Top of the Progs I: The Classic Era
by 
Robert Anton Wilson 
OK, major refitting. This chart will become 3 charts. This one which will be the classic prog era. The next one will cover what came after 1989, band-wise not album-wise. 1989 being chosen as cut-off year because that is the year Marillion released their first album without Fish (hence Marillion will be cut in half). My other option had been 1991 as the release year of the first Porcupine Tree album but 89 it is. The third chart will be for lesser known but highly deserving prog bands/albums.
The current classic prog era will be categorized as follows:
1-20: The top album from my Top 20 prog bands of the classic to neo-prog era (no duplication)
21-69: The other albums from my Top 20 bands deserving mentions
71-86: Other top prog bands and albums that I, personally, never had time to get into properly.
87-97: Crossover prog, from pop, jazz, classical
98-100: the Kébec Konnektion
- Chart updated: 02/26/2024 23:15
- (Created: 11/09/2012 01:55).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 11 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top of the Progs I: The Classic Era has an average rating of 92 out of 100 (from 22 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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Aphrodite`s Child stands here as the prog spearhead for Vangelis. A keyboard/synthesizer genius, a multi-genre composer known mostly for (a) his brio as a prog artist; (b) is brio as a modern classical artist; or (c) is brio as a soundtrack artist.
666 is a concept album, retelling in words and music of the Bible`s book of revelations. It was a little too much for its time and for the band. the band split up over it and it took years before it finally was released. Vangelis would go on to a very fruitful and diverse musical career, some of the highlights of which are included on this chart in positions 61 to 64. [First added to this chart: 11/08/2012]
666 is a concept album, retelling in words and music of the Bible`s book of revelations. It was a little too much for its time and for the band. the band split up over it and it took years before it finally was released. Vangelis would go on to a very fruitful and diverse musical career, some of the highlights of which are included on this chart in positions 61 to 64. [First added to this chart: 11/08/2012]
Year of Release:
1972
Appears in:
Rank Score:
659
Rank in 1972:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Vangelis left the band Aphrodite’s Child who were as big as The Beatles in Greece and the offers were numerous and required consideration. This recording is an unsanctioned release of sessions he did with some musicians attempting to see if they could gel and form a band. There is a second record called “Hypothesis” of this session. From the recording you can hear that the players did obviously gel but for whatever reason nothing came out of it. This was meant to remain on the cutting floor forever but somebody leaked it – it is still a mystery who and how. Enjoy these 2 albums, just don't tell Vangelis you do.
[First added to this chart: 11/08/2012]
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Eventually Vangelis decided to go the solo way and since it was the early 70s and he was a virtuoso pianist and synthesizer genius, he started his career mostly with prog albums. Heaven and Hell is a concept album with one side being a musical representation of Heaven and the other side of hell. It includes less experimentation than the other Vangelis’ prog albums. With an angelic voal performance of Jon Anderson of Yes, the closer of the Heaven section, "So Long Ago, So Clear" is shear over the top beauty.
[First added to this chart: 11/17/2012]
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After a series of quite popular prog album (Spiral, Albedo 0.39) and acclaimed soundtracks (Antartica, Chariots of Fire), Vangelis became more and more of a modern classical composer, his albums Mask and Soil Festivities mark the era when he became less prog and more classical in his solo albums.
[First added to this chart: 01/25/2013]
Total albums: 4. Page 1 of 1
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Top of the Progs I: The Classic Era composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 6 | 6% | |
| 1970s | 68 | 68% | |
| 1980s | 19 | 19% | |
| 1990s | 2 | 2% | |
| 2000s | 5 | 5% | |
| 2010s | 0 | 0% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| King Crimson | 8 | 8% | |
| Rush | 5 | 5% | |
| Pink Floyd | 5 | 5% | |
| Yes | 4 | 4% | |
| Genesis | 4 | 4% | |
| Marillion | 4 | 4% | |
| Van Der Graaf Generator | 4 | 4% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
67 | 67% | |
| |
8 | 8% | |
| |
8 | 8% | |
 |
6 | 6% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top of the Progs I: The Classic Era chart changes
| New entries |
|---|
| For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night by Caravan |
| Hatfield And The North by Hatfield And The North |
| Once Again by Barclay James Harvest |
| Leavers |
|---|
| In The Land Of Grey And Pink by Caravan |
| The Rotter's Club by Hatfield And The North |
| Time Honoured Ghosts by Barclay James Harvest |
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Top of the Progs I: The Classic Era 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.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 22 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/15/2025 17:44 | Johnnyo | 2,549 | 80/100 |
| ! | 01/28/2025 04:24 |  Repo | 558 | 100/100 |
| ! | 01/27/2025 16:08 | C0NB9NN | 20 | 85/100 |
| ! | 01/27/2019 16:36 |  Graeme2 | 213 | 94/100 |
| ! | 02/10/2018 00:54 |  Onater | 458 | 90/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some charts can have several thousand ratings)
This chart is rated in the top 1% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 92.0/100, a mean average of 94.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 94.8/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 6.5.
Top of the Progs I: The Classic Era favourites
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Top of the Progs I: The Classic Era comments
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From Johnnyo 09/15/2025 17:44 | #310928
Great chart.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From C0NB9NN 01/27/2025 16:12 | #307269
Wow. Just wow. I’m not a big prog-rock fan, but I have always wanted to get into it, and just never knew where to start. I’m going to be using this to a very large extent, as you really seem to be knowledgeable and know exactly what you’re talking about. I love the way this chart is set up, it reads more like a review than a chart. Thanks for this.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Graeme2 01/27/2019 16:38 | #230834
Graeme2 01/27/2019 16:38 | #230834
Great notes. Fragile my choice for Yes too.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
ExTeaSea 08/26/2018 16:59 | #220126
ExTeaSea 08/26/2018 16:59 | #220126
Hell of a chart. Gotta respect a true prog fan. Love how much Van Der Graff Generator there is plus Peter Hammil! I really need to check his stuff out.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From ruquito124 01/30/2018 22:55 | #206875
Great Chart. Most of the choices are obvious but a lot of them are very clever.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
indieshins 01/02/2018 21:38 | #204444
indieshins 01/02/2018 21:38 | #204444
This is cool! I keep trying to enjoy prog and with the exception of a few classics, like Dark Side, I've found it difficult. Maybe this chart will change my mind! Thanks!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From manurock 01/02/2018 12:21 | #204417
Fantastic. As a prog-rock fan, I still have lots to check in here.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
ForegroundNoise 01/02/2018 11:59 | #204414
ForegroundNoise 01/02/2018 11:59 | #204414
Such a cool idea!! Don't know half as much about prog as you (other than the heavyweights) but would be interested to see the crossover (if any) in your next chart between neo-prog and post-rock (my favourite musical movement). :)
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From Gionzi 11/20/2015 19:55 | #153230
Very nice chart, but for me it's very missing italian prog, one of the best movements for this genre, bands like Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and Area and other PFM works too.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 
ffudnebbuh 06/22/2013 11:59 | #79594
ffudnebbuh 06/22/2013 11:59 | #79594
what he said, except I would have put "close to the edge" before "Fragile"
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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