Could Genesis top the majesty of “Supper’s Ready”? Was that even possible? Apparently so. With their fifth studio album, the Gabriel-led quintet hit a breathtaking peak from every possible angle: From the dynamic arrangements and production to the overall sense of collective harmony, 1973’s Selling England By the Pound is the high point of the band’s entire discography.

Unlike the following year’s The Lamb, the seeds of Selling England weren’t tainted with internal tension. Working with producer John Burns at London’s Island Studios, the band simply carried on doing what they did best: blending their respective melodic and rhythmic fragments into songs they never could have cooked up individually. Of the long-form progressive pieces, it’s a toss-up between “Dancing With The Moonlit Knight” and “Firth Of Fifth”: The former offers an individual spotlight for every member, peaking with Hackett’s blistering, finger-tapped guitar solo; the latter is the closest a rock band has ever come to a goddamn orchestra. Those combined 18 minutes are better than most albums released in 1973 — and that’s before mentioning Collins’ tender lead vocal on “More Fool Me” or Banks’ synthesizer showcase on “The Cinema Show” or the satirical sing-along magic of “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe).”

Selling England represents progressive-rock — and even rock, period — at its peak of imagination and ingenuity, expanding the possibilities of what could be accomplished with guitars and keyboards and bass and drums. It’s an unrivaled masterpiece, in the Genesis catalogue and beyond.