Ranking my 10 favourite KING CRIMSON albums 

Adrian Belew fronted King Crimson is my favorite era, highly recommend Adrian Belew's solo albums like Side One, Two and Three. His first two are great too but the "Side" albums are quite an experience. He really shows his talent and it even feels like it meshes well with king crimson discography

The power to believe, 2003, is an excellent album that should be on your list!

I agree that Lark's Tongues is utterly brilliant-- for a long time I considered it MY favorite-- but eventually I relented and decided In the Court of the Crimson King is my favorite. "Moonchild" with the extended improv is in my top 5 KC songs of all time. And the solo portative organ segment (mellotron? calliope? ) during The Court of the King Crimson is one of my favorite keyboard moments in prog.

What a great list! Nice to find a fellow KC lover that doesn't rank the first four albums. And golly did I share that 90s excitement for VROOM. I loved that EP so much. Thrak was a bit of a disappointment after that although I grew to love it too. I'll never forget seeing KC in 1995 at Town Hall in NYC. I'd never believed I'd see them live and I was so excited I nearly exploded. Great videos!

Was at that Asbury Park show ... terrible weather 🌧️🌧️🌧️🌬️🌬️🌬️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 inside

That Thrak sound came after touring with Tool 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Alot of my friends back in the Day. Far as Prog . It was YES, RUSH, TULL . FLOYD. I gravitated toward KING CRIMSON ZAPPA early GENESIS PETER GABRIEL ERA. Crimson to me was Jazz influenced Metal , Folk . Fripp approach was like Zappa. Multiple Lineups. It keep things fresh. Music comes first. My Favorite Era is Wetton Bruford Cross Muir . But Disipline record is special. RED , LARKS, BIBLE BLACK And of course that first Lineup. ITCOTCK was the first one that grabbed me many years ago. It's a One off. If you look at the whole body of work. King Crimson is right up there.

I saw them at Manchester Poly in spring 81, when they were still calling themselves Discipline. Supported by The Lounge Lizards. Best concert I've ever been to, despite the hippys calling for Epitaph when there clearly wasn't a mellotron on stage. They did Red, with Levin's Chapman Stick doing the cello part. Amazing.

Just watched some of your top ten lists and then this pops up on my side bar,you have a new subscriber just because of this video. So I was 14years old,round a friends house when his older brother walks in and plonks a brand new album on the Grundig radiogram. What's this? I sat there entranced,never heard anything like it before and from that day onward my taste in music changed completely. It was 1969,that album was Court Of The Crimson King.........And to this day is still my favourite album of all time. Great video Andy.

I used to go to the basement in a Fulham Palace Rd cafe, to see my mates rehearse with their band. Another band also rehearsed there and their kit was stored in the passage way. I asked my mates who the other band was, and they said, their name is stencilled on some of the covers, so I went and looked and saw a Mellotron with King Crimson stencilled on the cover on top of it. I went back and said to my mates, they've got a Mellotron, so they'll never make it. A year later, I was spending my hard earned on their concerts and album. Agree with the top three, but not sure on the order. I think it's a three way tie.

Great list. It is certainly possible to come up with a different list, but not a better list.

So pleased you’ve included Vrooom, Andy. I’m with you. When I saw KC had produced something new, after a massive hiatus and without fanfare, I was delighted - and playing the disc in no way disappointed.

I respect your opinion. No reason I shoukd get ‘fluffed’ because of it. I really love Beat. It’s a beautifully produced recording with great tunes. Belew brought a focus very much need by the group.

I like how you mention that much of Starless is live. According to Bruford, in his autobiography, the record company wouldn't let them release a live album, so they went ahead and recorded their live improvs and took out all the audience noise.

3 versions of the Stones & KC. The 11 studio albums are the essentials through the Lake, Belew/Levin, Trey Gunn eras.

I am a devotee of the Discipline, Beat, Sleepless incarceration, but you have me expanding my horizons now. Lovely presentatio. I know personal experience plays intro opinions and critical analysis, but that’s all part of the fun!

Very nice list, love seeing in it USA, un unbelievable live álbum, so disruptive. Asbury park maybe the definition of controlled chaos.....And i believe you have a point by saying that Larks Tongues in aspic is more a Journey than an album. Perhaps an one way journey . Thats the way it really feels, even after so many years.

