. Did it change the way I personally think about music? This is not always the most groundbreaking album, but the right album at the right time.
That should be enough...here goes. Somebody color coded, great idea.
1. Yessongs - Even though I don't listen to Yessongs very often anymore, it has no other place to go but on top. It was the defining album of my childhood, the reason I became a musician. It is often knocked for the poor recording quality, but IMHO, that's one of the things that truly makes it great. Yes writes oustanding music, but on early studio albums where they wrote there best music, much of the sound is overly compressed. The dynamics or subdued to the point that the majesty of the composition is hiden. Especially when compared to Genesis and ELP who didn't some to have a problem transposing their energy to the studio. Really interesting when you consider Eddie Offord's involvement in both yes and ELP. The rawness and power of the live performance almost made them a completely different band. The addition of Alan White for the majority of the albums played a part in this as well. It seems that the less technical, yet more powerful and wide open playing style of AW infused a new energy into the other musicians over the highly technical yet dynamically conservative chops of Bill Bruford. Another element that left a feeling of emptiness to some of their studio was the obligatory 70's fade out. The staccato end of Siberian Khatru, down to the last "AH!" was a symbol of the gratifying completeness of this album. The foldout Roger Dean art also left a lasting impression.
2. Emerson, Lake and Palmer - My dad bought the first ELP album when I was 6 or 7 because he liked 'Lucky Man'. I latched on to it because I could make 'The Barbarian' and 'The 3 Fates' shake the house. Through almost every phase of my music listening life I have been able to find something new to love about this album.
3. Watchtower "Control and Resistance" - This album brought me back to prog. It bridged the gap between the Slayer's, Metallica's and Anthrax's I was listening to in my late teens and the Yes and ELP stuff I listened to prior to that. My first listen I was astonished at how pummelled I felt though very few power chords were used in the album. The Psychosociopolitical lyrical themes appealed to the remaining punk in me. It broadened my tastes immediately. The last song 'Dangerous Toy', with its whole tones and short jazzy improv section was compared to King Crimson by someone I played it for. Shortly after I bought my first KC cassette, 'A Young Person's Guide to KC'.
4. Jethro Tull "A Passion Play" - I am not a religious man, but I literally have Jesus to thank for this album. I inherited it from my parents who inherited it from my uncle when he became born again and was told by his pastor to get rid of his rock records. This is the album that taught me that a record does not have to just be a collection of songs, it can be 1 big song. The intermission, 'The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles' is a wonderful break in the composition. I have often desired to write a thesis on metaphoric meaning of the anthropromorphized (sp?) characters. But that's a topic for a different spot.
5. Gentle Giant "Playing the Fool" - I find it easy to look past recording quality issues to get a new perspective on great music. As with many of the bands here, picking one album was difficult. GG is no exception. 'Playing the Fool' is great in that the arrangements are rarely, if ever, identical to the album cuts. You get what amounts to completely different songs, many with elements from multiple songs without sounding like cheesy medleys.
6. King Crimson "Red" - The first full KC album I owned. It is otherwise hard to pick the favorite from this Crimson era. I would argue that the title track of this album constitutes the first true progressive metal song. This was a good start to what shows up on my KC playlist as 21.8 hours.
7. Mr. Bungle - The Genre sampler plate, at the time this came out it was like bungy jumping through the history of popular music. Seamless transitions between styles left me spent after each listen. In summary, ground breaking.
8. Banco del Mutuo Soccorso "Io Sono Nato Libero" - Many Italian bands had been played for prior to BMS. Le Orme, PFM and Goblin were all great bands, but not great enough to really be top 10 calliber. Many of the bands in my collection require tuning out the singer, but DiGiacomo's voice was a bright spot for this band. Rock music with a traditional continental European flair. I had a hard time choosing between Darwin!, BMS and this one, the virtualy run a dead heat for listening enjoyment. This was the first BMS album that I bought, so it gets the top 10 spot.
