posted
Of course how one defines "greatest" is important.
I'm thinking about in terms of influence on the genre.
1. The Beatles (For making innovation the rule) 2. Jimi Hendrix Experience (Defined lead guitar) 3. The Who (Created/defined the Rock Opera concept) 4. Pink Floyd (Inventing the modern stage show) 5. Buddy Holly and the Crickets (For bringing the drum forward, made it more than just a rhythm instrument) 6. The Ramones (Mainstreaming 3-chord garage/punk sound)
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posted
Um. The Beatles pioneered almost everything that eventually evolved into modern rock. Yeah, that would make them the greatest.
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That would be David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Peter Gabriel.
I'll go along with the Beatles and Rush, but I prefer a more multi-layered sound, such as that of Genesis.
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posted
Not sure about all time, as my knowledge of music is not that comprehensive, but I would argue that Radiohead are certainly the greatest rock band of the past twenty years.
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I would have a few greats to list but could not pick one of them as the greatest:
The Beatles (I have heard that they were only together for 8 years. Is that true???)
The Rolling Stones
Led Zeppelin
Iron Maiden
Nirvana changed everything
I am a HUGE maiden fan, (Ozzfest 2005 is tomorrow and I am so there), but what makes them great is that they have endured without selling out to record labels, changes in popular music, or for money for that matter. They just simply keep doing what they have always done, and do it very well.
I would say Rush is like this as well, and of course they have evolved greatly over the years, but they also tried that awkward attempt at alternative in the 90s which was wierd.
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Did Nirvana change everything, or were they just the first to ride the geist. Soundgarden, pearl jam, and STP(all of whom I like better than Nirvana) were coming into flower and the big hair bands had to go sometime.
The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd.
And here is my dark horse band, best rock band ever is Boston.
And even if they weren't original or the best, I have a place in my heart for the big hair bands, the whitesnakes and foreigners and Bon Jovi and Van Halens and Def leopards and Poisons and motley Crues all have and deserve their place in history.
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quote:And even if they weren't original or the best, I have a place in my heart for the big hair bands, the whitesnakes and foreigners and Bon Jovi and Van Halens and Def leopards and Poisons and motley Crues all have and deserve their place in history.
posted
Don't forget White Loin and Cinderella and Firehouse and Skid Row and Queensryche too.
Ask the big hair guys if Nirvana changed everything. As for their Seattle counterparts, yeah they were all on the scene at the start of it all. But no star has shone brighter than that of Nirvana's in the Alternative Age.
But to finalize my tastes, I have been enjoying more 80s metal than anything lately and it has been a heck of a lot more fun than wading through depressing alternative buzz of the 90s.
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posted
I would put The Beatles and Led Zeppelin very near the top of the list. I have my own personal favorites, but I can't deny the influence of either of those two. The fact that they both still hold up well after all these years is another point in their favor.
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Irami... I was with you for two albums... but "Third Stage" was a horrible disappoint ment, though "Walk On" had a few good moments...
but Boston had a chance to be the greatest bublegum band of all time...
I'm gonna throw out one that no one has mentioned but for longevity, top songs, and more cross-genre influence than even the Beatles give me:
The Eagles
When they got together again for the Hell Freezes Over Tour, it was news on EVERY station, from the alternative, to country, to jazz. Their songwriters have been covered by a huge range, from hair metal bands like Triumph (Joe Walsh's Rocky Mountain Way) to neopunks like the Ataris (Boys of Summer), to Gypsy Jazz (the Gypsy Kings do a mean Hotel California). And all of modern country music owes them a HUGE debt.
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posted
I agree that Led Zeppelin deserves a place on the best band list, but where? what did they do that was really innovative? What they are noteworthy of is doing their thing and doing it well.
I also agree that Nirvana was a great band, but Soundgarden was doing that Seattle sound well before Nirvana broke through commercially.
And for you all that are listing the hair bands from the 80's. Um....no.
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quote:I agree that Led Zeppelin deserves a place on the best band list, but where? what did they do that was really innovative? What they are noteworthy of is doing their thing and doing it well.
You know, I actually was thinking something along these lines.
Its very hard to describe why I think Led Zeppelin should be on there. Something along the lines of "They wrote amazing songs, performed them amazingly well, and did with amazing consistency".
I'm not as big a music buff as some, or as big a Led Zeppelin fan as most, but I wouldn't repect any list where they weren't in the top five or ten.
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Chili Peppers?! They're definitely my favorite rock band, with the greatest bassist in the world (Flea), an incredible guitarist in Fruscianti, Anthony Kiedis has one of my favorite voices, and Chad Smith is an awesome drummer. They all play so well with each other.
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The Bends and OK Computer were the jumping off point for the current style of rock. They sparked the transition between grunge and the guitar/piano pop that is so popular today (Coldplay, Incubus, Muse, etc).
I could sit here and name a hundred bands that have aped their style, but I won't.
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THe point is that their influence on the current music scene is very much comparable to the influence that bands like The Beatles and Pink Floyd have had in the past, many years ago.
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quote:Don't forget White Loin and Cinderella and Firehouse and Skid Row and Queensryche too.
White Loin?
I have to admit that Van Halen is good writing music. Don't know why, but it is. Especially 5150 and Balance.
And yeah, I think today it's either Radiohead or Radiohead Wannabe. Nobody does it as good as Thom and the gang.
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I'm kind of surprised that the Rolling Stones don't get more kudos.
I would still put the Beatles as #1.