Wunderbar talk Andy. I especially appreciate the inclusion of Fripp’s Exposure. I find your taste in music mirror’s mine in an uncanny way. I have many friends who are also Prog / Jazz Fusion fans, but I have never heard anyone speak about this time in music that I agree with more than you. I think Robert Fripp and Frank Zappa are the only two who had the unstoppable creativity to navigate from the 1960’s music consumer and music industry to absolutely incredible music so many years after their groundbreaking early recordings.

Love it. I nearly agree with all your choices. I think Fracture may be my fav Crimson tune ever. Red however is pure genius, Bruford is amazing on One Red Nightmare. Glad to see Beat so high on your list.

I recently saw a rumour (probably?) that Robert Fripp was asked to join Yes to replace Peter Banks! Not sure if it would have worked, but wow, imagine how it would have sounded…….

My pedestrian ears still want the debut in the Number 1 spot. Thumbs up anyway, though. (And they (=Robert Fripp) added the Vrooom EP to the 2019 vinyl edition of "Thrak".)

No real quibbles here, but I would flip Red and Larks' Tongues in Aspic. For whatever reason, I bought Red before getting Larks' and Starless and Bible Black. Discipline was a shocker for me when I first heard it. I needed 4 or 5 listens before it started to click with me. I bought Security by Peter Gabriel within a week or two of getting Discipline. So for me, the two albums are linked. Having Tony Levin on both albums may be a factor in that.

Crimson fan since the 70s but I'm not quite as into their heavy atonal side after LTIA. This is maybe a more conventional list: Discipline Larks' Tongues in Aspic Thrak In the Wake of Poseidon In the Court of the Crimson King Red Lizard - Bolero is one of Crimson's best IMO The Power to Believe Starless and Bible Black Ladies Of The Road, live 1971-1972 I would have put Exposure in there too.

Spot on! I would have Discipline at #1 but otherwise completely simpatico. AND! I noticed Exposure in the background immediately because it's been sitting next to my turntable for the last 6 months. Brilliant list, thank you.

I only ever saw them once, and as luck would have it, they were at the time promoting their latest album, namely "Larks Tongues in Aspic". I seem to remember them having not 1 but 2 Mellotrons on the stage. One was for Robert Fripp's use, when not playing the guitar. I don't remember who used the other. At the time we considered this cutting edge of course. Jamie Muir was the amazing percussionist to join Bill Bruford in the rhythm section. Frankly, they were the performers I homed in on. So that was 50 years ago give or take and I still rate "Larks" to this day, along with Beat and Red as my personal Crimson favourites. 👍🏻

my favourite is the Absent Lovers live album- I can't get enough of the 80s band. Very interesting list!

For anyone reading this, it will get negative, not trying to troll, everyone enjoy the music you love and have fun. I love (some) King Crimson, I've downloaded from the DGMLive website, don't come at me. Anyway. I'm amazed how much this list lines up with what mine would be. Andy mentioned songwriting, and to me that has always been the difference between good and surprisingly-not-really-that-good King Crimson. The two Bruford incarnations--with John Wetton, the Starless/Red group, and with the awesome Adrian Belew, the Discipline band--that's the stuff. So so good, such a satisfying intricately heavy listen. But then. The Thrak stuff is...pretty good, but I'll never choose it over the Bruford groups...and then I get lost. But also: I did see King Crimson just a few years ago, the four drummer group, and it was the single most disappointing concert I've been to. I don't get the four drummers thing. At all. I had no idea who was playing what, and here's the thing: King Crimson should be Robert Fripp, more Robert Fripp, couple of obligatory solos for the other guys, and then more Fripp. But it's very far from that, and that's not a good thing at all, nobody knows who these other guys on stage are. He has always been far too deferential within KC, I think, but this concert, he might not have been there for all I know. I couldn't see him sitting in the back, there was a panel in the auditorium completely blocking my view, and I could barely hear him. He might have taken a solo or two, I'm not sure, and that is really not much of an exaggeration. I apologized to my wife for dragging her to it, and we left before it was over. I walked out realizing that the 70s and 80s were a really long time ago.

Concur with your KC/Mahavishnu comment. Big KC fan here but the thought of selling off Lizard brings me to tears.

King Crimson is the best band in the world, it surpasses the notion of band, it's more like an umbrella they have a certain way of doing things, it's not always for the best but still every Ablum Got something special, it's not a band you can form or reforme, it's philosophy and a spirit.