9. Pain of Salvation "BE (live)" - I love the outdoors and nature, I really appreciate the attempt of Daniel Gildenlow to address the issues of degradation of our environment in his work. In past albums he has done this with primarily metal laced complexity. This is unfortunately a turn-off to some. Prior to 'BE', my favorite POS album was 'One hour by the Concrete Lake', an album typically not well received. 'BE' employs a broader spectrum of styles to convey questions of, to quote Douglas Adams, "Life, the Universe and Everything". The use of a small orchestra, even during the metal parts is well conceived and executed. The included reading material explains the evolution of the project and Gildenlow's ponderings of our very existence, and in turn, since we are created in God's image, God's questioning of his own existence. A monumental concept album.
10. Steve Hackett "Voyage of the Acolyte" - I actually heard this album before any classic Genesis. At the time I thought Genesis was only about Abacrap and Dukey. When I listened to it the first time and then noticed that Collins and Rutherford were on it I was stunned. This album is beautiful in itself, but it also has that special place for guiding me to seek out other off-shoots of other bands that I liked, not to mention find out what the real story was with Genesis.
This was hard. So many albums I didn't want to bump.
Honorable mentions:
Frank Zappa - Roxy and Elsewhere, Sheik Yerbouti
Magma - Live
Voivod - Nothingface and Dimension Hatröss
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Darwin! and BMS
Meshuggah - Destroy, Erase, Improve
King Crimson - A whole bunch of 'em
NeBeLNeST - NoVa eXPReSS
Bondage Fruit - II and IV
Genesis - Selling England by the Pound
Martyr - Feeding the Abscess
Rush - A Farewell to Kings and Fly by Night
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pero
Forum Senior Member 
Joined: July 11 2005 Location: Croatia Status: Offline Points: 1242 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 04:27 |
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My list is like good old wine,
1. Gentle giant - In a glass house. This was the first GG album, which I get 1974 and my favorite. It's a bit different then previous GG albums, but they finaly gave Gary Green the oportunity to play guitar.
2. Yes - Close to the edge. What more to add to this amazing album, last Brufford performance
3. Mahavishnu orchestra - Birds of fire. Mahavishnu orchestra lineup was made of amazing musitians, inspired by Mclauglins religion. It's not so frenzy like first album, but right combination of inovative jazz/rock
4. King Crimson - Larks tongues in aspic. The lineup with Wetton, Bruford, Cross and Muir is to me the best KC mix,which generated sounds ranging from traditional classical and soft pop-jazz licks to hair-curling electric flourishes. Easy money like "hit" on this album listening with earpones can give you whole range of Muir's sounds
5. Vdgg - Pawn hearts. Man erg is fantastic musical expirience. The whole album is unique
6. Pink floyd - Atom heart mother I now that the most of prog lovers dont like that album , but for me it's masterpiece not only amazing title song but litle quiet guitar stuff "If", "Sumer 68", "Fat old sun", and even "Alan psychedelic breahfast!"
7. Gong - Gazeuse. Favorite Piere Morlein gong tetralogy (others are Shamal, Espreso II, Downwind), with exseptional Holdswort's guitarand Malherbes sax, and fantastic drum-percussion from Morlein,Mirelle Bauer,Mino Cinellu.
8. Genesis - Foxtrot. Not only Super's ready, but the whole album is amazing.But what impresses most is how that precociousness is delivered with pure musical force. This is the rare art-rock album that excels at both the art and the rock
9. Focus - Focus III. With moving waves Focus To be frank, this album has it all: diverse songs, astounding musicianship, one of the finest singles ever released.
10. Jethro tull - Thick as a brick and Passion play. Both concept JT albums are equally magic to me. Thick as a brick is easy to get in, Passion play gem worth listening more then once.
