Yes Albums Ranked From Worst to Best (Including The Quest)

[@edgustafson]

Good job making the length of the video the same as the length of a typical Yes song. I haven't watched yet, but I'll assume Rick Wakeman has a 20 minute keyboard solo in the middle.

[@frangarcia7774]

Good one

[@burmajones803]

Nicely done.

[@braydencoversbeatles4029]

Is this the Yes equivalent of “we live in a society *20 minute guitar solo*”?

[@TheGenreman]

And having a curry during the bits he’s not on.

[@siltom1962]

🤣

[@keithheitner1020]

I am a Yes Head. One of my all time favorite bands. I have seen them many times live; starting with the 1977 tour. My top ten: 1. CTTE 2. The Yes Album 3. Relayer 4. Fragile 5. Going For the One 6. Tales 7. Drama 8. Yes 9. Time and a Word 10. Tormato

[@MarkWadsworthYPP]

Basically, the first ten. That's what I would go for.

[@Cr8Tron]

Not a bad list! Here's mine: Relayer Close to the Edge Fragile The Yes Album Drama or TfTO GftO or TaaW Yes Tormato

[@kenzoby8300]

1. Close to the Edge 2. The Yes Album 3. Fragile 4. Topographic Oceans 5. Going for the One

[@planetbarrett6055]

I haven't gotten to listen to "The Quest" but here's My Ranking. 20 - Open Your Eyes 19 - Key Studio 18 - Heaven and Earth 17 - Talk 16 - Magnification 15 - Big Generator 14 - Fly from Here 13 - Tormato 12 - 90125 11 - Union 10 - The Ladder 9 - Time and a Word 8 - Drama 7 - Yes 6 - The Yes Album 5 - Going for the One 4 - Relayer 3 - Tales from Topographic Oceans 2 - Close to the Edge And 1 - Fragile

[@threestringsomg]

If you do get to it please don't listen to the bonus songs on The Quest....and hopefully you can be just the 2nd person here to join me on The Quest side 🧐😎⚔️

[@mikereiss4216]

Your ranking is similar to what mine might be. I don't rank the debut that high though.

[@stevegrant4325]

Key Studio lower than Heaven and Earth?Come on man

[@deckertcain4587]

I agree

[@rafaelandrade7627]

Yes album covers are either very beautiful or very cheesy, there is no middle ground

[@roberthardin2133]

I was 14 when I started getting into Yes. it started when I heard Close to the Edge. I was just starting to get into rock music, but I liked that the album had movements like a classical piece. it opened up my world, and prog became my jam for several years until I discovered punk. speaking of which-I used to have a 1.5 hour bus ride to high school, and many times I would spend the journey with Tales from Topographic Oceans. I just may have listened to it over 100 times. I think it's their most abstract album, and while I agree it's challenging, I also think it rewards a listener in the same way as a Mahler symphony or a 60s Miles Davis record. Drama was one of the first Yes albums I actually purchased (with saved up allowance money), and it's still a charming record to me today. the Yes/Buggles lineup kills it with hooks and heaviness. the fact that Jon Anderson is gone and you hardly miss him says something-mostly that Chris Squire's backing vocals really beefed up the vocal sound of Yes. I also think it says a lot that Squire continued to work with Trevor Horn (on 90125), and Howe continued to work with Geoff Downes (in Asia).

[@davidellis5141]

👏 to those who last the 90 + minutes ! How Prog is that ! 😆

[@kiwiian8051]

Just a joy. This was a particular pleasure. Thank you for going through Yes' 21albums, something I have yet to do. Looking forward to whatever comes next. As far as Yes are concerned I would rate Close to the Edge and the Yes Album at the top.

[@mnpv7812]

#1's a three way tie- Fragile, Yes Album, Close To The Edge. While a little fragmented, the popular tracks are undeniable. #2's a two way tie- Tales & Relayer, Kram nailed it. It's an audio journey that completely sucks you in and rewards your concentration and patience. #3 Two way tie- Tormato & Going For the One. Super creative and excellent song writing, with the band realizing prog is closing out.

[@Aa-dn1oq]

I feel the best disservice you can do to yourself when listening to Tales is trying to take it in all at once. For me, I would only listen to one song at a time over the course of a week or so, which helped me fully appreciate how each song plays into the themes/narrative of the album. Listening to it in one go leads to it, as Jason said, blending together such that nothing sticks with you. The album is far too dense to be fully appreciated if consumed wholesale. Anyone that feels they bounced of Tales should at least try listening to each piece individually, as it has, in my opinion, some of Yes' greatest musical accomplishments.

[@finylvinyl66]

I saw Yes perform the whole thing, Philadelphia 1973. It was boring as hell.

[@12spanku]

I think it's a good thing including the new album in the title. The way I first found the channel was searching for reviews of Rough and Rowdy Ways.

[@davidlynch433]

My three Favourite Yes albums are the usual three The Yes Album, Fragile and of course Close To The Edge, I would have to pull straws or toss coins to choose which would be number 1, 2 or 3, I love all three equally.

[@mattmiller4917]

Yes is one of those bands I respect more than I have actually listened to, so this episode will be more of a learning experience than a chance for casual debate or internet audio deep diving. You guys are decades younger than me, but I still trust your judgment on bands from my era, because you've shown yourselves to be honest and thorough critics who really do their homework.

[@Christopher-jv2ec]

5: Going for the One 4: Tales,etc. 3: The Yes Album 2: Fragile 1: Close to the Edge

[@albarton7189]

I have the same top five but in a slightly different order. Close to the Edge, Fragile, and Going for the One is my top choice depending on which one I listened to most recently. Tales, The Yes Album, and also Relayer rotate the 4-6 positions.

[@mikereiss4216]

I would take out GFTO and put in relayer even though GFTO is a very good album.

[@manalive256]

1. Relayer (well done Kram, no idea what the other 2 guys are talking about!) 2. Going For The One 3. Close To The Edge 4. The Yes Album 5. Fragile 6. Tales Of Topographic Oceans. These are the only ones I really love but they are all fantastic!

[@lionelraoul]

Completely agree. Prog like great jazz is about surrendering to the unpredictability of what comes next.

[@tokyochuchu]

I can finally venture some kind of ranking after spending the last week or so with Yes; 1. Close to the Edge 2. Fragile 3. Relayer 4. Going for the One 5. Drama 6. Tales From Topographic Oceans 7. The Yes Album 8. Tomato

[@PaulShemmy]

Totally with Kram regards Tales… a polarising masterpiece… 5- Tales 4- The Yes album 3- Relayer 2- Fragile 1- Close to the edge Tremendous video again guys- thank you

[@darthseamus8833]

1 Close To The Edge 2 The Yes Album 3 Fragile 4 Going For The One 5 Yes (debut) TFTO is exhausting. I need to listen to it again but I don’t remember a lot of standout bits. Close To The Edge is just perfect. “And You And I” is probably my favorite Yes song. A prog top ten masterpiece album.

