AOTY 2023
Rolling Stone's 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time

Rolling Stone's 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time

Original Source →

33.

TOOL - Lateralus
May 15, 2001
Critic Score
75
10 reviews

You need time to deal with Lateralus — a lot more than the seventy-seven minutes it takes just to play the whole disc. And for much of that time, you will wonder: What the fuck is going on here? Drums, bass and guitars move in jarring cycles of hyperhowl and near-silent death march.

32.

Kansas - Leftoverture
November 1, 1976
Critic Score
55
2 reviews

30.

U.K. - U.K.
March 0, 1978
Critic Score
80
1 review

25.

The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium
June 24, 2003
Critic Score
77
17 reviews

Teetering on the brink of indulgence, De-Loused proves just how much art you can pack into steadfastly aggressive songs and still call them punk.

22.

Rush - 2112
April 1, 1976
Critic Score
75
2 reviews

21.

Camel - Mirage
March 1, 1974
Critic Score
60
1 review

17.

Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
May 25, 1973
Critic Score
70
2 reviews
It's simplistic, monotonous and far too long.

16.

Gentle Giant - Octopus
November 16, 1972
Critic Score
85
2 reviews

15.

King Crimson - Red
October 6, 1974
Critic Score
92
6 reviews

14.

Genesis - Foxtrot
October 6, 1972
Critic Score
80
2 reviews

13.

Pink Floyd - Animals
January 21, 1977
Critic Score
70
4 reviews

11.

October 29, 1978
Critic Score
70
2 reviews

10.

Yes - Fragile
November 26, 1971
Critic Score
89
3 reviews

8.

Can - Future Days
August 1, 1973
Critic Score
85
4 reviews

Future Days sets its sights a little lower. Suzuki mostly sticks to the background, aside from a peculiar attempt at a pop song ("Moonshake"); the rest of the album is three long, dreamy pieces that suggest Can had been listening to electric-era Miles Davis.

5.

Yes - Close to the Edge
September 13, 1972
Critic Score
80
3 reviews

Close to the Edge has its moments, but most of this hotly anticipated follow-up is a monumental snore, a dubious hot-air suite whipped up around a handful of promising song fragments.

4.

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
September 12, 1975
Critic Score
100
3 reviews

If Barrett's mental breakdown was the subtext of Dark Side, Wish You Were Here was an explicit tribute to their lost friend.

3.

Rush - Moving Pictures
February 12, 1981
Critic Score
90
2 reviews

2.

King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
October 10, 1969
Critic Score
90
4 reviews
Although best remembered for the sci-fi fury of "21st Century Schizoid Man," the other songs find the band operating in the semiclassical mode favored by early art rockers; apart from occasional mellotron overkill and singer Greg Lake's pompons tendencies, the album remains quite listenable.

1.

Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
March 1, 1973
Critic Score
99
6 reviews

The Dark Side of the Moon is a fine album with a textural and conceptual richness that not only invites, but demands involvement.

Original Source: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-greatest-prog-rock-albums-of-all-time-78793/happy-the-man-happy-the-man-1977-41843/
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