The 11 Best Prog Metal Albums of the ’90s (Ranked)

Here is our ranking of the 11 best progressive metal albums of the 1990s!

Progressive metal began in the mid-80s (via bands such as Fates Warning, Queensrÿche and Voivod). However, it didn’t hit its stride and transform into the subgenre we love today until the 1990s.

Unsurprisingly, those groups continued to release strong work as the 20th century concluded; meanwhile, Dream Theater’s sophomore LP (1992’s Images and Words) was the first record to truly fuse the heavy metal and progressive rock stylings of the ‘70s and ‘80s into a groundbreaking new formula. As the decade ended, dozens of other stellar projects – Opeth, Edge of Sanity, Pain of Salvation, Ayreon, Psychotic Waltz, Tool, Meshuggah and Cynic among them – injected various other styles with traditionally “prog” features.

READ MORE: 11 Best Progressive Metal Albums of 2024

Clearly, the 1990s gave birth to dozens of influential and extraordinary progressive metal albums, but which ones rise to the absolute top of the heap?

Well, that’s what we’re aiming to answer by ranking the 11 best 1990s prog metal records.

Some picks and placements are no-brainers because they’re among the greatest progressive metal albums of all time, whereas others are admittedly more debatable. Regardless, we’d love to know what you think of our choices.

Oh, and if you’ve yet to hear some of these incredible releases, well, you’d better check them out ASAP!