My first exposure to KC was, inevitably ITCOTCK but it was part of a Polydor 'Doubleback' lp release with Larks Tongues. I ended up playing Larks Tongues far more often. I love Larks Tongues. I agree with your sentiments with regards to the rest of the earlier albums (Poseidon and Lizard) but I have a soft spot for Islands. I need to listen more critically to understand why. I agree that Red and Starless are superb. Discipline was a shock to me when it came out and is just a fantastic album. Beautiful melodies such as Frame By Frame and Mate Kudasai mixed with raucous elephant bellowing. I was blindsided. The intricate guitar interplay is superb and The Sheltering Sky has to be my favourite KC track. It's utterly sublime.

Discipline is my second favourite Album of all time, just a little bit behind my number one, which is Moving Pictures by Rush. The 80s Crimson are my favourite incarnation of the band. I also bought Vroom on the day of its release. I agree with you about Fripp‘s Exposute album. To me Breathless seems to be the missing link between the tracks Red and Vroom. I saw the 90s double trio live a couple of times. Incredible! So here‘s my top 10 studio albums: 1. Discipline 2. Lark‘s Tounges in Aspic 3. Red 4. Beat 5. Three of a Perfect Pair 6. Vroom 7. Thrak 8. The Construction of Light 9. The Power to Believe 10. Starless and Bible Black

I only have their albums up to Red so it was interesting to hear your opinions on the ones I haven't heard, thanks. The only other album I have is the one by Robert Fripp and David Sylvian. Only played a couple of times so I'm not sure about it yet.

What do you think of the more recent live albums that revisit the 69-74 era? I think they’re pretty great.

Starless and Bible Black is my no.1

Larks is my favorite as well. Beyond metal... brilliant characterization.

Finally, someone got it right. Your list pretty much how I rank them.

Hi Andy Thanks for your list of favourite KC albums. I would have placed Court of the Crimson King in my Top 5, but otherwise I agree with your list. I don’t have any of their live albums so will definitely get USA album.

The Sylvian and Fripp album "Damage" is a serious favorite of mine. "God's Monkey" on that album has my absolute favorite Fripp guitar solo on it. "A Scarcity of Miracles" is (to me) perhaps the most front-to-back listenable thing Fripp has ever done. "Waiting Man" from "Beat" is probably my all-time favorite Crimson song.

Cool list. Red was my favorite album for years now it's The Power to believe followed by The Construkction of Light and Thrak , also I like A Scarcity of Miracles from the latest lineup. can't wait for their new documentary.

Dig Me......But Don't......Bury Me, i wanted that license plate frame ever since i heard that song.

I saw you on SOT and I really like your opinion and love listening to you talk music. I love music so much. My mother always said if I knew my school work like I know music I would be a lawyer or something. Anyway thanks for your knowledge

It's always interesting how different someone else's list can be, especially if it's presented in a genial manner like this. I used to think I was a fan but I only have four now: Lizard, USA, Islands and Red.

Wooooow. Epitaph is my favourite song and ITCOCK my favourite album 😂😂😂

Are you crazy, Andy? In the Court of the Crimson King is an all-time classic! You have to love it! ;)

Top 10 for me 1. Best tracks from The Great Deceiver Live Box Set 2. Larks Tongue in Aspics 3. Red 4. Starless and B Black 5. The Court of the Crimson King 6. Lizard 7. Islands 8. In the Wake of Poseidon 9.Discipline 10. Beat

Fantastic list. Starless and Bible Black is probably my favorite. Although I love the 80's and 90's bands. I've never heard USA, I'll check it out.

I saw the 90s KC. Unbelievable concert. I feel Steven Wilson's remix of Lizard is fantastic...and it influenced The Raven That Refused to Sing.

Following from your intro - and your guitarist video - how did any of these not get on your DoD selection?

Fascinating just so great to see USA in there , something about that recording the Bruford/Wetton axis which Fripp dubbed ‘the flying brick wall ‘ . The version of LTIA pt 2 is thunderous

I'm going to go pretty close to your list. I never quite connected to the 90s KC so the 1973-1984 period, as you rank them is exactly spot on for me. Thank-you for placing Starless & Bible Black at 4th. As you say, this is a "favourite's" list. TCOTCK is arguably their most important album just because of it's context in 1969 but that doesn't require it to be a "favourite" given how much amazing music they have done over the years.

If you like the Starless and bible black, you have to like also The Nightwatch double live cd. I miss it in your best 10. There's Starless stuff played live in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. I think it's better than the USA album.

Good Stuff Andy!

