GuideAlbums in Order
Every Styx Album in Order
The Styx discography counts eighteen studio albums, from the 1972 debut to Circling from Above in 2025. The band took the Styx name in Chicago in 1972, after playing as the Tradewinds and then TW4, when they signed with Wooden Nickel Records. This guide goes through every Styx studio album in order, era by era, with a few pointers on where to begin.
The Wooden Nickel years (1972–1974)
The first four albums came out on Wooden Nickel: Styx (1972), Styx II (1973), The Serpent Is Rising (1973) and Man of Miracles (1974). The founding line-up included Dennis DeYoung, James “J.Y.” Young, the brothers Chuck and John Panozzo, and guitarist John Curulewski.
The A&M years (1975–1983)
Equinox (1975) opened the band’s run on A&M Records. Tommy Shaw joined on guitar in late 1975, replacing Curulewski, and Crystal Ball (1976) was his first album with the band. Then came The Grand Illusion (1977), Pieces of Eight (1978), Cornerstone (1979) and Paradise Theatre (1981). The era closed with Kilroy Was Here (1983), a concept album and rock opera set in a future where rock music has been outlawed.
I tell the American side of this story in my book Beyond the Atlantic →
From Edge of the Century to Big Bang Theory (1990–2005)
Edge of the Century (1990) was the last album on A&M. Brave New World followed in 1999, the year Lawrence Gowan, a classically trained pianist, replaced Dennis DeYoung, who has not been part of the band since. Cyclorama (2003) and Big Bang Theory (2005) came next.
The recent albums (2017–2025)
The Mission (2017), Crash of the Crown (2021) and Circling from Above (2025) have all come out through Universal Music Enterprises.
Where to start
The A&M albums from Equinox to Kilroy Was Here are the ones this site covers album by album, and my suggestion for a first listen is The Grand Illusion (1977). If you prefer a ranking to a timeline, see the best Styx albums and the Styx albums ranked, and for a neighbourly comparison, Kansas vs Styx.
Go deeper
The Styx band page has a guide to each album, and my selection of the best Styx songs picks out the tracks. Once you know them, prog albums for Styx listeners suggests where to go next, and if you are new to the genre, start with my progressive rock for beginners guide.