II-V-I progressions are commonly used in jazz music, but also can be found in many pop and rock songs. If the progression appears in a jazz context, the chords are often played as seventh chords with extensions and alterations.
The II, V and I chords of a key are very good at helping our ears identify the key centre of a piece of music. You will come across this chord progression in many songs from Abba through to Queen.
This chord progression combines the previous two progressions. It starts out with a I-VI chord progression, then moves to the II-V-I progression outlined above. Basiclly the II chord is replacing the IV chord.
These chord progressions are of course not all that exist, but are by far the most common. Any chord diatonic to the key will sound good with any other (see Harmonizing the Major Scale). Experiment with different chords and see if you can come up with some progressions of your own.
