100 Greatest Progressive Rock Albums by Deckiller Unknown

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.

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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:
3,231
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Buy album United States
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It doesn't epitomize the genre like Hemispheres, but it's still a vital release. Like Discipline, it rendered prog's sensibilities into bite-sized chunks. Prog was becoming leaner but no less creative. [First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,122
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Buy album United States
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A great retelling of 70s prog through the prism of 80s sheen. [First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,759
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Comments:
30. (=)
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank Score:
842
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Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1985
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,992
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Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,243
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Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,200
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Comments:
Buy album United States
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[First added to this chart: 02/09/2019]
Year of Release:
1989
Appears in:
Rank Score:
198
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Total albums: 8. Page 1 of 1

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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%
Rush 5 5%
Kansas 5 5%
Yes 5 5%
Show all
Country Albums %


United Kingdom 58 58%
United States 24 24%
Canada 6 6%
Sweden 5 5%
Netherlands 3 3%
Mixed Nationality 2 2%
France 1 1%
Show all

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100 Greatest Progressive Rock Albums ratings

Average Rating: 
88/100 (from 2 votes)
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95/100
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10/12/2021 12:22 eldaddio  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2188/100
 
100/100
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12/02/2020 05:53 leniad  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 68685/100

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Rating:  
95/100
From 10/12/2021 12:22
Excellent list! I especially like the well defined scope of the albums.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 12/02/2020 05:54
Love the albums
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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Best Artists of 1964
1. The Beatles
2. Bob Dylan
3. Stan Getz & João Gilberto
4. Eric Dolphy
5. The Ronettes
6. The Rolling Stones
7. Sam Cooke
8. The Supremes
9. Herbie Hancock
10. The Kinks
11. Lee Morgan
12. The Beach Boys
13. The Animals
14. Charles Mingus
15. Muddy Waters
16. Horace Silver
17. Horace Silver Quintet
18. John Coltrane
19. Jerry Lee Lewis
20. Simon & Garfunkel
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