When were you infected by Prog?

No defining moment sadly. It was a gradual process.

I know, so boring.
Though it did really kick in through college mainly.

Walking between first and second period, listening to Yes' Roundabout on my ipod. I had no idea rock musicians could play like that

My best friend, up to the age of 16, was a guy called Troy Donockley, who went on to have a career in music, as a multi-instrumentalist, and has guested with the likes of Mostly Autumn, Nightwish, and was in a band called Iona. He has a solo career also, and has produced many acts.  Anyway, he introduced me to Mike Oldfield when I was about 12, and the first album I heard was "Ommadawn", which blew me away. Then he introduced to the works of Rick Wakeman, and Pink Floyd, and by then I was a confirmed ProgDog. I am now 46, and so is Troy, and we keep in touch now and then, even though it's 30 years since we last met, and I still listen to "Ommadawn" on a regular basis.

I've had the virus since I was born 

I remember it was 1982. Until then I only listenened to Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Sweet and some german 'Schlager' (I don't know what it is in English). My seven year old brother accidentally dropped a cassette tape in the room I was playing. On the cover was handwritten 'Genesis Three Sides Live' and I thought it was something biblical. I was a very curious child then, ecpecially when it is about music, so I put the cassette in the cassette player... and was immediately blown away. I had to see this band. So my brother took me to my first rock concert. The opener for Genesis at that time I did not know at all. Some 'King Crimson', and I was not very impressed. The music was too strange. I only remember a funny bald guy playing a strange looking bass, who made photos all the time from everyone. Later, Genesis started a for me unknown song with acoustic guitars and vocals and it seemed, as if a story was about to be told. When it came to ' A flower?' I sat on my brother's shoulders because I couldn't see a thing. My brother had an aching back after that, but I got the full blow of the Supper's Ready virus...

the first time i heard tom swayer

hahaha the part about king crimson was funny. but neat story man sounds great

Early last summer.  I had been listening to singles by bands like Rush, Yes, and Primus, but then I discovered Dream Theater.

Mid 70's- Tubular bells, Mirage, Focus 3, 6 wives of Henry 8th, all belonging to my older brother; Saturday afternoon (then friday night) rock show, Getting into working with local bands and eventually working with Hawkwind, Wishbone Ash, Uriah heep etc (as a roadie). All went quiet for a few years but with an understanding & supportive (2nd!) wife plus my kids getting into playing in bands and getting curious about this stuff, the last ten years have been a great prog comeback!!

I climbed a Prog ladder with a succession of defining moments that have made me the near total prog-head that I am today. 

Bottom rung: My friend introduced me to the music of Rush when I was about 12-13 years old (my favorite band prior to that was Men at Work--there was about a 6m period I listened to almost nothing else). Got hooked quickly to Moving Pictures, 2112, and (to some degree) Power Windows which came out shortly after I started listening to Rush. I Went through another ~6 month period where I listened to almost nothing else but the 3 mentioned albums and Grace Under Pressure.

2nd rung: Yes. Early on I just listened to 90125 which was very popular at the time. I and all my friends absolutely loved it. When I picked up a used "Classic Yes" CD, I remember not really liking any song besides "Wonderous Stories" at first, but then something clicked whilst I was listening to "Heart of the Sunrise" on a rural dirt road in Idaho, and I played it over and over and over.

3rd rung: was my expanded appreciation of Rush early in my college days, especially Hemispheres. Never had I heard anything like it. I remember taking a music appreciation course and thinking that Hemispheres was a type of timeless piece that ought to be taught in such a course along with the masterful classical and jazz works that we were being taught about. I never mentioned it to the teacher, but in hindsight, perhaps I should have (??)

Then a rather long hiatus (5-6 years) of expanded listening to classical, folk, and jazz, (only a little rock, including Rush and Yes).

4th rung: My near simultaneous discovery that I loved Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and the Moody Blues "Days of Future Past". I Didn't pay much attention to any other albums of these bands (at least the radio plays didn't impress me much), but these albums stood out for me.

5th rung: Expanded Yes appreciation, especially Close to the Edge and Time and a Word. I renewed old mono-music habits, and listened to almost nothing but Yes for ~4 months.

6th rung: My excessive Yes listening led to a discovery of "Progressive" as a class of music, mainly through progressive, "jam band" , and "psychadelic" stations online. Prior to this time, I only had a vague notion of "Prog".  I just knew that bands like Yes and Rush seemed to have a higher level of artistry than most bands that set them apart in my mind (sometimes I called it "art rock--which it is, no?").

7th rung: My discovery (via online radio) of Renaissance. If there was any one exceptionally poignant moment for me on this ladder, this was IT!  I believe I was playing online Scrabble with headphones on, when a curious orchestral work began, and shortly into the song, this amazing female voice cut straight through my attention and sent chills down my spine! (I'm speaking of Annie Haslam singing Mother Russia). I felt awash with a feeling of elation and enlightenment--not only was this sophisticated instrumental music, but accompanying it was a magnificent female voice in the midst of a medium that is, by-and-large, dominated by male vocals.  I immediately knew I wanted to find out more about the band.

8th rung: My research of Renaissance and some other bands led to the discovery of this site (Progarchives.com), which has made me realize that I've been a proghead-at-heart since I was a teenager. More importantly, I finally have the motivation and tools to expand my interest in the music beyond just a handful of bands. If you've read through my ladder succession, you probably see that in the past I was in the habit of latching onto one or two (more popular) bands at a time, and didn't really explore much more--but no longer. Using information from this site, I am now in the process of collecting the top rated prog albums (got about a third of them so far). Haven't written any reviews yet, but I'll get around to it eventually. ... And finally, among many other things, I understand that Genesis is not just an 80's pop-rock band that I didn't care for (SEBTP, Foxtrot, etc. are now among my favorites--seems very overdue).        Thank you Progarchives!

So I suppose, the 9th rung for me will be the discovery of a great current band (or bands) that stand(s) out from the rest. And there are A LOT of bands. Once I get the top rated albums collected (as well as a few more that I think SHOULD be there), I'll be looking for the diamonds in the rough of newer music. This is my newest hobby. So, if you have any suggestions of bands that I should sample, drop me a line.  (Obviously I have a bias toward symphonic prog, but I want to look into other sub-genres--esp. prog-folk.)  Thanks,

Zwordser