Soldier, if you don't mind me asking Bro, who is your favorite progressive rock band/artist?

To be honest, I cant remember if we have already discussed this particular subject already or not?

Favorite progressive rock band?

I`m sure we`ve discussed this and its probably either Yes or Rush, but I probably listen to more Kansas than those two and so that could qualify Kansas as my favourite ever prog-band (I loved the mid-western slant they gave to prog) I also really dig Wishbone Ash and the Argus album and I think the trilogy of King Crimson albums Larks Tongue in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black and Red as being something very special.

Of the current generation of bands both The Mars Volta and Pain of Salvation are two bands I really love.

Floyd, Genesis or maybe ELP. Depends what mood I'm in. (Great concepts-Floyd, Eccentricity and Englishness-Genesis, Virtuoso keyboard playing-ELP)

I like Kansas as well also, but I don't label them in the same category as being a core progressive rock band like Rush is.

The main reason to me is, Rush is a 3-piece band that never misses a lick and their music fills so much space, going anywhere and everywhere musically to perfection. Live or in the studio. (only in my personal opinion of course).
Rush and Progressive Rock is like Judas Priest and Metal. (Innovators)

For me, it starts and ends with King Crimson. I do enjoy other proggers, such as Yes, Genesis and especially early Van Der Graaf Generator; but King Crimson takes the cake.

The word I most often hear as a negative association with prog from it's detractors is that it sounds like musical masturbation. Something I think King Crimson does INCREDIBLY well is that you often do not hear the spotlighted solos that go on for 5,6,7 minutes. Think of any ELP album and especially live performances, specifically Keith Emerson. He's incredibly talented, and I love that video of him stabbing his Hammond organ with knives, but it feels so unnecessary. It stops being ELP and starts becoming a recital with each guy taking turns showing their skill, aka whipping out their schlongs and a tape measure. That isn't a bad thing, but it gets old quickly.

On the other hand, Robert Fripp is a guitar genius... but can you name a great guitar solo he had with King Crimson? The closest I can come with is the 11 minutes of insane work on 'Fracture'. But the fact that Bill Bruford and John Wetton are playing very well and add to Fripp, rather than get out of his way, is why I like King Crimson. The whole band being at their proggiest all at the same time, rather than one member at a time.

I personally can't agree with that. In my opinion, The Mars Volta seems so pretentious and boring compared with Floyd, Rush and Genesis that I don't think they merit being mentioned in the same sentence. At least Rush were fun, Floyd were meaningful and Genesis were English! If you listen to the lyrics of "Miranda That Ghost Just Isn’t Holy Anymore", you'll see what I mean.

The Mars Volta are pretentious and that`s what makes them great, it brings back memories of 1970s Yes! Music wise they are like a modern day Yes and Led Zeppelin rolled into one with a heavy jazz and Latin tinge...........wow!

I wouldn`t actually label Rush as a fun band and don`t really see any fun factor to their sound, they didn`t do for example any of the "duff and jokey songs" that you would ocasionally find on albums (usually just one song) by some of the British bands of the early 1970s prog era. I also wouldn`t describe Floyd as meaningful (but I think you need to clarify that better) for me to respond to it. Early Genesis were certainly very English though with their whimsical sound.

Haha... I'll be honest, my dislike of the Mars Volta is because it reminds me of Led Zeppelin! I'm happy just listening to Led Zeppelin without some prog impersonation, but that's just me.

Rush is fun because of the acoustic aesthetic, I don't mean "funny" like those lame comedy bands calling themselves things like "The Farters" and "The Poopers". I just think that hearing Rush is pretty fun!
Pink Floyd make much more serious and sensible music, and if you need cheering up you probably won't put on "The Wall".

The Wall was an accomplished album, but it always bored me, not to the same level as Blonde on Blonde but it still bored me and I always found it hard to sit through it from beginning to end. I`ve heard every Floyd album and own about 60% of their discography, but I was never a huge fan of the band and actually preferred most of the other big prog bands of the era. As for being pretentious, didn`t Roger Waters invent the word?

To be perfectly frank I loathe Pink Floyd. That's irrelevant though. What matters is that they are a "serious" kind of band, and if you want that to mean "boring", I'll agree with you! I just think that if you want some fun and prog at the same time, Rush are your best bet.