10 Essential 1980s Progressive Rock Albums

Moving Pictures is Rush’s biggest release, and one of the most beloved albums of the 1980s. Picking up from where 1980’s Permanent Waves left off, it continued the Canadian trio’s transition from esoteric, guitar-focused compositions to synth-heavy commercial classics. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though, since Rush managed to preserve their core appeal amidst making their formula more digestible for prospective fans.

Naturally, lead single Tom Sawyer is riveting melodically and instrumentally, with its main keyboard motif becoming Rush’s iconic passage. It’s arguably their signature song, too, with a sublime compromise between accessibility and trickiness permitting it to infiltrate pop culture in myriad ways over the last forty years. To varying degrees, Red Barchetta and Limelight achieve a parallel kind of balance, whereas Witch Hunt and closer Vital Signs are a tad stranger and less predictable.

There’s also their hallmark instrumental, YYZ, to illustrate their prowess as players. In fact, just about every aspiring guitarist, drummer, and bassist learns how to play it. As for the two-part The Camera Eye, it’s a delightful mini-saga that harkens back to earlier works such as 2112.

Even people who’ve never heard of progressive rock have heard of Moving Pictures, and rightfully so.