Some stats about sub-genres and countries

Wow, amazing work! Very interesting! I was surprised to see such a drop off on Electronic.

Nice work very interesting stuff

Logan wrote: Interesting work. One thing I have found interesting about PA's top 250 list is the lack of Krautrock representation. It contrasts very much with rate your music's progressive rock (as genre) chart. See https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/all-time/g:progressive-rock/exc:live,archival/ In that list, Can has three albums in the top ten (in 7th, 8th and 9th positions). A Neu! is at 27, a Faust is at 30, an Amon Düül II is at 37. Another Neu! is at 48, another Faust is at 69, another Can is at 125 and another at 185, and another Amon Düül II is at 189. Ash Ra Tempel is at 213. Harmonia is at 214 (listed in PA under Electronic and at RYM as Krautrock and Electronic), Popol Vuh at 216, Cluster at 238, Amon Düül II again, this time at at 245.... Prog Archives (the reviewers and raters generally) has tended to favour the more melodic rock and Symphonic Prog types whereas my tastes are often rather more experimental and avant-garde than most. Some have said that the RYM crowd tends to be more hipster dominated. I actually have found it interesting how conservative many Proggers seem to be when it comes to their tastes (and in many cases, ideologically-- mind you, this is Prog Archives, not Woke Archives). ;)

miamiscot wrote: I love it. They keep jazz and metal out of it.

Very interesting stuff. Will need a little time to digest it. 

Logan wrote: Interesting work. One thing I have found interesting about PA's top 250 list is the lack of Krautrock representation. It contrasts very much with rate your music's progressive rock (as genre) chart. See https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/all-time/g:progressive-rock/exc:live,archival/ In that list, Can has three albums in the top ten (in 7th, 8th and 9th positions). A Neu! is at 27, a Faust is at 30, an Amon Düül II is at 37. Another Neu! is at 48, another Faust is at 69, another Can is at 125 and another at 185, and another Amon Düül II is at 189. Ash Ra Tempel is at 213. Harmonia is at 214 (listed in PA under Electronic and at RYM as Krautrock and Electronic), Popol Vuh at 216, Cluster at 238, Amon Düül II again, this time at at 245.... Prog Archives (the reviewers and raters generally) has tended to favour the more melodic rock and Symphonic Prog types whereas my tastes are often rather more experimental and avant-garde than most. Some have said that the RYM crowd tends to be more hipster dominated. I actually have found it interesting how conservative many Proggers seem to be when it comes to their tastes (and in many cases, ideologically-- mind you, this is Prog Archives, not Woke Archives). ;)

^ RYM has a late 60s and 70s bias when it comes to progressive rock. Understandable that the classics would rate higher on average. De-Loused in the Comatorium is at 39. In the general list, you get a lot of 60s to more modern ones that rank quite high.

^^ Hugues: I rely far more on RYM's charts and database as a research tool. The organisation, the search functions, the multi-tagging of albums and site architecture is generations beyond this one and I like far more than Prog. It is interesting at RYM that Prog or prog related music does do as well over there, and yes, there are ex members of both of those sites posting there as well as various of our current members (I have yet to contribute to that site, although I have been asked to make the move by certain people who were friends here and moved there).

Bands like Can or Neu!, and a lot of Krautrock, has appeal to more than people who are into Prog. Can has three spots in their top ten "progressive rock" chart, but for all genres its top rated, Tago Mago, is at 69 (still much higher than at PA and with 20,081 ratings compared to 683 ratings at PA).

There's a lot more ratings at RYM both for Prog and non-Prog albums.

Doing away with any genre tags in the search for a general search, Prog and related and music that lots of people here like is so well represented: Radiohead, King Crimson and Pink Floyd take the first three spots in the general music chart.

I would have thought that RYM would attract lots of noobs, but then the numbers balance it out. Even if you look at the forum here, though, it's the same "Prog 101" bands that get mentioned again and again and again and lots of us have been here for many years. I think PA has become more mainstream Prog in recent years (partially because so many left and it has become much less active with several people creating most of the new topics).

I find it a little sad that the top all category charts don't have a wider representation of music and that Krautrock doesn't seem to be more generally well-known at this site. I've come across quite a few in the forum whose tastes and experiences are seemingly very limited and very Prog-conservative indeed. People who are not really open-minded or open-eared. In fact there has been a pronounced elitist illiberalism coming from some (and for some reason Prog seems to attract many more into conspiracy-thinking, irrationalism and woo than I have experienced in other forums). Or maybe it's just that I have spent much more time at this forum. I should not generalise, that's not a good use of my scepticism.

nick_h_nz wrote: Logan wrote: Prog Archives (the reviewers and raters generally) has tended to favour the more melodic rock and Symphonic Prog types whereas my tastes are often rather more experimental and avant-garde than most. Some have said that the RYM crowd tends to be more hipster dominated. I actually have found it interesting how conservative many Proggers seem to be when it comes to their tastes (and in many cases, ideologically-- mind you, this is Prog Archives, not Woke Archives). ;) This is very definitely and noticeably true. ProgArchives has always come across to me as incredibly conservative, and often fitting the stereotype of the prog snob that can be the butt of so many jokes. I’m not sure why it is, but there does seem a preference towards the more melodic and symphonic among those who most often review and rate on PA. I wouldn’t say RYM is woke or full of hipsters, so much as it it accepting of far wider and broader strokes, and less inclined to pigeonhole the way this site does. (As has been pointed out many a time, the way it is bands and artist rather than albums that are put into genres becomes problematic whenever a band or artist changes the nature of their music - which is a hardly surprising direction for someone making progressive music. It’s in the name, you might think?) NB, I’m not criticising the site, nor suggesting it needs to change. It does what it does, and it does it well. But I think it’s realistic to recognise its (often self-imposed) limitations. I think PA is also more likely to be an echo chamber than RYM, so the conservatism is perhaps not so noticeable for many. (Again, not a criticism - just an observation.)

I too wouldn't apply the hipster label generally there, there's just much greater diversity and I think a lot of people there have much more eclectic, and yea, progressive, tastes. Someone (or some people) here made that claim about RYM in a discussion when I was comparing the sites (perhaps not altogether seriously).

I think that's a great point about PA more likely to act (or act more as) as an echo chamber than RYM due to the other site's diversity and numbers. It's not only a general music site of course, but a much bigger site than PA (which is far more of a niche site that attracts very like-minded people).

As for JRF and progressive metal at RYM. Well, they have a chart specifically for progressive metal and for jazz-fusion (but since they multi-tag and albums cross-over, one will find ones on their charts which have all of those labels). The highest rated album in the general charts with metal in the descriptors (heavy metal) is by Black Sabbath's Paranoid at number 17. Such a classic. In the Court of the Crimson King which is the highest ranked album in the Prog chart and the number two album overall for all categories does have jazz-rock as a secondary descriptor. ;)

Sorry, this is not a very well thought-out or put together post.

Edited by Logan - December 28 2020 at 17:52

Logan wrote: I rely far more on RYM's charts and database as a research tool. The organisation, the search functions, the multi-tagging of albums and site architecture is generations beyond this one and I like far more than Prog.

Logan wrote: ^^ Hugues: I rely far more on RYM's charts and database as a research tool.