Afrobeat

Characterized by the following: Contains Folk elements • Odd rhythm signatures • Jam-oriented • Jazzy-groovy • Uncommon instruments

The subgenre is closely related to artists from around the world that moved to London. It mixes African music with groove and soul, wrapped in long instrumental jams. The music is either chill - almost trippy - or upbeat.

Art Pop / Crossover Prog

Characterized by the following: Art Pop • Blends many music genres • Rock opera • Fanfare • Baroque • Touching vocals • Orchestral parts

This subgenre will adapt to the music trends when they change. It is lyrics-oriented, vocals are often theatrical; a lot of attention is given to the arrangement to create complex layers of instruments. Albums are almost always well produced, with a distinctive use of the piano. As it follows what is popular, the genre is present throughout all the Prog years, with a Rock influence during all the 70's and a heavy reliance on any kind of electronic music during the 80's and the 90's, resulting in a softer sound.

Avant-Prog / Experimental

Characterized by the following: Contains electronic elements • Contains psychedelic elements • Mainly instrumental • Experimental • Lengthy tracks • Uses sound collages

The boundaries of music of this subgenre are pushed to challenge the listener's mind with unpleasant melodies, sounds, odd vocals, uncommon use of instruments and song destructurations. While the aim of the albums is not to be as enjoyable as usual, albums are overflowed with creativity and specific usage of sounds that design unsettling emotions but disgusting beauty. Avant-Prog was popular in the very late 60's and early 70's as the counterculture movement gained spotlight at this time.

Canterbury School / Folk Rock

Characterized by the following: Folk base with a Prog touch • Contains Jazz elements • Contains Folk elements • Jam-oriented • Jazzy-groovy • Rather soft • Funny

With its distinctive Hammond organ sound, this genre uses a lot of long jams where musicians take the lead after one another.

Classical

Characterized by the following: Odd rhythm signatures • Technical • Mainly instrumental • Fanfare • Baroque • Symphonic • Spectacular • Orchestral parts

Musicians will display the most of their technical abilities, with spectacular moments, sometimes going too pedantic. Hints or arrangements of famous classical bits may be found in the compositions.

Eclectic

Characterized by the following: Concept album • Contains Jazz elements • Contains electronic elements • Odd rhythm signatures • Technical • Sophisticated • Uncommon instruments

The music is sophisticated, diverse, delicate, in a way that it is hard to tell if the albums belongs to only one genre.

Electro Rock

Characterized by the following: Sci-fi-influenced • Electro base with a Prog touch • Contains electronic elements • Glittering • Spectacular

The main instrument is a synthesizer and there may not even be guitars. This subgenre gained popularity at the very end of the 70's to be mostly around in the 80's.

Fantasy / Baroque

Characterized by the following: Fantasy-influenced • Art Pop • Contains Folk elements • Contains electronic elements • Fanfare • Baroque • Orchestral parts

This short-lived subgenre was influenced by the late 60's British style of blending Pop Rock with Classical instrumentations with a small touch of psychedelism. It often includes bluesy guitar solos and some extended jams, but is overall known for its fake harpsichord sound, string arrengements and easy melodies.

Folk

Characterized by the following: Fantasy-influenced • Folk base with a Prog touch • Contains psychedelic elements • Baroque • Rather soft • Humble

When Folk music incorporates psychedelic elements or tells a story throughout a whole album.

Glitter

Characterized by the following: Contains electronic elements • Glittering • Symphonic • Spectacular

This subgenre puts the emphasis on the vocal harmonies, often high-pitched, and is considered Progressive by way of electronic music layers that give a spectacular, wrongly tagged as "symphonic" music.

Groove / Jazz Fusion

Characterized by the following: Jazz base with a Prog touch • Contains electronic elements • Odd rhythm signatures • Jazzy-groovy • Soft late 70s sound • Female vocals or backing vocals

Very similar to Jazz Rock / Jazz Fusion, this subgenre incorporates Jazz singing and less jams for the warm feeling of groove music.

Heavy

Characterized by the following: Fantasy-influenced • Rock base with a Prog touch • Jam-oriented • Rather heavy

While the majority of heavy music artists may not interested in making progressive music per say, some of theme are progressive in how precursor they were in making their kind of music or having their influential sound. Otherwise, they may just be heavy and borrow what they want from Progressive Rock.

