Favourite bands of all time?

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 dougmcauliffe wrote:

I will try to round it down to 10. My list isn't very unique of anything but oh well
1: Genesis
They are really just the gold standard, the run from Trespass to Duke is just fantastic and Foxtrot is my favorite album of all time
2: King Crimson
I think they offer an amazing variety and really only have 1 or 2 duds in the discography, this one took me a while but they are the most progressive band in history to me. Also starless is the best song ever made
3: Camel
You know the ending of suppers ready where it climaxes at the new Jerusalem part? With Camel, I feel like they hit that same climax but several times over the course of an album. They just have such soaring highs and I love the sound in general, They struggled a bit in the 80s but were able to reinvent themselves in the 90s and 2000s to release some of their best work and I truly like almost their entire discography. Their music just resonates with me. Song within a song for example is simply just out of this world.
4: Yes
The thing with yes is that there is quite a lot of junk to sift through in their later discography but they are probably the single most influential band on the genre, from The Yes Album to Drama its just amazing album after amazing album.
5: Pink Floyd
I think Pink Floyd is amazing, but if I had the choice between discographies, id chose the above artists first. Animals, Dark Side, Meddle and Wish you were Here are all simply masterpieces, I do struggle with the Wall and absolutely despise Momentary Lapse but they have a generally solid discography
6: Kansas
This was my introduction to prog, I decided to turn on the greatest hits album while painting a fence and you wouldn't believe the shock when I heard Song For America, The Pinnacle and Closet Chronicles. Simply a very unique and influential prog band with an amazing first 5 albums. Post Point of Know Return its quite spotty with some garbage and some OK stuff, Somewhere to Elsewhere was quite nice though.
7: Spock's Beard
I just love this band, the first time I heard the Light it truly opened a whole new avenue of prog for me (Modern Prog) However I think V, Snow Live, X and Brief Nocturnes are their best work with imo V being their crowned achievement. The instrumentation is always extremely tight no matter what era.. Though they lost some personality when Neal Left, they adapted into a more mature sound.
8: King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizzard
I still cant wait for these guys to be on the website, honestly, i'm yet to hear anything by them I don't like (though their latest fishing for fishies isn't my favorite) Flying Microtonal Banana, Polygondwanaland, Im in your mind fuzz, Nonagon Infinity and Murder of the Universe are just truly among the most unique prog albums to come out in the last decade with excellent song writing and instrumentation all around
9: Jethro Tull
I've recently gotten into these guys and love the sound, but in my opinion they have probably 7 or 8 very solid 4 star albums with maybe one 5 star album and thats Thick as a Brick. Whereas the above artists in my opinion have at least two 5 star albums, but thats besides the point. These guys just rock and I can really listen to them at any time. Songs from the wood, TAAB and Stand up are my favorites personally.

10: Focus

I just love this bands sound, sure they peaked early after Hamburger Concerto. But still their work on moving waves and focus 3 are just brilliant with Hamburger Concerto just being their peak. But focus 3 is my favorite ;)

honorable mentions

marillion
dream theater
nektar
transatlantic
elp
supertramp
wobbler (probably moving into the top 10)
Van Der Graff (Probably moving into the top 10)
Rush

Outside of Prog:

Deep Purple
Boston
Steely Dan
Blue Oyster Cult
Chicago
Led Zeppelin
The Who
The Eagles