Ironically enough the 69-74 era crimson is my favorite and I completely agree about court haha! For me, it’s easily the weakest album of this period. However, we can’t deny it’s significance and influence on prog. I really dig the whole free jazz and the stravinsky/bartok influenced sound they had on the first four or so albums. I love the contrast between wild freak out avant garde and the mellower pretty crimson ballads. I think this era of the band really had a great balance of technique, emotion, and dynamics. You touched on this topic in another video and I couldn’t agree more with that! That’s one of the things I love about jazz and prog is the balance of mind blowing technique and emotion/philosophy. If I had to a favorite pre larks tongues album its Poseidon or Lizard for me. Although I only really love cirkus and lady of the dancing water and side 1. The first three albums imo have some of Fripps most interesting and underrated acoustic playing, particularly Poseidon and Cirkus. It’s cool to hear all of his crazy whole tone/diminished licks being played on acoustic. Think it really fit that whole sound of the band early on. Great channel man absolutely subscribed, been looking for a channel that dives deep into the jazzier fusion side of prog! Funnily enough Fripp and Mclaughlin always were similar to me in a way, with their whole approach. Both approached guitar playing from a whole different perspective than anyone else at the time. I would add Holdsworth and Steve Howe too. No pentatonic scales haha although John definitely had a bluesy vibe to his playing and that’s what single handedly got me into jazz.

I completely agree with your list and am glad you put Lark's Tongues above Discipline (even though the reality is that they're equally great - it's a slightly different multi-verse where that order would be reversed). The only difference in my list is that I'd put both USA and Beat ahead of Starless and Bible Black. I wore my vinyl copy of USA out when I was in high school and it remains one of my favorite records. SaBB still doesn't wow me as much as the others though - maybe because I discovered it later.

hi Andy, certified Crimsoholic here and of course I've bought all of their albums. Agree with your choices for the most part, in terms of what I listen to most. Also -- what with your being a fan of Thrakattak and Starless and Bible Black and their brand of improvisation, I wonder how much of the ProjeKcts you've checked out? Some of that stuff is quite brilliant, and it actually kind of picks up (stylistically as well as chronologically) where Thrakattak left off.

Could swap the top five around, depending on the day of the week 😉 Crimson make my brain wiggly, great list, love it

almost aligned, I'm 100% for the 80's band and have almost no interest on the 70's period (apart from some of "Red") AND after the 80's...but I love the band and how it operates. Also, RF's "Exposure" is a true, true, true masterpiece.

"In the court of the crimson king" is one of the most important rock albums but the original mix always sounded pathetic to me, the Steven Wilson remix sounds great and it is also my least favorite Crimson album. Huge fan of the band especially of their 80s and 90s albums. Red is my absolute favorite. It's jazzy, heavy, and "Providence" and "A journey to the center of cosmos" go straight in some free and Avant jazz territory. Fripp's body of work is enough for a Ph.D. thesis. Great video as always. Looking forward to the Steve Vai video Sir.

R.I.P Ian McDonald - original member of King Crimson. Just a side note - Greg Lake and Gary Moore used to do good live versions of tunes from Court Of Crimson King album.

Interesting to hear your take on their albums, If I was to pick an order it would be discipline, beat, Red, Three of a perfect pair and Thrak, although if I included live albums Absent Lovers is fantastic, a real edge to the performances. I think that actually I am a fan of tracks from a lot of the albums but not all, so really it would have to be a playlist for me! The 80’s incarnation holds a special place as it assimilated new wave/post punk which really are my roots in music and the fact it wasn’t overly noodly, which as a listener bores the pants off me, not the same as a player, as you attempt to go on a journey. I agree regarding their debut album, but I have to say Epitaph is a good track, alongside Crimson King and Schizoid. Metal era KC apart from a couple of tracks leaves me cold also. The irony of it is that I think their best music across all the incarnations are the pieces with the most discipline in them. As a rhythm section Bruford and Levin were total gods!

Ok, I'm not going to be popular here... I happened to stumble upon King Crimson only because I was a huge fan of Bruford and I jumped on "Discipline" because he was on it. I don't know if or when I would have discovered KC or Adrian Belew if it werent' for this. Having said that, "Discipline" is easily one of the most important records released in that decade. From there, I dug all the records up to Level Five. I really enjoy Construcktion of Light and have come to appreciate Pat Mastelotto's drumming (did I read somewhere that he re-recorded his electronic drum parts with acoustic?) I've only dabbled in the pre-Discipline records. Maybe I'll revisit some of the ones mentioned today. Oh yeah - love Vroom

Great video. Thanks Had a problem with the 80s crimson - maybe because the 70s was so important to me. Will have to give 80s another listen as while I don’t like Belew - his songs are beautiful - I can sing so many of those songs. Would give more love to Lizard and Island. Larks was so influential on me. So great number one. Also a shout out to Tom Phillip’s design for S&Bb - gorgeous. What about Nightwatch - the concert starless arose from?

