Rank these bands according to influence

Although popularity is by no means the be all end all of my enjoyment of the music but I do find it interesting especially considering how things can change over time. So I decided to make up a list of about 30 prog bands(give or take)and let you guys rank them in order of over all popularity, importance and influence. You can make two lists if you want(one for over all popularity and one for importance as a prog band and in the prog community). To keep everyone happy you can add or subtract up to five bands if you wish and make your own list(but you don't have to). Here is the list(in no order).

Edited by Prog_Traveller - October 16 2014 at 13:00

LOL! I suppose you could add bands like Supertramp, Focus, PFM & The Soft Machine to make it a round thirty..but ranking them in any order is pretty much an impossible task imho, since they were/are all hugely popular, important and influential in one way or another.

Edited by yam yam - October 16 2014 at 13:11

Genesis (most influential prog group ever, no doubt in my mind)

Oh, yeah, I have the time.

King Crimson and then everyone else.

Prog_Traveller wrote: Is it just me or does YES take a back seat to Genesis and KC according to some of you? YES weren't even mentioned in one small batch of bands listed by one poster. Is it possible that YES's influence and even popularity has diminished somewhat over the years?

It's you.

Just kidding, if you go chronologically, KC and Genesis were first as to indentifying their sound as prog while Yes were still making folk rock albums and dreaming of being the British Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Prog_Traveller wrote: Also I kind of think that if you put The Mars Volta on the list then you also have to add Radiohead, Muse and Tool. Does anyone else agree with me there?  In other words I kind of feel like they are a fringe band in some ways. Like the others I just mentioned much of their fanbase wasn't even made up of prog fans. Still I can understand their inclusion and their importance.

A tough one as MV, RH and Muse sound like bands that went before. Tool to me is totally a reactive post grundge sound with cool videos, but that's as far as I'll go with them.

^Ooh, snap!

Horizons wrote: Prog_Traveller wrote: Is it just me or does YES take a back seat to Genesis and KC according to some of you? YES weren't even mentioned in one small batch of bands listed by one poster. Is it possible that YES's influence and even popularity has diminished somewhat over the years? When you spend 25 years smearing your name, yea, that tends to happen.  Plus it is just because those two bands are better anyways.

micky wrote: richardh wrote:   I am going to group them into four divisions and I've added a couple of bands (ELoy and The Mars Volta) to make the leagues an even number. All bands are ranked equal in their leagues so Yes is not meant to be top and GG not bottom. The leagues represent importance in my mind as well as the bands that I consider to be influential and popular.   YES Genesis Jethro Tull ELP Pink Floyd Rush King Crimson Gentle Giant snipping anything past the 1st division.  I like the grouping, but would definitely re-order it and shorten it to 5 that really were influential. ELP - in the dictionation under Prog , for better and especially for worst, is ELP.  The most influential (not most popular) prog group ever.  No doubter.  Prog showcased that the keys were not simply a supporting insturment but could lead. Who really did that better than ELP. Yes-  longevity, pretty much like ELP covers what Prog is all about. Stellar musicianship that overcomes silly hippy-drippy lyrics, often stupid and painful hahah, muso's thinking they are philosophers. Rush - the influence on the 2nd generation is obviously immense. Genesis - really for the influence they had in Italy which was a leading catalyst in the formation of the single most vibrant prog scene of any single nation.  Thank Genesis for that,   as much as it pains me to admit it.  I will never understand the appeal of this group pre-pop.  Floyd - pretty much created space-rock and a massive influence on the German scene. the rest..  respected, influential to degrees. but those 5 are head and shoulders above the rest IMO.