Top Ten Progressive Metal Albums

Progressive music was the first genre that really captured my interest, although I had been listening to far more mainstream rock music for several years before I came across any of the albums in this list. It was doubtlessly the originality that first attracted me to prog, progressive metal in particular, because so far I had never managed to find any music that I still enjoyed after several listens. Even though it took me quite a while to appreciate many of the albums in this list, there isn't a single entry that hasn't remained fresh - in fact I still find myself enjoying these albums more with each listen.

It's near impossible to create a definitive list of the best progressive metal albums because of the incredible variety that exists within the genre. The ten which I have eventually settled on are all albums which I love, and which show the all the extremes and the diversity of the genre; I've included softer albums, which feature a lot of progressive rock, and heavier albums that are interlaced with death metal elements. There is of course a lot of personal bias in this list; I love albums with stories or strong themes, so I’ve favoured some concept albums.