There aren’t many casual prog-rock fans. Most people are only vaguely aware such a genre of music exists, or else they’ve logged several consecutive years on the Cruise to the Edge. Sure, there’s a tiny middle ground of fans who come to Yes concerts just to hear “Roundabout,” and who walk away from Genesis shows disappointed they didn’t get “In Too Deep” or “In the Air Tonight.” If you’re anywhere near that level of prog fan, this isn’t the quiz for you. But if you’re a proghead who feels that “Owner of a Lonely Heart” forever killed the real Yes, Pink Floyd peaked with Animals, and there’s no such thing as a bad King Crimson album, even in the 1990s, then you’re in the right place. And to be fair, we didn’t dig too deep into more under-the-radar groups like Van der Graaf Generator or Le Orme. We wanted to at least give some people a chance at passing this thing.
Zero to 30 percent: Don’t fret. Don’t despair. Just head over to your favorite streaming service, load up Yes’ Close to the Edge, and begin your prog voyage. When that’s over, put on Foxtrot by Genesis. These are maybe the two best prog albums ever released, and they came out just days apart in September 1972. If you like what you hear, read David Weigel’s The Show That Never Ends: The Rise and Fall of Prog Rock. It’s a fascinating journey through the story of bands that sound very little like Journey.
31 to 60 percent: Nice work. You clearly know that Peter Gabriel is way more than the “In Your Eyes” and “Sledgehammer” guy. If you want to continue your prog odyssey, mainline the King Crimson catalog. They remain most famous for their 1969 debut, but they continued to evolve in fascinating ways. Their 1980s catalog is so popular that the duo of Tony Levin and Adrian Belew, who played in that era of King Crimson, have spent the past year performing it on tour with guitarist Steve Vai and Tool drummer Danny Carey.
61 to 100 percent: Amazing. There’s likely very little we can teach you. But maybe it’s time to go beyond (gentle) giants of the genre like Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, and Rush. Head over to our list of the 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums to learn more about the groups like Happy the Man, Crack the Sky, Triumvirat, and Amon Düül II. You won’t be disappointed.
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