Digital Dream Door: Top 100 Progressive Rock Songs

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Before you
skip over this opening statement to look at the list (many of you probably have
already), know that none of this is set yet. Digitaldreamdoor.com had a spurt
of activity in the Prog section of the forum. But that has waned, so I turned
to you guys. I want this list to happen. I was left with ownership over the
list after the previous man grew tired of it (due to lack of interest), so I’m
doing my best to get this project done.
The
criteria are (only subject to Progressive Rock, not Rock in general) influence,
acclaim, musical impact, and technical uniqueness. The lattermost subject of
criteria is the least impacting (since it’s rather vague and the most
subjective topic in the first place).
There are
also some hidden factors. Album representation is one, such as avoiding putting
too many songs from one album. Similar concept for artists, not putting too
many songs by one band (like digitaldreamdoor’s metal list having 10+ Black
Sabbath songs). Concept albums were a tricky decision, along with highly
acclaimed albums with no clearly prominent track (i.e. excelling more than the
others in the criteria; e.g. The Snow Goose). So certain albums are represented
by a single track, while other albums, unfortunately, are left alone. They more
than likely belong in the greatest albums list though!
The other
hidden factor is subgenre representation/balance. Obviously 70’s symphonic
groups would dominate the list, but others deserve equal representation. So far
I have mostly neglected the Post-Rock and Math-Rock scenes. Some other Prog
Metal songs could be necessary additions, too..
Without
further ado..

The Top 100
Progressive Rock Songs
1. The
Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson
2. Close to
the Edge - Yes
3. Supper’s
Ready - Genesis
4. Thick as
a Brick - Jethro Tull
5. 21^st
Century Schizoid Man - King Crimson
6. Echoes -
Pink Floyd
7. 2112 -
Rush
8. Karn
Evil 9 - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
9. Firth of
Fifth - Genesis
10. Shine
On You Crazy Diamond - Pink Floyd
11. Peaches
en Regalia - Frank Zappa
12. Tarkus
- Emerson, Lake & Palmer
13. A
Plague of Lighthouse Keepers - Van der Graaf Generator
14. Meeting
of the Spirits - Mahavishnu Orchestra
15. Nights
in White Satin - Moody Blues
16. The
Gates of Delirium - Yes
17.
Metropolis - Dream Theater
18. Tubular
Bells - Mike Oldfield
19. YYZ -
Rush
20.
Autobahn - Kraftwerk
21. Dancing
with the Moonlit Knight - Genesis
22. Time -
Pink Floyd
23.
Starless - King Crimson
24. Script
for a Jester’s Tear - Marillion
25. Nine
Feet Underground - Caravan
26. Yours
Is No Disgrace - Yes
27. Knots -
Gentle Giant
28. L’Evoluzione
- Banco del Mutuo Soccorso
29. Song of
Scheherazade - Renaissance
30. Larks’
Tongues in Aspic - King Crimson
31. Phaedra
- Tangerine Dream
32. Heart
of the Sunrise - Yes
33. Lady
Fantasy - Camel
34. Appena
Un Po’ - Premiata Forneria Marconi
35. La
Villa Strangiato - Rush
36. In a
Silent Way - Miles Davis
37. A Louse
Is Not a Home - Peter Hammill
38. Epitaph
- King Crimson
39. Mëkanïk Kömmandöh - Magma
40. Roundabout
- Yes
41. Magnum
Opus - Kansas
42. Birds
of Fire - Mahavishnu Orchestra
43. Dogs -
Pink Floyd
44. The
Sleepwalkers - Van der Graaf Generator
45. The
Musical Box - Genesis
46. Phallus
Dei - Amon Düül II
47. A
Change of Seasons - Dream Theater
48. Watcher
of the Skies - Genesis
49. Moon in
June - Soft Machine
50. In a
Glass House - Gentle Giant
51. Shadow
of the Hierophant - Steve Hackett
52. Stratus
- Billy Cobham
53. Pull Me
Under - Dream Theater
54. Zarathustra
- Museo Rosenbach
55. Lemmings
- Van der Graaf Generator
56. Jordrök
- Änglagård
57. Halleluhwah
- Can
58. Arriving
Somewhere but Not Here - Porcupine Tree
59. Histoires
Sans Paroles - Harmonium
60. Hocus
Pocus - Focus
61. Lateralus
- Tool
62. Master
Builder - Gong
63. Kobaïa
- Magma
64. Xanadu
- Rush
65. Duel of
the Jester and the Tyrant - Return to Forever
66. New
World - Strawbs
67. Lunar
Sea - Camel
68. Hallogallo
- Neu!
