10 Greatest Rock Bands of All Time
Submitted by lukeprog on Wed, 06/23/2004 - 03:23
Tags:
- These are BANDS, not ARTISTS, so you won't see any Bob Dylan or Chuck Berry here.
- The Beatles - simultaneously the best, most influential, most progressive, and most popular band of their time, and the greatest rock band ever.
- Led Zeppelin - the greatest and most influential hard rock band ever.
- Metallica - What Black Sabbath did first, Metallica did best. They are the definition of Heavy Metal.
- Pink Floyd - the premier progressive, experimental, space rock band, Pink Floyd are not only the most important progressive band, but also the most popular.
- Queen - Epic rock maestros Queen were also lead by the greatest rock vocalist ever, Freddie Mercury.
- AC/DC - The minimalistic hard rock outfit has been making the same music for more than 20 years now, and they're still doing it. When most people think of hard rock, they think of AC/DC.
- U2 - The most important band of post-punk. The Edge's guitar was one of the greatest guitar sounds of the 80s. And without U2, we have no Radiohead, perhaps the greatest rock band of the last 10 years.
- Rage Against the Machine - It's ironic that the most reliably excellent source of killer riffage was a band who wasn't about the riffs at all. Endlessly political, controversial, and talented, Rage angrily carved out their own slice in the anals of rock.
- Dream Theater - Like Metallica, Dream Theater were not the first in their genre, but they are the best and most imitated. Their music and the music they inspire may be the natural progression of classical music, done with electric guitars.
- The Rolling Stones - The Beatles passed on the mantle of rock to the Rolling Stones, and they delivered.
Author Comments:
MAJOR REVISISION!!!!
Most removals and additions occurred because I stopped reading everything written about a band and actually listened to their music and considered the time at which it was recorded.
You've got yourself a nist list here buddy. Your top two bands also happen to be mine. I like everyone you have on there with the exceptions or The Romones and U2, but they're good compared to most music around these days. I love Queen and Floyd, good choices. I noticed you said The Romones were fathers of Punk, I'd disagree. I would say the MC-5 pioneered the sound in the 1960's, but that's just me, your opinion seems to be the more common one. But very good list my friend, big ups to you.
Perhaps 'pioneered' is the wrong term. How about 'introduced' - as in 'made popular'?
Do'h! Listology needs a 'delete comment' feature. What I meant to say was that The Ramones made punk popular and really created the sound that people affiliate with punk, even if MC5 and others laid down the foundations a little earlier.
If you click on the little yellow star within 30 minutes of originally posting your comment, you can edit it.
Oooooohhhh... special. Thanks!
first of all y the hell does anyone think nirvana is one the best rock bands of all time?! Kurt was a great song writer and i would credit him for that, they started a new style of music, but still bands like pearljam which are still around today can kick the shit out of nirvana even w/ their oldest material! I think in that list we're forgetting people like pearl jam, neil young/crazy horse, jimi hendrix wtf man
This is a personal vocabulary choice. When I say 'Greatest' I typically mean something like 'most important, most influential, etc.' - when I say 'Best' I typically mean the ones with highest artistic quality. Nirvana's sound, in my opinion, was more important in the history of rock and roll, even if Pearl Jam is a better band (I agree with you there). Neil Young and Jimi Hendrix are both artists, but not bands, and that's why they are not on this list.
I would also consider The Beatles and Led Zeppelin to be the top two bands of all time. They also happen to be my favorite two bands. Nirvana would be my third favorite. Very nice list. I think we share a very similar taste.
hey you're right...THE BEATLES is the best rock band of all time!
I 100% agree with Metallica, zeppelin and ac/dc, but why isn't Black Sabbath on there??? or nirvana????