I copied directly and some of those links don't work anymore.

Rush is an excellent gateway prog band: digestible, high-powered, youthful in style.   In fact I've always felt if you're not into them by about twenty-five you probably never will be.  

Rush is an excellent first prog band. They are also one of the very best

If you're new to prog, don't start with just one band, regardless of who they are.

Spend a few hours online trying out all kinds of things, then when you have several names that you feel like exploring in more detail, go ahead.

The 70s vocal style of Geddy definitely stopped most of my school friends getting into Rush as I loaned out my newly bought copy of 'All the World's a Stage' and pushed the band's profile like a zealot! I honestly think if he had gone down the register earlier than the 80s, Rush would have been huge, even more so than their 'biggest cult band in the World' status they subsequently got. I've known people who have just switched off on Rush over the years on that first listen alone, which is such a shame.

I was aware the vocal style was different, and at times even I had to wince (such as the end of Cygnus X-1), but at some point, it just never ever registered that there was an issue. It became an integral part of the band's make-up. I might not like the death growl of many metal bands (and still am not comfortable with the earlier works of Opeth or even the likes of Meshuggah) even though friends say they never think of the vocals as extreme, only another instrumental texture to the music.

I know with hindsight that Rush have been categorised as prog over the years, but I honestly can't remember them being called prog at the time. They were just a heavy rock band - a more intellectual one than others around them who didn't follow the traditional boy meets girl lyric thread or the macho stance - and who had more light and shade to their compositions.

I think Rush would work well as a gateway prog band for younger listeners coming to it from a heavy rock or even a metal background. In fact many prog-metal bands would serve that purpose too (Threshold, Townsend or, dare I mention them....Dream Theater). However, I think if you wanted to introduce prog to someone with broader tastes, then a 'best of' selection of the 'Big Six' would serve even better. Then they could move to the more challenging bands or albums we discuss on the forum. Just a few thoughts....

As a 35+ year fan of Rush, I wouldn't recommend them to start off with, depending on what era of the band we're talking about. I say that because Rush's music, in Geddy's own words, is weird. It's not always the easiest to digest. I had many friends in high school who simply didn't get Rush. Try playing Caress of Steel for a newb. Most likely it's not going to go over too well. It took me quite a while to get into The Necromancer and Fountain of Lamneth. It was some of the oddest stuff I'd ever heard at that time. Even Cygnus X-1, both parts, are going to likely challenge many prog newbs. Like Squonk says above, Geddy's vocals were often a bone of contention for listeners. I always loved his high pitch screams, even at the end of Cygnus X-1. It's part of what Early Rush is. I never liked the fact that he completely abandoned that style of singing. 

Edited by Jeffro - April 06 2018 at 08:24

I wouldn't recommend starting with Genesis, KC, Zappa, Henry Cow, Return To Forever, Or Emerson Lake and Palmer either.  Hey wait, that leaves only Tull and Pink Floyd.  Ok, so be it!

I think if you want to start exploring prog you may want to start with some stuff that's more accessible.

Frenetic Zetetic wrote: You've been a RUSH fan longer than I've been alive!

In my experience, it's best to introduce people to prog through highly singular and creative bands. The people I've exposed to traditional symphonic prog i.e. Yes, Genesis, ELP (based on the assumption that these classic bands would not alienate them as much as some other stuff) have all developed an automatic dismissal of anything remotely close to prog rock territory. Not everyone I've suggested to check out King Crimson have become fanatics but in every case their interest for rock music was greatly enhanced and sometimes even born. I think Pink Floyd is the only truly safe choice here and even then...