Having listened to prog for close to twenty years or so now in some form or fashion, I think its one of those genres that has something to offer pretty much anyone. The spectrum is absolutely massive, since it can both be very very poppy or borderline dissonantly ear-rapey depending on the band. For that reason, I think its easier to get someone into prog than, say, hip-hop in some cases.
That being said, King Crimson are appreciated even by prog-haters partly because they established the main hallmarks of the genre and "did it first", making them innovators. I think Yes briefly eclipsed them as the "best" prog band with Close To The Edge, Relayer and Tales From Topographic Oceans, but those albums tend to be more polarizing to your typical music listener because Yes aren't really lyric oriented in the traditional sense. King Crimson were also one of the few prog bands persisting from the 70's who didn't make a full-on shift to AOR oriented stuff in the 80's, instead bringing in more experimental New Wave and electronic influences.
Frown is right that there are a lot of derivative bands in progressive rock, especially from the 80's onwards. But that's true of every genre in existence practically.
I've gone out of my way to recommend prog to people who hate prog precisely because I know what turns people off about the genre, so I've had success converting nonbelievers in the past. People like what they like...but if you like any kind of music at all, there was probably a prog band out there who crossed over into what you like in the past.
Last edited by Anteater; 07-18-2018 at 09:58 PM.
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