10 Albums that lead you the way to Prog

Top of my head from my teens and then a few at the end

Interesting thread.

I don't have a top 10 because it was with prog that I start to dig into the music and listen to albums, so I have a few albums that conducted me to prog

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - Iron Maiden
I was 13 when I first listened to Iron Maiden, to this day is still my favorite band and it's they who showed me that music can have some "deepness" into it

Classical Music
Searching for more meaningful music I started to listen to classics like Bethoven, Vivaldi and Mozart. This is not a Album but I think was a important step in my way to prog

Endless Forms Most Beautifull - Nightwish
I'm not into this symphonic metal stuff anymore, but I love this album in high school, and is one of the first things I listen to mix genres into it

Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
My first prog album, I was just blown away by the psychedelic aspect of it and the incredible lyrics, I listened to it at 17 years old so the messages about adulthood are very meaningful to me, that was just becoming an adult. At that time me and my friends in school just listened to Pink Floyd 24/7

Chronicles - Rush
Here things started to get serious, rush greatest hits were a turning point to me and made me very curious to know about the so-called "prog-rock". This is my favorite prog band until today

In the Court of Crimson King - King Crimsom
Man... When I listened to this I decided to just sell my soul to the prog gods and listen to everything that has the "progressive rock" label into it

Edited by koresea - February 17 2022 at 03:47

CelticBhoy wrote: Well, I guess most of us didn´t start their musical socialisation with Close to the Edge (What? YOU did? What a weird kid you must have been...). Anyway, name the 10 albums that in hindsight took you to where you are now.

I have to say interesting idea for a thread.
In 1970-71 as 9-10 years boy, I used to listen and tape from the radio single songs by the Beatles, Rolling Stones, the Kinks, Moody Blues, Procol Harum. The following year, I got into more heavier bands like Cream, the Doors, Ten Years After, Led Zeppelin, Budgie, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple. I was still listening to single tracks only, my favorite songs from various albums by these bands. The full albums that led me to listen to progressive rock (1973 - 74) were:
Wishbone Ash - Argus
Argent - Nexus
Led Zeppelin - IV
Budgie - Never turn your back on a Friend
Deep Purple - In Rock
Pink Floyd - Relics (first vinyl record that I bought together with my older brother)
Genesis - Selling England by the Pound
Yes - Close to the Edge
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
Jethro Tull - War Child (first JT album that I heard on the radio)

Edited by enigmatic - February 16 2022 at 20:00

I also specifically remember record shopping with my dad (which we still do to this day) and he came across “In the Court of the Crimson King”. He recommended I buy it because I liked Pink Floyd. So I did (for $5) and that was my intro to Crimso.

What led me to prog. My dad is mostly to blame, here are some of
the albums that he played in the 70s that informed my prog tastes later on:

The Beatles | 1967-1970
Moody Blues | To our Children’s Children’s Children
Santana | Caravanserai
Rod Stewart | Sing it Again Rod
Steely Dan | Aja
Boz Scaggs | Silk Degrees
Gino Vannelli | Brother to Brother
Camel | Breathless
ELO | Face the Music
Jean-Michel Jarre | Equinoxe
Frank Zappa | Hot Rats

Edited by HolyMoly - February 17 2022 at 08:35

Not sure if you're asking what albums I bought that led me here or what albums I heard to get here.Yes - Fragile 1971
Argent - All Together Now 1972

Edited by JD - February 16 2022 at 16:14

Before I ever bought my first record, I listened to a lot of stuff in my Dad's collection that lead me in this direction: 

Welcome Kaya.

I likely will have to edit this post later as I'm on my phone waiting for someone.

1. Gary Numan and Tubeway Army - Replicas
I had heard this as a child since my bro had it and I just loved it. Even though it's not Prog really, it has qualities that I think helped pave the way for me. I always veered to quirky and the strange in a way.

2. Alan Parsons Project - I Robot

I got into this at the same time as Replicas.

3. Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother

4. Cream - Wheels of Fire

5. Kraftwerk - Man Nachine
Numan had paved the way for this.

6. Focus - Hamburger Concerto
My teacher has this record and I played it a lot.

7. Gryphon - Midnight Mushrumps
See above

8. Yes - Fragile
My friend had this and I really fell for it. Interestingly, I did not like Close to the Edge, and still have not acquired the taste.

9. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
I heard this at a playhouse bar during N after show party. Harless Heart in particular gave me goosebumps. I didn't know what it was, and it too me years to find it (I could have tried harder, okay?). That I think eventually led me to Prog Archives.

10. Art Zoyd - Musique pour l'odyssee
Really tje thousands of others I soon got into after matching amazon sample with Hairless Heart. I had remembered Gabriel in it. I'll say Art Zoyd was a really important one to help me keep paying attention to Prog umbrella music. I found that I love chamber orog and RIo, and I discovered many more experimental ones.

Also getting into electronic music like Kitaro was very important. Maybe Kitaro should be at 9 with the album Oasis. Also, Laurie Anderson's Big Science is another album that I think paved the way.

Edited by Logan - February 16 2022 at 14:38