The Album by 11 Big Prog Metal Bands That Fans Collect the Most

Progressive metal can take on many different forms.

There are bands like Canada's Voivod that emphasize storytelling, building twists and turns through their lyrics. There are also those such as Tool and Opeth that use key changes and dynamic shifts in their sound to build the journey for the listener.

Both approaches continue to be popular among prog metal fans.

READ MORE: The Most Collected Albums By 11 Big Prog Rock Band (On Discogs)

We recently used online music marketplace and cataloging website Discogs to track down the most collected albums from 11 big prog metal acts. Here is a look at which titles are appearing the most in music fans' collections.

Between The Buried And Me

For their fourth album, progressive metalcore act Between the Buried and Me arranged eight total tracks on Colors to create one continuous song.

1. Colors (2007), 9,782 copies collected

2. Alaska (2005), 6,223 copies

3. Colors II (2021), 5,832 copies

4. The Parallax II: Future Sequence (2012), 5,415 copies

5. The Great Misdirect (2009), 5,142 copies

Dream Theater

It's no surprise that Dream Theater's most commercially successful album is also the most collected among fans. The rest of the band's releases are right up there for how often they appear in Discogs users' collections.

1. Images and Words (1992), 29,433 copies collected

2. Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory (1999), 22,410 copies

3. Awake (1994), 21,880 copies

4. Octavarium (2005), 15,482 copies

5. Falling Into Infinity (1997), 15,408 copies

Gojira

Gojira's sixth studio album put more of a focus on groove and melodies compared to previous releases. The approach turned out well for the French band as they created the most popular release to date.

1. Magma (2016), 22,595 copies collected

2. Fortitude (2021), 22,557 copies

3. L’Enfant Sauvage (2012), 15,289 copies

4. From Mars to Sirius (2005), 15,032 copies

5. The Way of All Flesh (2008), 11,744 copies

Haken

From the design of its cover to the music on the album, Haken's Affinity is heavily influenced by the '80s.

1. Affinity (2016), 4,941 copies

2. The Mountain (2013), 4,892 copies

3. Virus (2020), 3,698 copies

4. Fauna (2023), 3,425 copies

5. Vector (2018), 2,967 copies

Mastodon

Mastodon's most collected album is the band's first studio release to feature Brann Dailor as drummer and third co-vocalist.

1. Crack the Skye (2009), 38,495 copies collected

2. Leviathan (2004), 30,837 copies

3. Blood Mountain (2006), 26,970 copies

4. The Hunter (2011), 22,031 copies

5. Once More ‘Round the Sun (2014), 19,749 copies

Meshuggah

Six albums in and Meshuggah somehow found a way to be faster, heavier and even more precise on 2008's obZen.

1. obZen (2008), 11,767 copies

2. Immutable (2022), 8,180 copies

3. The Violent Sleep of Reason (2016), 8,019 copies

4. Nothing (2002), 7,853 copies

5. Koloss (2012), 7,680 copies

Opeth

Swedish prog metal act Opeth have a way of letting the listener catch their breath when working through the band's elongated songs. Blackwater Park strikes just the right balance between subtle and heavy impact.

1. Blackwater Park (2001), 35,198 copies collected

2. Ghost Reveries (2005), 24,456 copies

3. Damnation (2003), 21,037 copies

4. Watershed (2008), 19,516 copies

5. Still Life (1999), 18,085 copies

Queensryche

Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime continues to be popular among music collectors. The album's sequel, which was released 18 years later, doesn't even crack the top 5.

1. Operation: Mindcrime (1988), 38,119 copies collected

2. Empire (1990) 31,414 copies

3. The Warning (1984) 20,982 copies

4. Rage for Order (1986) 20,903 copies

5. Promised Land (1994) 11,643 copies

Symphony X

Symphony X took a darker approach when making their seventh studio album, Paradise Lost. The update to the band's sound proved to be a hit with fans who continue to snatch up this beloved release.

1. Paradise Lost (2007), 4,601 copies

2. The Odyssey (2002), 4,547 copies

3. The Divine Wings of Tragedy (1996), 3,814 copies

4. Iconoclast (2011), 3,731 copies

5. Underworld (2015), 3,453 copies

Tool

Going five years between releases, Tool's Lateralus ended up being worth the wait. The album sold more than 500,000 copies in just its first week.

1. Lateralus (2001), 89,036 copies collected

2. Undertow (1993), 67,598 copies

3. Fear Inoculum (2019), 53,828 copies

4. Aenima (1996), 45,268 copies

5. 10,000 Days (2006), 40,143 copies

Voivod

There's a cyborg and a bunch of metal songs that absolutely rip. This is all you need to know.

1. Dimension Hatröss (1988), 12,378 copies collected

2. Killing Technology (1987), 12,132 copies

3. Nothingface (1989), 11,749 copies

4. War and Pain (1984), 9,661 copies

5. Rrrööaarrr (1986), 9,835 copies