There were others from the late, great rock & roll days, but these were the biggest.
Of course, there are still bands doing prog rock, including some youngsters.
But who was the best, and how would you rank them?
Voted King Crimson, because I know their works much better than the other groups and the day my Dad gave me In the Court of the Crimson King on vinyl, I was forever changed.
First! Me wins the Internets!
I think it has to be Yes. They were progressive throughout and still are.
Rush was my fave overall but they went through stages, and not all were that progressive.
Kansas, ELP and King Crimson’s life spans were not as long.
Genesis was a great prog rock band, but they found greater success becoming…basically a pop band.
When I saw the thread title I immediately thought of Robert LaFollette. But I wasn’t looking at the forum.
Where’s Floyd?
And Roosevelt?
Gentle Giant.
I love Genesis, especially Selling England By the Pound, but I find Yes more satisfying overall. Fragile, Close to the Edge and Relayer (and Drama, too, but I doubt I’ll get much agreement) are all just perfect.
Even The Ladder is a great album, and that’s from 1999!
King Crimson I respect more than I like. I love Discipline, but a lot of their other stuff is hard work to enjoy.
Have a LaFollette-Wheeler campaign button somewhere…
Which one I listen to most? Yes.
Teddy or FDR? Because I’d totally vote for Teddy.
Yes. Tough because I love Genesis and ELP, but multiple vocals always wins me.
For interest’s sake, if you look at the Prog Archives Top 100, you have the following notable artists/bands:
Genesis: 5 albums in the Top 100
Yes: 4
Pink Floyd: 4
Van Der Graaf Generator: 4
Rush: 4
Gentle Giant: 4
King Crimson: 3
Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso: 3
Camel: 3
Frank Zappa: 3
Looks like I’m browsing the ITunes store when I get home. Never even heard of these guys.
And in the ‘respect more than like’ catagory, I could never get into Zappa.
I bought **Joe’s Garage **from a friend dumping his CD collection. Paid 2 bucks. Felt robbed.
You’ll be hearing from my second presently…
I went with Yes, since the obvious choice – Soft Machine – isn’t listed. Gentle Giant and Mike Oldfield also are as good if not better than any of the groups mentioned.
And calling Rush “progressive rock” is like calling Led Zeppelin polka music. At their closest, they’re third-rate Styx.
While I confess I’m not as familiar with the other band in the genre (though all to at least some limited degree), I voted Genesis without hesitation.
Or Jethro Tull, Procol Harum, or the Moody Blues? Forgot or don’t consider them prog for some reason?
Concur with that axe, Eugene.
Gotta go with Crimso. I love Floyd, Yes, ELP and the rest, but seeing Fripp and Co. on their Larks Tongues and Discipline tours made me a convert for life.