Impressionism / Ambient Rock

Characterized by the following: Concept album • Mainly instrumental • Ambient • Lengthy tracks • Rather soft • Uncommon instruments

Arguably a precursor of the New Age, music from this subgenre will have very few or no vocals. Instead musicians will use their instruments as a mean of expression or impersonation.

Jazz Rock / Jazz Fusion

Characterized by the following: Jazz base with a Prog touch • Contains electronic elements • Odd rhythm signatures • Mainly instrumental • Jazzy-groovy • Rather soft • Uncommon instruments

This Jazz subgenre flirts with Progressive Rock music with synthesizers and guitars. It is almost always instrumental with technical jams.

Krautrock

Characterized by the following: Rock base with a Prog touch • Jam-oriented • Greasy early 70s sound • Rather heavy

New Age / Ambient Electronic

Characterized by the following: Sci-fi-influenced • Electro base with a Prog touch • Contains psychedelic elements • Mainly instrumental • Experimental • Ambient • Rather soft • Uses sound collages

Neo-Prog

Characterized by the following: Concept album • Electro base with a Prog touch • Art Pop • Contains electronic elements • Neo 80s sound • Rather soft • Touching vocals

It can be hard to tell how many Progressive waves there were, but the Neo-Prog genre basically consists of artists releasing albums in the third wave, which started in the early 80's. This genre puts the synthetizers on the front, with guitars sometimes playing a secondary role, drums sounding electronic and imposing - if not theatrical - vocals.

Occult / Heavy

Characterized by the following: Occult • Rock base with a Prog touch • Contains Folk elements • Contains psychedelic elements • Jam-oriented • Rather heavy

Opera Rock / Fanfare

Characterized by the following: Storyline • Art Pop • Blends many music genres • Rock opera • Fanfare • Baroque • Tracks have transitions • Orchestral parts

Progcore / Small-Symphonic

Characterized by the following: Contains Jazz elements • Contains electronic elements • Odd rhythm signatures • Technical • Sophisticated • Symphonic • Spectacular

Psychedelic

Characterized by the following: Contains Folk elements • Contains psychedelic elements • Ambient • Patchwork of short tracks • Crispy 60s sound • Rather soft

Renaissance

Characterized by the following: Medieval • Contains Jazz elements • Contains Folk elements • Odd rhythm signatures • Technical • Fanfare • Baroque • Symphonic • Spectacular

Rock

Characterized by the following: Rock base with a Prog touch • Contains Folk elements • Odd rhythm signatures • Jam-oriented • Jazzy-groovy • Rather heavy

Space Rock

Characterized by the following: Sci-fi-influenced • Rock base with a Prog touch • Contains electronic elements • Contains psychedelic elements • Mainly instrumental • Spacy • Ambient • Lengthy tracks • Rather heavy

Often heavy, this subgenre is based on hypnotic loops and intense electronic effects to create a spacy immersion. Tracks are moderately long to give the music time to take off, musicians to experiment with sound effects and play around with theme and variations.

Symphonic

Characterized by the following: Concept album • Sci-fi-influenced • Fantasy-influenced • Contains Jazz elements • Contains electronic elements • Odd rhythm signatures • Technical • Rock opera • Lengthy tracks • Symphonic • Spectacular • Orchestral parts

Albums of this subgenre will have long tracks, loosely related to a theme, a concept or a story, and provide a definitive experience with complex song structures reaching a climax.

Zeuhl

Characterized by the following: Concept album • Sci-fi-influenced • Contains Jazz elements • Contains psychedelic elements • Experimental • Rock opera • Fanfare • Lengthy tracks • Symphonic • Spectacular

This subgenre draws its name from the language invented by Christian Vander and is closely related to the French scene of the early 70's. It defines music that on one hand is spectacular, like a Rock opera, with heavy percussions and intense, mezmerizing eerie chants; and on the other hand is spiritual, celestial, cosmic, forseeing dystopian scenes. Albums are structured as symphonies with long tracks that tell stories for most cases.