Listening to this 🌞While I shave the chickens lips

What about Lizard? What are your thoughts on that?

My first KC album was “Starless…” when it was released, and I worked backwards from there. ITCOTCK is of course a classic, but I remember (for some reason) liking “Lizard” a lot. My favorite era is definitely the Bruford/Wetton years. It would have been interesting had Jaime Muir hung around longer. The three huge box sets featuring this version of the band that have been released over the last decade or so are really great. I remember loving everything about “Discipline”, even if it was so different. I kinda think that “Beat” and “Three…” would have made a really great album if they had been combined. Just a personal opinion. I was able to see the band on the “Starless”, “Discipline” and “Thrak” tours, but didn’t get a chance to see the latest three drummer version. Hey, Andy, any thoughts on the triple drummer iteration? It would have been interesting to see how this band would have handled making a studio album.

Great coverage of King Crimson and awesome rankings. They're one of the most important and iconic bands ever in the progressive rock genre who have made some of the most legendary music ever 1. USA 2. Red 3. In The Court Of The Crimson King 4. Larks Tongues In Aspic 5. Starless And Bible Black 6. In The Wake Of Poseidon 7. Thrak 8. The Construkction of Light 9. The Power To Believe 10. Beat

KC is One of my favorite prog bands, definitely top 2, Either them or Yes

Well, this is my favorite band ever. I was actually a collector of records and bootlegs. (In the early internet era). My favorite era is the 72-74. I'd argue that live they were the best band ever -- only Mahavishnu would touch them. (Indicentally, Bruford and Wetton were huge fans of Herbie Hancock's band). In fact, if a genie asked me for three wishes, one of them would be being in Amsterdam at the Concertgebouw, 11/23/73. The best live gig ever and source of a lot of the Starless and BB album. Anyway, the 69-70 band would be a close second. Mike Giles was such an original drummer. (And because of this, I was surprised that you didn't enjoy ITCOTCK or ITWOP albums that much). The 71-72 era, close third. Finally, I know they aren't "albums", but following from my argument above, my favorite recordings from KC are "The night watch" (Live at Amsterdam, 1973) and "The Great Deceiver" box set (Live 1973-1974). Absolute madness. The best ever.

Totally get it...I'd have all Bruford albums in my top 5 as well...but Starless & Bible Black would have been my #1. I love that record. Wore the cassette out...to the point it was unlistenable

RIP Ian Mc Donald. His Sax and 21st CSM and sure the Court - cover is the foundation of my KC history. Far away from your Top 10 Islands is my number one.

80’s Crimson is fab…new wave prog pop

Great list. can't get it down to 10 but if I had to 1. Red 2. USA 3. Lark's Tongues 4. Starless 5. In The Court 6.Power to Believe 7. Discipline 8. Beat 9. Lizard 10. Zoom I agree they were the heaviest of all bands, only Yes came close on a couple of albums (Close to the Edge and Relayer) and Peter Hammill on a few songs (In The Black Room, Forsaken Gardens, A Louse Is Not a Home are probably the heaviest songs I have ever heard). None of the metal bands were heavy to my ears.

To each their own. Epitaph and the title track along with Schizoid Man are a triple threat that is hard to be beat. But Red is my favorite.

I woulda thought that you'd like LIZARD.

The problem with In the Court is Moonchild. The four first minutes are OK but after that you fall into an infinite boredom. Well, 8 minutes.

