POLL : Your three favorite Prog Rock bands

Sorry, but that list is flawed, very flawed. It is so out of touch it may as well have been put together on Mars!

No Big Big Train, No Flower Kings, No Porcupine Tree, No Blackfield, not to mention the absence of Steven Wilson a genius and dare I say giant of Prog Rock in the 21st Century.

I have albums by all but one of those bands in that list, in fact I grew up with them all but get real man, there are dozens of great new Prog Rock bands out there.

 

It's funny that you should mention that because when they first emerged, they were considered prog.
There's a very fine line--when you think about it--between progressive rock and soft adult contemporary pop rock. The Alan Parson's Project, The Moody Blues; even Genesis ---they all ended up adult contemporary.

 

You might want to restart this poll. No Gentle Giant, no Banco or P.F.M., no Van Der Graaf Generator, no Soft Machine, no Caravan or Renaissance? And I have never thought of Alan Parsons Project, Supertramp or Electric Light Orchestra as prog.

My three favorites are: Yes, Gentle Giant, and then a strong competition between VDGG, Genesis, Caravan and Soft Machine for #3.

If Pink Floyd were counted as prog (they aren't fully in my opinion), they'd be #3.

 

Other - Van der Graaf Generator
Novalis
Faust

 

I like Porcupine Tree, but they're not one of the choices. But I guess they could be "other."

Obviously I picked King Crimson first because of stature and influence even if I don't like all their albums. Ditto for Yes; their huge success transcended the genre.
I know there's an ongoing debate regarding whether Pink Floyd is even "really" prog and I can actually understand both sides of the argument, but they are on the list, so I picked them as well. Either way, they have influenced many true progressive rock bands and musicians that came after them---i.e. the aforementioned Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson.

 

I went with Pink Floyd, King Crimson, and Rush, though I really wanted to include Yes as well. I picked the three I picked because they have the most variety, which makes each release of theirs feel relevant to me. What edged Yes out was their inconsistency, both in lineup and album quality, and their tendency to try and build upon previous albums simply by going "bigger" (see the progression from The Yes Album to Tales of Topographic Oceans, for example). I gave King Crimson a pass on the lineup issue because that's part of what makes them King Crimson.

 

Marillion
Genesis
Pink Floyd

 

I went with Yes, Floyd and Tull. They were innovative and were constantly pushing the envelope. The whole list is a good I could easily have picked another half dozen.

 

I don't think of Floyd as prog either. I'm a Crimson fan, but somehow they seem more an acquired taste.

 

Don't really consider myself a prog rock fan, not surprising therefore that Pink Floyd are my favourites on that list, but I'd have voted for Van Der Graaf Generator and Gentle Giant if they'd been on there.

 

Yes, Rush & Genesis

 

King Crimson towers above the rest in my book, remaining on the cutting edge with outstanding musicianship and uncompromising creativity into the 80s and 90s, after many of their old peers lost their way. I also cast votes for Yes and Genesis for their triumphs in the 70s. (I love Pink Floyd, but I'm not sure if they count as capital P Prog.). Other favorites not listed here: Gentle Giant, Magma, Soft Machine, Gong, Van Der Graaf Generator, and the great Italian prog scene, including PFM, Banco and Area.

 

1) Yes
2) Rush
3) Genesis

That said...I love Pink floyd over any of those three (my 2nd fav. of all-time behind The Beatles) but I don't think of them as prog. But then again, is Rush really only prog for 4 or 5 albums? Maybe. Did Genesis cease being prog in 1978? It is difficult to quantify. Even Yes may or may not be prog in the 80's.

 

I answered Yes, King Crimson and ELP in the poll, but really, my #2 through #9 artists overall are Frank Zappa, Todd Rundgren, Yes, Led Zeppelin, Grateful Dead, King Crimson, Emerson Lake & Palmer, King's X and Jimi Hendrix, and I'd describe all as at least "prog-related." (Just in case you're wondering, my #1 is Igor Stravinsky and my #10 is the Stones).

 

Genesis
Yes
Other - Gentle Giant

I like Tull a lot, but not for prog reasons.
I could say the same for several other bands on here as well.

 

Other: Gypsy

 

Camel?

 

King Crimson
YES
Jethro Tull
I would add Steven Wilson to the list.

 

I went with Yes and Pink Floyd from the list.

I also chose other since I would include Porcupine Tree.

 

This mirrors my selections altho I had a hard time between Floyd and King Crimson...Went with the one that bit me as a kid, Floyd

 

Genesis, Yes, King Crimson.

 

I went with the mighty King Crimson and Yes, but agree that a proper prog thread should not do without say, Van Der Graaf Generator, Gentle Giant or Soft Machine - with the latter being my favorite (other).

 

Many of the bands listed are favorites. I had to choose Tull because of the fantastic live shows that I have attended, the same goes for King Crimson and Yes.

 

Just my two cents, but I can't rate latter day prog practitioners on the same level as I would the original pioneers. Somehow I always feel like these bands are mainly just rehashing the old familiar tropes mapped out by the older bands, not really moving the genre forward in groundbreaking ways. Maybe I haven't given enough of them a chance, but I've at least sampled most of the bands you mentioned above.

 

Genesis is my all-time pick, followed by King Crimson. For third place it would be difficult to separate Magma & Big Big Train.