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Last year, the former Pink Floyd leader surprised us all with his first solo album in nine years. This year, he wowed us again with The Luck And Strange Concerts and Live At The Circus Maximus . Here are 10 reasons why David Gilmour was top of the progs in 2025.

The unconventional instrumentation favoured by Tortoise is an indicator of how many different lineups have always jostled for space under the jazz umbrella. The national treasure that is The Pete Alle

Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery embraced his more electronic side this year with Bioscope, his soundscape project with Tangerine Dream’s Thorsten Quaeschning. But he’s not ditching the day job: work is well underway on Marillion’s next studio album, and there’s his long-awaited collaboration with a certain Mr Hackett still to come.

What an incredible 2025 it’s been in the world of prog. This year, we’ve taken a different approach to our Critics’ Choice and instead of printing our writers’ Top 20 lists, we’ve pooled them to create a definitive Top 50 with profile pieces on some of the key players. Did your favourite make the cut? We look forward to reading your thoughts on the results.

Steven Wilson returned to his progressive rock roots in 2025 with an epic two-track concept album and a wow-factor tour. Somehow, he even managed to find the time to remix Pink Floyd and a whole host of other rock and pop icons, too.