[@wendellwiggins3776]

TALES is brilliant...may need more endurance or something that allows you to hear the deep complex nuances throughout. It's not a Rock album per-ce. It's far and beyond

[@matma84]

Great show, guys, thank you! Really a tough task listening to such a big discography. I will only rank the albums I have a physical copy of: 1. Drama - 5 stars -a perfect album, short and sweet, love the Buggles influences, great Squire bass all the way through, some of Howes best guitar work, really rocking and with a nice New Wave touch. Also my favourite album from 1980. Tempus Fugit and Machine Messiah are Top-10 Yes songs as well in my opinion. 2. The Yes Album - 4,5 stars - some great classics here, Howe's guitar playing adds a lot for the band, Starship Trooper is maybe one of the 3 best songs by the band. 3. Fragile - 4,5 stars - some of the solo songs are not that spectacular wich brings this a step down, but Souf Side of the Sky, Heart of the Sunrise and Roundabout are massive. Wakeman also adds some nice mellotron and piano. 4. Close to the Edge - 4,5 stars - And You and I has some of the best 12-string guitar work outside of classic Genesis, I adore this song. The title track is a Top-10 classic but not my favourite epic of theirs. I am not too crazy about Siberian Khatru 5. 90125 - 4,5 stars - A pop classic, especially like Changes, Anderson does a great job with the pop side of Yes here. 6. Going for the One - 4 stars -Love Parallels and Awaken, the rest is fine as well. 7. Relayer - 4 stars - Gates of Delirium is my personal favourite (epic) Yes song, I love every minute of it, the rocking passages, the chaotic war passages and the resolving "Soon" part brings tears to the eyes. Andersons best moment. "Sound Chaser" is crazy, jazzy, I like it, "To be Over" overstays its welcome a bit. 8. Yes - 4 stars - Great debut, especially love Survival which is an underrated early classic with that Squire bass and great Bruford drumming but all in all some great 60s psych-pop to be found here, also like the 2 cover versions. 9. Tales From Topographic Oceans - 4 stars - Overblown, yes, but still some great musicianship to be found on all the songs. Ritual may be my favourite of those 4 epics. 10. Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe - 3,5 stars - I have to include it, to me it is a Yes album, some updated prog sounds for the 80s, I like the first 2 songs best. 11. Fly From Here - 3,5 stars - a nice late edition in the catalogue. Benoit David does a good job, the title song has some cool Drama-vibes. 12. Tormato - 3,5 stars - some cool songs like Onward, Don't Kill the Whale or Madrigal, some not so good ones like the UFO/Circus - songs. 13. Time and a Word - 3,5 stars - some solid 60s pop, I do not like the orchestration in every song. The title song has a great melody. 14. Big Generator - 3 stars - some good 80s pop but the production is nowhere near as great as 90125. 15. Union - 3 stars - some good stuff, some not so good stuff, less of a Yes album than ABWH in my opinion, too many outside musicians for a real (re)union. 16. Heaven & Earth - 3 stars - not as bad as some people think but not great either. Only the last song is really good Yes, the first two songs have great melodies but overstay their welcome and the production could use a bit more rocking touch.

[@fogzax]

It was great to see Tormato and The Ladder so high in Jason's list. I totally get the Summer Prog description you gave to The Ladder - I bought that album when I was living abroad for 9 months and it really reflects that kind of vibe of a bright future. Tormato has always been a favourite for me and really underrated. In terms of Topographic Oceans I came to that one really late many years after I was listening to the other 70s albums and for me it feels rough round the edges like they needed some more time to really hone things.

[@Dkatanasoul0]

Enjoyed this episode a lot. Great work, guys. Can't wait for The Black Crowes!

[@kevinmcardle4087]

I forgot to mention "Yessongs", a classic 70's live album that I played all the time when I was like 9 years old... What 9 year old nowadays would listen to a 110 minute live triple vinyl LP? Times have certainly changed since the 70's.

[@roxannewalsh]

I was already 14 when Yessongs came out, but I was 9 when Electric Ladyland and Astral Weeks came out, so I know what you mean. And everyone around you was a Bee Gees fan...or Osmonds.

[@deanjonasson6776]

YESSONGS was my go-to triple Prog album for many, many years. If Listography likes THE YES ALBUM, FRAGILE and CLOSE TO THE EDGE, this should be on their turntables. Sadly, the first CD versions of this epic are hard on the ears. I've grown to love the remaster; this is the band at their peak. YESSHOWS is very good (though very bassy) and has some interesting song selections as well.

[@ThePhysicalillusion]

I’ve never had any problems with the solo spots breaking the flow of Fragile. I think “The Fish” and “Mood for a Day” are amazing pieces on their own, plus the contrast between Anderson at his silliest (“We Have Heaven”) and darkest (“South Side of the Sky”) is perfect. I had a phase where it was my #1 over CTTE, and maybe it could get there again since I’m slightly burned out on the latter at the moment, though I’ll leave CTTE at the top since it’s meant the most to me over time.

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

I totally agree with this! (Spoiler) "Fish" will be in my top 10 Yes songs and "Mood For A Day" came remarkably close to making it, too.

[@daneng3641]

Exactly! As soon as people stop judging these as imperfect songs and start thinking of them as delightful little extras, they will see Fragile is nearly perfect as is. Also "long Distance Runaround" is just incomplete without "The Fish".

[@Z-eb]

1. Close To The Edge 2. Tales From Topographic Oceans 3. Going For The One 4. Fragile 5. Drama 6. The Yes Album 7. Time And A Word 8. Tormato 9. Relayer 10. Yes 11. Keystudio 12. Magnification 13. 90125 14. The Quest 15. Fly From Here 16. Big Generator 17. The Ladder 18. Talk 19. Open Your Eyes 20. Heaven & Earth 21. Union

[@Z-eb]

worked on jon andersons idea of TFTO as a single LP, take a listen, is it butchered kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5eYoaaaj5aLi7M

[@johnwilliams4658]

Really looked forward to this one.Thanks for doing a listography as Yes, at least up until Big Generator, have been important to me on and off over the years. Although I understand the trepidation to embrace Tales from Topographic Oceans I adore this album despite it's length. I clearly remember borrowing the cassette from the library at around 12 and being totally absorbed for weeks at a time. I had flu at the time so was home from school and listened to it non stop.I'd only heard Fragile, Close to the Edge and the mighty Yessongs previously. I didn't really care how long the tracks were as my father only played classical music so long pieces were normal to my young ears. It never occurred to me there were no hooks and no one ever told me a song had to be 3-5 minutes long - never listened to music with those things in mind. To do so seems very limiting. My love for Tales has waned a little over the years but I will still rank it very high. Relayer to me is a brilliant record and rewards the listener who puts the time in. The Gates of Delerium alone is a fantastic anti war song and the section winding down into Soon after the 'battle' is one of the band's greatest moments leading into another of the band's greatest moments. Sound Chaser has one of my favorite Howe displays and I even chuckle at the Cha Cha Cha, Cha Cha bit. I don't get the "it's musician's music not listener's music" argument. Completely absurd and gatekeepery. There is more than enough emotional content in the classic era to dismiss the concept. I stopped watching this video at around the top 8 so look forward to finishing later today. I'm thinking my Yes rankings most closely aligns with Ryan's but we'll see as the top five will be interesting. Like others here, Yessongs is the one I often reach for. The quality of the sound is often complained about but It's never bothered me and has great versions of Perpetual Change (apart from the drum solo - love BB but yawn), Heart of the Sunrise, And You and I, Yours is no Disgrace and Starship Trooper. Yessongs is still one of my favorite live albums. Live albums had a much better reception in the 70s than they do now and this is one of the best. Can't include anything after Keys as that was my exit point. Equal first place (sorry) - Close to the Edge (1972) 5: Relayer (1974) 5 Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973) 4.5 later edit. Nailed it Ryan, exactly how I feel about Tales and Relayer. Probably won't see this comment but I needed to say it. Going for the One (1977) 4.5 The Yes Album (1971) 4.5 This would be ranked higher but I prefer all the Yessongs versions from this album to the studio versions. I listened to it last week and really enjoyed it. Fragile (1971) 4 - the individual member tracks take this one down despite having HotS and SSotS. Cans and Brahms and Bruford's thing are both awful. Roundabout is good but I never need to hear it again. Drama (1980) 4 I remember when this was about to come out and we were all horrified The Buggles had joined Yes. It was much better than anyone dared imagine. 90125 (1983) 4. I still enjoy this to my surprise, even OoaLH. Yes (1969) 3.5 Tormato (1978) 3 - It's the odd duck from the classic period and I used to like it more in 1978 than I do now but it's ok. The contrast between the good songs and bad make for a weird listen. Time and a Word (1970) 3 Big Generator (1987) 3 Talk (1994) 2 Union (1991)1 I had the 2 Keys albums at one point but remember nothing about them. ABWH is a fairly good album and is Yessy enough to include it. I loathe Asia. Jon Anderson's cornball nonsense increased to unbearable proportions in later years. No idea about these. I've sampled the odd track here and there but nothing ever grabbed me. Open Your Eyes (1997) The Ladder (1999) Magnification (2001) Fly from Here (2011) Heaven & Earth (2014) The Quest (2021)

[@ExcellentChalsTransit]

Amazing video! Just listened to the Quest last friday!

