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The following is a list of artists who have released at least one album in the progressive rock genre. Individuals are included only if they recorded or performed progressive rock as a solo artist, regardless of whether they were a member of a progressive rock band at any point.
- Pink Floyd. 5,542 votes. Pink Floyd is the epitome of progressive rock, known for their sonic experimentation and philosophical lyrics that define the genre.
- Yes. 4,367 votes. Yes is a remarkable band whose intricate arrangements and complex time signatures embody the core principles of progressive rock. Formed in 1968, this seminal group deftly combines elements of classical music, jazz, and rock into a mesmerizing symphony of sound.
- Rush. 4,506 votes. The Canadian power trio Rush stands as a testament to the boundless creative potential of progressive rock music. Since their inception in 1974, Rush has captivated listeners with their exceptional technical proficiency and ambitious conceptual albums, exploring themes ranging from science fiction to human emotion.
- Jethro Tull. 3,201 votes. Jethro Tull's unmistakable fusion of folk, blues, and hard rock with progressive elements has made them one of the most unique and enduring entities in the realm of prog rock.
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- Aphrodite’s Child
- Tangerine Dream
- Fragile
- Nektar
- Camel
- Kansas
- Spock’s Beard
- Sky
- Babe Ruth
- Premiata Forneria Marconi
Originally a heavy psychedelic band, the Greek band Aphrodite’s Child delivered one of prog rock’s visionary concept albums in the double epic 666, a wild mind trip loosely about a traveling circus show that plays during the apocalypse. Unsurprisingly, famed visual artist Salvador Dali was a huge fan. Aphrodite leader VangelisPapathanassiou had gra...
Along with Kraftwerk, no band did more than Tangerine Dreamto expand the possibilities of the synthesizer. During their heyday they used almost nothing else, and conjured up a remarkable set of soundscapes and atmospheres, improvising freely during live shows.
A modern band with a classic sound, the European-based Fragile worked as a Yes tribute band before they started writing their own material. Their 2022 original release Beyondis close as it gets to a lost Yes album, in the classic mold of a side-long and two half-side tracks. It’s all upped a few notches by the singing of Claire Hamill, whose resume...
Admired by Frank Zappa (who picked them as his opening band in 1973), Nektar expanded the spacier side of early Pink Floyd with a heightened sense of songcraft. Their two peak albums, A Tab in the Ocean and Remember the Future, are as tuneful as they are trippy.
The original Camelwas built around two world-class soloists – guitarist Andy Latimer and the late keyboardist Peter Bardens – and was largely a springboard for their instrumental fireworks. Over time the band became more song-oriented, Bardens departed, and a rotating cast of players came in, including a handful of ex-Caravaners. The one constant i...
Embraced by AOR radio and championed by Don Kirshner, Kansas are often pegged as the commercial side of prog rock. And while there was a lot of heartfelt music on their vintage albums (at least before the original lineup splintered in 1982), they always insisted that the singles success of “Carry On Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind” were accident...
Reviving classic-model prog rock when it was mostly out of style, Spock’s Beard introduced the talents of Neal Morse, who’d go onto become one of prog’s most prolific and melodically inventive composers (and, eventually, the godfather of Christian-themed prog). The Morse lineup bowed out with its magnum opus, the double epic Snow, but later release...
What do you get when one of the world’s finest classical guitarists decides to form a rock band? You get Sky, which joined the acclaimed John Williams with a lineup including Curved Air’s keyboardist Francis Monkman, and the bassist (Herbie Flowers) who made Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” so indelible. While many prog rockers dabbled in classic...
This early 70s band was unique in a few ways: They had a strong frontwoman, they did prog rock with a strong jazz/blues slant, and their first album cover (First Base) marked the only time Roger Dean ever drew baseball players. Guitarist Alan Shacklock went onto become an 80s producer of note; he and singer Jenny Haan remain in the revived lineup.
This long-running Italian band had a relatively brief, but glorious stint making English-language albums for ELP’s Manticore label. Over those five albums they gradually transformed their gentle pastoral sound into something much harder charging. Their US live album Cook, largely recorded at a Central Park show with ELP, is one of the more explosiv...
- Brett Milano
Jul 19, 2023 · Ryan Reed Updated: July 19, 2023. Adrian Borromeo, UCR. As we all know, every music critic's "best of" piece is created through rigorous experiments, with the results reviewed by a body of one's...
- YES. WE SAY: Pre-eminent in the way prog has developed and grown since their inception in 1968, Yes have always been prepared to modify and alter their approach to suit the times, without sacrificing their overall style.
- Genesis. WE SAY: From their early days, when Peter Gabriel’s theatricality made them both unique and applauded, to the latter times when, with Phil Collins taking over as the frontman, the band became archetypal stadium rockers, Genesis have always been at the forefront of prog.
- Pink Floyd. WE SAY: Not just one of the great prog bands, but among the finest bands of all time in any genre, Pink Floyd, who began their music journey in 1968, enjoyed three different eras.
- King Crimson. WE SAY: Despite numerous line-up changes, and various bouts on hiatus, nobody can doubt the impact King Crimson have made on the music world.
The list is a mix of the favorites of the writers here at the site, and in many ways represents what we believe are great Progressive Rock bands and Artists who define the genre or at least demonstrated a few times in their careers an experimentation in Progressive Rock Concepts.
Dec 18, 2015 · Last year we asked you to tell us what the greatest progressive rock albums were and this year, we asked who you thought was the greatest progressive band or artist. Who did you vote for? Skip to main content