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laplace
Prog Reviewer 
Joined: October 06 2005 Location: popupControl(); Status: Offline Points: 7606 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 04:28 |
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This list is not locked and is probably just plain wrong, as I doubt I've heard even a twentieth of the good stuff from any era at all. I'm taking from everything I love, not just progressive rock - although it does seem to occupy most of the list. from my position of relative ignorance:
10. Jun Togawa - Tamahime-sama My favourite pop album and one of my favourite singers - she can do punky, strident, lolita-esque and everything else I love. The songs are all memorable, and there's enough post-punkiness and invention on here for it to be more than just the usual j-pop fluff. This spot could also take a random Bjork album but Ms. Togawa deserves more praise. 09. Super Furry Animals - Guerrilla This is basically the pinnacle of all Beatles-inspired rock music. Nothing but another SFA album - maybe Radiator or Rings Around the World - compares. Let it never be said that I can't appreciate melody. ;P 08. Einstuerzende Neubauten - Halber Mensch I should really have picked one of the first two, or else a Throbbing Gristle piece but I've always found Halber-Mensch more memorable even though it's less "noisy" on the surface and this does highlight my tastes - even outside rock music I pick an album progressing towards it. 07. Boris - Amplifier Worship Most crypto-important "metal" album I've ever heard. This is from when Boris weren't well-known but I'm not complaining. I could just as easily swap in some Voivod but you dorks say they're prog. ;) 06. Shub-Niggurath - Les Morts Vont Vites Mood-wise, the darkest album I've ever heard - this has more effect on me than Throbbing Gristle or funeral doom or drone or anything else you care to name. It's also very well written chamber "rock" with endless suspense. 05. Picchio dal Pozzo - Abbiamo Tutti I Suoi Problemi If you ever need your saxophone desire sated... this is very dense early-Henry Cow styled rock ensemble playing with a solemn tone. I reviewed this and gave it five stars. Also an italian album to placate micky and Ghost Rider (other choices here are Stormy Six's "L'Apprendista" and Opus Avantra's debut) =P 04. Wha-ha-ha - Shinotukiwa Betsu Everyone's been talking about this one on the forums for the last few months. I'd just like to add that I chose this instead of something by a Boredoms or a Tatsuya Yoshida project because it's easier on the ears - as well as being an album I can enjoy at any hour in the day it is my crypto-conversion tool for introducing other people into truly stupid and odd music. =) 03. Henry Cow - In Praise of Learning I need my harsh and polemic music and this is perhaps the greatest example - a perfect mix between deep and uncopyable songwriting and beds of moody ensemble improvisation. Other choices were everything by the Art Bears (obviously) and also Floh de Cologne's "Mumien" which is like the krautrock version, but I don't like krautrock enough to put it high on a list like this. 02. King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black Has Fracture on it. Other choices were The Great Pretender, and any other compilation or live disc with Fracture on it. ;P 01. Magma - Kohntarkosz This one is a summation of my tastes as proved by the previous nine - catchy when it needs to be, deep, thoughtful and dark. The epic itself remains my favourite piece of music and it's so different from everything else (even the Orff comparison doesn't work so well with Kohntarkosz) that it's a natural "favourite album." I know, there's no symphonic rock on this list. Sorry =P |
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Tapfret
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: August 12 2007 Location: Bryant, Wa Status: Offline Points: 8619 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 04:35 |
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Yeah right, those lottery numbers definitely did not come up for me.
 My wife is all about what's on the radio. Music is not a frequent topic. |
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richardh
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 18 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 29474 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 04:38 |
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1. ELP - Brain Salad Surgery .Favourite album by my favourite band.Extreme bombastic dark passages tempered with one quiet ballad, a bit of sillyness and jazzy interludes.Not perfect but doesn't need to be as ELP were not perfect. The threw themsleves into their music with a level of energy that still is incredibly impressive.Carl Palmer rips up the snare drum with Keith Emerson chicking in some of his best hammond licks and Greg Lake's baritone adds extra class.
2. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here .Probably the most atmospheric and beautifully constructed album surrounding a basic simple but heartfelt emotional plea to a friend.Says 'We miss you'.
