The History of Prog Rock in 20 Albums

Here's the history of prog rock in 20 albums.

Progressive rock has been a fairly niche style for most of its existence, yet that existence has also lasted longer than many other subgenres. Specifically, it got going in the late 1960s, so it’s been delighting fans of especially lengthy, fantastical, sophisticated and experimental rock music for over half a century.

Because of its incredible legacy, we thought it was time to give prog rock some proper respect by tracing its history in 20 albums.

READ MORE: Best Progressive Rock + Metal Album of Each Year Since 1983

Keep in mind that we can only cover a certain amount of ground in less than two dozen LPs, so we must make a few concessions. For instance, Germany, France, Italy and Sweden (among other countries) cumulatively contained many beloved pioneers (Eloy, Amon Düül II, Magma, Goblin, Le Orme, Premiata Forneria Marconi, Kaipa, etc.); however, England is where the majority of major forerunners arose, so we’d be negligent not to reflect that.

We need to start as close to the proper birth of prog rock as possible, too. Therefore, important 1967 proto-prog/psychedelic classics such as the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Vanilla Fudge’s Vanilla Fudge and the Moody Blues’ Days of Future Passed won’t be explored so that we can kick things off with a record that truly serves as the bridge between genres.

Be sure to check out our feature on “The History of Prog Metal in 21 Albums” as well to see if some of your favorite acts who aren’t mentioned here are mentioned there. Likewise, check out some of the countless artists who’d definitely be on this list if we could’ve fit them (including Phideaux, Transatlantic, ELP, Moon Safari, Änglagård, The Pineapple Thief, Big Big Train and IQ).

Without further ado, here are our picks for 20 albums that embody the history of progressive rock!