So Peart's passing (and this thread) have inspired me to plow through Rush's discography, something I have never done oddly enough. My quick Rush bio: I am a huge fan of 2112-MP, a casual fan of early Rush, ambivalent to Signals-HYF, a moderate fan of Presto/RtB, largely ignorant of Counterparts-S&A, and enjoy CA quite a bit.
Rush: I enjoyed this album quite more than I expected, despite being a big LZ fan in my classic rock heyday. I don't listen to LZ ever, but they shaped my musical journey about as much as any band.
Fly by Night/Caress of Steel: I know the hits from CRR (classic rock radio) and don't need to hear them any more. Enjoyed Fountain of Lamneth and Necromancer more than I remembered doing in the past.
2112: Love it. 2112 is still my #2 favorite song of all time. The rest of the album is solid.
Farewell to Kings; Love it just as much as I always have.
Hemispheres: Great album, though I don't revere it as much as others here seem to.
Permanent Waves: Love it, top to bottom my #1 Rush album. Will never get old.
Moving Pictures: Not an album I am ever going to go out of my way to listen to considering how much still gets played on CRR but still a great album.
Signals/Grace Under Pressure/Power Windows/Hold Your Fire: I can't recall the last time I listened to any of these albums straight through. There just isn't much here that interests me, and isn't anything I am going to reach for when in the mood for Rush.
Presto: A good album, but hard to listen to without a nostalgia factor, as I listened to this a lot when it came out.
Roll the Bones: Listened to this one a lot too in real time. A few misses on this one, but some great tracks as well.
Counterparts/Test For Echo: Some good music here, but not anything I need to listen to anytime soon.
Vapor Trails/Snakes and Arrows: These are the two albums I am least familiar with. So I don't feel justified in giving them a solid judgment without further listens. I enjoyed them a fair amount. I listened to a bit of both while driving and I think that heightened the enjoyment.
Clockwork Angels: I enjoyed this as much as I did when it first came out, despite not spinning it for a long, long time.
Bottom line: The needle didn't move much for me in any direction for any era. My enjoyment of the debut surprised me the most. I've ranked 2112-MP among my favorite stretches of material of any band since high school. No change there. I've never really considered myself a Rush fan, despite them having 5 albums I'd be happy with on a desert island. But does loving 5 out of a band's 19 albums sufficient to make one a fan?