No band embodies the ambition of progressive rock quite like Yes. Across twenty-one studio albums and more than five decades of near-constant lineup changes, they produced some of the most dazzling music the genre has to offer — and, inevitably, a few misfires along the way. Ranking that vast, uneven catalogue is a genuine challenge. Here is every Yes studio album, ranked from worst to best.

The short version

At the top sits Close to the Edge (1972), the album most fans and critics agree is their masterpiece, trailed by the golden run of Fragile, Going for the One and Relayer. At the other end, the thin late-1990s records and the becalmed Heaven & Earth tend to test even devoted listeners. The full ranking is below.

How we rank them

This is one fan’s honest take, weighing songwriting, consistency, ambition and lasting impact. Yes have kept a remarkably high batting average across a chaotic career, so even the lower reaches have their defenders. The facts are accurate; the order is where the arguments begin. (For clarity, we cover the twenty-one proper studio albums, setting aside the Keys to Ascension live sets and the ABWH record.)

Love Yes and British progressive rock? The books go deeper →

The lower reaches

21. Heaven & Earth (2014)

For most fans, the low point. Bland and low-energy, it drains away almost everything that makes Yes exciting; even the reliably thunderous rhythm section sounds becalmed. “Subway Walls” hints at better things, but there’s no rescuing the rest. A rare genuine dud from a band with a very high batting average.

20. Open Your Eyes (1997)

Cobbled together at speed, largely from a Chris Squire side project, and it shows. Without a full-time keyboardist the songs feel thin, and the album never settles into a convincing identity. A forgettable stopgap in a difficult era for the band.

19. Union (1991)

Rick Wakeman famously calls it “Onion”, and it’s hard to disagree. A Frankenstein’s monster stitched together from two rival lineups by producers and session players, it has one genuinely good song and a lot of studio patchwork. Fascinating as a story, frustrating as an album.

18. Big Generator (1987)

The long-delayed sequel to 90125 couldn’t recapture the magic. There are big, glossy hooks — “Rhythm of Love”, “Love Will Find a Way” — but the spark and freshness are gone, and the album feels laboured. Slick, expensive and strangely flat.

17. Talk (1994)

The last stand of the Trevor Rabin era, and a divisive one. Ambitious for its time and technically impressive, it’s also a little cold and dated, and it sold poorly enough to end the lineup. Admirers point to the epic “Endless Dream”; sceptics hear a band running out of road.

The middle of the pack

16. Fly from Here (2011)

A competent comeback built around a long-gestating title suite, but a curiously anonymous one. The new singer fits the material without ever making it his own, and the album passes pleasantly enough without leaving much of a mark. Professional, but rarely thrilling.

15. Time and a Word (1970)

The second album, and a transitional one. Squire’s bass is already spectacular, but the orchestral arrangements sit awkwardly against the band, and the group hadn’t yet found its true voice. A likeable curio from just before the breakthrough.

14. Yes (1969)

The debut: young, energetic and clearly still finding its feet. The covers of the Beatles and the Byrds are fun, and there’s real promise in the original material, but the distinctive Yes sound was still a couple of albums away. A charming, derivative starting point.

13. The Quest (2021)

A pleasant, unexpectedly substantial late-era return — the first made without Chris Squire. It’s overlong and a touch safe, but there’s craft and warmth here, and Steve Howe’s guiding hand keeps it recognisably Yes. A dignified latter-day record rather than a great one.

12. Tormato (1978)

The messy, much-maligned end of the classic lineup’s first run. The tinny synths and chaotic production haven’t aged well, but buried inside are genuinely strong songs, chief among them Squire’s storming “On the Silent Wings of Freedom”. Flawed, but better than its reputation.

11. Magnification (2001)

An underrated, orchestra-driven record made without a keyboardist — and all the more cohesive for it. Lush and melodic, it’s one of the most satisfying latter-day Yes albums, even if it lacks a true classic. A quiet grower well worth rediscovering.

The upper tier

10. The Ladder (1999)

The most focused of their late-1990s albums, shaped by a strong producer into something bright and purposeful. “Homeworld (The Ladder)” is a genuinely good latter-day epic, and the energy is welcome even when the songs are uneven. A solid, likeable effort.

9. Mirror to the Sky (2023)

A genuine surprise: an ambitious, richly arranged album that finds the band reaching for the old grandeur and often catching it. The fourteen-minute title track is their most convincing epic in years. Proof there was still real fire left in the tank.

8. Drama (1980)

The great outlier, made with the Buggles pair in place of Anderson and Wakeman — and far better than that sounds. “Machine Messiah” is a heavy, thrilling opener, and the whole album crackles with a sharper, more muscular energy. A cult favourite that has aged beautifully.

7. Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973)

The most divisive album they ever made: a four-song double LP of vaulting ambition that critics and even bandmates rebelled against. It sprawls and it stumbles, but at its best it’s breathtaking, and its defenders are fierce. Magnificent, exhausting and unmistakably Yes.

6. 90125 (1983)

Barely a prog album at all, but a superb pop-rock one. Trevor Rabin’s songs and Trevor Horn’s production delivered “Owner of a Lonely Heart” and their commercial peak, and the harmonies and craft are pure Yes. A radical reinvention that mostly works.

The masterpieces

5. The Yes Album (1971)

The breakthrough, and the moment the band truly became themselves. “Yours Is No Disgrace”, “Starship Trooper” and “I’ve Seen All Good People” are all early classics, and Steve Howe’s arrival transformed the sound. Where the golden era begins.

4. Relayer (1974)

Their heaviest and most adventurous album, with Patrick Moraz pushing them towards jazz-fusion. The twenty-two-minute “The Gates of Delirium” is as convincing a long-form piece as anything they recorded, and “Sound Chaser” is sensory overload in the best way. Fierce, dazzling and underrated.

3. Going for the One (1977)

A triumphant return to form after the excesses of the mid-1970s. “Awaken” is a fifteen-minute masterpiece that rivals their very best, and “Wondrous Stories” and “Parallels” are gorgeous. Streamlined without losing the grandeur — the last truly great album of their classic era.

2. Fragile (1971)

A weird, wonderful album that pairs stone-cold classics with playful solo interludes. “Roundabout” and “Heart of the Sunrise” are among the greatest things they ever recorded, and the whole thing captures a band bursting with ideas. Endlessly loveable.

1. Close to the Edge (1972)

The masterpiece, and one of the defining albums of progressive rock. The eighteen-minute title suite is the perfect distillation of everything Yes could do — complexity, beauty, power and grace — and “And You and I” is nearly its equal. The definitive Yes album, and the place to start.

Every Yes album, ranked

The full ranking at a glance, best to worst.

Where to start

New to Yes? Begin with Close to the Edge (1972) and Fragile (1971) — the twin peaks of their classic era — then explore outward. For a guided path, see our where to start with Yes guide, or follow the full story in sequence with Yes albums in order.

The verdict

Yes have one of the most turbulent histories in rock, a revolving cast of gifted musicians anchored for decades by bassist Chris Squire — the only man to play on every album until his death in 2015. That instability produced some of the genre’s greatest music and a few of its stranger detours, but at their best the highs are as high as prog ever reached. If you only know the classics, the deeper cuts reward exploration; our pick of the most underrated Yes albums is a good place to dig.

Go deeper

Keep exploring: count down their finest tracks with the best Yes songs, browse our pick of their best Yes albums, or head back to the full directory of every prog band’s discography, ranked.

Find your next read on the bookshelf below →