RANKING: Rush studio albums

RANKING: Rush studio albums

Author: Tim, Shaun and Peter January 5, 2026 Duration: 57:25
This week Tim ranked the Rush studio albums, from 19 to 1. Topics covered include: Tim’s Rush autobiography, Rush’s exceptional arrangement skills, the quality of Rush’s lyrics, whether Rush work better in minor or major keys, and why Rush sound like a string quartet. Also, was Lady Gaga influenced by Rush? What’s the difference between synchrony and diachrony in the social sciences? Did Rush invent thrash metal? What would Walter Benjamin have thought of the band? Why did Neil Peart keep going on about Ayn Rand? And crucially, which will be number one?

The Classic Rock And Prog Almanac is a conversation between three longtime friends, Tim, Shaun, and Peter, who share a deep, personal history with the music that shaped them. This isn't a formal review show or a dry historical lecture. Instead, each episode feels like pulling up a chair in a familiar pub or a cozy living room, where the discussion naturally flows from a specific album into the memories, stories, and tangential thoughts it provokes. You'll hear genuine camaraderie and differing perspectives as they dig into the classic rock and progressive canon, exploring why certain records endure and what they reveal about the times they came from and the people we became. The podcast thrives on the digressions-the related matters-that make any great chat among friends memorable. It's about the connection between life and the soundtrack that runs through it. So, the invitation is simple: put the kettle on, find a comfortable seat, and join a warm, thoughtful, and often humorous dialogue that treats these albums not as museum pieces, but as living, breathing parts of a shared cultural and personal journey.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Classic Rock And Prog Almanac
Podcast Episodes
GENESIS - Nursery Cryme: An Edwardian rock masterpiece? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:36
This week, Tim and Peter discussed the third album by Genesis, Nursery Cryme. Topics covered include: how this album stands in relation to the rest of the Genesis canon, the effect of the line-up change, why the album wa…
GENESIS – Abacab: Why do Genesis fans hate this album? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:05
This week Tim did an analysis of the eleventh studio album by Genesis, Abacab. Topics covered include: the antipathy long-time Genesis fans have towards the album, whether there’s a difference between progressive and exp…
RANKING: The albums of The Incredible String Band [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:41
Today Peter gives his ranking of The Incredible String Band albums. Topics covered include: the Edinburgh folk scene, the distinctive String Band cover art, the influence ISB had on other bands of the period, the band’s…
RANKING: The Top Five albums of 1968 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:21:54
This week, Tim, Shaun and Peter discussed their top five albums of 1968. Topics covered include: whether 1968 is very different from 1967, whether rock albums carry the day in 1968 or other genres, what role nostalgia pl…
QUEEN - Queen II: Rock as Gesamtkunstwerk? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:17
This week Tim did a monologue on the newly-re-released second album by Queen, otherwise known as Queen 2. Topics covered include: whether the critical consensus on this album is accurate, why the band called one side whi…