[@chrisdelisle3954]

I went through Yes a couple of years ago. If everybody's going to have a controversial choice, I guess mine will be that I have never understood the worship of "Close To The Edge." No way that I'll be able to list all of the albums in order, but here are my favorites: 1) The Yes Album 2) Relayer 3) Fragile 4) Yes 5) Going For The One 6) Drama 7) 90125 8) Close To The Edge 9) Tales From Topographic Oceans 10) Time And A Word

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

Interesting. Close To The Edge is one of those "long term growers" for me. It wasn't my favorite Yes album when I was young but nowadays I'm convinced it's their best.

[@dgiglio84]

1. Close to the Edge 2. The Yes Album 3. Relayer 4. Drama 5. Yes 6. Fragile 7. Time and a Word 8. Going for the One 9. 90125 10. The Ladder 11. Keystudio 12. Tormato 13. Talk 14. Big Generator 15. Magnification 16. Tales from Topographic Oceans (I tried so many times to like this one.) 17. Union 18. Fly from Here/Heaven & Earth/The Quest (They honestly all blend together for me.) 19. Open Your Eyes

[@garyives8676]

Great video guys! Thank you for doing this ranking. Yes is my all time favorite band. Keep it up! Love your channel, Gary

[@shauncullen3989]

Great job, lotta albums and diversity between albums. Your lists were all fair and unique. Fun to consider the places where you diverged.

[@billkeon880]

I have to give complete praise for all of your analyses. My top three are the big three. If you had three kids who you loved equally, how would you rate them. Your discussions have made me go back and revisit Tormato, Relayer, Drama and most of all Going for the One. That’s why I watch…to pick out things I missed or overlook. To learn.

[@toonhkuitjes6382]

Great episode, thanks for the time and dedication. Each had some interesting perspective, even if Jason remains inscrutable ;) I do not know all their albums, in fact I know none of their albums after Big Generator despite Yes raking 17th in my artists list. 1. Close to the edge - As Joe said this is the ultimate prog rock experience. The title track is flawless and amazing building up to an incredible crescendo. 2. Fragile 3. The Yes Album 4. Going for the one 5. Relayer 6. Yes 7. Time and a word 8. Tales from topographic oceans 9. 90125 10. Drama 11. Tormato 12. Big Generator The top 5 are all in my album top 500.

[@andrewdyke5561]

Don't forget chris squire harmony singing dude was amazing background singer also. As u can tell I'm a huge fan of Chris squire , I was lucky to see yes a year before he died

[@kevinmoore2630]

Great show again guys 👍 I have never been a big Yes fan I was only ever into 90125 but after listening to your reviews I’m going to give them another go .

[@stevemalek2970]

Tales is my favorite Yes album, I believe Jason and Joe should revisit and let the music sink in. It really feels like you're on a journey throughout the listening.

[@robertharvey2604]

Much like your Genesis video, for someone like me just getting into a band this helps me focus on the great albums.

[@hazydavo]

Was a bit of a marathon, especially as I didn’t know much about Yes except for the hits. As usual though was very informative and I’ve checked out their music more since watching (and utilising the top 10 songs). Was cool. Thanks guys, great job as always 👍

[@burmajones803]

Kramzer: you say Tor-mah-to, I say Tor-may-to. Let's call the calling off off.

[@chrismcgovern1647]

I'm glad you said it, I was worried I'd take it too far into Dad-Jokedom

[@burmajones803]

@@chrismcgovern1647 I am what I am, and that's all that I am (Geez. Everything I say is a quote from something else. 🙄)

[@fezcrystal9]

you say tomater, i zader matermorts

[@OMW66]

Hi! I love Yes. Yes i do. I came in as a 14 year old i 1980. Here’s my top 9: 9. Big Generator 8. 90125 7. Tales From Topographic Oceans 6. Going for the One 5. Relayer 4. Drama 3. Fragile 2. Close to the Edge 1. The Yes Album This is this week. Next week «Tales From…» could come in at number 2.

[@179rich]

22) Magnification (2 stars) 21) Union (2 stars) 20) The Ladder (2.5 stars) 19) The Quest (2.75 stars) 18) Heaven & Earth (3.25 stars) 17) Open Your Eyes (3.5 stars) 16) Big Generator (3.5 stars) 15) Fly From Here (4 stars) 14) Tormato (4 stars) 13) Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe (4 stars) 12) Time and a Word (4.25 stars) 11) Talk (4.25 stars) 10) 90125 (4.25 stars) 09) Yes (4.5 stars) 08) Keystudio (4.5 stars) 07) Tales from Topographic Oceans (4.5 stars) 06) Drama (5 stars) 05) Fragile (5 stars) 04) The Yes Album (5 stars) 03) Going for the One (5 stars) 02) Relayer (5 stars) 01) Close to the Edge (5 stars) Notes: * A truly amazing band; I loved doing this. * I hadn't heard most of this material so obviously it was a monumental task devouring all these albums in such a short period of time (although I got wind they were doing Yes back in August so I have been able to put in some real time listening). * I think Yes were great from the beginning. I'm especially crazy about what they did with The Beatles' "Every Little Thing." * Steve Howe's use of harmonics on "Roundabout" and "The Fish" is exquisite. * I'm predicting all three Listography guys put Close to the Edge at number one. The album is their clear masterpiece, flawless and simply magical. Jason might do something crazy though like put Time and a Word at number 1. ;-) * I'm in the "TFTO is brilliant" camp. Some of it amounts to just noodling and I of course love some parts more than others, but I appreciate that it is a fantastic sonic journey (or four) to get thoroughly immersed in. * "Owner of a Lonely Heart" is a great song, but it easily wears out its welcome with repeated listens. * I expected Big Generator to be awful but there was some surprisingly good stuff on it. The title track is weak and cheesy though. * I don't disparage Yes for their excursions into more pop territory. I believe those efforts are generally good but tend to get low ratings from people who only want Yes to be a certain kind of prog band. * To be honest, Jon Anderson is not my favorite vocalist. Don't get me wrong, he's really good and really great for Yes, but his voice is a bit reedy (high and thin), isn't it? I found his lyrics to be (more often than not) hippy dippy cosmic claptrap. Typically, I don't pay too much attention to them. Still, a very talented musician and arranger. * I expected the Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe album to be a return to a more classic prog sound and was surprised to find it has a rather commercial sound not too dissimilar to what the "other" band had been doing, including some horns and a quasi-Caribbean track. Many of the songs sporting this pop sound are too long for the radio anyway so go figure. * Union is the first album to have a whole handful of songs that just aren't good. "Silent Talking" sounds disjointed and "Dangerous" in particular is lame. * Talk turned out to be surprisingly good and, in places, is maybe the heaviest Yes has ever sounded (in terms of sound, not playing). * I noticed Open Your Eyes is often ranked lowest among critics and fans. It's not something I would normally reach for but overall I think it's good. I bet a lot of people dislike the bouncy pop of "Love Shine" but I dig it. Yes, it's world's different from Close to the Edge, but different is good. I love the extended bonus cut "The Source." It's perfect for meditation. To my ears, the album sounds too loud - brickwalled? I'm no expert though - Jason, can you confirm this? * For the most part, I can dig Yes' sweet and positive vibes but for some reason they turned saccharine on The Ladder. A bit too chirpy and light. You could say the same about the Jon Davison material as well although some of it's pretty decent. * I do like orchestration at times, so I was surprised that I found Magnification to be their weakest effort. It's their weakest set of songs, and again, too saccharine. * Since, annoyingly, it is not clear what role disk 2 plays on The Quest (part of the album? Bonus tracks?), I will consider them bonus tracks since "Mystery Tour" and "Damaged World" in particular are so bad. Should they be included, the album falls to 2.25 stars. "Party on Garth!" 0 stars - irredeemably terrible/ the worst .5 stars - terrible 1 star - bad 1.5 stars - between bad and fair 2 stars - fair 2.5 stars - meh 3 stars - OK 3.25 stars - pretty good 3.5 stars - good 4 stars - very good 4.5 stars - excellent 5 stars - the kaklakta

