The Best Prog Rock Songs Of All Time Ranked
Progressive rock is based on fusions of styles, approaches and genres, involving a continuous move between formalism and eclecticism. Due to its historical reception, the scope of progressive rock is sometimes limited to a stereotype of long solos, long albums, fantasy lyrics, grandiose stage sets and costumes, and an obsessive dedication to technical skill. While the genre is often cited for its merging of high culture and low culture, few artists incorporated literal classical themes in their work to any great degree, and only a handful of groups, such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer, purposely emulated or referenced classical music. The genre coincided with the mid-1960s economic boom that allowed record labels to allocate more creative control to their artists, as well as the new journalistic division between “pop” and “rock” that lent generic significance to both terms. It saw a high level of popularity in the early-to-mid-1970s, but faded soon after. Conventional wisdom holds that the rise of punk rock caused this, but several more factors contributed to the decline. Music critics, who often labelled the concepts as “pretentious” and the sounds as “pompous” and “overblown”, tended to be hostile towards the genre or to completely ignore it. After the late 1970s, progressive rock fragmented in numerous forms. Some bands achieved commercial success well into the 1980s (albeit with changed lineups and more compact song structures) or crossed into symphonic pop, arena rock, or new wave. Here are the best Prog Rock songs of all time.
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15. Karn Evil 9 – Emerson, Lake & Palmer
“Despite the unwieldy title, this piece is as heavy and direct as ELP ever got, its two parts originally linking the two sides of Brain Salad Surgery. It begins as a dark vision of the future, driven by Keith Emerson’s heavy organ riffing and Greg Lake’s forceful singing; part two takes you to the surreal circus in the famous “welcome back, my friends” section. The underlying theme is a world where mass entertainment distracts people from the disappearance of nature and human rights. Not at all prophetic, was it?”
14. Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V) – Pink Floyd
“Pink Floyd’s arguably greatest single track is a haunting and ultimately loving tribute to their founder Syd Barrett. From David Gilmour’s crystalline intro solo to Roger Waters’ soaring chorus, everything about this track is emotive– and it feels like a unified song even though its two parts are separated to begin and end Wish You Were Here. A last glimpse of the old Floyd that created classics like Dark Side of the Moon before they turned full-time to scathing social commentary.”
13. Dogs – Pink Floyd
“A lengthy masterpiece which puts you into a different world, and it has really had an impact on the way I look at society. Clever lyrics, a brilliant multitude of guitar solos and simply an interesting atmosphere. Great soloing, beautiful lyrics, amazing buildup to the end, organic but not overly repetitive.”
12. The Gates of Delirium – Yes
“In a nutshell, YES broke every single rule that ever applied to prog rock. They weren’t playing around. Well they did manage to pick up things from a junkyard (like clutch plates, pieces of metal and springs) and turn them into musical instruments so you see, they didn’t take themselves too seriously even while in the process of creating this majestic track.”
11. 21st Century Schizoid Man – King Crimson
“It’s a classic now, but you’ve got to imagine just how jarring this prog rock song sounded in 1969. No one aside from Robert Fripp and company were delivering this kind of future shock, nor the kind of clatter heard in the guitar/sax break. Greg Lake’s distorted vocal was so menacing that you’d never guess that choirboy-type vocals would soon become his trademark. Every incarnation of Crimson has played this classic from In the Court of the Crimson King, and it’s an undeniable kick to still hear it performed in the 21st century.”
10. Tarkus – Emerson, Lake & Palmer
“This is one of the best things prog rock has to offer. It’s an absolute masterpiece and if Emerson, Lake and Palmer only released this and nothing else, they’d still be legends. Yep, that’s how good this is. Besides, it’s more than 20 minutes long and people still rave about it in 2017 so for sure, they must’ve done something right.”
