10 Albums For Someone New

Noooooooooooooooooooo! Don't scare them away please!


I agree with those who mentioned that newbies should hear more accesible albums first. They may represent the genre well but scaring someone of doesn't help.

I mean, if you wanted to get someone into clasical music you woudn't give her Bruckner, Strawinsky or atonal music first. Starting her on Bolero and Carmina Burana would make more sense.

Similarly some prog-related stuff or 'easy albums' should be a good starting point for a future prog-lover.  It's also important to pay attention to their tastes, of course (rock or folk?).

Good transition albums for the old stuff are IMO:

Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
Supertramp - Crime Of The Century
Moody Blues - This Is The Moody Blues
Deep Purple - Shades Of Deep Purple
Jethro Tull - Aqualung (anything but Thick... or Passion Play really)
Alan Parson's Project - Tales Of Mystery And Imagination
Mike Oldfield - Five Miles Out
Queen - Queen II
Rush - Moving Pictures
Fairport Convention - What We Did On Our Holidays
Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic


For newer stuff I'd think:

Green Carnation - Acoustic Verses (or anything with short songs)
The Decemberists - Hazards or Crane Wife
Dead Can Dance - Spiritchaser
Radiohead - Ok Computer
Gazpacho - Bravo
Motorpsycho and Jaga Jazzist Horns - In The Fishtank
Phidaux - Doomsday Afternoon
Neal Morse - ?
Agalloch - The Mantle
Therion - Lemuria/Sirius B
(for those ok with metal)


We are going to convert them all!

Raff wrote: b_olariu wrote: First, if as you said above Mars Volta is the future of prog, I must stop listen to prog and begin to colect stamps. Why everybody praise this band so much like Porcupine, two bands very overrated in my opinion, there are hundreds of new bands that sound mileas away good than this two. Second here is my top ten for you not in this order necesarly   As usual, 'overrated' here means 'I don't like it'.... Personally, I find those Prog-Metal bands you listen to not only anything but progressive, but extremely boring and repetitive as well, but don't go posting this every time I get the opportunity. You don't like TMV? Fine - I happen to love them, but I realize they are not everyone's cup of tea. However, I can see the difference between something I don't like and something that is not progressive.

01. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
02. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
03. ELP -Trilogy
04. Rush - Permanent Waves
05. Supertramp - Cryme of the Century
06. Jethro Tull - Aqualung
07. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
08. Kansas - Leftoverture
09. Yes - Fragile
10. Dream Theater - Scenes From A Memory - Metropolis Part II

I need to post more...  someone has stolen my crown of annoyance and irratation...

Brave - Marillion

micky wrote: The Switch Blade wrote: If a friend tells you that he's interested in progressive music and wants ten albums to get introduced to the genre, what would you give them? 01. Pink Floyd - "Dark Side of the Moon" 02. Yes - "Close to the Edge" 03. King Crimson - "In the Court of the Crimson King" 04. Rush - "Moving Pictures" 05. Supertramp - "Breakfast in America" 06. Jethro Tull - "Thick as a Brick" 07. Porcupine Tree - "In Absentia" 08. Dream Theater - "Scenes From A Memory Metropolis Part II" 09. The Mars Volta - "De-Loused in the Comatorium" 10. Opeth - "Blackwater Park" interesting.... but too anglo-centric... PT has no place there..  what is 'progressive' about them.  We can kick the decayed corpse of DT and ask just what is progressive about them... they have been making the same album for 10 years hahha.  Complex music doesn't make it prog.. much less progressive. I'd spread the wealth... if they are into 'progressive music'  where is the vast wealth of music from Germany. again though... progressive v. prog... a shame the two don't mean the same.   They should...  but someone had to genrify  prog and make complex synonymous with progressive.   What bunch of sh*t that is hahha. I'll take a stab of course.... 1. Yes - Tales from Topographic Oceans ( all bases are covered.. and  the shear scope of the album has never been approached.  Bands are too worried about pleasing fans.. and selling albums see DT) 2. ELP - Pictures at an Exhibition  (debatable if it was a successful attempt to merge classical with rock music.  But it is the one to start with.... ) 3. Tangerine Dream - Phaedra (teach our young prog newbie early on that you don't have to be English.. or rock the house ... to be prog.. or progressive) 4.  Radiohead - OK Computer ( modern prog...  which was progessive... prog.. and just as importantly.. not ripping off what others did best 30 years ago) 5. Magma - Kobaia ( you can't have a top 10 albums for a prog newbie without including Magma... probably the most unique band in prog and once they hear them.. they'll be hooked. .and as I posted in my review.. THIS is the album for the newbie) 6. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound (as much as I hate giving this band props.. this album was one song short of absolute perfection.. and a prog newbie probably has little clue that Genesis existed before stinking up the 80's) 7. Mars Volta - Deloused in the Crematorium ( I do not care for the album... but agree with Raff and others... this group is the future of prog.  Prog without a doubt...  completely progressive and forging a progressive sound.. again.. not ripping off others) 8. Osanna - Palepoli ( call me a homer... but I'd bet everything I own.. that if Osanna were from England.. all the blinkered fans who equate prog with England would be sh*tting their pants over the album. It's that good.. that prog.. that progressive.. and it doesn't hurt that it rocks harder than any of the stuff in Prog Metal) 9. Opeth - Ghost Reveries ( a prog metal album so good.. even those who have made an internet career throwing sh*t at prog-metal ... love it to death. ) 10.  Can -Tago Mago  (make a top 10 list without Can...  and you should be demoted to prog newbie yourself. Not my favorite from them.. but this one is the most essential.  The Krautrock starter)