3. Genesis - Foxtrot .The best album by the most talented five guys ever assembled in one place at one time.
4. Yes - Close To The Edge.Wonderfully well balanced collection of prog.The perfect prog album,but not my number one choice because there are other albums I like just a bit more.
5. Rush -Moving Pictures.Prog was dying a death but Rush still managed to come up with something orginal and special.Permanent Waves laid the groundwork but this takes it up another notch.Rush at their peak.
6. IQ - Ever .Neo prog is a dirty word maybe but I don't care! This is superb.Strong, clean and contemporary. Martin Orfords synths and Pete Nicholls vocals give this an edge other neo prog bands lacked IMO.
7.A Trick Of The Tail -Genesis should have died after Gabriel left but instead decided to make this great masterpeice. Wonderfull varied collcetion of songs and compositions. The recent remaster is stunning.Listen to the bass on Squonk and enter prog heaven!
8. Fragile - Yes .Wakeman joined and became the final peice of the jigsaw.Not quite to the level of CTTE but this is still powerfull and even quite dark music (for Yes).Yes had finally rid themselves of any aspirations to be the prog equivalent of the Beach Boys.
9. Lateralus - Tool .Some modern prog albums are actually good! Tool took the (then) stale Prog metal sub genre and breathed new life into it.
10. Kid A - Radiohead .Possibly the most beautiful modern/ contemporary electronic work I've heard.Fell in love with it after about 3 listens.
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salmacis
Forum Senior Member
Content Addition Joined: April 10 2005 Status: Offline Points: 3928 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 05:26 |
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Good to see a thread like this. IMHO, this could be made a 'sticky' thread. Here goes- my first two are totally rigid, but everything else is probably subject to change. Whatever, all of these are 5 star albums for me. 1- Selling England By The Pound- Genesis; it was the first album I bought aged 6 in 1994, and it actively remains my favourite. Gloriously English (as the title suggests), eccentric, witty, whimsical, beautifully played and arranged and arguably has the best production on a Genesis album up to that point to boot. Also, unlike some modern prog albums I could mention, it doesn't pile on bombastic epic after bombastic epic; I like the fact that every long track is followed by a shorter, more reposed and accessible one. 2- Close To The Edge- Yes; I adore 'Relayer' as well, but I think this is their definitive album and (though it's a cliche) as an example of prog at its pinnacle, I don't personally think it can be beat. The production is truly gorgeous and unlike the more ambling moments of TFTO (which I do like anyway), I don't think there's a note wasted here. Chock-a-block with memorable hooks, too. 3- Thick As A Brick- Jethro Tull; IMHO, this is their best album by miles. The playing is staggeringly intricate and complex but unlike the follow-up 'A Passion Play', they remembered to write songs to go with it.
4- Brain Salad Surgery- ELP; yes, this is bombastic for sure. But as much as I like 'Trilogy', I think this is their definitive album, no question. I can even tolerate the knockabout 'Benny The Bouncer'. 'Karn Evil 9' should have closed the book on their 70s work, IMHO, as nothing they recorded for the rest of that decade even came close to any of their earlier output (IMHO).
5- Pawn Hearts- VDGG; dark and at first, impenetrable, but in terms of ambition and the stunning quality of execution, this album has few equals. This is almost the direct flip-side of 'Close To The Edge'; whilst that album is fairly easy to love almost immediately, this one does not court appreciation so readily and requires intense listening.
6- In The Court Of The Crimson King- King Crimson; I still think this is their best album overall. Although whether it is the first proper prog album is open to debate, I would argue it was one of the most influential.
7- Third- Soft Machine; experimental and dense, but one of the few double albums I can think of that I find totally perfect and one I have to listen to all the way through to fully appreciate.
8- In The Land Of Grey And Pink- Caravan; like SEBTP, this is English to its core and I find it to be a truly perfect album. Prog at its most approachable without sacrificing the things that make the genre so wonderful.
9- A Farewell To Kings- Rush; My favourite of their albums. 'Moving Pictures' might be more consistent overall and perhaps more definitive, but there's something magical about this album for me no matter how many times I play it.