9. Thick As a Brick, Pt. 1 – Jethro Tull
“If anyone wants to know what prog rock is, make them listen to this song. Our only issue with it is that it isn’t long enough – yes, even at a total of 43 minutes – it’s divided into two parts which goes for over 20 minutes each. We wouldn’t mind even if this went on for more than an hour. It’s good stuff like this that never gets boring no matter how many times you hit the replay button.”
8. Octavarium – Dream Theater
“Dream Theater are the kings of prog metal, but this 24-minute opus lands solidly on the prog side: If you thought they were always into shredding, you need to hear the tasteful, melodic touch of this prog rock song’s first twelve minutes. (Fear not, the shredding comes on the second twelve, and it’s perfectly thrilling.) You could spend weeks decoding all the references in this opus – for starters, it’s surely the only prog song whose lyrics reference both Pink Floyd and the Ramones.”
7. Red Barchetta – Rush
“Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres” might be a popular pick, but we went with a Rush song about that most rock ‘n roll of topics, a thrill ride in a fast car. Of course Neil Peart’s lyrics make it a metaphor for the lure of danger and freedom; and the band responds in kind. Alex Lifeson shifts gears with ease, coming up with a new riff for each stage of the story. Geddy Lee was really stretching his vocal abilities at this point, and here he’s still young enough to connect with the adolescent narrator.”
6. Starless – King Crimson
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I always feel this is a song about being depressed The song can take you to hell and back. Yet at the end it lifts you up, leaving you ahead again and seeing the beauty of it all. To quote Pitchfork (because it is so well put): “”Starless” feels like a summation of all King Crimson had accomplished to that point. Through its strictly controlled verses, hackle-raising crescendo and wild freak-out coda, the band wrings moments of startling beauty and exuberant energy from the dread and dissonance at the song’s core.”
5. Shine on You Crazy Diamond – Pink Floyd
“Pink Floyd’s arguably greatest single track is a haunting and ultimately loving tribute to their founder Syd Barrett. From David Gilmour’s crystalline intro solo to Roger Waters’ soaring chorus, everything about this track is emotive– and it feels like a unified song even though its two parts are separated to begin and end Wish You Were Here. A last glimpse of the old Floyd that created classics like Dark Side of the Moon before they turned full-time to scathing social commentary.”
4. 2112 – Rush
“For the record, this isn’t a song. It’s a musical journey all by itself. It’s captivating and astonishing. The diversity is mind-boggling too. Only geniuses can come up with something like this. It’s practically untouchable and every single member of the band gave top performance – it’s flawless no matter how you look at it. It makes you feel things from beginning to end. It wasn’t a huge hit but it will always be remembered as one of the greatest prog rock pieces of all time.”
3. Close to the Edge – Yes
“If you’ve read about Yes’ methods in the studio, you know that they threw loads of ideas around and then stitched them all together. So it’s a miracle that they came up with something as beautifully seamless as this. Dealing with nothing less than a visit to Heaven, the wonder of “Close to the Edge” is that it’s structured like a pop song: Three verses, middle eight, keyboard solo, and chorus finale. But those Yes harmonies get positively celestial, Bill Bruford’s drumming is a solid anchor, and Rick Wakeman’s Hammond organ solo may be the most jubilant moment in all of prog.”
2. Echoes – Pink Floyd
“This is gold. It’s a stunning piece of music. The depth and diversity are enough to take you to places without ever leaving your couch. And the live performance in Pompeii? We don’t even know how to describe it. There’s an otherworldly feel that the studio version cannot capture. It’s simple yet complex. Then again, it’s Pink Floyd and they never shied away from anything complicated or technically difficult.”
1. Supper’s Ready
“Foxtrot is arguably the album that really put Genesis on the map in the UK, and made them at least a footnote in the US. In Italy they were already very successful, but anyone who knows anything about Italian music of the 70s knows they were VERY into prog rock. Anyways, this song is the song I’ve listened to almost the most of any song ever, probably behind all of Dark Side of the Moon. It’s just such a catchy song, and it demonstrates Gabriel’s songwriting and composition skills perfectly, and demonstrates the band’s musical talent very well as well.”