crazy to think I first saw them during All the Worlds a Stage tour........seems like it was 40 years ago....damn near was....those guys must be ancient...but I bet they can still rock. Saw them a number of times in the late 70's. I did stick with them through Hemispheres, but then I was done. Permanent Waves was somewhat tolerable, but Moving Pictures sealed the deal for me. I felt both pandered to the pop music crowd. When they tried to get back more towards prog/rock than pop, I felt all their new music all sounded the same to me. Might have been me that changed moreso than Rush, but we certainly grew apart. I still enjoy those first few albums very much, however.
best/favorites....hmmm....difficult - I suppose All the Worlds a Stage, but I usually give people grief for picking non-studio works, so I'm going to have to try to pick between 'Rush' and '2112'....or....f it.
Favorite studio single: Anthem
Favorite studio album: 2112
Best Live Album (by ANY rock band): All the World's a Stage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LJKXIHaKqE&t=5m10s