Rank these bands according to influence

I was grouping the bands together - and even though Tortoise have a unique sound they are still influential.

Btw, Kansas are a 70's band. Oh and how do you know the newer symph bands aren't influenced by second and third wave symph bands? Why assume all of them only are inspired only by the older stuff. I know for a fact that many newer neo and symph bands are influenced by the Flower Kings. Heck there's even a double disc Flower Kings tribute cd out with newer prog bands paying tribute. Do any of your bands have a disc like that with prog bands paying tribute? Also, maybe I could say that the newer avant or left field bands are more influenced by the Residents, Captain Beefheart, Can, Neu, Faust, Henry Cow or whoever more than the newer "out there" bands. Unless you have gone around interviewing tons of bands you can't assume these things. Oh and yes I know Kraftwerk are an older band but I personally don't think they are all that influential in the prog scene(techno and synth rock yes but prog not so much). Let me know when we can just end this already.

Edited by Prog_Traveller - October 18 2014 at 21:05

King Crimson more influential than PF, Yes and Genesis? Uh, no.

Kraftwerk is one of the most influential bands in the entire history of recorded non classical/jazz music and not even bands like Nektar and Kansas can hope to approach their influence.  So to suggest that Translatlantic or Spock's Beard should be ranked higher in influence than Kraftwerk defies logic.  I would not claim, as Saperlipopette! did, that bands like Focus or Kansas had no influence of importance on other bands.  But it's a no brainer that Kraftwerk's influence exceeds those bands...easily.  Er, influencing people to rate bands on a prog website does not amount to influencing musicians to derive ideas from a particular band.  What's so groundbreaking about Kansas or Spock's Beard anyway vis-a-vis Kraftwerk?  And with orchestras getting too expensive even by the time they recorded their later albums, Renaissance was never going to be a major influence on other bands because that style demanded a climate in which labels were prepared to burn money on prog with scant returns.

Horizons wrote: Hey hey hey you can't edit your last response without letting me know! I let it end and you wanna bring it back to light?! How dare thee.  In all seriousness i've said everything i've wanted to make a point of, so oh well.  Here it is: I think that the bands you listed are less influential than the ones i've listed, in progressive music and its many incarnations. Oh well.

SteveG wrote: King Crimson and then everyone else.

Prog_Traveller wrote: rogerthat wrote: Kraftwerk is one of the most influential bands in the entire history of recorded non classical/jazz music and not even bands like Nektar and Kansas can hope to approach their influence.  So to suggest that Translatlantic or Spock's Beard should be ranked higher in influence than Kraftwerk defies logic.  I would not claim, as Saperlipopette! did, that bands like Focus or Kansas had no influence of importance on other bands.  But it's a no brainer that Kraftwerk's influence exceeds those bands...easily.  Er, influencing people to rate bands on a prog website does not amount to influencing musicians to derive ideas from a particular band.  What's so groundbreaking about Kansas or Spock's Beard anyway vis-a-vis Kraftwerk?  And with orchestras getting too expensive even by the time they recorded their later albums, Renaissance was never going to be a major influence on other bands because that style demanded a climate in which labels were prepared to burn money on prog with scant returns.     Well for one thing I was talking about prog circles but yeah ok Kraftwerk I get it but I still think there's a ton of bands more influential than them in prog circles including Kansas. To be honest I'd even put Tangerine Dream on the list before Kraftwerk. But no f-ing way is Tortoise more influential than SB, TFK or Kansas in PROG circles. That's just crazy talk.

I disagree.  Especially in prog, where there is no consensus and people let favouritism cloud their opinions on something fairly objective like influence, I prefer to listen for myself and judge whether the band brought something to the table that was later imitated or used for other new ideas from later bands.

1. Pink Floyd
2. IQ
3. Porcupine Tree
4. Van der Graaf Generator
5. Marillion
6. Dream Theater
7. Moody Blues
8. Anglagard
9. King Crimson