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Open Your Eyes is definitely over compressed, but almost every rock album since the late 90's is. It's a very loud album, but I can't say that I really hear any distortion like you can on other notoriously over compressed albums like Vapor Trails. -Jason

[@flaviojosefo7130]

You are more of a fan of Yes than I am of Small Berries

[@threestringsomg]

I haven't heard last two bonus tracks on The Quest Rich (glad I havent by sounds of it)....1st one was fine I thought. The album itself I loved (4 stars not with bonus) Shoot me😎

[@threestringsomg]

I felt Yes didn't make many perfect albums to be up there with five 5 star albums.....mind you I have a similar number for Iron Maiden and Sabbath and I won't say how many for Opeth.... ....about 9 or 10🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯😔😂

[@daneng3641]

That last bit on "Open Your Eyes" always catches me off guard and then I remember and say to myself, "This was a terrible idea."

[@179rich]

I forgot to say THANK YOU for a great video my dudes. And those were excellent justifications for putting CTTE at #5 Jason and for putting Tormato so high.

[@garrettredd2541]

Impressive task to tackle, great job!

[@deathfromabove77]

Wow. Great effort guys . Won’t rank the full discography cause I just won’t ….( and haven’t heard the new one as yet) but have listened to enough Yes throughout the years to list a top 10 . ( tbh not a massive fan but respect their importance /musicianship/ prog rock legendary technical prowess etc …and have enjoyed some of their work ) 1.Close to the edge 2. Fragile 3.Relayer ( Kramzer spot on with his comments on this album) 4. Magnification 5. The Yes Album 6. 90125 ( the first Yes album I bought ..their MTV album ..not one of their prog rock classics but I like it ..even their impersonation of “Ghosts in the Machine era “ Police / 80s Rush “ Owner of a lonely heart “.) 7. Going for the one 8. Tales from Topographic Oceans 9. Time and a word 10. Drama ( Good move to drop this list to coincide with the new album release ..get the subscribers up ..10k here we come 👍👊🏻❤️)

[@neurophile]

1) Close To The Edge 2) Fragile 3) Tales From Topographic Oceans 4) 90125 5) The Yes Album 6) Time And A Word 7) Going For The One 8) self- titled album 9) Anderson-Bruford-Wakeman-Howe (AKA Yes) 10) Talk 11) Heaven And Earth 12) Big Generator 13) Fly From Here 14) the 9 others

[@martinkulkarni3569]

Relayer in the bottom 9! You are kidding right!!

[@neurophile]

No, I find only two interesting parts : "Soon" and "To Be Over".

[@neurophile]

ABWH are closer to original Yes than today's Yes are !

[@shyshift]

Joe, believe it or not there is absolutely no synthesizer on Siberian Khatru. What you mentioned about “Wakeman’s circular synth” is actually a Mellotron.

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Ohhh I should have known that. - Joe

[@RadagastBrown420]

Well done, Yes is my favorite band. And of course it is the 1970s stuff that is the best by far. However, TALK is criminally underrated and I don't care what anyone else says. " Where Will You Be " is the pinnacle of Trevor Rabin and Jon Anderson writing and performing together, and it contains Rabin's best solo. And ENDLESS DREAM is a masterpiece. It helped that I saw this tour live 3 times. I also was one of a few hundred people to be there for KEYS TO ASSENSION live in Anderson's home town of San Louis Obispo, CA. Lastly, if literally everyone says DRAMA is underrated, can it really be underrated? Personally I feel this one is way overrated. I do like Tempus Fugit though. Cheers and great job 👍 👏 👌 🙌.

[@paulayers1111]

5. Going For The One 4. Fragile 3. Relayer 2. Close To The Edge 1. Tales From Topographic Oceans I’ve heard most of the discography, but don’t feel like thinking that much right now haha😴

[@davidellis5141]

For me , Close To The Edge narrowly beats The Yes Album with Going For The One third. My first concert ( was 10 ) was Yes at The Hollywood Bowl on the Relayer tour with Patrick Moraz on 🎹 . Ace with Paul Carrack opened. Saw them a few times " in the round "

[@Beamshipcaptain]

For me, YES being my favorite band since Junior High in 1974: 5. Relayer, 4. Going for the One, 3. The YES Album, 2. Close to the Edge, 1. Fragile. I first saw them LIVE in the round, Summer, 1977, Madison Square Garden, the GOING FOR THE ONE TOUR. YES does it for me. They are the ultimate band. I miss Chris Squire so much (RIP), and Jon Anderson has the most incredible vocals and arrangements. Bill Bruford is the best drummer. Steve Howe is freaking incredible. Rock on, gents.

[@Beamshipcaptain]

@Jeremy Spade Correct! Alan White was awesome, too. RIP, Alan White!

[@GrafVonTirol]

Haven't listened to Keystudio yet. My rankings: 1. Fragile 2. Close to the Edge 3. The Yes Album 4. Relayer 5. Drama 6. Going for the One 7. Tales from Topographic Oceans 8. 90125 9. Fly from Here (I actually thought it's their best in years) 10. Magnification 11. Yes 12. Time and a Word 13. Yes Tor, until Rick threw that tomato 14. The Ladder 15. Talk 16. Big Generator (my top 2.5*) 17. The Quest 18. Onion (my last 2.5*) 19. Heaven and Earth (2*, meh) 20. Open Your Eyes (yecch!) EDIT: Where would you put Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe? If I were to count it, I'd still have it in the top ten. It's not perfect, lower than 90125 in fact, but it's the sound of Yes for the most part (looking at you, Teakbois!) EDIT2: Gave The Quest a relisten, and had a better appreciation of it. Moved it up from 18 to 17. Magnification is also moved up from 13 to 10.

