IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING

Almost unarguably the first, most quintessential prog-rock album ever, Court virtually came out of nowhere, and almost single-handedly defined "prog-rock" at its infancy. Taking "metal" and "experimental" to their extremes, and making use of some of the first truly textured "atmospheres" (fuzz paranoia in Schizoid Man, dreamy surreality in Wind, etc.), Fripp & Co. put prog-rock on the map with this flawless, in-your-face album. In addition to introducing us to Fripp's schizo-paranoid madness, you can hear how much Bruford learned from Michael Giles. Court belongs to a small pantheon of albums that includes Sgt. Pepper, Dark Side, The Lamb, The Wall and maybe half a dozen other absolutely must-have albums.