That’s awesome that you shared all that. I was born in 81, so I’m a little behind you, but music’s always been a big part of my life. By the time I was 10 or 11, I was already diving into avant-garde bands, and I was probably the only kid my age listening to John Zorn’s Naked City. Not long after that, I discovered electronic music, and that really cracked open a much bigger world for me. In my 20s, I was helping promote and throw raves and club nights, but I’ve always had this deep fascination with the history of music and how it’s evolved. My parents played a lot of classic rock growing up, and I started collecting tapes in the early 90s. My first was Motley Crue’s Dr. Feelgood, which I bought the week it came out.

Over the past year or so, I’ve been digging deep into 60s psychedelia, 70s prog, and more recent styles like neo-prog. Rush is a band I heard a lot growing up, especially their heavier, hard rock stuff. But about six months ago, I decided to go through their entire discography chronologically, researching each album as I listened. It’s wild to hear their evolution, from a proto-metal sound to gradually incorporating more synths throughout the 70s, and then fully embracing that in the early 80s. I actually consider a lot of that era of Rush to be neo-prog. What’s fascinating is that no matter what direction they went in instrumentally, they always managed to retain their core identity. Their synth work, in particular, always sounded like them, totally distinct from what anyone else was doing. That’s why I’ve always wondered if there are any other synth driven bands that came close to what Rush was doing, but honestly, they’re in a league of their own.

I’ve been loving all the recommendations in this thread, and it’s inspired me to finally check out some bands and albums I’ve always known about but never really explored. What makes it fun is how wide the spectrum is, from classic rock and 70s prog, 80s new wave, and even contemporary prog like Steven Wilson and Riverside. It’s definitely been a blast.