[@kajetanchrumps8076]

Onion :)

[@wendellwiggins3776]

far enough. wouldn't argue where my minor changes are concerned

[@markgatica12]

Well, fellas, as a long time Yes fan (45+ years), I have been waiting for this episode for a very long time--ever since I first discovered the channel last year. Overall, an excellent and very enjoyable discussion. I have some disagreements, of course, but no major issues with any of your rankings. The only thing that really surprised me was Close to the Edge finishing third in your composite rankings. In any event, my rankings with a few comments: 1. Close to the Edge (6 Stars) That's right, 6 stars. This album is perfection. Not a wasted moment anywhere. I had to go 6 stars because it is better than nearly all 5 star albums by anyone. Ranks in my top 5 all time. 2. Relayer (5 Stars) This was my favorite for many years in the 70s. I used to listen to it with headphones before every game. Gates of Delirium got me in the mood for the events to come. 3. Going for the One (5 Stars) A refreshing change of pace that pulled in the best of what came before and mixed it with what was to come in the future. 4. Fragile (5 Stars) Solid record with great prog songs and delightful palate cleansers. 5. Tales From Topographic Oceans (4.5 Stars) This album was excessive, but that was due to the era. If it were made in the CD age, and the band was not confined to 4 20 minute sides, this one could have been perfect too. 6. The Yes Album (4.5 Stars) Probably the most growth of any band one album to the next. Tremendous album in a tremendous year. 7. Time and a Word (4 Stars) 8. Magnification(3.5 Stars) 9. Talk (3.5 Stars) 10. Yes (3.5 Stars) 11. Open Your Eyes (3.0 Stars) 12. The Ladder (3.0 Stars) 13. Keystudio (3.0 Stars) 14. Drama (3.0 Stars) 15. The Quest (2.5 Stars) Anything below here I will probably never listen to again in my lifetime. 16. 90125 (2.5 Stars) 17. Fly From Here (2.5 Stars) 18. Tormato (2.0 stars) I thought this was the floor. But there were sublevels below this one. 19. Heaven & Earth (2.0 stars) 20. Big Generator (2.0 stars) 21. Union (1.5 stars)

[@christiandubeau20]

I don't think Jason ever listened to Tales from Topographic Oceans. He said that no section ever repeats. Lots of sections do. And I was hooked the first time I heard that album, and I thought that the song structures were brilliant!

[@scottmcrae3355]

I love how the motif from side one reappears on side 4. Fantastic album and it would definitely make my top 5. If I could only own one Yes album it might be Tales

[@roxannewalsh]

Burn out or fade away was a Listography topic some time ago. To be honest with myself, I must confess that the band has more often disappointed me than brought me joy - BUT they started on the high note and their best albums are still favourites I regularly go to. They are no longer among my top 5 as they may have been around 1973 when Yessongs was released but that does not harm the quality of some of their music. (Side note - were they really progressive? If at all then it ended in 1974.) There is a significant step down in quality after the first 7 albums. Had the band quit in 1978 the loss would have been bearable and they would appear today as a band with a quite strong discography. Well, they did not, so what... 20. Open Your Eyes 2,0 19. Heaven and Earth 2,0 18. The Ladder 2,5 17. Talk 2,5 16. The Quest 3,0 (Only CD1 considered here) Forget that these are not really Yes. I just took this as an album to rank into this list of Yes albums and as such it is at times more pleasure than later day Yes trying to sound like early Yes. This is a band trying to perform some joyful music with a guitarist who keeps it interesting and some orchestra that actually sounds better than synthesized keyboards trying to achieve a similar effect (Geoff Downes is as horrible as ever). Alan White should really consider retirement. Sherwood sounds like these are sampled Squire bass lines which is more annoying than the Anderson clone. All in all it still remains an album that could have as well been left unrecorded without loss. PS - they try something different on the 3 tracks of the extra disc, but whatever, I cannot imagine myself giving this bonus(?) another listen. 15. Magnification 3,0 14. Fly From Here 3,0 13. Big Generator 3,0 12. 90125 3,0 11. Union 3,0 10. Drama 3,0 >>> These are the ones to be considered in earnest 9. Going for the One 3,5 (overrated) 8. Tormato 3,5 (underrated) 7. Yes (debut) 4,0 6. Fragile 4,0 (The group tracks are great but the solo exposures are a bit filler - Generally, the classic Yes lineup worked as a band, all the solo stuff they did is rather weak compared to what they did as a band) 5. Time and a Word 4,0 4. The Yes Album 4,0 3. Relayer 4,5 (I always had wished this to be as long as Tales, one of the few cases where an album is too short. The work of a progressive band taking risks and succeeding to gather new ground.) 2. Tales From Topographic Oceans 4,5 (The secret to this album is not to hear it all in one session. The individual tracks consumed one at a time are magnificent. Like old composers doing concepts about the four seasons or topics like that. You just select the one that fits your current mindset. This is a progressive album for sure.) 1. Close to the Edge 5,0 (There is only one complaint I have about this album and it is not addressed at Yes - this is one of those albums responsible for hundreds of bands and releases that tried to reproduce something similar and ended in flooding the world with a lot of mediocre music. Not even Yes could ever recreate it, so why would lesser bands expect to succeed?) (0. Yessongs) One of the rare cases where a live album is my favourite of a band. The proof that such performances were really "live" music and not studio trickery is amazing and the songs themselves sound sharper and more urgent.)

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

Where would you rank Keystudio?

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

I agree Fragile has a bit of filler, but as I've said before I'm okay with a few duds *if* I think the other songs are mindblowing enough. To me, Fragile fits that description so I gave it 5.

[@davidellis5141]

I am glad we have the same number one.

[@roxannewalsh]

@@AbbeyRoadkill1 I do not have it and I reject to consider it. The tracks were released to get people to buy some redundant live albums and then they tried to cash in again by releasing it again? Sorry, but a band that has sunk so low already cannot exploit whatever fans they might still have in such a way.

[@markgatica12]

I agree with your comment regarding Yessongs. My go-to listen 9 times out of 10. Every track on their is just 10% better than the studio version.

[@finylvinyl66]

Rick Wakeman disliked TOPOGRAPHIC and that was a reason he quit the band. He also didn't care for UNION. He calls it "Onion" saying when he hears it it brings tears to his eyes.

[@andrewdyke5561]

Been so so excited for this one. Yes is an all time band of mine excited and nervous to see where u have certain albums

[@bbchronicles736]

Your averaged list corresponded with my ranking of the top 3, but was surprised by the strong showing of Going For The One and the their First album. I may need to give them another listen, but I just did not care for them at all when I went through the discography recently (Didn't care much for them when I first herd them years ago either, but hadn't listened to them since the '70's). So would be good to revisit some more. But wasn't surprised that Drama ranked high as that is a very good album, despite the notable band changes. Overall, very good job guys (even if excruciatingly long).

[@feber16]

Thanks for doing a video on Yes - my second favorite group (Beatles being number 1) since 1972. I feel very ancient telling this story, but I will anyway. In my first few months of college, I was at a party where someone had a reel to reel tape they had made of a group called Yes (I had never heard of them) who had opened for ELP. The guy with the tape said that Yes had outperformed ELP. I was blown away by the music - bought The Yes Album right away and became a life long fan from then until the present. Their debut and all of their 70s albums are my favorite. (nothing controversial there). One of my favorite albums since that period is Fly From Here. I sure was not expecting that to happen - it was a big surprise to even me. I saw them 11 times in concert in the 70s and 4 times since then. Joe asked where Tales would be placed. It's very hard for me to rank the 70s Yes albums. I LOVED Tales when it was released and still do. It would rank in the top 4 or 5 for me.

[@richfrank8540]

Great post. No question the highlight for me is Kramzer's putting Relayer at #2. And, giving one of the most insightful, impassioned, spot on reviews I've ever seen on KZbin. Relayer takes a few listens but has stood the test of time as a masterpiece, only marginally behind Close to the Edge as Yes' finest.

