Digital Dream Door: Top 100 Progressive Rock Songs
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Top 10s and lists
Forum Description: List all your favourites here
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=98846
Printed Date: April 24 2024 at 07:09
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Topic: Digital Dream Door: Top 100 Progressive Rock Songs
Posted By: JCDenton
Subject: Digital Dream Door: Top 100 Progressive Rock Songs
Date Posted: July 05 2014 at 20:39
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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
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”):
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." |
Replies:
Posted By: Dayvenkirq
Date Posted: July 05 2014 at 21:35
| I don't bother with those lists. I hate comparing artists and their works. What is the point of this practice after all? People will agree, people will disagree. Every person makes a list for himself. It's all just good music. If you want a merit-based list, grouping tracks in tiers might work, but then again that "apples and oranges" concept kicks in. |
Posted By: Xonty
Date Posted: July 06 2014 at 08:30
Great list actually! Very similar to my tastes, and the first few odder songs I've thought of suggesting are already up there  (Sea Song, Appena Un Po', Histoires Sans Paroles). Something like "Proclamation" deserves a place on the list - very intricate and certainly progressive. I'll see if I can think of any more
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Posted By: Mind_Drive
Date Posted: July 06 2014 at 09:13
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nice! i´m happy to see DT´s a change of seasons as well as impressioni di settembre by PFM on the list! but for now i can´t contribute anything to the list.. sun is shining ;) ------------- It's just a ride... <3 |
Posted By: JCDenton
Date Posted: July 06 2014 at 22:16
Thank you! I've thought with such a thorough discography, Gentle Giant could have more than 2 songs on this list. They deserve it, IMO. Only we'd have to boot something else off. Hmm.....------------- "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." |
Xonty wrote:Posted By: Prog_Traveller
Date Posted: July 07 2014 at 00:43
| Interesting. At some point I am planning on making a bunch of mixed cds containing the best prog tracks of all time on it. Of course I have my own ideas but it's good to see a list like this to give me some ideas and possibly some songs to add to my list. However, many of the songs that I have in mind are already on your list. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: July 07 2014 at 01:39
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I've skimmed the list and the substitutes and it looks good. A few suggestions Coloseum - Valentyne Suite ELP - Trilogy ELP - Pictures At An Exhibition Big Big Train - The First Re-breather Par Lindh Project - The Cathedral Neal Morse - The Door Kansas - Song For America Aphrodite's Child - All The Seats Were Occupied Magenta - Pride Gentle Giant - Freehand PFM - Out Of The Roundabout* *or any number of PFM tracks |
Posted By: JCDenton
Date Posted: July 07 2014 at 13:31
I'm gonna hope that means I've done an at least fairly thorough job. 
Great ideas! The Coloseum one and ELP's "Pictures at an Exhibition" especially stuck out to me. Also Par Lindh in the big 90's revival could be a key pick I'd overlooked. "All the Seats" is unique and by a not so well-known but revolutionary group, could take a lower spot... Thanks for all the input so far!  I have another thought. Do you all think there are any tunes that maybe SHOULDN'T be on the list that are? One other sort of hidden factor I had in mind was the fact that some tracks were revolutionary in a similar way to another song. "The Court" and "Epitaph" did about the same for Prog. "Court" is generally the more acclaimed and recognized track, so I gave it a higher spot while "Epitaph" lost several points. The guy working on the list before me thought "Epitaph" should be a top ten pick. Three In the Court tunes in the top ten is just annoying if you ask me. I personally think its current placement is still giving it enough credit.------------- "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." |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: July 07 2014 at 14:23
| ^ Epitaph although a very beautiful track was still stuck a little bit in that sixties anti war hippy thing while Schizoid Man and In The Court were totally revolutionary and more 'progressive' so I think you have this right in your mind. |
Posted By: Guldbamsen
Date Posted: July 07 2014 at 14:57
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This is very much based around the English speaking world, with a few exceptions, so here are a few suggestions of my own: Far East Family Band - Parallel World Shub-Niggurath - Incipit Tragaedia AREA - Vodka Cola Embryo - King Insano Aphrodite's Child - Four Horsemen Los Jaivas - La Poderosa Muerte SBB - Odejscie Supersister - Pudding and Gisteren (Music for Ballet)
------------- “The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” - Douglas Adams |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: July 08 2014 at 01:05
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Kayak - Merlin Kayak tend to be overlooked as not that cutting edge but Merlin is one of the best prog tracks with orchestra I've heard. I've also just noticed the glaring omission of Rick Wakeman from that list. Any number of his solo tracks could be included but i would suggest one or two should be in there from this short list Catherine Parr Ann Of Cleves Catherine Howard Judas Iscariot Merlin The Magician
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Posted By: JCDenton
Date Posted: July 08 2014 at 16:27
I knew the list had been lacking in some non-anglophonic groups. Thanks for this! The Los Jaivas tune was on my on-hold list. The main reason I guess I excluded was I already included the major Prog Folk groups, or at least thought I had. There's another mention of Aphrodite's, so I'll look into include something from 666…. Far East is another good group I overlooked. Considering all your mentions..
