10 Albums That Will Make You Love Prog Rock

One of the biggest stumbling blocks that comes with prog rock is that it's hard to really find a hook in many of the songs. Just when you try to grab onto something, the whole song will switch on a dime to something completely different, which makes for a bit of a mess for someone just wanting to hear a chorus. When you've been a prog rock band for the better part of a decade though, you start to swerve into poppier territory whether you know it or not.

As Rush were coming off of albums like Hemispheres, they were getting a little too burned out on the epic material they were writing and tried to scale things down on their next records. While Permanent Waves was definitely a step in the right direction, Moving Pictures was where they started to really pair down the formula and make something that could get played on stations without losing that prog mindset.

There's also a lot of heart between the songs on here, with Neil Peart getting a lot more introspective on songs like Limelight or painting the archetype for the modern rebel with Tom Sawyer, with one of the single greatest drum breaks in rock history. Even YYZ, a song that has absolutely no lyrics, is one of the most celebrated tracks on the album, with many fairweather rock fans being able to sing along to it without really trying too hard. Prog rock always had its fair share of competent musicians, but you're on another level when you're able to switch time signatures and your fans don't even realize it.