Is the first Prog album usually the best?

I would say sometimes. Definitely not always. But some example of  it are Relayer, Selling England By The Pound, Warrior On The Edge Of Time. Very much depends on the album though because these are great albums anyway.

Pink Floyd is a good example, they have a few albums i would consider as good as the other but WYWH is my favorite?
I think it's because i heard it first! Does that make sense?

sagichim wrote: HolyMoly wrote: I've found that a lot of times I'll get into a new band via their current album, love it, and follow the band moving forward - but then get disappointed by each subsequent release.  Almost like the band peaks just as I'm getting into them, and then goes downhill as I continue to get excited and then disappointed with each new release. Happened to me with Dream Theater - Scenes...

It is an interesting topic, and makes one think of creativity vs. Psychology. I had the same reaction with Scenes From a Memory - I discovered DT right after that album, it was my favorite and nothing could ever quite match up to it. But I've found with them, and with all my music, albums go up and down over time on my scale - some albums I loved on first listen, then over time I've discovered they didn't interest me much any more, while others I didn't like right away but later became my favorite. Some bands do seem to use up their store of creativity on the first album, and some bands just keep getting better and better, but I find I can never decide one way or other without giving myself time to digest and re-listen.

I think it's mostly to do with it being your first encounter with the band.  I find it interesting that bands like Yes or Genesis have a generation gap between some of their fans because of the fact that many of them discovered the band at different phases of their careers.

Genesis: no

I do have that when there is a movie made of some book: I often like the movie better if I saw that one before I read the book, and I often like the book better if I've read it before I saw the movie.

With prog: it doesn't work that way with me.

My first Genesis albums were Duke and Live, and I like Selling England and And Then There Were Three better.
My first Yes album was The Yes Album, and now I like Going For The One best
My first Caravan album was For Girls, and I like Cunning Stunts and Grey & Pink best
My first Floyd albums was WYWH, but I like DSOTM better.
My first KC album was ITCOTCK: okay, there it happened, but that's because I started out with the album that got the best critical reception.

It's true though that a first album of a band which is to become a band that you love, that it often makes a strong impression.

Any time you encounter something new for the first time, the novelty is going to have a certain emotional impact. Hence the famous sophomore slump. Without the newness, something else has to pull the listener in.

Not with great bands with a deep catalog but possibly with 'good' or very good bands.  Certainly happened to me with Camel.

Let's see:

Not 'best' but maybe a higher opinion than one might otherwise have had. A case in point for me is that the first Yes album I heard was Tormato and I still have a soft spot for it. However, I can put myself in the shoes of a fan who had been following them from the early days and see how their opinion might differ from mine!