Top 10 Progressive Rock Albums of the 2010s
As I have established, progressive rock is quite an overlooked genre of music, yet certainly the most creative and diverse of all time. Although we may not get the truly grand sound of the symphonic era anymore, the prog community is still blessed with some wonderful creations.Just to be a little limited and a little less bias I will try and keep it at one album per artist. Feel free to submit other great prog albums of the decade.
I'd put all their albums on this list if I could, but right now I'm focused on their most recognized album. What makes Animals as Leaders excellent is that each song has its own unique sound and feel. This album truly showcases the influence of various musical backgrounds on the band. Para Mexer is influenced by Latin music, Tooth and Claw by the heavier, darker side of metal, and Physical Education has a more modern twist. It's a collection of music theory masterpieces.
Three discs. 33 songs total. That's right, 33. This album is like a long storybook in music form, much like any concept album. But what differentiates this from most other concept albums is not just its length, but its ability to really come to life as an established story for listeners. Almost nothing about this monstrous album should be skipped over.
As the title suggests, this album takes most of its inspiration from folk music. It's albums like these that really show how varied progressive rock can be, as incorporating elements of older music and putting a rock 'n' roll spin on them is an aspect of prog that makes it so enjoyable. Folklore has not only mastered this but also brings in the sounds of the symphonic era of prog.
This album definitely has a metal feel and an excellent link to symphonic prog music as well. This band honestly reminds me of late Porcupine Tree tunes, as they have the intensity, yet the combination of the raw emotion heard in every aspect of the music. This album is definitely amazing.
It's no secret I love this album. A lot. I love its energy, I love the feeling it gives off that symphonic prog once gave, and I especially love the adventurous spark it flaunts through several songs on the album. Without a doubt, this is the best album of 2018. Although it may not be the best album of the decade, it's still up there.
It is a trend for Van Der Graaf Generator songs to incorporate many different sounds into one and still create a beautiful piece. Here they have done that again. Each song stands on its own, which makes it a little harder to review the album as a whole. However, it does showcase a defining aspect of prog: diversity. Each song is very different from the others (with the exception of the last three), and it comes together to create a fun album that still has a reminiscence of the older VDGG tunes.
This album may have fewer songs than any other on the list, but it's still great. The 25-minute epic "Numbers" is to die for and really shows what prog rockers can achieve with their time. That isn't to say the other songs aren't great, because they are. They have a wonderful spirit that brings back memories of the memorable symphonic prog era, while also incorporating elements of rock that bands like Rush would use. Wonderful effort, Flower Kings.
Established as progressive/art rock by the Prog Archives, so I'll count it for this list. It's the combination of certain musical sounds that makes progressive rock so amazing, and in this album, it takes on a blend of a spacey feel and jazz style. Excellent conception, and one for people to treasure forever.
I'll be the first to say I think Dream Theater is the most overrated prog band of all. However, I still enjoy some of their material. This album was pretty good, and it was fairly evident they wanted to try and bring back the spirit of their earlier songs. Have they done that? Yes. It is a shame, though, as this is the last album of theirs I truly enjoyed.
A debut album released in 2015. Earthside is an American band from Connecticut. I really, really liked this album. My favorite songs: The Closest I've Come, A Dream In Static, Mob Mentality. (The title track, A Dream In Static, features TesseracT's Daniel Tompkins on vocals.) Some people think the band is prog metal, but for me, they are prog rock.
Marillion's 2016 album F E A R was a major disappointment for me, but this one was definitely great. The vocals aren't too impressive, but the album makes a valiant effort to bring back the classic '80s sound Marillion had, although this album is much softer. It's like they had a crossover with Porcupine Tree if anything. Still, a good album.
I didn't add this, and I can't believe there's another user on this site who has heard of this album! It's my favorite metal album of 2018. I didn't add it because it's prog death metal and not prog rock, although in a broader sense, prog death metal is also rock.
