Let's face it. Progressive rock has been around for decades now, and the number of bands playing it has obviously augmented with each passing year, which all leads to a very simple conclusion: there are a lot of progressive rock albums out there. Not only that, but assuming, for instance, that only two per cent of such albums are pretty good, one is still left with a hefty number of records to consider. Now try to shorten that to the essential progressive rock hall of fame and things get a bit too complicated.

However, we, the staff at Progfreaks.com, are not about to let "too complicated" get in our way. No, we boldly dare to go where no man, Captain Kirk and Spock included, has ever gone before. Ok, ok, so we're not the first ones to come up with a prog hall of fame. Sue us. And on the way to your lawyer's office, remember your ingratitude to three workaholics who have tried to give you yet another tool to find your way through the vast and misty realms of progressive rock. You bastard.

Humor aside, however, it's obviously quite difficult to establish a clear consensus of what makes an album, much less an artist or band, a real titan. There's always the debate of whether or not the record really influenced a generation of musicians, contributed something new to the scene, isn't really just overhyped garbage, can't be listened to over and over again…you get the idea. Not only that, but everyone has their own personal favorites, and letting go of them is very nearly impossible. Trust us, we went through that for a couple of days and more than a couple of beers (Luis' favorite medium of subsistence, as you already know!) and even then were unable to agree on all the albums listed here. There was only one viable manner of doing this, and it was for no one to actually have the final say.

That, however, didn't make things any easier, and trying to evaluate the merits of the Progfreaks.com Hall of Fame's albums objectively was nerve-wracking, to say the least. Nevertheless, after a few words and sharp objects were thrown across the negotiation table, we finally agreed on the albums listed here. That doesn't mean, however, that each one of us thinks of every album here as a favorite, and if that's the case, it's pretty obvious that you're going to disagree a couple of times with our judgement.

Progfreaks.com's Hall of Fame, of course, isn't the definitive progressive rock album list, because there simply isn't any. If one thing is impossible, it is to get thousands of people to agree on a handful of records that represent the best of the best in progressive rock. This is our comprehensive collection of excellent albums that we offer as a means to explore new musical horizons and perhaps rediscover some of your old friends. Enjoy!

The Progfreaks.com staff

Which album should be progfreaks' next hall of famer?