Readers' Poll: Your Favorite Prog Rock Albums of All Time

By the time Genesis recorded The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, it had become clear that Peter Gabriel could no longer function in a democratic band. He had an extremely clear vision for the story of a New York Puerto Rican guy named Rael who gets sucked into another universe, and he wrote almost all the lyrics by himself. During a Cleveland stop on the supporting tour, Gabriel told the band he was quitting. Thankfully, the group managed to execute Gabriel's vision and complete this double LP before he left. The story may be hard to follow, but Genesis have never sounded quite as powerful as they do on "In the Cage," "Back in New York City" or other stand-out tracks on the album. The group hasn't performed with Gabriel since a one-off show in 1982, though they did meet in 2005 to discuss a possible Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour. Gabriel ultimately decided against it. (Last year, I interrogated him on the topic.)