Greatest Progressive band of all time.
 

The band can be of any genre where it is described as progressive.

I'll have to go with the Flower Kings. They are like a combination of Pink Floyd and Genesis.

I'll go for Gentle Giant. I think "Octopus" was the best prog album ever.

And please don't let this thread end up like the Buckethead/Hendrix one!

I preferred In a Glass House.

I'll be the lame-o who nominates Yes. The culmination of their progressive output, Yessongs, is absolute ecstasy in musical form

i'm not the biggest prog fan.....and honestly never really liked much until coming here and getting some great comps from various members.....but i think i'd say my favorite is Fish era Marillion

I'm not that into prog myself, to be honest. I think a lot of it is overhyped, pretentious and boring. I honestly can't stand stuff like The Mars Volta. On the other hand, there are many very talented and innovative artists in this genre. I wouldn't mind getting some comps if they are still around.

My vote goes to Rush. Although they were not part of the original prog scene, and some may argue that their later work is not fully progressive, all their albums are laced with clear progressive tenancies, and they are without a doubt the most prolific progressive rock band, consistently putting out strong albums every few years since 1974. Plus, they arguably bigger now than they have ever been. Looking forward to their new release in 2012!

My top 3 would be:

• Rush
• Yes
• Jethro Tull (although Ian Anderson never intended JT to be a progressive rock band-- their string of 70's albums are certainly progressive and almost flawless)

Although I didn't rank Yes as my #1, I certainly agree that Yessongs is-- as you put it "complete ecstasy."

Rush
 

I personally consider the band Rush as a template, in easier terms, especially considering the influence Rush had in helping to establish progressive rock musically into perfection. Their timing signatures serve as templates when considering the evolution of progressive rock.

:clap: one of the great live albums.

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.

To be honest I see Rush just as serious as Pink Floyd and both took their art very seriously.

And Geddy Lee is a better vocalist :D

I like Geddy Lee a lot as a vocalist, but like Jon Anderson he`s an acquired taste.

Maybe...
I loved him first time I heard him, though.

Yet another thread on this subject?

Perhaps this deserves a merge with the old thread.

I'm usually not one for favourites. I don't like ranking bands I like in mental lists. Different bands have different appeals and then it's like comparing apples and beef jerky. Sometimes you want a juicy apple, sometimes you want beef jerky.

Overall, the prog band I've appreciated the most is Pink Floyd, but it's not the one I listen to the most. Although I don't listen to it much these days, I feel Yes may have put out the overall most enjoyable/beautiful prog album with Close to the Edge. As a Canterbury fan, Hatfield and the North is the most charming prog band, I find. National Health is the most compositionally satisfying to me at the moment and probably my current favourite. Their brilliant debut is surpassed by their even greater second album, Of Queues And Cures from 1978. That album, while generally greatly appreciated by those who know it, is still sadly unknown to most prog-lovers!

People who like prog and have Spotify should check it out :)

That's a great analogy! I love it!

Although for some reason I thought you loved Gentle Giant too.

The easiest way to describe this would be to say KC resembled a better expression of "more than the sum of its parts."

Most prog bands fail because they depend on the unity of different egos and the music instead itself sounds like each virtuoso wants to accentuate his own independence and individuality. I don't know what it was about the musicians in King Crimson, but they all bought into Fripp's direction and the resulting productions benefit enormously from that kindred spirit.

Most of the prog I like is far from the Canterbury scene that progressive fanboys seem to wet themselves over. I don't find that stuff even remotely interesting.

I think the "11 minutes of insane work on 'Fracture'" were actually very boring. I though that for such a huge amout of time, the climax was a bit pathetic.

Did I ever write that I don't think they're great? Gentle Giant is close to the top as one of my most played bands ever and they're definetly one of my favourite prog bands. :)

I knew it!
Yes, I think "Octopus" was amazing. I think that's my favourite ever prog album.

Rush certainly takes the cake for me, and I realize I'm quoting myself, but I'm surprised Jethro Tull doesn't get mentioned more on this forum.

I think their output of Aqualung, Thick as a Brick, A Passion Play, Warchild, Minstrel in the Gallery, Too Old to Rock and Roll to Young to Die, Songs from the Wood, Heavy Horses, and Stormwatch are all completely phenomenal and progressive, and to think that all those album were put out in the course of just 8-years (1971-1979) is amazing.

This whole video is worth watching, but I love the section that starts at 7:55

Epic dancing. I always thought that something so long would be boring, although that clearly wasn't one of that videos vices! I think the keyboard player looked altogether too jolly for prog.

Progressive rock is the genre that made me fall in love with music before I knew any better, and my interest in it was what originally spurred me to join MusicBanter a couple years ago.

But anyway, as time's gone on, I've found that I've become more interested in groups that incorporate more "progressive" nuances or influences from the golden 70's rather than bands who try to recreate the era directly (which sums up most neo-prog. bands post Marillion I'd warrant).

Take, for example, a modern group like Brother Ape - they're a power trio like Rush, but their singer's got that whole Swedish power-pop thing going on and their instrumental backdrops tend to be rather jazzy and complex without losing out on melodicism. Hell, there's even drum n' bass touches where you'd least expect them. Basically, they're a fascinating, contemporary sort of crossbreed that really need more exposure...and on top of that, they remain "progressive" without being particularly reminiscent of the period that influenced them.

You'll find a rather large progressive rock influence in a lot of jazz-fusion too, in particular with some of the more technical heavyweights like The Pat Metheny Group or any post 85' solo album by Allan Holdsworth.

The pop world has had it's fair share of proggy crossover too, with my biggest nods going to Tears For Fears, Toto, Mr. Mister and It Bites for the 80's and bands/acts like Seal, Radiohead, Mansun, etc. once you get into the 90's.

And as for the 2000's...*points at signature*.

I'll always love 70's prog. and be in awe of what groups like Yes, Gentle Giant and Van Der Graaf Generator accomplished during the decade, but their output has had quite a ripple effect even going into the present day that I think people aren't necessarily aware of.

King Crimson, by a very large margin, cept for Lizard and Islands, which aren't exactly "awful", just unfocussed and all over the place

i spell my name PatriKc in homage to them

following them would be Tool, a pretty "pretentious" band - how else would you qualify writing time signatures in the Fibonacci sequence or whatever it was they did?

Iron Maiden and NoMeansNo, since they will always be my favorite.

Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull as well.