Then, in no particular order: The Who Rolling Stones Eagles Cream Traffic Genesis (old stuff) Yes Pink Floyd Derek and the Dominoes Jethro Tull Bowie Roxy Music The Band Todd Rundgren Hendrix Peter Gabriel Dire Straits Michael Jackson Queen Emerson, Lake & Palmer Robert Palmer Led Zeppelin REM Brian Eno
Special category-- Best comedy/rock: Weird Al The Tubes Sparks
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posted
Rush, without a doubt. The Who. The Beatles. Pink Floyd. Cream. U2 Nirvana.
Okay, those are the easy ones, all safe and secure in their place in the rock pantheon. There are, however, others that should be there due to their contributions, that simply aren't.
Here's a few that were important (imho): Yes King Crimson Let's Active The Pixies The Yardbirds The Beach Boys Steppenwolf The Velvet Underground Little Richard Richie Valens Elvis Costello
and no one had mentioned Elvis Presley????
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posted
I have been listening to more Rush and Led Zeppelin this year (and Maiden, the lone Maiden supporter here, I guess) than anything else.
I am also surprised more people have not acknowledged Hendrix (kudos to Bob again. I owe you a Coke.) as well as The Doors.
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How did we go this many posts without anyone mentioning AC/DC? There are certainly bands that have been more influential, but they at least deserve a mention.
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Okay, I think there's going to be near-universal agreement that the Beatles were, hands-down, the greatest band in rock history. They were formative, they were excellent, they were productive -- and, years later, they're still hummable and even occasionally challenging.
I don't think there's anyone else mentioned on this thread so far that was as consistently excellent in all these categories, with the possible exception of Pink Floyd. Bowie came close, but he took bigger risks and was often unable to realize the benefits; he was never really much of a band, either, which eliminates him in the same way that it eliminates Paul Simon, who did some of his most interesting work post-Garfunkel. The Rolling Stones have managed to put out enough good songs for two great albums over a period of forty years.
And Radiohead? They'll be a footnote twenty years from now: influential, but no more remembered than Kraftwerk or Bauhaus.
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In the 60th : the Beatles (So many song well known around the world !) In the 70th : Pink Floyd (They invented all new song. listen Atom heart mother) In the 80th : I want to say Dire strait (because of the so unique sound of Mark Knofler on guitar) In the 90th : Nirvana (Easy song, easy guitare, but what a strongness and a voice !) In 2000 : Radiohead (They are the most actual creative group for me)
And for all the second half of the 20th century, The beatles, 'cause we heard so many remake actually by all styles of musics.
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AC/DC is who influenced me most in a recent guitar purchase as far as sound, looks, and sheer volume. Me like.
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People seem to have this lifelong bias towards bands they listened to in hs and college, so they just can't be objective about them. I mean, if you interviewed the over 80 crowd, they'd all probably swear that Glenn Miller was still the greatest band of all time. You know? He's just not. I prefer new music. I don't want to listen to the same 200 songs over and over my whole life. That gets boring.
My picks are bands that are still active now: Radiohead, Tool, and Nine Inch Nails.
One step back in time, I pick Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, They Might Be Giants, Beck.
Back a little farther comes The Cure and The Pixies.
Before that is classic rock, which was great at the time okay, but it's dead, it's over, it's not worth resuscitating, I don't think. Those songs can't support thousands of listens, and for me they're just used up. You have to get much much more selective as you mine history.
Dave Brubeck is worth listening to from the late 40s.
Stravinsky and Aaron Copeland from early 20th c.
Khachaturian
Maurice Ravel
Beethoven was awesome.
Not Mozart, he's a smug little fancy pants prig. I can't stand Mozart.
Bach totally rules, though.
Those are the best, I think.
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As for Velvet Underground, I really think Lou Reed has done his best work as a solo artist.
Tom...the truth about the Rolling Stones, they've really done 3 great albums worth. Well, 2 1/2...
Steve Winwood -- greatest vocalist ever? Could well be. Still has a great voice even into his 50's.
I'm glad someone mentioned Elvis Costello, although I honestly don't believe he ever lived up to the promise of his first album (the My Aim is True one).
As I hear more of their stuff, I would have to give Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers a nod.
Obscure bands (or not so obscure, but not going to make anyone's list and it's a darn shame too): Badfinger -- some amazing songs T-Rex -- early stuff was all about unicorns, then Marc Bolen went HARD ROCK. Mott the Hoople -- also great stuff in there. BBA -- Beck, Bogart & Appice; did one album together but if you ever hear their version of Superstition, you'll never hear it any other way. UB-40; Reggae meets pop, takes Neil Diamond by storm
Batdorf & Rodney -- who? Well, they are great. Robin Trower -- qualifies a band -- a real power trio.
As I listen to his stuff, I'm actually more impressed with Hendrix as a vocalist than as guitarist. Maybe it's because he was sort of all over the place at times. Amazing, but what a voice too!!!
Janice Joplin should be on the list too. If only because she could scream.
Anyone who puts Nico on their list will be forced to listen to Yoko Ono bleating for a very long time.
Harry Nilsson should be mentioned as one of the greatest songwriters to ever live. He should still be with us, darn it.
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quote:In the 90th : Nirvana (Easy song, easy guitare, but what a strongness and a voice !)
Nirvana? No. Just, no.
If I could offer a band that ruled the ninties it would be U2 easy. But very close behind would be Bush, more for their stylistic influence than anything else.
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posted
Pink Floyd, the Beatles, Yes, and the Moody Blues for quality and versatility.
Velvet Underground and The New York Dolls as far as influence on the indie sound, with the Kinks being the first big indie/alt band that everyone else is still modelling themselves after, whether they know it or not.
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