The Greatest Prog Bands Mathematically Calculated
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Music Lounge
Forum Description: General progressive music discussions
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=39760
Printed Date: August 12 2025 at 14:11
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Topic: The Greatest Prog Bands Mathematically Calculated
Posted By: DethMaiden
Subject: The Greatest Prog Bands Mathematically Calculated
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 14:13
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So here's what I did to get this list: I took the top 100 studio albums of all time according to PAers and assigned each a point value (#1=100 points, #2=99 points...#100=1 point), then tallied up points per band. This is, while not highly scientific, one way to look at a list of the greatest prog bands of all time with some sort of a formula. So enjoy! 1. Genesis (522)
2. Pink Floyd (397)
3. Yes (329)
4. Rush (322)
5. King Crimson (267)
6. Van Der Graaf Generator (247)
7. Gentle Giant (233)
8. Camel (232)
9. Dream Theater (182)
10. Porcupine Tree (165)
11. Jethro Tull (155)
12. Premiata Forneria Marconi (143)
13. Marillion (120)
14. Opeth (115)
15. Riverside (113)
16. Pain of Salvation (106)
17. Emerson, Lake and Palmer (98)
18. Anglagard (81)
19. Caravan (77)
20. Ayreon (75)
21. Harmonium (69)
22-3. Bacamarte/The Beatles (64)
24. Supertramp (63)
25. Focus (62)
26. S.B.B. (59)
27. Tool (57)
28-9. Mahavishnu Orchestra/Banco Del Mutuo Succorso (54)
30. Frank Zappa (52)
31. Steve Hackett (51)
32. Al DiMeola (49)
33. Liquid Tension Experiment (39)
34. Le Orme (32)
35. Kansas (31)
36. Gryphon (30)
37. The Alan Parsons Project (29)
38. Mike Oldfield (24)
39. Robert Wyatt (23)
40. Renaissance (21)
41. Queen (19)
42. Arena (18)
43. Dun (16)
44. Wishbone Ash (15)
45. Deep Purple (14)
46. Bill Bruford (13)
47. IQ (12)
48. Shadow Gallery (9)
49. Museo Rosenbach (8)
50. Los Jaivas (7)
51. Iron Maiden (5)
52. Return to Forever (4)
53. Hatfield and the North (3)
54. Queensr˙che (1)
So, discuss!
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Replies:
Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 14:17
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A better description would be the most popular progressive rock bands to progressive rock fans mathematically calculated. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: Dim
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 14:18
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Pink floyd in front of Yes! This is proposturous! I demand a recount!
Otherwise goodwork, cool stuff, I thought that Arena and IQ would be a bit higher. ------------- 
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Posted By: DethMaiden
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 14:18
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Just as an addendum, yeah, this is incredibly geeky, but summer boredom has to bear some fruit, right? |
Posted By: DethMaiden
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 14:19
I'd like to think that among progsters popularity is earned by greatness. You can't mathematically calculate something intangible so I just did my best.
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Equality 7-2521 wrote:Posted By: Easy Livin
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 14:24
| The one obvious flaw is that the less prolific bands will usually be placed lower. |
Posted By: debrewguy
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 14:26
Nah, it's arguably progressive bands rated according to arguably biased ratings to arrive at a endless discussion as to its' debatibility. Oh, and Ange & Klaatu are unfairly nowhere near the top , too. ------------- "Here I am talking to some of the smartest people in the world and I didn't even notice, Lieutenant Columbo, episode The Bye-Bye Sky-High I.Q. Murder Case. |
Posted By: el böthy
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 14:28
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What is there to discuss?
------------- "You want me to play what, Robert?" 
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Posted By: DethMaiden
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 14:34
I didn't reall think about it...
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Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 17:44
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I hate to tell you this, but I've done this before. http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14534&KW=favourite+band - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14534&KW=favourite+band |
Posted By: Arsillus
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 18:21
 There is nothing to discuss here ever again.  But as long as Dream Theater keeps releasing albums, we'll be okay.  |
Posted By: Crimson King420
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 19:59
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Why aren't The Beatles not only the top band, but not even on the list at all! ------------- Sing hymns, make love, get high, fall dead. |
Posted By: Proletariat
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 20:05
true, but it is interesting to see what has changed sence than, Pink Floyd moved ahead of Yes for example. ------------- who hiccuped endlessly trying to giggle but wound up with a sob |
Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 21:30
They're 22/23 ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: Dim
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 22:03
which is disgusting   -------------
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Posted By: King of Loss
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 22:05
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Riverside ahead of PoS and others?
