Ask The Reader: what's your favourite prog album for testing hi-fi?

(Image credit: Discogs / What Hi-Fi?)

Previously on Ask The Reader

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Prog rock is a diverse, tricky genre. One where you’ll find everything from noodly album-length tracks full of warbling synths and screaming lead guitars to gentle minimalist folky ballads, with nothing more than the lead singer's voice and a flute.

The only thing we know for sure is that it’s a favourite among you, our dedicated readers, who regularly suggest songs from the genre whenever we detail which test tracks we’re using each month.

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Which is why, earlier in April, when we revealed our favourite prog rock albums of all time, we weren’t surprised that many of you got in touch to offer “feedback” on the list (not all of it sticking to our PG-13 language rule).

So, eager to let you offer your two cents in a more structured environment, we are opening the floodgates for our May Ask The Reader column, and asking which prog albums hold prime position in your collection.

Are you a fan of the 1970s classics? There’s plenty to choose from: King Crimson, Yes, Genesis (when they were good), Carmen, Rush and more, released some stellar stuff during the decade. If so, why this specific band and this specific album from them? Most carried on playing for decades. Some are even still actively touring…

Editor’s Note: there is a small, but vocal, part of the What Hi-Fi? team that’s convinced Geddy Lee is a positive vibes vampire – like Colin Robinson from What We Do In The Shadows, but feeding on niceness, not boredom.

Or do you prefer the modern stuff? Maybe Tool’s progressive metal is your jam? Or, you’re a big fan of one of Coheed and Cambria’s epic space opera concept albums? Opeth’s broody body of work is also pretty awesome for those of us with a soft spot for the darker side of prog. Again, we want to know which album and why it’s so special to you personally!

As always, we’ll be using your answers to create a responses piece detailing your top and most interesting choices, which we’ll publish at the end of May. So please make sure to avoid any swearing, and remember What Hi-Fi? is a safe-space publication where all are welcome. Let’s all be nice to each other, even if we disagree on some of the choices!

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Alastair is What Hi-Fi?’s editor in chief. He has well over a decade’s experience as a journalist working in both B2C and B2B press. During this time he’s covered everything from the launch of the first Amazon Echo to government cyber security policy. Prior to joining What Hi-Fi? he served as Trusted Reviews’ editor-in-chief. Outside of tech, he has a Masters from King’s College London in Ethics and the Philosophy of Religion, is an enthusiastic, but untalented, guitar player and runs a webcomic in his spare time.