Best Porcupine Tree Albums

So tricky to choose a favorite, but I do feel like the band was in absolute top form with this album. The atmosphere, production, musicianship, and memorable melodies are all stellar. Despite the long track lengths, it never feels overblown or pompous - it's a stunning achievement.

I genuinely don't understand how this band never made it huge, I really don't.

Here, the concept of the album is clearly visible, and today's youth can easily relate to the themes of the album. There are only six songs on this album, but they are quite long and excellently arranged.

Very good balance between heavy and soft parts. Deadwing is a joke compared to this or In Absentia. Actually, I prefer any other PT album to Deadwing. Deadwing was a misstep, though it was not as horrible as I just made it sound.

No way would I put Fear of a Blank Planet at the top, so it's between this and Deadwing. Both are very close in quality in my mind. Deadwing has a much better structure and concept (and ASBNH is better than most In Absentia songs).

But In Absentia as a whole is still extremely well-constructed and has better songs overall. I would say there's 0-1 weak spots on this album. Also, the surreal, ambient, and creepy factor is definitely higher on In Absentia than Deadwing.

I call this album the embodiment of modern intelligent music. This is a brilliant prog-rock album in all aspects. The lyrics are fascinating, and you feel that every guitar riff is telling you a whole story, all while being part of a genius melody.

Masterpiece.

There are certainly some phenomenal songs across all of their albums, but as an album on the whole, Deadwing easily triumphs. I really hate the way they portray the protagonist of FOABP, The Incident as a whole is quite uneven, and so on with other criticisms.

But only Deadwing flourishes in concept, maintains an even pace, and is just musically gorgeous.

So hard to pick the best one. Deadwing, however, is probably the most accessible album of their latter-day career. It exhibits a whole range of styles and genres yet feels as complete as any great album should.

This album is never far away from my CD player, and the songs are always in my head.

There are some very sad songs on this album, particularly Feel So Low. I'm fairly certain it's about his girlfriend breaking up with him and he put his emotions into the song.

Great album.

The period between their psychedelic debut albums and later prog-metal work is the best, in my opinion. This album has no weak track, and some masterpieces like "Russia on Ice" and "Hatesong."

Almost flawless album.

This is the album that got me into Porcupine Tree, followed closely by Stupid Dream. And wow! Fantastic escapism through their music. It was like being a teenager again (I am not).

I'm not a huge fan of a lot of the songs on this album, but to me, this is (along with Lightbulb Sun) where they perfected their sound. It has none of the overbearing metal influence of their later works or the unnecessary psychedelic tangents of earlier albums.

The last few songs flow together in a near-flawless masterpiece. The album manages to incorporate just enough of PT's psychedelically influenced roots while still producing memorable individual songs.

I know this might sound a little elitist and brash, but any true PT fan and serious music lover would pick this album as number one.

Great album. In many people's opinion, their peak. At least listen to Dark Matter. That song is amazing.

Great. Not for those who need melodic breaks on their menu.

Am I the only one who deems this to be their undisputed masterpiece? It has everything, and while I think that Deadwing gets a little too passive in the second half, this one is fantastic all the way through.

There are mind-numbing riffs like "Blind House," "Octane Twisted," and "Remember Me Lover," melancholic masterpieces like "Yellow Windows of the Evening Train" and "I Drive the Hearse," and absolutely stunning and cathartic solo parts like "Time Flies" and "Drawing the Line."

Hell, even disturbing songs like the title track and "Bonnie the Cat" are in here, and everything fits together perfectly.

In my opinion, only "In Absentia" is probably better.

Cool psychedelia. People label this as a "carbon copy of Pink Floyd," but I believe this is unnecessary because it's Steven Wilson's own thing. I actually bought this album for the sole reason that it would be a '90s Floyd album, but what I ended up getting was something completely unique, even compared to Porcupine Tree's other albums.

This album is not one to disappoint.

I was blown away by the quality of this album. The title track is perfect, and the other tracks are noteworthy too. Since I'm a Pink Floyd fanatic, I believe this is the closest you could possibly get to Pink Floyd.

This album is one of their best, maybe where they began to become conscious of their strengths.

Come on! This is one of their best works! I'd put it at number 6, replacing The Incident, but I just don't like that one. I agree with the top 5.

Great chill-out record. Reminds me of Pink Floyd in places, so it's one of my favorites.

Probably the best live album of the last 30 years. Awesome band in top form with a brilliant array of songs.

An obscure, fully improvised live instrumental album in a similar vein to Krautrock, yet undeniably Porcupine Tree!

One of the finest space live albums ever released on record. Gives Hawkwind a run for their money!

An extremely limited and highly sought-after release, that has a near-flawless track list. Perhaps shadowed by Anesthetize.