69. Assault
and Battery/The Golden Void - Hawkwind
70. And You
and I - Yes
71. Poseidon’s
Creation - Eloy
72. Cygnus
X-1 Book II: Hemispheres - Rush
73. One
More Red Nightmare - King Crimson
74. Widow’s
Peak - IQ
75. Blackwater
Park - Opeth
76. Stardust
We Are - Flower Kings
77. Ommadawn
- Mike Oldfield
78. Hair
Pie: Bake 1 & 2 - Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band
79. Mumps -
Hatfield and the North
80. Harvest
of Souls - IQ
81. Jurassic
Shift - Ozric Tentacles
82. Suite
Sister Mary - Queensrÿche
83.
Blackest Eyes - Porcupine Tree
84. Drip
Drip - Comus
85. The
Hanging Tree - Arena
86. Beyond
the Pale - Pain of Salvation
87. July
Morning - Uriah Heep
88. Flight
Over Rio - Al Di Meola
89. Son et
Lumiere/Inertiatic ESP - Mars Volta
90. The
Light - Spock’s Beard
91. Opening
Move - Gryphon
92. Sea
Song - Robert Wyatt
93. All of
the Above - Transatlantic
94. The
Rainbow - Talk Talk
95. Man-Erg
- Van der Graaf Generator
96. Amygdala
- Henry Cow
97. Impressioni
Di Settembre - Premiata Forneria Marconi
98. Último
Entardecer - Bacamarte
99. Ronde -
Univers Zero
100. Krautrock
- Faust 

Obviously
some people won’t be satisfied with the list or specific things about it.
That’s why I’ve an on-hold list of songs that barely missed the cut or weren’t
considered heavily. Well, this is a big collaborative effort. If anyone would
like to argue for any of these songs’ inclusion, be my guest.

Notable
songs/albums/artists left out (or “on hold”):
Anathema
Area
Ash Ra
Tempel
Ayreon
“Canto
Nomade Per Un Prigioneiro Politico” - Banco del Mutuo Soccorso
Brian Eno
Bubu
“Nimrodel/The
Procession/The White Rider” - Camel
Camel’s The
Snow Goose
“Oh Yeah” -
Can
Cardiacs
Death
Devin
Townsend
Discipline
“Home” -
Dream Theater
“Six
Degrees of Inner Turbulence” - Dream Theater
Edge of
Sanity
Egg
ELP’s debut
album
“Toccata” -
Emerson, Lake, & Palmer
“Inca Roads”
- Frank Zappa
“Cinema
Show” - Genesis
Genesis’s The
Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
“Return of
the Giant Hogweed” - Genesis
Gentle
Giant’s Acquiring the Taste
“The Advent
of Panurge” - Gentle Giant
Goblin
Godspeed
You! Black Emperor
“Flying
Teapot” - Gong
“You Never
Blow Yr Trip Forever” - Gong
Herbie
Hancock
Jethro
Tull’s Aqualung
Kayo Dot
Khan’s
Space Shanty
King Crimson’s
Discipline
“I Talk to
the Wind” - King Crimson
King
Crimson’s In the Wake of Poseidon
“Moonchild”
- King Crimson
“Red” -
King Crimson
Klaus
Schulze
Le Orme
Los Jaivas
Marillion’s
Brave
“Forgotten
Sons” - Marillion
“The Great
Escape” - Marillion
Marillion’s
Misplaced Childhood
Maudlin of
the Well
National
Health
Neal Morse
“Song for
the Bearded Lady” - Nucleus
Opeth’s
Still Life
Pain of
Salvation’s The Perfect Element
Peter
Gabriel
“Brain
Damage/Eclipse” - Pink Floyd
“Pigs
(Three Different Ones)” - Pink Floyd
“Sheep” -
Pink Floyd
“Us and
Them” - Pink Floyd
“Welcome to
the Machine” - Pink Floyd
Popol Vuh
“Anesthetize”
- Porcupine Tree
Procol
Harum
Psychotic
Waltz
Riverside
“Cygnus
X-1” - Rush
“Tom
Sawyer” - Rush
SBB
Sigur Rós
Steve
Hackett’s Spectral Mornings
Steve Hillage
Supertramp
Symphony X
“Djed” -
Tortoise
Traffic
Transatlantic’s
Bridge Across Forever
“The
Undercover Man” - Van der Graaf Generator
Vovoid
“Awaken” -
Yes
“The
Revealing Science of God” - Yes
“Starship
Trooper” - Yes

Dang. Tons
of great music. It’s a shame there’s only 100 spots on this list.