I'm completely with you except I'm very surprised you didn't put Lizard in your top 10, being a Fusion fan. To me Lizard is one of the first RIO albums. I've got all the box sets and if I could include those then Heaven and Earth with the Projeckts stuff would be in there, along with The Complete Larks Tongues, Road to Red and Starless boxes with loads of live improvised music. However, keeping to just the studio albums and nothing live, here's my list but it depends on my mood: 1 Larks Tongues in Aspic 2 Red 3 Starless and Bible Black 4 Lizard 5 The Power to Believe 6 Discipline 7 Thrak 8 Islands 9 In the Wake of Poseidon 10 In the Court of the Crimson King Honorable mention yes, Exposure but also, The Construction of Light, David Bowie's Scary Monsters with Fripp's wonderful playing and Van Der Graaf Generator's H to He Who am the only one again with Fripp's guitar work and finally Talking Heads Remain in Light with Adrian Belew's playing. Nice video and nice to see the love for Larks Tongues in Aspic, one of my favourite albums of all time. 👍 Just to add, seen Crimson live more times than I can remember, all line ups except the one in America with Gavin Harrison replacing the retired Bill Bruford. They are easily THE Best band I've ever seen live especially the last three drummer line up, just amazing.

I might have to put Thrakattack higher; I love (LOVE) The Gread Deceiver 4 disk set more than you do. But I "grew up" with USA and wouldn't want it replaced, either. I have a conundrum about what to do with the magnificent live "Absent Lovers" vs. the three 80s records, though I'm in complete agreement that Discipline > Beat > Three of Perfect Pair... As far as the contours of which period is preferred over others, where they got less interesting again, observations about some specific members... I'm in agreement with you pretty closely!

When I saw your no 10 choice I thought - OMG, that's brave , should have been on the SoT least favourite prog albums show so you could have backed up George - and I see George has commented below, which I have to say really made me chuckle. After getting over the shock that ITCOTCK could have even been left off your list and hearing your reasons for why you rated what you rated as being higher I have to say I get it. I dont personally agree, but on reflection ITCOTCK is quite the outlier in terms of the overall Crim catalogue, with Schizoid Man the one to properly tie it to the later work (I too have that Schizoid men CD, its bloody marvelous), and perhaps it should really be treated as a standalone. I personally think its a one off classic, and have been listeniong to it for the past 46 years, although I always skip the improv bit in Moonchild, as to me its just aimless meandering waffle, as opposed to the improvs that the Wetton line up did. After Ian McDonald passed I reacquainted myself with his McDonald and Giles album and actually that with maybe one or two from Poseidon, is probably the more natural follow up to ITCOTCK. As it was Poseidon was nearly a replica of the first and then Fripp tried out a couple of different avenues with varying degrees of success, all the while builidng up to the 72-74 line up culminating in Red. It took me some time to come to terms with post 80's Crimson, but I saw the light as it were not too long ago and I now love those three Belew/Bruford/Levin outings. I'm still trying to come to terms with all that Thrak and Heaven and Earth stuff though as I've not invested much time in listening to those - when i first heard Thrak I found it to be a bit claustophobic so never took it any further back then.

If you like 80s Crimson check out Fripp‘s 1981 album The League of Gentlemen. It sounds like it's the demos to 80s Crimson.

Great list...im more red over disclipine maybe....

"Lizard" is nutty cool. They're all cool... even "Islands." "Exposer" is fantastic as well as the punk, poppy first "League of Gentlemen." Fripp produced the first couple of the Roches albums and a Daryl Hall stand alone. Check 'em out kids... they move to a smooth groove. Peace on earth.

The Night Watch is a fantastic tune

That was great. I was never a Fripp fan till adulthood. Too anal for me I liked the prog of Gentle Giant Yes Mahavishnu Nektar PFM Zappa. It took me years to appreciate Fripp after seeing the 70’s and 80’s versions I was hooked. I love Red and Discipline but I’m not that familiar with the newer stuff.

Andy, you need to stop with the light weight stuff. You need to address the elephant in the room which is Gentle Giant.

10 should be 1

This video is going to cost me a lot of money, love the 80's Crimson, but there's a lot of albums I don't have......yet

Don't apologize for your personal taste 😁

Honesty? No way! LOL

I'd be appalled if a percussionist didn't rank Larks' Tongues at number one!

We disagree. I'm older than you are and I'm not enamored of the Belew era. My two favorite albums are Lizard and Islands. I'd then include the first two albums, followed by the Wetton/Bruford era. That gives me 7. for 8 I'd include the Live in Amsterdam bootleg from the LTIA tour. 9 would be USA, for 10, I'd include Beat. I never liked Belew's singing. I'd almost rather listen to Jon Davison or Steve Howe sing lead, and that would sound terrible. I also never understood the attraction for LTIA Part 2 and the song Red. I think they are the worst songs on their albums. They're too repetitive. I'd be surprised if they took longer to write than they do to play. Sorry for the contrary view.