The Progressive Rock Albums That Changed How We Listen to Music

Who doesn’t love progressive rock albums? The genre really transformed the world of rock music back in the 1970s and onward. And there are a select few albums from the genre’s heyday that radically transformed the way people listened to music. Let’s look at just a few examples, shall we? At least one of these classics is probably already in your record collection.

‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ by Pink Floyd (1973)

Would this even be a list of prog-rock albums that changed the world without mentioning The Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd? This album’s release marked a turning point in the world of prog. The 1973 masterpiece was an enormous commercial success, proving that concept albums and progressive rock were here to stay. 

This album impacted popular culture in a major way, and songs like “Money”, “The Great Gig In The Sky”, and “Time” proved that other genres blended well with prog. A legendary album, indeed.

‘Moving Pictures’ by Rush (1981)

I know this album got a ton of love and has a huge cult following today, but I still wish Moving Pictures by Rush was respected as heavily as many of Pink Floyd’s releases. This is one of the most well-loved prog records out there, and also a notable fan favorite among Rush fans. 

It’s also a great example of what a band can do when they take constructive criticism from their listeners. Instead of opting for their typical long-winded tracks, Rush shortened many of the songs on Moving Pictures down into palatable, mainstream-friendly pieces.

‘Close To The Edge’ by Yes (1972)

Yes may not get as much love as behemoths like Pink Floyd, but prog would be nothing without this band. They’re extremely important in the history of the genre, and one of their most influential prog releases was Close To The Edge from 1972. This album is a dazzling show from beginning to end, and Bill Bruford’s drum tracks on this album were borderline unheard-of for the time.

‘Thick As A Brick’ by Jethro Tull (1972)

This is one of the finest progressive rock albums of all time, and in a way, it was Jethro Tull’s attempt at a joke. After Aqualung was released in 1971, many music critics and even fans mistakenly believed that the album was a concept album. To poke fun at that, the band released Thick As A Brick as a sort of parody of concept albums as a whole. 

The whole record is basically one 44-minute song, and the whole thing feels like a mad experiment. And if it was meant to be a mad experiment, that didn’t take away from how enjoyable this album really is.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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