micky wrote: The Switch Blade wrote: If a friend tells you that he's interested in progressive music and wants ten albums to get introduced to the genre, what would you give them? 01. Pink Floyd - "Dark Side of the Moon" 02. Yes - "Close to the Edge" 03. King Crimson - "In the Court of the Crimson King" 04. Rush - "Moving Pictures" 05. Supertramp - "Breakfast in America" 06. Jethro Tull - "Thick as a Brick" 07. Porcupine Tree - "In Absentia" 08. Dream Theater - "Scenes From A Memory Metropolis Part II" 09. The Mars Volta - "De-Loused in the Comatorium" 10. Opeth - "Blackwater Park" interesting.... but too anglo-centric... PT has no place there..  what is 'progressive' about them.  We can kick the decayed corpse of DT and ask just what is progressive about them... they have been making the same album for 10 years hahha.  Complex music doesn't make it prog.. much less progressive. I'd spread the wealth... if they are into 'progressive music'  where is the vast wealth of music from Germany. again though... progressive v. prog... a shame the two don't mean the same.   They should...  but someone had to genrify  prog and make complex synonymous with progressive.   What bunch of sh*t that is hahha. I'll take a stab of course.... 1. Yes - Tales from Topographic Oceans ( all bases are covered.. and  the shear scope of the album has never been approached.  Bands are too worried about pleasing fans.. and selling albums see DT) 2. ELP - Pictures at an Exhibition  (debatable if it was a successful attempt to merge classical with rock music.  But it is the one to start with.... ) 3. Tangerine Dream - Phaedra (teach our young prog newbie early on that you don't have to be English.. or rock the house ... to be prog.. or progressive) 4.  Radiohead - OK Computer ( modern prog...  which was progessive... prog.. and just as importantly.. not ripping off what others did best 30 years ago) 5. Magma - Kobaia ( you can't have a top 10 albums for a prog newbie without including Magma... probably the most unique band in prog and once they hear them.. they'll be hooked. .and as I posted in my review.. THIS is the album for the newbie) 6. Genesis - Selling England by the Pound (as much as I hate giving this band props.. this album was one song short of absolute perfection.. and a prog newbie probably has little clue that Genesis existed before stinking up the 80's) 7. Mars Volta - Deloused in the Crematorium ( I do not care for the album... but agree with Raff and others... this group is the future of prog.  Prog without a doubt...  completely progressive and forging a progressive sound.. again.. not ripping off others) 8. Osanna - Palepoli ( call me a homer... but I'd bet everything I own.. that if Osanna were from England.. all the blinkered fans who equate prog with England would be sh*tting their pants over the album. It's that good.. that prog.. that progressive.. and it doesn't hurt that it rocks harder than any of the stuff in Prog Metal) 9. Opeth - Ghost Reveries ( a prog metal album so good.. even those who have made an internet career throwing sh*t at prog-metal ... love it to death. ) 10.  Can -Tago Mago  (make a top 10 list without Can...  and you should be demoted to prog newbie yourself. Not my favorite from them.. but this one is the most essential.  The Krautrock starter)

I couldn't agree more ! 


Edited by inrainbows - September 20 2009 at 16:49

Images and Words- Dream Theater
The Human Equation- Ayreon
Colors- Between the Buried and me
Foxtrot- Genesis
In a Flesh Aquarium- Unexpect
A Gentleman's Hurricane- Mind's Eye
Sola Scriptura- Neal Morse
Remedy Lane- Porcupine Tree
Second Life Syndrome- Riverside
Bridge Across Forever- Transatlantic

I think that covers a nice range of prog, maybe add in a little LTE to cement the instrumental side

If the idea is not to be too challenging then we may steer clear of Magma, Gentle Giant and Comus.