The reason for Wakeman's exclusion was for the fact that he's more so known for his collective works on albums rather than individual songs. But then again in my first post I did say one track by an artist could be considered to represent an album/artist as a whole. Thanks everyone for taking time to post on this!
The Prog forum is still dead to DDD. ------------- "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." |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: July 09 2014 at 13:55
| Just on the subject of Rick Wakeman I'm sure Judas Iscariot should be in the list. In can be down somewhere say 80-100 but it should be there. It is a standout track that does not feel part of anything else he did including even the album it comes from - Criminal Record. It sums him up very well though. |
Posted By: Nogbad_The_Bad
Date Posted: July 13 2014 at 11:34
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You wake up this morning convinced this board needed serious spamming? ------------- Ian Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/ |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: July 14 2014 at 00:50
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I do my best
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Posted By: Dark Matter
Date Posted: October 06 2015 at 21:25
| When is this going to get posted at the Digital Dramdoor website. I can't imagine it takes this long to post |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: October 07 2015 at 22:52
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OK, I may miss a few things, for the list is long, and of course this are my personal preferences. And in general I think it's a very good list. - Some songs are not clear which parts, if only some or all, are suposed to be considered, such as with Thick as a Brick and Shine On you Crazy Diamond. - I'm not sure "Nights in White Satin" would be prog enough to be considered in this list, since bands as The Beatles were left out (and rightfully so, I think) for being proto-prog and not prog. - Also, I'm not sure Uriah Heep is right to be included... though I must confess I don't know the song you listed, and in general I don't know much from them (something I must rectify, though). - From Transatlantic, I like much better "The Whirlwind", and I think it might not be all that wrong to include it. However, I wouldn't know which part of it (perhaps all of it... since the whole album is suposed to be one song... I guess that would be a bit excessive, though). - Some more Porcupine Tree / Steven Wilson songs I think would do nicely are "Radioactive Toy" (though what I know is a live version, from Coma Divine, and I don't know if the original would work as well), "The Sky Moves Sideway", and "Luminol". - Something from Ayreon would be nice, indeed. Perhaps something like "Dawn of a Million Years" or "Isolation". - Devin Townsend would also be great. A favourite of mine would be "Earth Day". - I guess Jethro Tull's "Aqualung" is indeed missing here... as may be some of the Genesis songs you listed... but then again, so are missin many songs from Yes, and many other bands... we can't put all our favourite ones from our favourit artists. - From Misplaced Childhood, I would choose the duo "Pseudo Silk Kimono / Kayleigh". - From Opeth I would choose "The Drapery Falls". - I guess "Tom Sawyer" from Rush is also missing indeed. - From Dream Theater, if you are missing one song, the one I would choose is "Octavarium". - Between "The Court of the Crimson King" and "Epitaph", I actually like Epitaph much more, and wouldn't like it to be left out. But I guess you are right puting Crimson King much higher in the list. - "La Poderosa Muerte" by Los Jaivas, is indeed a wonderful song. Which reminds me of Spain's band Triana... "Abre la Puerta" may be considered also. - Indeed Rick Wakeman is a big omision. He may be known for his work with Yes, but he was very big as a solo artist too... and if any solo artist my hold the embodiment of prog, I would say that's Rick Wakeman. Indeed one of those Six Wives should be included, and perhaps also "Judas Iscariot", but my personal choice would be "Arthur", which Wakeman himself has said is his best composission, and I guess I would agree with him. |
Posted By: twalsh
Date Posted: October 08 2015 at 13:23
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A conservative looking list with a little more metal than i would have expected. I think it's pretty good, but I suspect that those who have dug deeper into prog may be disappointed. ------------- More heavy prog, please! |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: October 08 2015 at 13:49
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I'm ok with most of those on the list....there are a few I would change but not many. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: uduwudu
Date Posted: October 17 2015 at 19:35
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A number that for some reason or another will probably be over looked rather than looked over: Nazareth - Don't Judas Me. |
Posted By: Bitterblogger
Date Posted: October 23 2015 at 01:23
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Missing: Tangerine Dream Utopia Vangelis |