5 Progressive Rock Albums That Pushed the Boundaries of Sound

Prog has seen its fair share of releases through the years. Sifting through this particular genre can be a bit daunting, considering the sheer volume of work that has come out since the mid-1960s. That being said, the following five progressive rock albums are just on another level, and you may have never heard of them before. Let’s dive in!

1. ‘Pawn Hearts’ by Van Der Graaf Generator

Progressive rock can often be on the mild side, but that certainly isn’t the case for the legendary progressive rock album Pawn Hearts by by Van Der Graaf Generator. 

This 1971 record wasn’t a commercial success in the band’s native UK, but it (for some reason) became a smash no. 1 hit in Italy. Today, it has become a bit of a cult classic that finally got the respect it deserves. Between the existential lyricism and the theatrical drama of this record, you won’t find anything else like it.

2. ‘Tarkus’ by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

This glorious work from Emerson, Lake & Palmer is probably the most well-known of the progressive rock albums on this list. Tarkus is a certified masterpiece, particularly for its multi-track concept suite of songs. Like most classic prog albums, this work explores notions of war, love, peace, religion, and other existential concepts.

3. ‘Ashes Are Burning’ by Renaissance

You won’t hear a voice quite as stunning in progressive rock as Annie Haslam. Renaissance’s Ashes Are Burning puts her vocal prowess at the forefront of the record, and that was a smart creative choice. Few records in this genre don’t feature the electric guitar at the forefront, but who needs one when you’ve got Haslam’s glittering three-octave vocal range?

4. ‘Security’ by Peter Gabriel

It’s only natural that one of Peter Gabriel’s solo works would make it to our list of stellar progressive rock albums. The creative mastermind more or less shied away from prog rock by the mid-1980s, but one of his finer records with prog elements came before that period in 1982. Security is a multi-genre masterclass in exploring what one can do with sound.

5. ‘In Search Of The Chord’ by The Moody Blues

A more underrated entry on this list of progressive rock albums is In Search Of The Chord by The Moody Blues. Though, a solid half-dozen of The Moody Blues’ records could make it to this list. 

This 1968 prog-psych rock record boasts a fascinating, trippy theme of mental and spiritual transcendence, and it weighs the pros and cons of several options. Those options include drugs, meditation, and love. Pick your fighter, I suppose.

Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images

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