Loudersound has republished its list of 10 essential progressive rock albums from the 1970s, a feature first compiled in 2016 following what the site describes as considerable debate among its writers. The piece explores how prog rock emerged from the psychedelic sounds of the late 1960s and flourished in the early 1970s, as musicians moved away from conventional song structures and standard time signatures to create longer, more ambitious compositions.

The article notes the genre's inconsistency, citing Yes as an example of a band capable of both huge success and notable missteps within a short space of time, moving from the acclaimed Close To The Edge to the poorly received Tales From Topographic Oceans within just 16 months. It frames the 1970s as the foundational decade for prog rock, a genre that the site says has continued to evolve over the five decades since. The full list of albums selected was not included in the available text.