10- Clutching At Straws- Marillion; the usual brickbats thrown at Marillion (and neo prog in general) such as 'derivative' and 'Genesis' do not apply here. This is mature and has its own identity. Every song stands up superbly and it is bleak, but always compelling.
Honorary mention given to Camel's 'Nude'/ 'The Snow Goose', IQ's 'Ever'/ 'Dark Matter', Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side Of The Moon', Gentle Giant's 'Octopus'/ 'Free Hand', Aphrodite's Child's '666', Radiohead's 'OK Computer', Queen's 'A Night At The Opera' and Mahavishnu Orchestra's 'Birds Of Fire'. Edited by salmacis - August 17 2007 at 05:30 |
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Casartelli
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 17 2006 Location: Netherlands Status: Offline Points: 401 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 05:39 |
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1. Rush - A farewell to kings - My favourite band and this is simply their best. Where most albums in the list are quite even in their song quality, this one isn't, but it contains Xanadu and Cygnus X-1, which is enough for a number 1.
2. Marillion - Fugazi - Basically this one is uneven as well, but I've always preferred this one to Script. Marillion-with-Fish is still *the* quintessential neo prog period. Although the Hogarth era is actually more interesting from a progressive point of view and some albums come really close in quality (especially Brave), these first four have been the oldest love and (except for MC) also the favourites. Thanks to Assassing, the underrated Emerald Lies and the title track, this one ranks slightly highest. 3. Porcupine tree - Stupid dream - Most important modern prog band. That title is not deserved from this album (it is from the entire repertory or from albums like Up the downstair and In absentia) which is relatively poppy and easy accessible, but this one comes up with the most consistent set of songs. It was also the first album I heard from Mr Wilson, which may help as well. Not too many real standout tracks from the average, the average is just very high.
4. The Gathering - Mandylion - The blueprint for bands like Nightwish, Edenbridge, After forever, Epica, etc. After the genre was 'created' the band developed themselves further with many interesting results, but this one stays a favourite, not in the last place thanks to Eleanor.
5. Talk talk - Spirit of Eden - Moving, stunning, unique. This is one of the founding albums for the post rock movement, which means the ingredients became more familiar after the passing of years. This *mix* of the ingredients however is still something very special these days.
6. Genesis - A trick of the tail - Probably symphonic prog's most important band, I think this is their most even album out of a list of classics that all get high scores. Gentle and streamlined as it is, it misses something of the rough experimentation of a record like Nursery Cryme, but the presence of songs like Entangled and Mad Man Moon just says it all.
7. Supertramp - Crime of the century - A band that earned respect in prog's hardcore circles as well as in the mainstream and it's easy to see why: accessible songs, you might even call them 'easy going', but at the musical microlevel there's just so much going on, you keep discovering new things (yes, this even goes for Dreamer).
8. Queensr˙che - Operation: mindcrime - There are not that many conceptalbums where music and concept are both excellent anyway, but in prog metal they really can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The 80s had brought metal to a new level and, apart from Iron Maiden, who quickly became more and more formulaic, this is where prog and 'new' metal teamed again.
9. Eloy - Ocean - Those first few minutes of Poseidon's Creation must really be in the top five of most gripping album openings: haunting and really, really beautiful. Other Eloy records may be just as deserving of a top 10 position, but this beginning really does it.