[@RostyslavLogachov]

Top 5: 5. Going For The One 4. The Yes Album 3. Tales From Topographic Oceans 2. Close To The Edge 1. Relayer

[@CanAlternateLostTape]

Tied for number one: The Yes Album, Fragile, Close to the Edge, Tales, Relayer 6-12 (choose your order) Yes (debut), Time & a Word, Going For the One, Tormato, Drama, 90125, Magnification Tied for number 21: The rest

[@palacerevolution2000]

The thing with Yes IMO is that they are one of the very few bands who were actually better live. They were so good, Howe and Squire especially, their harmonies and intricate arrangements always on, that they just killed it on stage. all their best songs take on a whole new fire on stage. It is impossible for me to even consider the studio version of "Perpetual Change" when compared to "Yessongs". "The Fish", "Your is no Disgrace", "Close to the Edge" are all stronger. "And You and I" - that pedal steel solo in 'Yessongs" is so gorgeous. One point I really have to disagree with Jason re "Close to the Edge" - it is IMO a very well written prog piece, with themes, that are explored, taken to other heights, returned to; not at all random. Agree on those early Yes albums - they are so joyful. What is really funny is watching the very early videos by Yes. In the dune buggie; or freezing on a beach, I think. Tony Kaye doesn't get mentioned in your reviews (I think).

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Oh I mention Tony Kaye quite a bit when I say I like him more than Rick Wakeman. - Joe

[@palacerevolution2000]

@@TastesLikeMusic My bad, Joe. How did I miss that? I just watched the clip...

[@roxannewalsh]

@@TastesLikeMusic Warning - Tony Kaye released a solo album in 2021...topic is 20 years after 9/11...awful. His good work is with Badger and with Flash (the band he and Peter Banks started after Yes, although Kaye only stayed for the debut).

[@wendellwiggins3776]

YES was the best & great Live but better makes no sense as if the studio work isn't fkn brilliant. What they do live is exactly the recording with some embellishments. And when they have fuse songs into a melody is just it more interesting and surprising but never actually changing the nature of the recorded version enough to justify your comment. I have to say Jason was less off the mark a few times

[@roxannewalsh]

@@wendellwiggins3776 I was focusing on Yessongs and what it did for me. I admit that I have very little interest in their nth re-recordings of their classic stuff in live format by their ever changing line ups in later years. (I was maybe not precise enough here.)

[@AnnaDavidMerz]

Guys, I want to tell you that I really like your rankings because you’re always so respectful towards the band. Even if you don’t like the record you’re never evil towards the artist/band like some music journalists would. Plus you’re always respectful towards each other even if you don’t agree all the time. It’s always fun to watch your rankings! 😊

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Thank you! Kramzer was a little evil. - Joe

[@benoitdesmarais2948]

The link to Going For The One's rockin' intro isn't To Be Over, but the encore they played on their 76 tour: The Beatles' I'm Down. 1. Relayer 2. Close To The Edge 3. The Yes Album 4. Tales From Topographic Oceans 5. Fragile 6. Going For The One 7. Tormato 8. Drama - I don't care for the early and later days.

[@renetrachet]

1- Close to the edge 2- Fragile 3- Yes 4- The Yes album 5- Tales of topographic ocean 6- Time and a word 7- Tormato 8- Going for the one 9- Relayer 10- The ladder

[@johnjackson3735]

Thanks for the video. It really helped me sort through the complexity of the Yes catalogue and figure out how to dive into the listening experience. My top 10 for now are: 1. Relayer 2. Fragile 3. Yes Album 4. Close to the Edge 5. Tales from Topographic Oceans 6. Yes 1969 7. Going for the One 8. Drama 9. Time and the Word 10. 90125

[@laganrat8996]

In my opinion Big Generator is a great album, and I'm offended it was hated on so much in this video. All the songs on it are fun and catchy, and I enjoy its production and aesthetic. I love the hits on it (as well as the hits on 90125), and "I'm Running" is an underrated track. I haven't heard too many other Yes songs, but I love "Roundabout" and "I've Seen All Good People". I'm more of a pop rock guy.

[@dancalmpeaceful3903]

I with you dude - I think Big Generator, although not a masterpiece, I think is a really GOOD album. It would be in my top 10 EASY..and I probably like it more than Drama.....

[@teddennison344]

There's a lot of dated 80's sounds on their 80's albums, and some songs in there that were written for radio, but most of my favorite stuff is in there too. Don't let the snobs come between you and what you love. Just checked my Media Monkey rankings, and the title track is my lowest rated track on that album.

[@teddennison344]

Shoot High Aim Low, Almost Like Love, and Holy Lamb are standouts

[@laganrat8996]

​@Jeremy Spade I agree with you, but I like BG more than the average Yes fan. It's a good companion album to 90125, as well as Drama.

[@laganrat8996]

@@dancalmpeaceful3903 Looking back, I might have went too far calling BG "great". It has many weak moments, but the rest of it comes pretty close to the quality of 90125 (which I do think is the superior album).

[@ThePhysicalillusion]

1. Close to the Edge (5 stars) 2. Fragile (5) 3. The Yes Album (4.5) 4. Relayer (4 - bordering on 4.5) 5. Going for the One (4) 6. Drama (4) 7. Time and a Word (4) 8. Magnification (4) 9. 90125 (4) 10. Yes (3.5 - bordering on 4) 11. The Ladder (3.5) 12. Fly From Here (3.5) 13. Talk (3.5) 14. Tales From Topographic Oceans (3.5) 15. Open Your Eyes (3) 16. Big Generator (3) 17. Keystudio (2.5 - bordering on 3) 18. Tormato (2.5) 19. Heaven & Earth (2) 20. The Quest (2) 21. Union (1.5) Great discussion. Funny that for half this video I was definitely closest to agreeing with Jason’s list the most but ended up agreeing with it probably the least by the end mainly because of his placements of Relayer, Tormato (whose high ranking I *really* don’t understand because of its’ crappy production and particularly questionable keyboard tones, not to mention corny lyrics) and Fly From Here, whereas I only had two serious disagreements with the others (Tormato and The Ladder with Joe, Topographic Oceans and Magnification with Kramzer). I’ll still stick with Close to the Edge and Fragile being extremely close to the top of my pile for 1971 and 1972 (Fragile won 1971 for me and CTTE only lost to Ziggy Stardust for me by a hair), and I’ll defend Time and a Word and Magnification as their most underrated albums overall.

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Agree with magnification and time and a word being underrated. - Joe

[@ThePhysicalillusion]

Also, if Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe were a Yes album, I’d probably place it in between Keystudio and Tormato, so 17.5. It had potential in its best moments (“Brother of Mine” and “Birthright”) but I think it suffers from the songs being way too long like Keys and with really questionable cheesy synth tones from Wakeman and corny lyrics from Anderson like what hurt Tormato.

[@179rich]

Looks to me like you could use some quarter ratings - 2.75 for Keystudio, 3.75 for Yes and 4.25 for Relayer.

[@ThePhysicalillusion]

@@179rich Haha, I do indicate whether albums are in the low, medium or high tier of a rating on my Rate Your Music page. Honestly, Union is also probably a 1.75. Trudging through The Quest made me want to relisten to it to see if it’s really worse. 😂

[@rramirez4217]

My list: 1-Fragile 2-Close to the Edge 3-Going for the One 4-Union (Yes, hate me all you want) 5-The Yes Album 6-Time and a Word 7-Drama 8-Tales From Topographic Oceans 9-Relayer 10-90125 11-ABWH (sue me!) 12-Magnification 13-Talk 14-Yes 15-Tormato 16-Keystudio 17-Fly From Here 18-The Ladder 19-Big Generator 20-Open Your Eyes 21-The Quest 22-Heaven and Hearth

[@podecrer81]

My top 10 list: 1) Fragile 2) Close to the edge 3) The Yes album 4) Tales from topografic ocean 5) Relayer 6) Going for the one 7) Yessongs 8) Yes 9) Time and a word 10) 91025

[@prockrog5219]

Puh... That was a marathon! Good job guys. I can only take Yes in very small doses. One album a week is all that I can take.

