The Alan Parsons Project was a British progressive rock and pop group active between 1975 and 1987 founded by Englishman Alan Parsons and Scotsman Eric Woolfson.

Most of the Project's titles, especially the early work, share common traits (likely influenced by Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, on which Parsons was the audio engineer in 1973): they were concept albums, they tended to begin with an instrumental introduction which faded into the first song, often had an instrumental piece in the middle of the second LP side, and concluded with a quiet, sad, or powerful song. The opening instrumental was largely done away with by 1980; no later Project album except Eye in the Sky featured one (although every album includes at least one instrumental somewhere in the running order). Ironically, the instrumental on that album, "Sirius," eventually became the best-known Parsons instrumental because of its frequent use as entrance music by American sports teams, most notably the Chicago Bulls during their 1990s dynasty. The group was notable for its lack of a single lead vocalist. Lead vocal duties alternate between Woolfson (mostly for slow or sad songs) and a stream of guest vocalists chosen by their vocal style to complement each song. Woolfson sang lead on many of the group's hits (including "Time" and "Eye In The Sky") and the record company pressured Parsons to use him more, but Parsons preferred "real" singers, which Woolfson admitted he was not. In addition to Woolfson, Eric Stewart, Chris Rainbow, Lenny Zakatek, and Colin Blunstone made regular appearances. Other singers, such as Ambrosia's David Pack, Vitamin Z's Geoff Barradale, and Procol Harum's Gary Brooker, have recorded only once or twice with the Project. Parsons himself only sang lead on one song ("The Raven") and can be heard singing backup on another ("To One in Paradise"). Both of those songs appeared on the group's first record, Tales of Mystery and Imagination, an album containing music based on the stories and poetry of Edgar Allan Poe. Although the vocalists varied, a small number of musicians worked with the Alan Parsons Project regularly. These core musicians contribute to the recognizable style of a Project song in spite of the varied singer lineup. Andrew Powell (composer and arranger of orchestral music throughout the life of the Project), Ian Bairnson (guitar) and Richard Cottle (synthesizer and saxophone) were integral parts of the Project's sound. Powell is also notable for having composed a film score in the Project style for Richard Donner's film Ladyhawke. Behind the revolving lineup and the regular sidemen, the true core of the Project was the duo of Parsons and Woolfson. Eric Woolfson was a lawyer by profession, but is a classically-trained composer and pianist as well. Alan Parsons was a successful producer and accomplished engineer. Both worked together to craft noteworthy songs with impeccable fidelity, and almost all songs on Project albums are credited to "Woolfson/Parsons." Following the breakup of The Project, Parsons released other titles under his name (Try Anything Once, On Air, The Time Machine, and A Valid Path), while Woolfson made concept albums named Freudiana (about Sigmund Freud's work on psychology) and Poe - More Tales of Mystery and Imagination (continuing from the Alan Parsons Project's first album about Edgar Allan Poe's literature).