10. Mike Oldfield - Tubular bells - In all its datedness still the original best. Nuff said. Edited by Casartelli - August 17 2007 at 05:40 |
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Losendos
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 03 2005 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 571 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 06:10 |
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1 The Lamb Genesis (love it's kookiness )
2 Relayer Yes ( GOD is the greatest epic ever )
3 Thick as a Brick ( when I got this one I just couldn't stop playing it )
4 Abbey Road Beatles( I love this one's evenness and varied brilliance )
5 Led Zeppelin 4 ( I agree with the comment that this is the best rock alvum ever )
6 Foxtrot Genesis ( most consistently brilliant album ever )
7 Hamburger Concerto Focus ( utterly brilliant with soaring atmospheres )
8 Tubular Bells Mike Oldfield ( phenonemal output from one man )
9 SEBTP Genesis (best keyboard solo of all tme )
10 Brain Salad surgery ELP ( Bombastic )
11 Dark Side of The Moon ( done a spinal tap here but this one cannot be missed out )
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How wonderful to be so profound
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Evans
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 15 2006 Location: Sweden Status: Offline Points: 3004 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 07:53 |
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Well, my REAL personal top 10 consists probably of more non-prog albums than prog ones. But if i were to make a top 10 only with bands on the archives, it might look something like this:
1. First utterance.
The most grotesque music ever recorded, almost entirely acoustical, pure and close to nature in every possible way. Very freakishin a very non-contrived souning way. Not entirely flawless, but therein lies beauty as well.
2. Still life.
Heartfelt, bombastic, dark and hopeful. Also a very personal album for me, and that is the real reason why i didn't put Godbluff in the spot, despite being equally deserving.
3. Si on avait besoin d'une cinquiéme saison.
Beauty made human. Beautiful as any classical piece ever written, with a touch of fantasy and melancholy. Music to dream to.
4. F#A#oo.
The atmospheric materpiece, dark and hollow .Could be replaced with "Lift your skinny fists like Antennas to heaven", but this time it is once again purely a matter of personal preference. Minimalism when it's as good as it gets, and darker than the eternal night...
5. Tago Mago.
Because it is an album quite unlike any other, and it was one of those albums which has had a huge impact on my music listening.
6. Amputechture
Personally, i prefer frances the mute, but the Mars Volta's latest is definitely their most mature and in this case, that is a good thing. Certain elements on the earlier albums sounded cotrived and put in just for the heck of it, but Amputechture is very much a whole, solid album, devoid of filler. A testament of modern prog.
7. In the Land of Grey and Pink.
Whenever there is a need for a carefree and happy sounding album, Caravan delivers the goods. This album and the one before it stands to me as the twin towers of jazzy, laid back, keyboard driven prog of the 70's.
And this is where i really need some time out to think. :)
I'm thinking maybe Rock Bottom is worth a spot, and then either Script of Misplaced Childhood by Marillion, but then where would in Absentia go?
Anyway, i tried my best! :) Hope you're happy, Raffaela.
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'Let's give it another fifteen seconds..' |
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BaldJean
Prog Reviewer
Joined: May 28 2005 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 10387 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 08:53 |
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sorry to have to disappoint you, but the first prog metal album is from 1969. it is "Sea Shanties" by High Tide. the grandmother of all progressive metal |
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 A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
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magnus
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 19 2006 Location: Norway Status: Offline Points: 865 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 09:08 |
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1. Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick
What's there to say? The mother of all concept albums. The creative peak of a charismatic english flute-molester and his merry men. 2. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound Very hard choice between this one and the two previous albums by Genesis, but I dare say this was their peak. No matter how many times I listen to this album, I am always amazed by the wonderful drumming by our beloved Phil Collins. 3. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King For a good while, rock music was stirring with new influences and experimentations by different bands. The new progressive rock genre had for a while been in the making, but King Crimson debut was the album that went straight to the point, the very first fully fledged PROG album! Deserves a place in the top 10 if only for being influential! 4.Yes - Relayer Gates of Delirium is pure brilliance. Sound Chaser and To Be Over are also very nice. This is sort of a personal choice for me, because Close to the Edge never really got to me as much as Relayer did. 5. Pink Floyd - Animals Once again, we have a band on their creative peak. Roger Waters made some great concepts throughout the times, but never did any of "his" albums have as great music to go with the concept as they did on Animals. 6. Van der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts It's hard for me to say anything about this album that hasn't already been said. This album takes time to grow on you, but when it does, it's just beautiful. 7. Ark - Burn the Sun Progressive metal at its best. More exciting sound than Dream Theater and the like, yet very accessible and even radio-friendly at times(this does not in any way mean not proggy!), these guys took virtuosity and made it more than just ostentatiousness! In my humble opinion, the very best introduction to progressive metal for someone new to the genre. 8. Bacamarte - Depois do Film I've been getting really into this album lately. Being released by a brazilian band with a female vocalist(I'm no fan of female vocalists) in 1983(although I later discovered it was recorded 6 years before the release), I didn't really have much expectations for this album when I gave it a listen. I couldn't understand a single word of what that lady was singing about, but all I knew was that it didn't mean a thing; this music was so beautiful that no comprehensible word could give it any more meaning. I am especially in love with the guitars, from the acoustic classical guitar in Passaro de Luz to the Steve Howe-esque electric guitars found in other songs. 9. Änglagård - Hybris What can be said about this masterpiece? Änglagård managed to take influences from the 'classic' prog bands from the 70s and make something that sounded authentically like it was made in the same decade, yet still sounding fresh and new. The perfect showcase of how to be inspired by certain bands without ripping their music off in any way. 10. Gentle Giant - Octopus I don't really know what to say, other posters in this topic have given very good reasons for this album, so I'll leave it at that. Don't be fooled by the short running time of the songs. Edited by magnus - August 17 2007 at 14:25 |
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The scattered jigsaw of my redemption laid out before my eyes
Each piece as amorphous as the other - Each piece in its lack of shape a lie 
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dedokras
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 04 2006 Location: Bulgaria Status: Offline Points: 635 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 10:11 |
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1. Pink Floyd - Animals (powerful and bleak, Roger at his most cynical, the album that changed me at 15)
2. Yes - Yessongs (probably the best live album ever, and the reason I like White better than Brufford, especially on the Close to the edge and Siberian tracks)
3. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound (nice and mellow, the only minor let down being More Fool Me, but... you have Epping Forest coming next :))
4. Yes - Relayer (Yes at their most experimental, Gates being the ultimate epic and To be Over one of the most beautiful tracks ever)
6. Marillion - Fugazi (An album that really manages to move me)
5. Queen - A Night at the Opera (quirky and colourful, Queen does not get any better than this)
7. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (atmospheric to the maximum, Shine is the definitive prog epic)
8. Porcupine Tree - Deadwing (the best contemporary prog I have heard, Deadwing, Arriving, Start on Smth Beautiful and Glass Arm are among the best PT tracks ever)
9&10 honourable mentions:
Genesis - The Lamb and Foxtrot
Pink Floyd - The Wall, Meddle, Dark Side
Jethro Tull - Aqualung and Live: Bursting Out
Beatles (not really prog but they are on PA and they were brilliant anyway) - Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, White Album, Abbey Road
Led Zep (same as Beatles) - III, IV, Houses, Physical
PT - In Absentia and Stupid Dream
Tool - Lateralus and Aenema
Marillion - Script, Clutching and Brave
Mr Bungle (still don't know why they are on PA but their debut is phenomenal and one of the best albums ever)
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Shakespeare
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 18 2006 Status: Offline Points: 7744 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 10:20 |
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Is this simply our favourite 10 albums featured on this site? Or is it our favourite 10 albums that best show what prog is about? Because my answer would be mildly different.
