Five best albums for someone brand new to prog

Well, I suppose if you didn't want to alienate a person new to prog, it may be best to stick with the classics, and ones that actually hold a tune and have melody. I suggest...

Yes - The Yes Album
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Genesis - A Trick of the Tail
Supertramp - Crime of the Century

A second fifth (and not doubling down on bands previously mentioned) would include...

King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Traffic - Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
Procol Harum - Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
Caravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Trilogy

^ I loved Vangelis in the 80s and still do. :)

Grumpyprogfan wrote: Logan wrote: Looking at some options, there are albums that have been mentioned that I would have disliked as a prog noob and still dislike, such as Dream Theater and Spock's Beard And Marillion is not really for me, nor is various Porcupine Tree. And I'm not a fan of Kansas or No Man. Well, Swans and Magma would be more disliked by a prog noob than those you dislike. Enjoy your long time off from posting.

I realised that it likely might very well be disliked, which is why I said "Of course some ogf that might put some off for ever." Typo on "of", of course. But I don't believe that that is necessarily true for a minute that it would be more disliked.   Have you noticed how well-rated Swans is at rateyourmusic, just curious? It depends on the individual, as well as the release you choose as an intro. My point was that what appeals to some will not to others and I used those like DT and SB as examples. Mine too are examples of things that might not appeal. My second list is what actually worked on 80s me. When I started to deeply delve into Prog in the 2000s I checked out Dream Theater and Spock's Beard and really, really disliked them.   Those are divisive, so are Swans and Magma. I did find Magma to like and had I known Swans then, I'm sure I would have liked some of it. I think the 90s Swans stuff would have appealed more to me. We are into a lot of very different stuff, of course, and so are others. There is no definitive list for everyone that will work, but of course some would be be likely to have more success than others generally. I would consider the demographics.

By the way, while we have had our differences, mostly miscommunication I feel (misunderstanding intent and nuance), I genuinely would be sorry to not see you at this forum any longer. My wife asked me to consider resigning my position from this site and leaving the site partially because she knew it was stressing me out. And I, and wife, am going through a really hard time due to other things. It does feel like this site has become a less friendly, warm and caring place sometimes, but maybe that's because I am not in a good place and I am projecting. Here or not, I sincerely wish you and this site well. :) I would not judge a person (mostly) on their tastes in music, but instead on if I think the person has a kind heart, a sensitive soul (so to speak), and a thoughtful disposition.

Edited by Logan - June 19 2025 at 18:10

This should be my last post at PA for a long while (promised my wife I would try to stop posting and visiting here)... I would rather cover a variety of styles and eras, and I do think it best to gear to someone's tastes (get to know what they like first, and consider the age of the noob).

Looking at some options, there are albums that have been mentioned that I would have disliked as a prog noob and still dislike, such as Dream Theater and Spock's Beard And Marillion is not really for me, nor is various Porcupine Tree. And I'm not a fan of Kansas or No Man. I actually don;t think of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon as very Prog-genre or Radiohead's In Rainbow's. And Close to the Edge might be seen as the "best", but I have never much liked it.

Regardless of whether I think of these as very Prog, maybe..

King Crimson - Red
Radiohead - OK Computer
Swans - To Be Kind
Magma - MDK
Soft Machine - Third

I would not necessarily hit them with the easiest stuff, which might set up the soft bigotry of low expectations. Of course some ogf that might put some off for ever.

Here's some of what what intrigued me as a teenager in the 80s that is in PA (when I first identified an interest in Prog/Progressive Rock).

Focus - Hamburger Concerto
Pink Floyd - Animals
Gryphon - Red Queen to Gryphon Three
Yes - Fragile
Tangerine Dream - Phaedra

Phaedra I would not really love until I was considerably older. I did like Rush's Hemispheres back then.

This time I'm not thinking in terms of covering a lot of ground or anything like that. Just selecting some basic introductory classics I think could appeal to a young and relatively open and music interested person. These would have done the trick for me (and three out ot them were once part of my "prog-discovery")

King Crimson - In The Court of the Crimson King
Van Der Graaf Generator - H to He who am the Only One
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
Genesis - Nursery Cryme
Camel - Mirage

I would probably recommend ( for a fairly gentle entry )

KC - ItCotCK
Genesis - Lamb lies down
Procol Harum - Grand Hotel
Yes - Relayer
Jethro Tull - Passion Play

A few more recent albums that might do the trick

No - Man - Loveblows & Lovecries
Porcupine Tree - Fear of a blank Planet
Radiohead - In Rainbows



Edited by Valdez - June 19 2025 at 15:13

Not necessarily the best prog albums ever (otherwise CTTE would be on here) but the ones that would be best for someone brand new to prog so ones that wouldn't scare him or her away. Here are my picks:


Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Genesis - A Trick of the Tail (it happens to be my personal favorite by them but I'm choosing it because it's their most accessible of their prog era)
Rush - Moving Pictures
Yes - Fragile (or possibly the Yes album but I'll go with Fragile)
King Crimson - In The Court of the Crimson King



Other possibilities:

Yes - 90125
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
ELP - Same
Marillion - Misplaced Childhood
Dream Theater - Images and Words (maybe good for thos who are mostly metal heads)



Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - June 19 2025 at 14:48