Pink Floyd's 1973 classic The Dark Side of the Moon has been named as the Best Prog Album of all time by Rolling Stone magazine, with 1975's Wish You Were Here in fourth place. TDSOTM, which has sold in excess of 50 million copies, and is the subject of various stats and trivia due to its longevity in the charts, and the number of homes with a copy, heads a chart full of heavily established acts.
Notably, only two of the top ten albums WEREN'T released in what was arguably the golden era for the genre - King Crimson's In The Court of the Crimson King, which was released in 1969, and Rush's 1981 epic, Moving Pictures.
As Prog magazine notes, only eight later-generation prog acts make Rolling Stone's top 50 – The Mars Volta at number 25, Opeth at 28, Dream Theater at 29, Tool at 33, Porcupine Tree at 39, Meshuggah at 42, Marillion at 47 and Ruins at 49.
Commenting on TDSOTM, Rolling Stone said: "Easily the peak of prog rock's commercial success, Pink Floyd's lean concept album has soundtracked countless planetarium light shows and just as many critical unpackings. The album has endured as a pop culture touchstone since its release. Lyrically Roger Waters was universal yet personal, peeling back the human condition's paper-thin skin. For all its Alan Parsons-led studio innovations, the underlying accessibility is its greatest strength."
Rolling Stone's top 10 Prog Albums:
- Pink Floyd: The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)
- King Crimson: In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969)
- Rush: Moving Pictures (1981)
- Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here (1975)
- Yes: Close To The Edge (1972)
- Genesis: Selling England By The Pound (1973)
- Jethro Tull: Thick As A Brick (1972)
- Can: Future Days (1973)
- Genesis: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974)
- Yes: Fragile (1971)