Ayreon is the most ambitious rock-opera project in progressive metal. The creation of Dutch multi-instrumentalist Arjen Anthony Lucassen, each Ayreon album is a sprawling science-fiction concept piece sung by a who’s-who of guest vocalists, cast like actors in a play. Here is our fellow fan’s ranking of their finest songs.

The short version

If you only hear a few, make them “Isis and Osiris”, “Day Sixteen: Loser”, “Day Eleven: Love” and “Amazing Flight” — the epic that opens their finest album, two emotional peaks of their masterpiece concept record, and a spacey fan favourite. The full ranking is below.

One man, a cast of thousands

Ayreon is less a band than a universe. Since 1995, Arjen Anthony Lucassen has played most of the instruments himself while “casting” a rotating ensemble of guest singers — among them Bruce Dickinson, Fish, James LaBrie, Mikael Åkerfeldt, Devin Townsend, Floor Jansen and Anneke van Giersbergen — as characters in elaborate science-fiction rock operas. The results are gloriously over-the-top: multi-disc concept albums where prog, metal, folk and space-rock collide, all tied together by a grand, interconnected storyline. His twin masterpieces, 1998’s Into the Electric Castle and 2004’s The Human Equation, are landmarks of the genre. These fifteen songs are the best.

How we ranked them

This is one fan’s order, weighing songwriting, those astonishing vocal performances, ambition and lasting impact — across a catalogue where most “songs” are really mini-epics in their own right. The facts are accurate; the order is a starting point for the debate.

The essential six

At the very top sits “Isis and Osiris” (1998), the ten-minute, multi-part epic that sets the tone for their finest album. With it: “Day Sixteen: Loser” (2004) and “Day Eleven: Love” (2004), two shattering emotional peaks from their masterpiece concept record; “Amazing Flight” (1998), a spacey, blues-tinged fan favourite; “The Day That the World Breaks Down” (2017), the thunderous twelve-minute opener of their sci-fi epic; and “Age of Shadows” (2008), the towering gateway to 01011001.

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Reliably great

The next tier is essential too. “Across the Rainbow Bridge” (1998) is a euphoric high point of the Electric Castle saga; “Dawn of a Million Souls” (2000) is a soaring anthem from his heaviest project; “Comatose” (2008) is a haunting, beautiful ballad; “The Garden of Emotions” (1998) showcases the album’s glorious vocal cast; and “Star of Sirrah” (2017) is a punchy, melodic highlight.

Deeper cuts

For the dedicated, these reward repeat listens. “Evil Devolution” (1998) is one of Arjen’s most beloved individual compositions; “Day Ten: Memories” (2004) is a tender turning point in the story; “And the Druids Turn to Stone” (2000) is a hypnotic highlight of the mellower Migrator album; and “Ride the Comet” (2008) is a propulsive, hook-laden gem.

Every song at a glance

All fifteen songs, in chronological order — each linked to the album it comes from, so you can hear it in context.

Where to start

Begin with “Isis and Osiris”, then the whole of Into the Electric Castle — the best entry point into the Ayreon universe. From there, the concept masterpiece The Human Equation and the sprawling 01011001 are essential, while every album from the early experiments to The Theory of Everything and Transitus has rewards for the committed.

The players

Ayreon is, at its core, one man: Arjen Anthony Lucassen, who writes the music and stories and plays guitars, bass, keyboards, mandolin and much more. His genius lies in casting: rather than a fixed band, he assembles a different ensemble of singers for each album, drawing on the cream of prog and metal — voices like Bruce Dickinson, James LaBrie, Mikael Åkerfeldt, Russell Allen, Daniel Gildenlöw, Floor Jansen, Anneke van Giersbergen and dozens more — and giving each a character to inhabit. The effect is part rock band, part opera company, and entirely his own.

Why they still matter

No one has pushed the progressive rock opera as far as Ayreon. The project is a hub for the wider scene: its guest list reads like a roll-call of Dream Theater, Opeth, Pain of Salvation and Symphony X, whose singers have all stepped into Arjen’s world. Ambitious, theatrical and utterly unique, Ayreon turned the concept album into a shared universe — and proved one obsessive visionary could out-dream a hundred bands.

Go deeper

Keep exploring: rank the records with our guide to the best Ayreon albums, find an entry point with where to start with Ayreon, or dig into the underrated Ayreon albums. You can also place the project in the bigger picture with the best progressive rock songs of all time.

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