Am I reading this correctly?

This thread spiraled out into ridiculousness.

I don't see why any of it matters. I chose to give up my prog reviewer status. I also chose to stop writing reviews specifically for this site. I still DO write 'em, but that's for my own personal use. I've written nearly 2,000 different album reviews in a folder I have saved on my computer. It acts as a sort of diary-with-a-purpose. That way I can vent to myself without bothering anyone with some obnoxious diary blog. As well I can write with any style I please - no profanity or 'good taste' filters. No genre or class regulations. That way I can feel as if my personal thoughts and feelings serve some practical purpose to myself, even within the context of a larger project.

^Actually, I only wrote what I was interested in writing about at that time (A blend of Metallica, Savatage, Queensryche, Queen, Pink Floyd, Ayreon, Rainbow, Iron Maiden, maudlin of the Well, Devin Townsend, Mastodon, Atheist, Opeth, Renaissance, Comus, Jethro Tull, Styx, ELP and Genesis if I recall correctly). I've never been subjected to unfair treatment because of the albums I reviewed or did not review. 

progbethyname wrote: ^ I think the PA's top 100 may have a bit of a biased rating system because it's seems generational. That list to me looks like it was collaborated by a bunch of baby boomers.

How can a list of opinions be biased? If the classic prog albums are ranked high, it's because people love them. Baby boomers were around when Prog was in full swing, so they are naturally going to have an affinity for bands of that era. Also, everything made after 1989 is garbage, so there's that.

dtguitarfan wrote: Saperlipopette! wrote: I'd say a  top 100 list based on ratings given by a large community is the opposite of pretentious Oh really?  What about the fact that some people's opinions matter more than others?

I love Big Big Train and I'll agree THE UNDERFALL YARD is probably the best English symphonic prog album of the last 35(!)years. I haven't heard their latest release, but I follow the band on Facebook, where someone recently suggested that all friends of the band post reviews on Prog Archives! I suppose the call was heard, and its result is the ranking you're complaining about.

Objectively speaking, the whole thing doesn't make sense - I'll agree to that! ELP are no special favourites of mine, but whenever I play TARKUS, TRILOGY or BRAIN SALAD SURGERY, I thoroughly enjoy them (give or take a few tracks), and in my eyes they NEARLY have the same classic status as FOXTROT or CTTE. The main problem with ELP is that they never really touch the heart strings. No matter what Greg Lake is singing about, he always sounds like a pompous prat...

Saperlipopette! wrote: Tapfret wrote: Progarchive lists, like most other popularity lists, are best ignored. Popularity is a disease and top 100 lists are pretentious. Especially those that are overly populated with non-pretentious bands to distract from their true pretentious nature. Its nothing more than pretentious subterfuge. I blame hipsters and libertarians.  I'd say a  top 100 list based on ratings given by a large community is the opposite of pretentious. And while its not even close to looking like my own hot 100, its the best list of the sort I know of. Proglists I've seen made by magazines/journalists & other sites are less daring and a lot more anglofile, and for that reason I'm quite impressed by PA's members.  While I do agree to some extent that "popularity is a disease", I think the front page list largely shows a list that is made by individuals quite indifferent to bands and artists relative popularity.

Have to agree. It's a subjective point of view because music means a lot to a ton of people, but in different ways. I know that there are some staples with in the prog sphere, but you can't say one is really better than the other. This is such a generational thing where I know just by looking at the PA 100 it's rated by BABYBOOMERS for sure!!

Oh, and on the subject of Marmite...  tried this?

I don't agree with a lot of the top 100, but it is a good well-rounded view of the genre. I don't like that much 70's prog (incoming hate), but I know how much that music has created all the stuff I do like, and I would never make a list as good as that.

altaeria wrote: Am I reading this correctly? According to the ProgArchives "TOP PROG ALBUMS" (of all-time)  list, ANGLAGARD has TWO (!!)  albums ranked in the top 13 ... yet  ELP barely squeezed one album in at  # 75  ?? Is this like one of those goofy Rolling Stone Magazine lists? Oh-- and has anybody told BIG BIG TRAIN that they apparently recorded the #20 greatest Prog album of all-time ??? I'm sure the band and their 167 fans worldwide will be totally psyched !!!