Blasphemy!
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Posted By: DethMaiden
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 22:05
If by disgusting you mean just, then yes
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Posted By: aspinosa
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 22:39
| I would have included Nektar. They had strong influence on rock music of the 80´s . |
Posted By: Shwang_Shwinga
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 23:17
I like Chopper's better. Tool is higher  .------------- 
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Posted By: Mikerinos
Date Posted: July 09 2007 at 23:23
Not as blasphemous as Ayreon being ahead of Harmonium. ------------- 
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Posted By: SolariS
Date Posted: July 10 2007 at 00:46
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i think dragonforce deserves 1000 points for having the fastest dueling guitar solos and the best unison windmill hair swirls. -------------  
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Posted By: Dim
Date Posted: July 10 2007 at 00:58
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... okay
Anything else we woud like to discuss? -------------
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Posted By: Floydian42
Date Posted: July 10 2007 at 14:54
I say we drop their current score by twenty thousand due to vocals and lyrics. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: July 11 2007 at 03:27
ELP 17th. 
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Posted By: Shakespeare
Date Posted: July 11 2007 at 14:41
| That worked surprisingly well, if you ask me. |
Posted By: Fight Club
Date Posted: July 11 2007 at 18:25
Genesis in front of everyone! Omg that is proposturous! ------------- 
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Posted By: DethMaiden
Date Posted: July 11 2007 at 22:36
I kinda thought so too. Of course with the new top 100 it would look nothing like this.
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Posted By: The T
Date Posted: July 12 2007 at 01:13
I'd say we first have to ADD them to the website before we start giving or taking points from them...
 Man! But it's true! Their lyirics may be more cheesy than a pizza, but man can they play fast!!! ------------- 
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Posted By: Yorkie X
Date Posted: July 12 2007 at 08:49
 though none of my favorite bands fair extremely well (which places me in an unbiased position) I can see more accuracy in what you have done than to the recent changes , well done ! this is how it should be in my opinion 
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Posted By: StyLaZyn
Date Posted: July 12 2007 at 09:09
Dude! You have way too much time on your hands. But good job.
I think the list reflects popularity, but I won't complain. It's almost inline with my tastes.
One more thing, the most prolific bands seem to do better. Bands that made only 4 or 5 albums won't do well unless most were excellent releases.
------------- 
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Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: July 12 2007 at 16:06
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Somebody should compile the exact same list for the new top 100 so we can see how much of an impact it has had numerically. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: Dim
Date Posted: July 12 2007 at 17:04
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^ so we can all start complaining all over again... sounds like fun! -------------
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Posted By: mono
Date Posted: July 13 2007 at 11:06
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Who cares about a stupid rating anyway? Since when has music been
measurable? The number of stars with the review is only there to give a
general opinion, but what's important is what's written... Oh, now Jethro Tull are first, how humiliating for the brilliant Symphonic Prog bands... |
Posted By: Benjamin_Breeg
Date Posted: July 13 2007 at 16:57
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how can Riverside, with only 2 albuns be above Pain of Salvation? Ps: Queensryche 1 LoL ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Dream_Thief_/?chartstyle=Geldropdown2"> 
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Posted By: ProgRobUK
Date Posted: July 30 2007 at 19:14
Your wish is my command!
