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After many a night of fiddling around with a database with entries for the
DPRPoll 1998, which ran during January, we are finally proud to present the
results.
No less than 325 people - compared to 170 last year - sent us their votes for best album, best track, best artwork, best concert, best newcomer and biggest disappointment. They also took the opportunity to evaluate Dutch Progressive Rock Page and give their opinions on how we might improve the site.
This page contains a summary of the results of the poll. Those of you who want to see more can also view the full tables. You can jump from one table to the next one with the 'Next Table' link at the top op the pages.
Participants
As we mentioned above, 325 people participated in the DPRPoll 1998. Most people came from The Netherlands (31%), USA (24%), while Germany (9%), Canada (5%) also provided quite some votes. The state of Progressive Rock in the UK is sadly illustrated by the low number of particpants (less than 5%). On the other hand the musical style also has some fans in 'far off' places like Russia, Australia, Romania, Peru, Ukraine, Slovakia, South Korea, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Chile, Estonia and Argentina. To view the full table of countries of participants, browse through the tables by clicking on the 'Next Table' link.
Best Albums of 1998
A total of 221 different albums received votes for Best Album of 1998. Below
you will find the Top 15. For a full list, browse through the tables.
The number one of 1998 will probably not be a big suprise to most people.
|
Band |
Album |
Votes |
Percentage |
Weighted Points |
| 1 |
Arena |
The Visitor |
151 |
46.5% |
549 |
| 2 |
Spock's Beard |
The Kindness Of Strangers |
116 |
35.7% |
415 |
| 3 |
Ayreon |
Into The Electric Castle |
108 |
33.2% |
392 |
| 4 |
Marillion |
Radiation |
67 |
20.6% |
217 |
| 5 |
IQ |
Seven Stories into '98 |
54 |
16.6% |
169 |
| 6 |
Rush |
Different Stages |
55 |
16.9% |
165 |
| 7 |
Shadow Gallery |
Tyranny |
45 |
13.8% |
138 |
| 8 |
Genesis |
Archive 1967-75 |
41 |
12.6% |
124 |
| 9 |
Liquid Tension Experiment |
Liquid Tension Experiment |
45 |
13.8% |
120 |
| 10 |
Dream Theater |
Once In A LiveTime |
38 |
11.7% |
111 |
| 11 |
Explorer's Club |
Age of Impact |
33 |
10.2% |
98 |
| 12 |
Eloy |
Ocean II - The Answer |
29 |
8.9% |
91 |
| 13 |
Salem Hill |
The Robbery of Murder |
25 |
7.7% |
90 |
| 14 |
Landmarq |
Science of Coincidence |
29 |
8.9% |
85 |
| 15 |
Enchant |
Break |
30 |
9.2% |
80 |
Best Tracks of 1998
Participants in the Poll were also asked to name their favourite track of
1998. The table below shows the 5 bands which got the most votes, regardless
of which track.
|
Band |
Votes for Best Track |
Percentage |
| 1 |
Arena |
48 |
16.7% |
| 2 |
Spock's Beard |
45 |
15.6% |
| 3 |
Marillion |
27 |
9.4% |
| 4 |
Ayreon |
16 |
5.6% |
| 5 |
Shadow Gallery |
12 |
4.2% |
The table below shows the actual Top 3 of best tracks of 1998.
|
Band |
Track |
Votes |
Percentage |
| 1 |
Arena |
The Hanging Tree |
24 |
8.3% |
| 2 |
Spock's Beard |
June |
15 |
5.2% |
| 3 |
Ayreon |
Isis and Osiris |
11 |
3.8% |
|
Spock's Beard |
Flow |
11 |
3.8% |
|
Spock's Beard |
Harm's Way |
11 |
3.8% |
|
Marillion |
A Few Words For The Dead |
11 |
3.8% |
Best Artwork of 1998
Another number one position for Arena. Hugh Syme's spooky cyclist on the
moors won the hearts of many.
|
Band |
Album |
Votes |
Percentage |
| 1 |
Arena |
The Visitor |
77 |
25.8% |
| 2 |
Ayreon |
Into The Electric Castle |
51 |
17.1% |
| 3 |
Marillion |
Radiation |
18 |
6.0% |
| 4 |
Rush |
Different Stages |
15 |
5.0% |
| 5 |
Ad Infinitum |
Ad Infinitum |
14 |
4.7% |
Best Concert 1998
As you can imagine, loads of different concerts got votes for best gig of 1998. To get a clear picture of which bands did best on the stage in 1998, we'll first have a look at the once which got the most votes, regardless of which concert.
|
Band |
Votes for Best Concert |
Percentage |
| 1 |
Spock's Beard |
47 |
16.5% |
| 2 |
Yes |
31 |
10.9% |
| 3 |
Arena |
28 |
9.9% |
| 4 |
IQ |
21 |
7.4% |
| 5 |
Marillion |
16 |
5.6% |
|
Band |
When |
Where |
Votes |
Percentage |
| 1 |
Spock's Beard |
02-11-98 |
Tivoli, Utrecht |
18 |
6.3% |
| 2 |
IQ |
08-04-1998 |
Paradiso, Amsterdam |
10 |
3.5% |
| 3 |
Spock's Beard |
18-1-1998 |
Tivoli, Utrecht |
10 |
3.5% |
As you can see, three Dutch gigs got the most votes, which isn't strange considering the fact that most participants came from this country and that a band normally only plays one or two gigs per tour in Holland. Therefore, the chance that a high percentage of the 'prog population' saw one specific concert is very high. Nevertheless, Spock's Beard concert in Utrecht was a
splendid one indeed.
Best Newcomer
The cooperation between the legendary Tony Levin, Dream Theater drummer Portnoy and guitarist Petrucci plus keyboard player Rudess won the title of Best Newcomer of 1998.
|
Band |
Votes |
Percentage |
| 1 |
Liquid Tension Experiment |
27 |
11.0% |
| 2 |
Flamborough Head |
15 |
6.1% |
| 3 |
Ad Infinitum |
15 |
6.1% |
| 4 |
Chroma Key |
11 |
4.5% |
| 5 |
Crucible |
10 |
4.1% |
Biggest Disappointment of 1998
For the second year in a row, 'heroes of old' Marillion gets the dubious honour of being in the Top 2 of biggest disappointments of the year. In 1997 the band failed to impress lots of old fans with This Strange Engine, this year it was the new direction of their Radiation CD which turned
off what the band calls 'the prog police'. Whereas This Strange Engine was disliked by 11% in 1997, the new album gets the thumb down by more than 25%. On the other hand, 20% of the participants still included
it in their Top 5 of favourite albums.
|
Disappointment |
Votes |
Percentage |
| 1 |
Marillion - Radiation |
79 |
27.6% |
| 2 |
Greg Lake leaving ELP |
11 |
3.8% |
| 3 |
Yes - Open your eyes |
9 |
3.1% |
| 4 |
Dream Theater - Once in a Livetime |
8 |
2.8% |
| 5 |
Genesis live |
7 |
2.4% |
Click here if you also want to see how the participants of the poll evaluated DPRP.
You can also check out what the DPRP Team voted for themselves.
For comments about the poll, please e-mail Ed Sander.
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