Yes Albums Ranked

Yes are an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Peter Banks, keyboardist Tony Kaye, and drummer Bill Bruford. The band has undergone numerous formations throughout its history; nineteen musicians have been full-time members. Since June 2015, it has consisted of guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Geoff Downes, singer Jon Davison, and bassist Billy Sherwood. Yes have explored several musical styles over the years, and are most notably regarded as progressive rock pioneers.
Yes began performing original songs and rearranged covers of rock, pop, blues, and jazz songs, as evident on their first two albums. A change of direction in 1970 led to a series of successful progressive rock albums until their disbanding in 1981, their most successful being The Yes Album (1971), Fragile (1971) and Close to the Edge (1972). Yes toured as a major rock act that earned the band a reputation for their elaborate stage sets, light displays, and album covers designed by Roger Dean. The success of “Roundabout”, the single from Fragile, cemented their popularity across the decade and beyond.
Yes is one of the most successful, influential, and longest-lasting progressive rock bands. They have sold 13.5 million RIAA-certified albums in the US.  In 1985, they won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance with “Cinema”, and received five Grammy nominations between 1985 and 1992. They were ranked No. 94 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.  Yes have headlined annual progressive rock-themed cruises since 2013 named Cruise to the Edge. Their discography spans 21 studio albums. In April 2017, Yes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which chose specifically to bestow the honor upon current and former members Anderson, Squire, Bruford, Kaye, Howe, Wakeman, White, and Rabin. Here are all of Yes albums ranked.

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10. Yes (1969)

“Yes’ first album, excellent of course. Great guitar work from Peter Banks, Excellent Hammond and piano from Tony Kaye. Chris Squire rocks his bass as he always did. Bill Bruford so jazzy and cleaver. Jon Anderson in early voice brings it all together. Highly recommended,”

9. Time and a Word (1970)

“The album Title “Time and a word”, I had barely heard many years later, and is such a great song lyrically and musically, that it’s hard to believe it didn’t get radio play very much. There are 2 members here that didn’t go on with Trevor, Steve, and Jon–and Chris and also still looking for Rick Wakeman, but my guess is he had not joined yet.- I’d say you are in for a treat on this!!”

8. Drama (1980)

“DRAMA: Overall, this is a very good album. I’m a HUGE Jon Anderson fan, so you might think that without him on this album, or without Wakeman, I might not rate it so high. But this really rocks, and it’s well done, well written and well played. Along with the first ASIA album, this may very well be Geoff Downe’s best work with Yes/Asia. And Trevor Horn did a fine job pulling off this album with Squire’s voice layered in harmonies, etc. Nice material on here. Good in it’s own way. I don’t play it often, but when I do, it’s very listenable and enjoyable. Would not rate it higher than most Yes albums, but for what it is, it’s very well done, and I do like it a lot.”

7. 90125 (1983)

“There is nothing on the this album not to love, and I do. Love, love, love it. Great music. Makes me happy. Isn’t that part of what music is supposed to do, evoke some emotion? Can’t believe how old it is though. Blimey ….. time is racing on. I would have bought Trevor Rabin’s 90124 until I saw the price and then thought better of it – I think that was the demos before this one evolved.”

6. Tales From Topographic Oceans (1973)

“I hadn’t heard this album in years and was pleasantly surprised when I found how much of it I remembered, even the lyrics! Yes always produced great music, expertly played and sung, but the lyrics were often so cryptic that it was difficult to figure out what the hell you were singing along to. Thankfully, this album comes with lyrics and sleeve notes which explain all, including the four elements of the concept being interpreted. I no longer wear flared jeans, cheese cloth shirts and long hair, but I still listen to very good music. This album is excellent.”

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5. Going for the One (1977)

“Yes’ “Going for the One,” released in 1977, for me, is one of their best albums. Right up there with “Close to the Edge,” “Tales from Topographic Oceans,” and “Relayer”. The reason I feel this way is due to the consistency of the music. From start to finish, there’s not a weak moment anywhere. I also welcome the return of keyboardist Rick Wakeman who’s work on “Close to the Edge” and “Tales from Topographic Oceans” was outstanding and really gave the band a unique sound.”

4. Relayer (1974)

“Beautiful music from an epic band. Relayer is an album that dared to challenge the band’s fan base with a somewhat different yet familiar energy the true YES fan craved and appreciated. I’ve long since worn out the vinyl having bought the LP back in the day when first released. I was reminded of it’s original beauty while recently attending a YES concert. The song “Soon” was part of the band’s playlist that evening. “

3. Fragile (1971)

“Definitely my favorite Yes album. The inter-play between Howe and Wakeman show why they should have been Hall of Famers a LONG time ago. But I am thrilled they finally got in. It’s the classic line up that true Yes fans look for. It’s at a point that they truly found their sound and the additional of Wakeman pushed them to new levels. What group can you find where they “potentially” have the greatest guitarist, keyboard and bass player of all time. Not to mention my personal favorite vocalist Jon Anderson. He is Yes and without him, there just isn’t the incentive to follow them. I did see Anderson Rabin Wakeman in Ct and they were more Yes than the current Yes touring. Sad isn’t it? But when you speak of classic Yes, this is the album that comes to mind.”

2. The Yes Album (1971)

“I’ve always enjoyed this album the best of all of the Yes albums. This package is especially appealing for a number of reasons. For the price you get nice value. There is a CD that I can play in my car but there is also a Blu-ray with multiple mixes. There’s an original mix, a Steve Wilson mix (if you don’t know him, he’s an artist from Porcupine Tree who is a genius with a mixing board), there are 5.1 surround sound mixes, and there are some live tracks including Paul Simon’s America that were not on the Yes Album but are remixed nicely.”

1.Close to the Edge (1972)

“Okay. Full disclosure. This is probably my all time favorite album of contemporary music. Three songs, three fully formed ideas executed flawlessly and presented with all its subtlety and bombast. The 2013 remix of the album on the face of it is not radical. But when you listen to this pinnacle of progressive music, especially after living with the dense and somewhat compressed original mix, and even the re-master from a few years back, and you take advantage of the 5.1 surround sound version, the absolute brilliance of the recording is revealed. Regarding the craft of the original music I will not indulge except to say that each song is brilliantly put together, filled with poetic intelligence and musical virtuosity.”