[@threestringsomg]

I'm with you....I will never listen to more than one Yes album a week ever again. I'm exhausted.

[@andrewdyke5561]

Can't wait to see your guys top ten songs . I will do a list of it since yes is one of my all time favorite bands

[@ttmilbr]

Looks like a 1.5 playback speed kind of day, but that's ok. Looking forward to it.

[@bigjohndavid1]

Yes has always been a thing of enormous creative change and complexity that the fans strangely have to simplify in order to understand and control it. It fascinates me that it persists as a long-lived entity with a life of its own, existing beyond the sum parts of its ever-changing personnel.

[@davidbodemann7994]

I turn 69 tomorrow. I remember hearing the Yes Album in college in 1971. I didn’t like Fragile as much for the same reasons you guys didn’t . I thought it was impressive, but pedantic. My top 2 are Close to the Edge and the Yes Album . Your perspectives as younger listeners is very cool!

[@arti2909]

Yes is one of those bands which are very divisive at moments. My ranking consist of about four categories: A) Crap (1-2 stars): 90125, Big Generator, Union, Fly From Here, Heaven and Earth, The Quest B) OK (3 stars): Talk C) Really nice/great (3,5-4 stars): Keystudio, Ladder, Open Your eyes, The Yes Album, Tormato, Time and a Word, Yes D) Masterpieces (4,5-5 stars): Fragile, Close to the Edge, Tales from Topographic Oceans, Relayer, Going for the One, Drama, Magnification

[@janpoelkamp4229]

YES!!!! Here’s my list, from worst to best. It misses The Ladder. I somehow never got around hearing that. 21. Heaven And Earth 20. Union 19. The Quest (some great songs, but it seems super-mellow. It does need more spins for a proper rating) 18. Open Your Eyes 17. Big Generator 16. Fly From Here 15. Magnification 14. Talk 13. ABW&H 12. Keystudio 11. Yes 10. Time And A Word (both albums are best represented on the Yesterdays compilation). 9. 90125 8. Drama 7. Tormato 6. Fragile 5. The Yes Album 4. Close To The Edge 3. Relayer 2. Going For The One 1. Tales From Topographic Oceans (the album that divides the hangers-ons from the true fanatics, hehe). Edit: sorry Joe, I posted my list before watching the video. 😇

[@lfbl7166]

I don’t really know their albums from the 90’s and onwards to rank them, but here’s how I would rank classic era Yes: 1. Going For The One 2. Fragile 3. The Yes Album 4. Close To The Edge 5. Tales 6. Yes 7. Tormato 8. Relayer 9. Drama 10. Time And A Word

[@pedrokropotkin9045]

My top10: 1) Close to the Edge 2) Relayer 3) Fragile 4) Yes Album 5) Tales from Topographic Oceans 6) Going for the One 7) Time and a Word 8) 90125 9) Anderson Brufford Wakeman Howe 10) Drama

[@spiritualarchitect4276]

My Top 10 Favorites: 10. Union 9. The Ladder 8. Anderon Bruford Wakemen Howe 7. Keys to Ascension (studio version) 6. Relayer 5. Yes Album 4. Going for the One 3. Tales from Topographic Oceans 2. Fragile 1. Close to the Edge

[@maximusindicusoblivious180]

This is a well done and enjoyable video. And I respect the time and energy it must have took to research and categorize each album. But from my perspective I take a more bottom up approach to the catalog from being older and around during Yes's heyday. One of the things that I remember most is that in at least in America, the first 3 Yes records did not get much air play due to the fact that they were import records at the time, AM radio was still playing the hits and AOR radio did not come into it's own until the 70s. So I think that the first Yes widely accepted single "Roundabout" was so fresh and so new to peoples ears that the Prog explosion took off and blew up big time. I could go on and on about being there and seeing the early tours and the changing sounds of the band and the line ups and the decades but to each it's own. My Top 5. 1. Fragile 2. Close To The Edge 3. Relayer 4. The Yes Album 5. Going For The One I really did enjoy The Ladder and TFTO but they did not make the top 5. But my all time favorite Yes album is YesSongs.

[@josearias6083]

My ranking: 1. Tales From Topographic Oceans 2. Relayer 3. Close to the Edge 4.The Yes Album 5. Fragile 6. Tormato 7. Drama 8. Time and a Word 9. 90125 10. Going for the One 11. Magnification 12. Keystudio 13. The Ladder 14. Talk 15. YES 16. Open Your Eyes 17. Fly From Here 18. Union 19. The Quest 20. Big Generator 21. Heaven & Earth 1-3 : 5 stars 4-5 : 4.5 stars 6-13: 4 stars 14-17: 3.5 stars 18-20: 3 stars 21: 2 stars

[@stantonthezag1109]

Thanks for the breakdown of YES. I only really know Joe’s “big three” albums intimately and have heard bits and pieces of others. From what I heard here, I think the ones I would like the best and should check out are Going for the One, Drama, 90125, and The Ladder. I suspect the über-progginess of Tales From… and Relayer will leave me cold, but I am curious to hear them regardless. An aside: In 1987 I was 14 and rode around a lot in my older cousin’s car and he was constantly playing the Big Generator cassette. I fuckin’ HATED it.

[@TheTwangKings]

Awesome review... You guys got it pretty much spot on, on the average. It's a little hard to keep track of all three of you reviewing in parallel, but it's very thoughtful. The pattern for most bands emerges: new=lousy, old=good. One spot where I think 2 of you goofed is Tormato. That was Yes trying to break out of the prog straightjacket and injecting some new punky energy. It works, even with the sometimes cheesy synth sounds. But the guitar is punchy, raw and exiting. It paves the way to more openly New Wave Drama, so it has its place. It's OK, most people miss this link between old and new Yes.

[@bobcesca9857]

Thank you so much for using a high quality version of the Magnification album cover. (I designed the sleeve artwork for it and Yes Symphonic Live.) So many crappy low resolution copies floating around.

[@TastesLikeMusic]

You’re very welcome, Bob

[@chriswilson8151]

I respect Yes more than I like them. I have a more emotional connection to (then) contemporary prog artists, such as Genesis or Pink Floyd. I find Yes a little too stately compared to the freeform nature of, say, King Crimson or the cheeky humour of Jethro Tull. That said after watching this video and I went and listened to the Steven Wilson remixes of Fragile and Close to the Edge (an album I liked in the past but didn’t love) and was pretty impressed, so I may have to give the others a relisten. I do remember liking Tales from Topographic Oceans quite a bit and LOVING Relayer, so I do fall with Kram on those ones 👍

[@geraldinho4092]

Thoughts on Chris Squire's album Fish out of Water, personally think it's upper echelon prog. Also relayer is the best yes album

[@johnw706]

A very enjoyable breakdown of their catalog . Each of you made a great case for the order of your selections . Well done . Here's my top 10 in order of preference : Fragile ( I completely agree with Kramzer's breakdown of the individual tracks , I think that they stitch the longer pieces together quite well ) Close to the Edge The Yes Album Going For the One ( Turn of the Century is probably their most overlooked classic ) Tales from Topographic Oceans. ( There are probably 7 or 8 great shorter songs buried in those 4 tracks . Extract them out & you would have a killer single LP ) Relayer Time & a Word Drama The Ladder ( New Language is the highlight for me ) 90125 Thanks !!!!

