8 Best Prog Albums of All Time

verslibre wrote: BaldJean wrote: o.k., so here is my list: 1) Peter Hammill - The Fall of the House of Isher 2) Mother Gong - Fairy Tales 3) Nik Turner - Xitintoday 4) Van der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts 5) Hawkwind - Warrior on the Edge of Time 6) Edgar Froese - Epsilon in Malaysian Pale 7) Magma - Mekanik Destruktriw Kommandöh 8) Gong - You Albums in bold = BaldJean wrote: and here the 8 best live albums: 1) Van der Graaf Generator - Vital 2) Magma - Live (1975) 3) Hawkwind - Space Ritual 4) Guru Guru - Live (1978) 5) Colosseum - Live 6) Kraan - Live 7) Frumpy - Live 8) Traffic - On the Road   I'm one of the weird guys who likes Live Chronicles!   And that Colosseum is fantastic!

"Live Chronicles" is a great live album as well.

the albums of Nik Turner and Mother Gong are little known gems, as is the live album of Guru Guru. I will post links to each:

Nik Turner:


Mother Gong:


Guru Guru:



Edited by BaldJean - January 19 2017 at 05:02

The list of best progressive albums certainly would be different even between the musicians of same band , which I think, would be "in tune" or have a  approximately same  taste to play music together ! So, obviously, my list is also different. !!!! 

I love Pink Floyd but I think there are better and more prog-y albums that Pink Floyd made, and while Shine on you Crazy Diamond Parts 1-9 is amazing in WYWH Atom Heart Mother is awesome just for the title Suite.< id="_npfido" ="applicationpfido" height="0">

miamiscot wrote: If I do away with the "one per artist" rule, my list is pretty boring: 1) Yes Tales From Topographic Oceans 2) Genesis The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway 3) Yes Fragile 4) Yes Close To The Edge 5) Genesis Foxtrot 6) Pink Floyd Animals 7) ELP Brain Salad Surgery 8) Jethro Tull Thick As A Brick

You're right. It's not a surprising list but damn it's one awesome list of music to listen to!

socrates17 wrote: Pawn Hearts - VdGG Lizard - King Crimson Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh - Magma In Praise of Learning - Henry Cow In the Land of Gray and Pink - Caravan After Bathing at Baxters - Jefferson Airplane Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits - Aksak Maboul Pequeñas Anécdotas Sobre las Instituciones - Sui Generis Honorable mention:  Angel's Egg - Gong, Heresie - Univers Zero, Learn to Talk - Skeleton Crew, Lumpy Gravy - Frank Zappa, Måltid - Samla Mammas Manna, Voix du Surface - Nimal, Les Sillons De La Terre - Etron Fou Leloublan & Huono Parturi - Höyry-Kone

Edited by mechanicalflattery - March 01 2017 at 08:03

1. Yes - The Yes Album
2. Tool - Lateralus
3. Rush - Hemispheres
4. Spock's Beard - V
5. Yes - Relayer
6. Genesis - Foxtrot
7. Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
8. Muse - Black Holes & Revelations

Blacksword wrote: My top 8 (strange number..)

That's cos it's 8 of the best..  not the 8 best, yours, mine or anyone.

This thread certainly indicates improvisation on a 'theme' is a stronger idea than maintaining a consistent structure.

I'm not listing my personal favourites but rather a personal "the 8 biggest ones" list, which is a bit of a contradiction in terms, but anyway.
I think that the "big 6" should be represented, so I choose
Close to the Edge - Genesis Live (so much more exciting than any of their studio albums) - Ummagumma (the live album is "the essential Pink Floyd" to me, and the studio album demonstrates how weird prog can get) - Thick as a Brick - Tarkus - ??? (from King Crimson it's toughest for me to pick, Court, Lark's, Red, Discipline? All great, all super important. I still go for my personal favourite:) Discipline
So I am left with two wild cards and here I can't resist putting in two other favourite bands of mine nominating Tago Mago, and finally, OK, I have probably now put enough edgy experimental stuff in so I spare the listener of my selection from having to put up with Art Zoyd, Cardiacs, Talk Talk and rather go for something somewhat more conservative and prog-mainstream, OK not exactly Camel but... Pawn Hearts. (Doing this I wonder whether I should have nominated Spirit of Eden as one "substantially later than 70s" release, but no, I go largely with classics...)

1.Atom Heart Mother
2.Pawn Hearts
3.Tarkus
4.Illusions on a Double Dimple
5.Pictures At An Exhibition (Isao Tomita)
6.Interview
7.Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
8.The Quiet Zone / The Pleasure Dome

   These polls can be very useful. If I discover someone else shares the bulk of my opinions then I'll be very much inclined to audition the rest of his choices. So Thank You and please keep them coming!

They get a bit tiring after a while. At least this one breaks from consensus a bit especially since it includes Fragile and not CTTE. However, I can't take any list like this too seriously if it doesn't include CTTE.