The Estonian rock scene is one of the more active scenes out of the former Soviet Union. The country has an especially strong background in progressive rock.

The first major Estonian progressive band was Ruja , who formed in 1971. The band used original compositions as well as some verses by Estonia's best-known poets. Prog from outside of Estonia was difficult to find, as it consisted entirely of smuggled recordings of bands like King Crimson. Nevertheless, by the middle of the 1970s, progressive rock was a major part of the Estonian music scene. The band Meie and Sven Grünberg 's Mess were among the earliest bands to arise during this time, and they were followed by the improvisatory Psycho and Noor Eesti , who introduced the bassoon to progressive rock.

Instruments, especially keyboards, were in short supply in the 1970s. So, people like Härmo Härm created their own synthesizers and other instruments.

At the very end of the decade, the first recordings, a few singles including Ruja's "Põhi, lõuna, ida, lääs", were released. However, progressive rock soon dwindled in popularity as punk rock grew more popular. Many progressive musicians joined together to form the punk band Propeller .

Ruja, Erkki-Sven Tüür and Olav Ehala helped engineer prog's return to popularity in the early 80s, with their rock opera Johnny . The show was shut down, however, after only a few performances, because Soviet authorities felt its message was subversive.

Nevertheless, Ruja was revitalized and began moving in new directions with their music. They incorporated elements of punk and rockabilly. Tüür's band In Spe soon rivalled Ruja in popularity, and their debut LP even got some attention from prog fans abroad. The band Kaseko, with Ain Varts and Riho Sibul , formed as Propeller fell apart. These three bands dominated Estonian prog for several years, playing during this time at the Tartu Rock Festival .

In the middle of the decade, however, these bands' fortunes dwindled. After the re-departure of Rein Rannap from Ruja, the band's popularity grew els, while Tüür left In Spe, and its new leader, Alo Mattiisen moved more towards jazz than rock.

With the addition of Igor Garshnek replacing Rannap, Ruja again rejuvenated their career, but only briefly. The band break-up amidst infighting in 1988. Other bands arose, however, including Garshnek Nevil Blumberg 's duo, Synopsis , Linnu Tree and Proov 583 .

In the late 80s, Alo Mattiisen and other musicians became a major part of the Singing Revolution, which promoted Estonia's independence, which happened in 1991.

Following independence, the Estonian economy suffered, though it quickly picked up. Nevertheless, the brief recession hurt the music scene, and imported techno became more popular than rock.

In the 90s, a few prog bands remained active, such as WW, while outside interest in Estonian rock grew. Ruja released a five CD box set and In Spe's re-released its old LP. New bands like Echosilence arose, while older bands like VSP Projekt became more active again.

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