[@gergelystechnicmodels8565]

My top 10: 1. Relayer 2. Tales from Topographic Oceans 3. The Yes Album 4. Close to the Edge 5. Fragile 6. Yes 7. Going for the One 8. Time and a Word 9. 90125 10. Magnification

[@scottanthonyweidner8692]

Have not listened to the new album yet, but still have 21 albums because I am including the Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe album. 21. Open Your Eyes - 2.5 stars 20. Union - 2.5 19. Heaven and Earth - 2.5 18. Talk - 2.5 17. Tormato - 3 16. The Ladder - 3 15. Magnification - 3 14. Big Generator - 3.5 13. Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe - 3.5 12. Fly from Here - 3.5 11. Keystudio - 3.5 10. Time and a Word - 4 9. 90125 - 4 8. Yes - 4 7. Tales from Topographic Oceans - 4.5 6. Drama - 4.5 5. Relayer - 4.5 4. Fragile - 5 3. Going for the One - 5 2. The Yes Album - 5 1. Close to the Edge - 5+

[@kenm.3512]

The last Yes album I really knew well was Talk. I like that album quite a bit. The Ladder is okay but I lost interest after that. My favorites are everything up to Drama. The Rabin albums are good, though they were not stylistically my cup of tea, I appreciate them more now. Trevor Rabin really gave the band a shot in the arm after the classic line-up split. He is an extremely talented individual. Close to the Edge, The Yes Album and Fragile are my top 3. After that, Relayer and Going For the One. Rounding out my favorites are Tales, Drama, Talk, 90125 and Tormato. The first two albums are cool, however they still seemed to be 'on the road to somewhere', as Chris Squire said. They really hit their stride with The Yes Album.

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

1. Close To The Edge (1972) 5/5 2. Fragile (1971) 5/5 3. The Yes Album (1971) 4.5/5 4. 90125 (1983) 4/5 5. Relayer (1974) 3.5/5 6. Keystudio (2001) 3.5/5 7. Time And A Word (1970) 3/5 8. Yes (1969) 3/5 9. Going For The One (1977) 3/5 10. Tales From Topographic Oceans (1973) 2.5/5 11. Drama (1980) 2.5/5 12. Big Generator (1987) 2.5/5 13. The Ladder (1999) 2.5/5 14. Magnification (2001) 2.5/5 15. Tormato (1979) 2/5 15. Talk (1994) 2/5 17. Union (1991) 2/5 18. The Quest (2021) 2/5 19. Fly From Here (2011) 2/5 20. Heaven & Earth (2014) 1.5/5 21. Open Your Eyes (1997) 1/5 CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER: 3.0 Yes (1969) 3.0 Time And A Word (1970) 4 5 The Yes Album (1971) 5.0 Fragile (1971) 5.0 Close To The Edge (1972) 2.5 Tales From Topographic Oceans (1973) 3.5 Relayer (1974) 3.0 Going For The One (1977) 2.5 Drama (1980) 2.0 Tormato (1979) 4.0 90125 (1983) 2.5 Big Generator (1987) 2.0 Union (1991) 2.0 Talk (1994) 1.0 Open Your Eyes (1997) 2.5 The Ladder (1999) 3.5 Keystudio (2001) 2.5 Magnification (2001) 2.0 Fly From Here (2011) 1.5 Heaven & Earth (2014) 2.0 The Quest (2021) Had a blast revisiting Yes, though their discography is a bit of a rollercoaster- extraordinary peaks mixed with quite a few forgettable albums. But when these guys were clicking it seemed like they had no ceiling. They might be the most genre-bending of all prog bands (Chris Squire's bass tone and playing is particularly mindblowing.) Yes will likely show up on my "top 100 artists" list- but they'd be top 50 if I thought more highly of their post‐Relayer output. Perhaps there's merit to the idea that their never-ending lineup changes took a toll on their consistency. MY RATING SYSTEM: 5.0 = major classic 4.5 = minor classic 4.0 = great 3.5 = very good 3.0 = good 2.5 = fair 2.0 = poor 1.5 = awful 1.0 = historically awful I don't go below 1 star because once I'm in the realm of the truly terrible I don't care to differentiate anymore. Anything I rate 3.5 stars or higher is an album I'm enthusiastic about and would likely revisit at some point.

[@garyives8676]

You have Key studio at 6. Great job! I really love that album!

[@179rich]

Well done WB. I like that you're never afraid to be brutal.

[@vhbr68]

Y qué pasa ckn From a page??

[@terrytheman3317]

1- Close to the Edge 2- Fragile 3- Yes Album 4- Relayer

[@Vanessa.P]

I'm a relative newbie to prog overall. I never gave it a chance at all when I was younger so it has been pretty exciting getting into it now. I've been meaning to get into Yes for a bit but a little overwhelmed with where to start especially knowing a bit about the history with their different eras and lineups. Obviously I knew the bigger songs but never really listened to a full album. I recently picked up Tormato at the used record store (it was the only Yes album they had) and that is clearly an odd place to start. Listening to it the first time I definitely found it interesting but very weird. So after watching this I feel like I have a better idea of what to listen to from here.

[@TastesLikeMusic]

I say try Drama. Might be weird to start on a record without Anderson, but it’s kinda like prog for beginners. But unlike something like 90125, it is actually prog and will set you on your way. -Jason

[@Vanessa.P]

@@TastesLikeMusic Drama was one of the albums I had on my shortlist to listen to so that sounds likes a good place to start.

[@daneng3641]

I went out of my way to be a Yes completist about 2 years ago. Thrilled you guys did the same. I need at least a dozen listens per album so it was a pretty monumental task for me. I'm still not sure I gave TFTO it's due. My criteria was essentially the same plus ABWH and minus "The Quest" of course. Not sure I should even bother with "The Quest" though looking back I'm surprised how high "Heaven and Earth" is on my list. So maybe I would like it. Here's my list for what it's worth: 21. Yes 20. Time and a Word (sorry, not a fan of proto-Yes) 19. Open Your Eyes 18. Union 17. Tormato 16. ABWH 15. Fly From Here - Return Trip (couldn't find the original) 14. Big Generator 13. The Ladder 12. Heaven and Earth 11. Magnification 10. Tales from Topographical Oceans 9. Talk (Fuck off! This album sounds great!) 8. Key Studio 7. Drama 6. Relayer 5. Close to the Edge 4. Going for the One (coincidentally, I've owned the last 4 on CD since time immemorial) 3. 90125 (I was 16 when this came out. That's my excuse, but it still sounds incredible --every damn song!!) 2. The Yes Album 1. Fragile

[@frodofraggins]

I'll have to listen to this discography when I get the time

[@andrewdyke5561]

My top five yes albums 1. Close to the edge 2. Yes album 3. Relayer 4. Fragile 5.going for the one Hm: tales

[@wendellwiggins3776]

the closest to my list but I put TALES much higher at no. 3 moving The Yes Album & Fragile down to 4 & 5. in fact that's my trilogy of EXQUISITE plus AWAKEN

[@theshakeups]

1. Close to the Edge 2. Going for the One 3. Fragile 4. The Yes Album 5. Time and a Word 6. Relayer 7. Tales from Topographic Oceans 8. Drama 9. Yes 10. Tormato

[@RealJeffTidwell]

I haven’t listened to enough Yes to form a Top 10… but I’m bringing back Relayer, Topographic, Drama, and Going For The One to my collection for ready listening. One of the best Listographies yet. 🤘

[@neiltheblaze]

I've been so out of it for years - there are seven albums here I never knew existed, and another five that I knew existed but haven't heard a note of. I pretty much stopped paying attention in the '80's and, man, it shows. Very interesting choices. Interesting discussion as always.

[@toddhill7483]

Only ranking albums I've heard. 12 Big Generator. 11 Time and a Word. 10 Yes. 9 Tormato. 8 Close to the Edge. 7 Drama. 6 Relayer. 5 Tales From Topographic Oceans. 4 90125. 3 The Yes Album. 2 Going for the One. 1 Fragile. Thanks guys.