The Best Prog Rock Album of Each Year of the 1970s

Here is the best prog rock album of each year of the 1970s!

Many people see the 1970s as both the beginning and heyday of progressive rock, as that’s when subgenre founders such as Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Rush, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Van der Graaf Generator and Premiata Forneria Marconi put out their premier work. Consequently, the era also birthed many of the greatest prog rock records ever made.

That got us thinking about which album was the best from each year of the decade.

On paper, it might sound easy to make those decisions, but in practice, it was incredibly difficult because multiple heavyweights were released during all 10 years. For example, 1971 spawned Yes’ Fragile, VDGG’s Pawn Hearts, Jethro Tull’s Aqualung and ELP’s Tarkus, just like 1977 included Kansas’ Point of No Return, Rush’s A Farewell to Kings, Eloy’s Ocean and Pink Floyd’s Animals.

READ MORE: The 25 Best Prog Rock Albums of the 2000s (Ranked)

Nevertheless, we think we’ve made the right choices below (as contentious and debatable as they might be).

Obviously, our preferences are highly subjective, and on a different day, we might go for something else in one or two (or five) spots. Also, in situations where two albums are utterly tied but one band isn’t featured elsewhere, we may’ve gone with them to represent as many artists as possible and prevent one band from dominating the list.

Regardless of if you think we hit the nail on the head with all 10 picks, there’s no denying that the LPs below are phenomenal. For us, they absolutely constitute the best prog rock album of each year of the 1970s as well!

How many of our picks do you agree with? Which ones should be replaced? Let us know!