Other
reasonable suggestions are welcome. Not proto- or prog-related artists. The guy
working on this list before me had put The Who and The Beatles songs in the top
30. Progressive Rock is broad enough that we don’t need to include any
precursors or non-Prog artists that did something that could qualify as
“Progressive music”.

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic
JCDenton Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Groupie Joined: June 17 2013 Location: Yes Status: Offline Points: 54	Posted: July 05 2014 at 20:39
	Before you skip over this opening statement to look at the list (many of you probably have already), know that none of this is set yet. Digitaldreamdoor.com had a spurt of activity in the Prog section of the forum. But that has waned, so I turned to you guys. I want this list to happen. I was left with ownership over the list after the previous man grew tired of it (due to lack of interest), so I’m doing my best to get this project done. The criteria are (only subject to Progressive Rock, not Rock in general) influence, acclaim, musical impact, and technical uniqueness. The lattermost subject of criteria is the least impacting (since it’s rather vague and the most subjective topic in the first place). There are also some hidden factors. Album representation is one, such as avoiding putting too many songs from one album. Similar concept for artists, not putting too many songs by one band (like digitaldreamdoor’s metal list having 10+ Black Sabbath songs). Concept albums were a tricky decision, along with highly acclaimed albums with no clearly prominent track (i.e. excelling more than the others in the criteria; e.g. The Snow Goose). So certain albums are represented by a single track, while other albums, unfortunately, are left alone. They more than likely belong in the greatest albums list though! The other hidden factor is subgenre representation/balance. Obviously 70’s symphonic groups would dominate the list, but others deserve equal representation. So far I have mostly neglected the Post-Rock and Math-Rock scenes. Some other Prog Metal songs could be necessary additions, too.. Without further ado.. The Top 100 Progressive Rock Songs 1. The Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson 2. Close to the Edge - Yes 3. Supper’s Ready - Genesis 4. Thick as a Brick - Jethro Tull 5. 21^st Century Schizoid Man - King Crimson 6. Echoes - Pink Floyd 7. 2112 - Rush 8. Karn Evil 9 - Emerson, Lake & Palmer 9. Firth of Fifth - Genesis 10. Shine On You Crazy Diamond - Pink Floyd 11. Peaches en Regalia - Frank Zappa 12. Tarkus - Emerson, Lake & Palmer 13. A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers - Van der Graaf Generator 14. Meeting of the Spirits - Mahavishnu Orchestra 15. Nights in White Satin - Moody Blues 16. The Gates of Delirium - Yes 17. Metropolis - Dream Theater 18. Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield 19. YYZ - Rush 20. Autobahn - Kraftwerk 21. Dancing with the Moonlit Knight - Genesis 22. Time - Pink Floyd 23. Starless - King Crimson 24. Script for a Jester’s Tear - Marillion 25. Nine Feet Underground - Caravan 26. Yours Is No Disgrace - Yes 27. Knots - Gentle Giant 28. L’Evoluzione - Banco del Mutuo Soccorso 29. Song of Scheherazade - Renaissance 30. Larks’ Tongues in Aspic - King Crimson 31. Phaedra - Tangerine Dream 32. Heart of the Sunrise - Yes 33. Lady Fantasy - Camel 34. Appena Un Po’ - Premiata Forneria Marconi 35. La Villa Strangiato - Rush 36. In a Silent Way - Miles Davis 37. A Louse Is Not a Home - Peter Hammill 38. Epitaph - King Crimson 39. Mëkanïk Kömmandöh - Magma 40. Roundabout - Yes 41. Magnum Opus - Kansas 42. Birds of Fire - Mahavishnu Orchestra 43. Dogs - Pink Floyd 44. The Sleepwalkers - Van der Graaf Generator 45. The Musical Box - Genesis 46. Phallus Dei - Amon Düül II 47. A Change of Seasons - Dream Theater 48. Watcher of the Skies - Genesis 49. Moon in June - Soft Machine 50. In a Glass House - Gentle Giant 51. Shadow of the Hierophant - Steve Hackett 52. Stratus - Billy Cobham 53. Pull Me Under - Dream Theater 54. Zarathustra - Museo Rosenbach 55. Lemmings - Van der Graaf Generator 56. Jordrök - Änglagård 57. Halleluhwah - Can 58. Arriving Somewhere but Not Here - Porcupine Tree 59. Histoires Sans Paroles - Harmonium 60. Hocus Pocus - Focus 61. Lateralus - Tool 62. Master Builder - Gong 63. Kobaïa - Magma 64. Xanadu - Rush 65. Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant - Return to Forever 66. New World - Strawbs 67. Lunar Sea - Camel 68. Hallogallo - Neu! 69. Assault and Battery/The Golden Void - Hawkwind 70. And You and I - Yes 71. Poseidon’s Creation - Eloy 72. Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres - Rush 73. One More Red Nightmare - King Crimson 74. Widow’s Peak - IQ 75. Blackwater Park - Opeth 76. Stardust We Are - Flower Kings 77. Ommadawn - Mike Oldfield 78. Hair Pie: Bake 1 & 2 - Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band 79. Mumps - Hatfield and the North 80. Harvest of Souls - IQ 81. Jurassic Shift - Ozric Tentacles 82. Suite Sister Mary - Queensrÿche 83. Blackest Eyes - Porcupine Tree 84. Drip Drip - Comus 85. The Hanging Tree - Arena 86. Beyond the Pale - Pain of Salvation 87. July Morning - Uriah Heep 88. Flight Over Rio - Al Di Meola 89. Son et Lumiere/Inertiatic ESP - Mars Volta 90. The Light - Spock’s Beard 91. Opening Move - Gryphon 92. Sea Song - Robert Wyatt 93. All of the Above - Transatlantic 94. The Rainbow - Talk Talk 95. Man-Erg - Van der Graaf Generator 96. Amygdala - Henry Cow 97. Impressioni Di Settembre - Premiata Forneria Marconi 98. Último Entardecer - Bacamarte 99. Ronde - Univers Zero 100. Krautrock - Faust Obviously some people won’t be satisfied with the list or specific things about it. That’s why I’ve an on-hold list of songs that barely missed the cut or weren’t considered heavily. Well, this is a big collaborative effort. If anyone would like to argue for any of these songs’ inclusion, be my guest. Notable songs/albums/artists left out (or “on hold”): Anathema Area Ash Ra Tempel Ayreon “Canto Nomade Per Un Prigioneiro Politico” - Banco del Mutuo Soccorso Brian Eno Bubu “Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider” - Camel Camel’s The Snow Goose “Oh Yeah” - Can Cardiacs Death Devin Townsend Discipline “Home” - Dream Theater “Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence” - Dream Theater Edge of Sanity Egg ELP’s debut album “Toccata” - Emerson, Lake, & Palmer “Inca Roads” - Frank Zappa “Cinema Show” - Genesis Genesis’s The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway “Return of the Giant Hogweed” - Genesis Gentle Giant’s Acquiring the Taste “The Advent of Panurge” - Gentle Giant Goblin Godspeed You! Black Emperor “Flying Teapot” - Gong “You Never Blow Yr Trip Forever” - Gong Herbie Hancock Jethro Tull’s Aqualung Kayo Dot Khan’s Space Shanty King Crimson’s Discipline “I Talk to the Wind” - King Crimson King Crimson’s In the Wake of Poseidon “Moonchild” - King Crimson “Red” - King Crimson Klaus Schulze Le Orme Los Jaivas Marillion’s Brave “Forgotten Sons” - Marillion “The Great Escape” - Marillion Marillion’s Misplaced Childhood Maudlin of the Well National Health Neal Morse “Song for the Bearded Lady” - Nucleus Opeth’s Still Life Pain of Salvation’s The Perfect Element Peter Gabriel “Brain Damage/Eclipse” - Pink Floyd “Pigs (Three Different Ones)” - Pink Floyd “Sheep” - Pink Floyd “Us and Them” - Pink Floyd “Welcome to the Machine” - Pink Floyd Popol Vuh “Anesthetize” - Porcupine Tree Procol Harum Psychotic Waltz Riverside “Cygnus X-1” - Rush “Tom Sawyer” - Rush SBB Sigur Rós Steve Hackett’s Spectral Mornings Steve Hillage Supertramp Symphony X “Djed” - Tortoise Traffic Transatlantic’s Bridge Across Forever “The Undercover Man” - Van der Graaf Generator Vovoid “Awaken” - Yes “The Revealing Science of God” - Yes “Starship Trooper” - Yes Dang. Tons of great music. It’s a shame there’s only 100 spots on this list. Other reasonable suggestions are welcome. Not proto- or prog-related artists. The guy working on this list before me had put The Who and The Beatles songs in the top 30. Progressive Rock is broad enough that we don’t need to include any precursors or non-Prog artists that did something that could qualify as “Progressive music”.
	"We have grown, but there is still much to be done. Many that live in darkness that must be shown the way, for it is the dawning of a new day."