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BaldJean
Prog Reviewer
Joined: May 28 2005 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 10387 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 10:21 |
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you only named the band, but not the album |
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A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
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laplace
Prog Reviewer
Joined: October 06 2005 Location: popupControl(); Status: Offline Points: 7606 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 10:23 |
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hmm, I fail if it was either as I included non-prog on my list. The first post seems to suggest that this can be as open-ended as possible. |
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Shakespeare
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 18 2006 Status: Offline Points: 7744 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 10:39 |
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10. A Passion Play - read my review
9. Lift Yr. Skinny Fists ... - read my review 8. Up - read my review 7. Selling England - read my review (LOW QUALITY) 6. Thick as a Brick - read my review 5. In Absentia With some really extreme dynamics, really contrasting musical styles and genres, this album never grows tedious. Always inspired, with its aggressive playing, beautiful execution, and remains a climatic emotional journey. 4. Speaking of Now Pat Metheny's most complete output, and the most atmospheric and magical jazz album I've ever heard. Moving, exhilarating, memorable, catchy, complex, and layered: perfect. 3. Hybris So polished, so inspired, so sleek. Something is so absolutely elegant about this album. Whether it's the creepy and exciting compositions/arrangements, or the off-the-wall musicianship, this one is special. 2. Epilog More moving, haunting, lingering and complex than its predecessor, and is even more dynamic. Utterly perfect in its delivery, and the compositions are so beyond anything...except 1. Foxtrot Genesis are able to create a musical journey more complete and moving than anything ever before it. Something about the progression of the album, and particularly Supper's Ready make this my # 1. |
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Raff
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 29 2005 Location: None Status: Offline Points: 24429 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 11:06 |
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Sorry for the late answer, and for not being clearer in my original post. However, as I referred to the site's Top 100, I thought it was clear I was talking about PROG albums. As to the reasons, more than in a list of your own personal favourites, I am more interested in learning the reasons why you consider them essential for prog. Edit: I am very happy with the responses so far  . This shows how different our views of prog are, as well as what we consider to be essential. It has also been a way to give exposure to albums which very rarely feature in threads, and show that they are worth exploring.Edited by Ghost Rider - August 17 2007 at 11:12 |
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erik neuteboom
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 27 2005 Location: Netherlands Status: Offline Points: 7659 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 11:47 |
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My Prog Archives biography mentions this list, I have added some descriptions:
My 10 favourite prog rock albums are:
GENESIS "Wind and Wuthering" : wonderful interplay between Hackett and Banks, lush symphonic prog sound, varied and captivating compositions, very pivotal album
YES "Yessongs" : the band at their best with the best compositions and great solo work by Howe and Wakeman
GENESIS "Live" : unsurpassed blend of folk, rock and classical and huge tension between the dreamy parts with 12-string acoustic guitars/flute and the heavy parts with bombastic Hammond/Mellotron and guitar. Peter Gabriels adds an extra dimension with his unique vocals.
RUSH "Exit Stage Left" : Rush at their pinnacle, awesome interplay and Lifeson delivers lots of exciting soli, often biting and using a wide range of effect pedals.
TRIANA "El Patio" : the best Prog Andaluz album, it's so exciting to listen to that unique blend of flamenco and symphonic prog, olé!
SOLARIS "1990" : unique Holy Trinity of flute, guitar and keyboards, what a wonderful and captivating prog, from mellow to propulsive.
BACAMARTE "Depois Do Fim" : beautiful Portuguese female vocals and unique symphonic prog with moving guitar and lush and varied vintage keyboards.
PINK FLOYD "At Pompeii" : I have changed The Wall into this DVD, great and often very compelling blend of symphonic prog and psychedelia with splendid work by Gilmour on slide guitar and Wright with the Farfisa organ.
CAMEL "Mirage" : wonderful and varied album with so many great, often moving soli by Latimer and lush vintage keyboards.
BARCLAY JAMES HAVEST "Live" : a Tron-maniac's wet dream and what a wonderful, very melodic and often emotional symphonic prog.
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Tapfret
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin Joined: August 12 2007 Location: Bryant, Wa Status: Offline Points: 8619 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 12:53 |
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Why would I be disappointed? It's something I have not heard that I might enjoy. That is, if you are infact, correct.
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magnus
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 19 2006 Location: Norway Status: Offline Points: 865 |
Posted: August 17 2007 at 14:26 |
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Whoops! Fixed it now. I guess that's what happens when you write long posts, some words just mysteriously disappear!  |
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The scattered jigsaw of my redemption laid out before my eyes
Each piece as amorphous as the other - Each piece in its lack of shape a lie
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Your own personal Top 10: the reasons!
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DethMaiden wrote: