100 Greatest Progressive Rock Albums
by Deckiller 
This list is strictly a ranking of the greatest Progressive Rock and Progressive Metal albums. I stuck to Prog Rock/Metal in its purest sense, and didn't include related genres such as:
- Space Rock (so no Pink Floyd or Hawkwind)
- Protoprog (so no Beatles, Moody Blues, the Nice, etc.)
- Alternative Metal/"Art Metal" (so no Primus, Fates Warning, King's X, Queensryche, etc.)
- Art Rock/Progressive Pop (so no Peter Gabriel, Anathema, Talk Talk, Queen, or specific releases like 90125, Lightbulb Sun, or To the Bone)
- Fusion (no Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Brand X, Bruford, Planet X/Derek Sherinian, etc.)
- Symphonic/Power/Neoclassical Metal (this is not purely prog rock; sorry Nightwish fans)
The emphasis is on complete, cohesive progressive rock albums. For instance, I prefer Hand. Cannot Erase. over The Raven that Refused to Sing, but the latter is more of an overall representation of the genre than the former. The same goes for Fragile and Close to the Edge.
I tried to include some albums by lesser known artists as a way to suggest new music.
- Chart updated: 02/09/2019 20:15
- (Created: 02/09/2019 13:01).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
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The Holy Trinity of classic prog rock is pretty much set in stone. This album created the genre by synthesizing the jazzy, space rock tendencies of Pink Floyd with the majestic arrangements of The Moody Blues, the heaviness of Cream, and the musicianship of the Canterbury scene. Progressive Rock, Jazz Fusion, and Heavy Metal owe a lot to this album.
[First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1969
Appears in:
Rank Score:
28,429
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The Holy Trinity of classic prog rock is pretty much set in stone. Playful yet elegant at times, Genesis were a little quirkier, eclectic, dynamic, and folksy than their counterparts in Yes, though not quite as symphonic or melodious.
[First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,557
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The Holy Trinity of classic prog rock is pretty much set in stone. Yes had a bigger, more bombastic sound than Genesis, who were a bit more delicate. Most of this comes from Yes' emphasis on melodic vocals and beautiful, highly produced harmonies. Yes took as many cues from The Beach Boys and the Beatles as they did King Crimson and classical music. As Bruford said, they were an artsy pop group: this is not a bad thing.
[First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,897
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The seminal Progressive Metal release.
[First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,040
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It's the most underrated and underappreciated album on this list. Once again, King Crimson draws the blueprint for about a half dozen subgenres of music with a mammoth release that takes a few cutting-edge musical ideas and runs with them. 1969's ITCOTCK forged a new genre out of The Moody Blues and Pink Floyd; 1981's Discipline forged a new genre out of Talking Heads, David Bowie, and The Police. It could very well feature the best musicianship and the most creative songwriting on any rock album, regardless of subgenre. It loses a few points for not being purely "progressive rock" in terms of how this particular band invented the genre in 1969.
[First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,298
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Comments:
6. (=)
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A great prog rock statement for the late seventies. Rush (along with King Crimson) was the bridge between Progressive Rock and Progressive Metal, and this album perfected the formula.
[First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1978
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,712
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A latter-day throwback to the glory days of Progressive Rock ended up superior to most of it, thanks to the musical genius at the helm.
[First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
2013
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,780
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See above. The story behind this album - tragic, real, and uncomfortably relatable to modern life - puts The Wall to shame.
[First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
2015
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,960
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Arguably the best Genesis album. I put Selling England ahead of it simply because it's so close in quality to this one, yet came three years prior. Three years was an eternity in the 70s music scene.
[First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1976
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,838
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Loses points for the short little solo compositions, which tend to break up the flow. Otherwise it's just as strong conceptually as Close to the Edge.
[First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1971
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,215
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Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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100 Greatest Progressive Rock Albums composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 2 | 2% | |
| 1970s | 53 | 53% | |
| 1980s | 8 | 8% | |
| 1990s | 11 | 11% | |
| 2000s | 17 | 17% | |
| 2010s | 9 | 9% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| King Crimson | 7 | 7% | |
| Dream Theater | 7 | 7% | |
| Porcupine Tree | 6 | 6% | |
| Genesis | 6 | 6% | |
| Kansas | 5 | 5% | |
| Yes | 5 | 5% | |
| Rush | 5 | 5% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
58 | 58% | |
| |
24 | 24% | |
 |
6 | 6% | |
 |
5 | 5% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
100 Greatest Progressive Rock Albums chart changes
| New entries |
|---|
| Addicted! by The Devin Townsend Project |
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| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s |  IlMala | 1970s decade chart | 2022 |  |
100 Greatest Progressive Rock Albums similarity to your chart(s)
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Other custom charts by Deckiller
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 Greatest Progressive Rock Albums | Deckiller | Custom chart | 2019 | |
| Greatest Synthpop/New Wave Albums | Deckiller | Custom chart | 2021 | |
| Genesis Albums Ranked | Deckiller | Custom chart | 2021 | |
| Rush Albums Ranked | Deckiller | Custom chart | 2021 | |
| King Crimson Albums Ranked | Deckiller | Custom chart | 2021 | |
100 Greatest Progressive Rock Albums ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing all 2 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 10/12/2021 12:22 | eldaddio | 21 | 88/100 |
| ! | 12/02/2020 05:53 | leniad | 673 | 85/100 |
100 Greatest Progressive Rock Albums favourites
100 Greatest Progressive Rock Albums comments
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From eldaddio 10/12/2021 12:22 | #274899
Excellent list! I especially like the well defined scope of the albums.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From leniad 12/02/2020 05:54 | #261786
Love the albums
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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