Here is the new list based on the new Top 100:
1. Genesis (342)
2. Pink Floyd (272) 3. PFM (238) 4. King Crimson (238) 5. Rush (226) 6. Yes (218) 7. Van Der Graff Generator (170) 8. Caravan (140) 9. Le Orme (133) 10. Gentle Giant (120) 11. Frank Zappa (114) 12. Jethro Tull (113) 13. Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso (112) 14. Camel (100) 15. Los Jaivas (99) 16. Bacamarte (94) 17. Anglagard (92) 18. Al Di Meola (91) 19. Harmonium (89) 20. Focus (88) 21. SBB (86) 22. Supertramp (85) 23. The Who (82) 24. Mahavishnu Orchestra (76) 25. Psychotic Waltz (70) 26. Opeth (69) 27. Ayreon (68) 28. Marillion (63) 29=. Steve Hackett (61) 29=. Hoyry-Kone (61) 31. Wishbone Ash (60) 32. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (59) 33=. Area (58) 33=. Henry Cow (58) 35. Renaissance (54) 36. Phish (53) 37=. Pain Of Salvation (51) 37=. Iron Maiden (51) 39. Dun (50) 40. Pentacle (48) 41. Bill Bruford (47) 42. Riverside (46) 43. Gryphon (44) 44. ACT (43) 45. Robert Wyatt (42) 46. Mike Oldfield (41) 47. Museo Rosenbach (38) 48. Colosseum (37) 49. Tool (36) 50. The Doors (35) 51. Crucis (33) 52=. The Beatles (28) 52=. Santana (28) 54. Return to Forever (26) 55. Orphaned Land (24) 56. Happy Family (23) 57. Sloche (21) 58. Liquid Tension Experiment (20) 59. Samla Mammas Manna (18) 60. Klaus Schulze (15) 61. Gong (14) 62. Yezda Urfa (12) 63. Porcupine Tree (10) 64. Seiges Even (8) 65. Kraftwerk (6) 66. Arena (2) 67. Gnigrolog (1) So the new algorithm gives some significant changes:
PFM up to 3 from 12
Rush and King Crimson swap places
Yes drop from 3 to 6
Caravan up from 19 to 8
Le Orme up from 34 to 9
And perhaps the biggest shock of all - Dream Theater are not in the top 100 !!!
Porcupine Tree drop from 10 to 63
ELP make no appearance in the top 100
Interesting reading.
Rob
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Posted By: ProgRobUK
Date Posted: July 30 2007 at 19:23
Well it looks as if the new algorithm sorts those out. PoS now above Riverside and Queensryche are no longer in there!
Rob
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Posted By: mgallard
Date Posted: July 31 2007 at 00:36
Not really, Genesis is prog's best, of course, end of discussion. What is preposterous is that nobody can spell the word right (not proposturous, get it?). M. |
Posted By: SoundsofSeasons
Date Posted: July 31 2007 at 15:52
Probably because they aren't really prog? Or maybe cause they aren't that great... ------------- 1 Chronicles 13:7-9 Then David and all Israel played music before God with all their might, with singing, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on cymbals, and with trumpets. |
Posted By: mgallard
Date Posted: July 31 2007 at 16:02
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Both. M. |
Posted By: Nigua
Date Posted: August 06 2007 at 05:24
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I have never trusted lists, specially if they are about music. Music in statistics???
There is always this nonsense passion by the fans of some of the bands.
"Yes in front of Pink Floyd?" Why not? Yes had some very nice records, but as a band they were unstable and even they were soooo commercial at times!
No, for me this kind of lists make no sense.
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Posted By: SoundsofSeasons
Date Posted: August 06 2007 at 12:48
and lets just drop another 1000 for the heck of it. It's only what was coming to em'. ------------- 1 Chronicles 13:7-9 Then David and all Israel played music before God with all their might, with singing, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on cymbals, and with trumpets. |
Posted By: Hyperborea
Date Posted: August 10 2007 at 19:11
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Each to their own...another woeful pathetic....best prog band nonsense list. ------------- As i race o'er this beautiful sphere, Like a dog who is chasing his..... |
Posted By: markosherrera
Date Posted: August 10 2007 at 22:09
| Tangerine dream,..greenslade...??? |
Posted By: Hyperborea
Date Posted: August 18 2007 at 20:54
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It's about as reliable as throwing your boxers on the bed and hoping your wife gets pregnant.
It's all about personal preferences, nothing at all to do with reality.
And i hate maths. ------------- As i race o'er this beautiful sphere, Like a dog who is chasing his..... |
Posted By: 1800iareyay
Date Posted: August 18 2007 at 20:55
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Posted By: Man Overboard
Date Posted: August 18 2007 at 21:19
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No Flower Kings = no deal.
------------- https://soundcloud.com/erin-susan-jennings" rel="nofollow - Bedroom guitarist". Composer, Arranger, Producer. Perfection may not exist, but I may still choose to serve Perfection. Commissions considered. |
Posted By: sheeves
Date Posted: August 18 2007 at 23:39
| not that i think your way is too scientific, it is creative, and i really don't have much of a problem with that list |
Posted By: Floydian42
Date Posted: August 18 2007 at 23:52
| Gah!!! How soon till PT pulls above DT, there so much better. |
Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: August 19 2007 at 11:27
Nominated for the best post of the year! ------------- 
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