Hemispheres was released in 1978.

That era was their best. I will add GUP, PoWin and HYF for good measure

Moving Pictures for sure. There is probably only a small handful of albums I would put above it by anyone.

Vapor Trails and Counterparts are also great albums that would be high on my list of favourite Rush albums.

Stunned Permanent Waves only has two votes... three now.   That said, Hem is probably my personal favorite and was the first Rush album I bought at the tender age of ten, and MP is a continually thrilling record.   I agree this would be Rush's best period but there are many fans who don't--  some think albums like GUP are among their best.

It's probably my second favorite behind Hemispheres. After that Moving Pictures then AFTK then CoS then 2112 then Signals then GUP, then FBN, then HYF then PowWind, then RtB then Counterparts then Clockwork Angels then Presto then the rest. 

So what's the deal on pronouncing Peart ?--   I always said "Pert", but I've heard "Peert" and Pairt" .

It's definitely "peert" as in "ear." Neil has said so himself. If you look for the youtube video where Eddie Trunk interviews him Eddie asks him that specifically.

 

Manuel wrote: I cannot choose, really. So much great music in these albums.

I can't choose either.

Really tough!

Rush is such a prog monster.. among other things I think because they have many (IMO) really well rounded albums.. (a hallmark in my opinion of being 'Big 6' of progressive rock, that in my case is Big 8 w/ Rush in a stellar place and Marillion).

That said, Hemispheres is such a great album! specially the outstanding first track.. but, as an album it doesn't work for me as well as others..

my ordering would be:

Fly By Night

Moving Pictures

Permanent Waves

(See below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA8lZmJNg0c" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA8lZmJNg0c

Major points, though, to the final two albums, Snakes + Arrows and Clockwork Angels. Ferocious works.

The loss of Peart is pretty devastating. 

No offense to you personally but anyone who doesn't like Geddy Lee's voice should stay away from anything with Jon Anderson on it and vice versa. It wouldn't make sense to me if someone loves the voice of one of them but hates the other. If you can tolerate Jon you can tolerate Geddy. So I can only assume you don't like Yes for a similar reason(ie the vocals).

Not by a long shot but I suppose we are all entitled to our opinions. It's not that it's a bad album(in fact it's quite good). However, I guess I  just don't see how a prog fan can think that. 

Very wrong. I like Jon a lot as a singer. He just sounds far more relaxed and confident about what he's doing to me. Of course this is all subjective, but surely there is a clear difference between them, and whether it's small or big, it can make all the difference - as it does to me. Appreciation generally doesn't work like this: "X is similar to Y whom I like => I like X, too".

That's very surprising to me. Then again I'm sure it works the other way too. There are those who like Geddy Lee but can't stand Jon. I personally don't get it but we all hear what we hear. 

When you said I was very wrong I wasn't offended. It just made me think of that early Genesis song(am I very wrong?). Lol.

@AFlowerKingCrimson: Well you made a factual statement about me which was in fact very wrong, so why would you be offended by me pointing that out? Good anyway that you weren't. By the way let me add that I find myself more often in controversy with you than with many others on this forum, but I actually appreciate that you say a lot that can get people into some proper controversial exchange.

No, I didn't mean it as fact just my opinion. Anything that can't be proven is not a fact. :P If you said you prefer Jon Anderson over Geddy Lee that too is your opinion. If you(or I)said Geddy Lee is better than Jon then that too is an opinion since it can't be proven. I don't feel I presented anything as a fact and if you took it that way then that's on you.  No harm no foul though as they say.

Dude, I'm right here. Lol. No, I don't think that's the case. Maybe a little and if so I'm trying to get away from that. I don't feel I ever try to rub anyones nose in anything or act superior(like say Dark Elf)so if anyone gets that from me that's not my intent. It's all about just having good conversations that are engaging and sometimes controversial but I'm not on here to boost my ego or put others down just for the thrill of it like some seem to do(Those who do that should stick with PE ;) ). Yes, I'm from the Philly area. Can you imagine how much more of a jerk I would be if I was from NJ?  Before any NJ fans on here get angry that's a joke. 

For the first time ever (?), I will not vote for Signals. It's long been my favorite Rush album because of Geddy's majestic bass tone (his best recorded tone, really), amazing songs, powerhouse synth lines.

But I want to vote for Grace Under Pressure. That's their most overall aggressive album of the '80s. It has a certain...toughness. A no-bs approach to their streamlined '80s style. "Afterimage" (now more relevant than ever), "Between the Wheels," "The Enemy Within" and "Distant Early Warning" add up to "prime Rush" for me. A perfect album.

Rush were essentially a hard rock band that incorporated prog elements into their music so I think any album is fair game in that respect. If I want really complex prog there are a 1000 bands better than Rush (probably) but there is only one Rush that made their albums the way they did.

Anyway I have always loved Geddy´s vocals specially those screaming seventies vocals. It was sad to hear him singing in those latest live´s, really had lost his voice.