Odd-numbered years better for prog?

I've found that lots of my favourite albums do come from odd numbered years, but I think it's just a coincidence. There are plenty of great albums from even numbered years too.

There is one factor that could give rise to an apparent odd-even distribution of albums, and that is the tendency for popular artists to release albums at two-year intervals (Dream Theater, Riverside, Pain Of Salvation, Phideaux, Ayreon and Porcupine Tree have fallen into this biennial periodicity in recent years and not all of them hit odd-year steps) - this is easily explained by how long it takes to go through the "write-record-release-promote-tour" cycle once a band has become established (less established bands have less intensive tour regimes) - this is further supported by those "odd-year" bands releasing "even-year" live albums (and vice versa).

So basically, if your favourite artists hit the big-time on an odd-numbered year then they will continue to release studio albums on odd year periods.

Edited by Dean - March 16 2013 at 03:38

Dean wrote: Even numbered: Close To The Edge Relayer Thick As A Brick Heavy Horses Trespass Foxtrot Lamb Lies Down On Broadway Trick Of The Tail H To He Who Am The Only One Least We Can DO Is Wave To Each Other Still Life Red Lizard Octopus You Crime Of The Century Demons And Wizards 2112 Hemispheres Permanent Waves Moon Madness Mirage Spirit Of Eden Per Un Amico Ys Storia Di Un Minuto L'isola di neinte Darwin! Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso Operation Mindcrime Space Shanty Soft Machine 1 & III Leftoverture Peter Gabriel 3 Phaedra In The Region Of The Summer Stars Red Queen To Gryphon Three Emerson, Lake and Palmer Trillogy Moving Waves Saucerful Of Secrets Atom Heart Mother Utopia  bang goes that theory.

In all honesty, I think we as humans are destined to look for patterns - even where there is no need or justification for it. It's the same way a thing like reading works. Once learned, you'll never come across a word or sentence, that you don't try to read. In that way we are slaves of the mind.

The current Top 100 albums on PA have 1972 albums in 1st & 2nd place.  Plus another 40 even-years albums further down the list.  42% vs 58% isn't a sufficiently large gap to matter.  33% vs 66% would be that point, I reckon.