How important is originality?

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 One of the things I hear about frequently and disagree with the most, is that "progressive rock (or any type of music for that matter) is better if it's original". This is just wrong. Of course it's a subjective matter and everyone can have their opinion. But, the thing is, I have never heard anyone say "originality doesn't mean anything". It's like being original is always a good thing, which is just not true at all. So I feel that somebody needs to say it.
Here's my argument.

1. How the hell do you know if it's original in the first place?  I've heard people say that In the Court of the Crimson King is an original album that "came out of nowhere in 1969" (see the first review on this page). Really? Have you heard every album and every music work before 1969? If you haven't, how do you know if another band didn't record a similar album and possibly even inspired King Crimson? For the record I'm not saying that such a band existed, I'm just saying, it's impossible to know.

It's not even likely that anyone here has heard all 100 albums on the PA Top 100. There are simply too many albums to listen to. If you think something is original based on what you have heard in your life, then there's a good chance that it's not original at all. Therefore it's laughable to judge a new album based on "originality".

2. Consistency is also a highly valuable quality that no one seems to talk much about. When I buy an Opeth album, I expect to hear the exact same genre, same style, same guitar, drums and growling vocals that I heard on Still Life, Blackwater Park, etc.. I expect the album to be 0% original, and 100% staying true to the classic Opeth sound. If the album sounds original, I'm disappointed because that's not what I spent money to hear.

3. It doesn't affect the enjoyment! Would In the Court of the Crimson King have been any less enjoyable to listen to, if there had been 10 similar albums before it? Most likely not! It's good music on its own merit. 

On the other hand, imagine Wish You Were Here and Selling England by the Pound were debut albums and they were original. Would that make them better albums? I seriously doubt it.

So simply put, "originality" is a quality that is neither good nor bad. It is what it is, but it isn't what everyone believes it is.