To those who grew up with Yes as a British institution, there are two possible responses to the release of 30-plus years' worth of its quintessential "progressive" rock: either it conjures up hazy days of stereo-side introspection in which you marveled at the band's intricacies, or it makes you want to run as far away as possible from the band's doomed declamations and swooping, arbitrary tempo/key changes. They are pretty much the antithesis of "rock and roll."

This collection and overview, five discs worth of it, covers the band's entire career, from their humble beginnings as a jazzy, hippie ensemble covering Beatles and Byrds obscurities to their middle period of immense popularity when guitar wizard Steve Howe dominated the band, to their post-Close to the Edge decline and resurrection with the cut-and-paste masterpiece "Owner of a Lonely Heart."