Post your top 5 rock bands of all time
 

I'm interested in seeing what era most people's favorites come from and if there are more US bands or UK bands (or Scandinavian if you're Reaper16)

Clean sweep for the Brits for me.

1. The Beatles
2. Rolling Stones
3. Led Zep
4. Pink Floyd
5. The Who

Define band however you want. If you want to throw Elvis on your list, do it.

My personal top 5 :

1. The Stones
2. The Beatles
3. Led Zeppelin
4. The Black Crowes
5. Drive-By Truckers

Honarable Mentions : The Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Bros, Humble Pie, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Marshall Tucker Band.

(I dig American music from the South.)

Eric Winston thinks this thread is sickning and disgusting

Musicians aren't gladiators.

Define "rock" and define "band".

Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Is Billy Joel a rock band?
Ben Folds Five
The Housemartins


Is Elton John a rock band? I could put The Beatles, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Meat Loaf, Queen, Styx, Herman's Hermits, The Proclaimers, and Kansas up there pretty high.

Other than Springsteen, though, I'm not really loyal to bands. Springsteen is probably the only group for which I have all of their mainstream releases.

Tool
Disturbed
Def Leppard
Metallica
Journey

Mine:
1. Led Zeppelin
2. Van Halen
3. Metallica
4. Ozzy / Sabath (wasn't sure how to list it)
5. AC/DC

The Beatles
Pink Floyd
Queen
Led Zeppelin
Sabbath

Zep
Stones
GnR/Nirvana - tie
Eagles
KISS

In no particular order:

Metallica
Aerosmith
The Beatles
Green Day
Led Zeppelin

Honorable mentions to Pearl Jam, Guns N Roses, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rolling Stones, AC/DC. There is many more. Hard to choose just five. I would probably end up with a top 15 instead of top 5 with all of them being pretty equal except Metallica and Aerosmith would be my top favorites.

Edit: Can't believe I forgot Ozzy/Black Sabbath and Van Halen.

Bieber
Ashley Simpson
The Beatles
GWAR
Whoever sang "Dear Mister Jesus"

I am ranking them based on their live performances, and I didn't see the Beatles, so they don't make the list.

1) Stones
2) Pink Floyd
3) Led Zep
4) Fleetwood Mac
5) Black Sabbath

Its really hard to leave some out.

:LOL:

Most of these are bands that I once loved but now cause me to change the radio station at lightning speed when I hear them come on.

How about listing it as:

#1 - Black Sabbath, with RONNIE JAMES DIO.

:D

(nevermind. Edited intro as topic clearly states "your top 5")

1 - Aerosmith
2 - Eagles
3 - Def Leppard
4 - Guns N Roses
5 - Puddle of Mudd

In no order
1. The E Street Band (Greatest Live shows I have ever seen)
2. Buddy Holly and the Crickets (One of those "would have been phenomenal if he only had the time"
3. Beatles (this was a toss up between The Who, Zeppelin, Stones, and Beatles - Only the Beatles knew to stop before it went on too long).
4. Jerry Lee Lewis (Little Richard, Prince, and so many others owe Lewis their roots in raw sex promised through music)
5. System of a Down (my under-appreciated category. Serj is a freaking genius but so weird he will never be mainstream, ala Trent Reznor).

Honorable mentions include (but not limited to) A Perfect Circle, Avenged Sevenfold, Roy Orbison, Queens of the Stone Age, Ramones, Clash, and Sam Cooke.

No particular order

Rush
Pink Floyd
Eagles
AC/DC
Styx

I was going to say something about you hating the Beatles but then I saw Def Leppard at #3 and figured I'd better take it easy on ya. :D

This...

Nothing is more overplayed than the Stones, the who, Black Sabbath, etc...

Now they all suck so bad and are painful to listen too...

1) The Beastles


http://djbc.net/beastles/webcontent/...haWantLady.mp3

I know I'm in the minority here but would a lot of people really choose to listen to something from The Beatles over everything else?

I just don't get it and find them highly overrated. I feel like it's the default answer as to greatest band ever and that title could never be challenged. Basically they get the Michael Jordan treatment.

My top 5:

1) Black Sabbath/Heaven and Hell (I'm not a big Ozzy fan myself.)
2) Motorhead
3) Queens of the Stone Age
4) The Darkness (yes, for realz. They're AWESOME.)
5) The Pink Floyd (THE Pink Floyd, with Syd Barrett.)

Most of you are savages, other than the person who won the powerball, in which case I'm rethinking it and like your list better than mine.

Zappa
Floyd
Marillion
Iron Maiden
Aerosmith

Did you see Styx at Arrowhead in 1977/78(?) with Steve Miller Band and Peter Frampton?

Ozzy is over-played. The real Black Sabbath is not.

No shit. I've got all kinds of smart-assed one-liners, like, 'what sucks and has 9 arms??'

A couple of years ago I would have answered differently but my oldest son found my classic rock and now I've heard CCR, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, etc so many times lately that I'm, frankly, almost sick of it.

If you were talking desert island music, where I could only have the catalogs from five bands, I would have to pick Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Cure, Thin White Rope and Front Line Assembly (especially if I got to include all of the off-shoot bands like Delerium, Intermix and Conjure One).

Eagles
Boston
Pink Floyd
Van Halen
AC/DC

Nope I get it. It's definitely a personal top 5. Just what I heard my older brother listening to growing up and liked them back in the day.

Elvis X5, that is all.

um...The Writ from Sabotage is NOT over-played.

Never Say Die is ****ing VASTLY UNDERRATED.

I would go so far as to say : War Pigs, Iron Man, Paranoid, Sweat Leaf, Changes...basically anything on We Sold Our Souls would be overplayed.

Anything else is amazing...no matter who the singer is, as long as Iommi's riffing it, I'm game.

Desert Island list?

Pink Floyd
The Beatles
Queen
Marilyn Manson
30 Seconds to Mars

I don't know if I could narrow it down to just 5...Some of my tops are:

Pantera
Grateful Dead (not really rock, but...)
Pink Floyd
Alice in Chains (WITH Layne Staley)
Led Zepplin
Mastodon
Tool
The Black Keys
Sublime (WITH Knowles)
Blues Traveler
The Deftones


Those are just a few of the ones that do it for me anyway...I could name several others. Being an artist/musician, I pull influence and inspiration from too many places to just name 5. My list would change all the time.

I am that way with the top 40s from Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and The Stones. However, I know they are truly a treat for the ears, because their underplayed stuff like "Let There be More Light" from Saucerful of Secrets and "Bron Y Aur Stomp" from Led Zeppelin III and "Far Away Eyes" from Some Girls just capture me to the point I had to purchase them electronically.

But as soon as "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2", "Sympathy for the Devil", and "The Immigrant Song" come on I will even turn to NPR Radio to get away from it.

I don't dislike The Beatles but I've never actually owned anything by them until last week when I picked up used copies of the remastered Revolver and Abbey Road.

The Rolling Stones are another major band that I've always kind of been "meh" about.

AC/DC
Zepplin
Metallica
Soungarden
Queen

Yeah, I liked 'em too...when I was 12.

The first 2 or 3 albums (On Through The Night, High N Dry, and Pyromania) were actually pretty rocking. After that...they became a caricature of themselves. And now they're caricatures of the caricatures.

Like, from that era I know Van Halen always killed it, Mötley was a great band (despite all Vince's vocal shortcomings - of which there are many) - hell, I even dug Cinderella.

But as far as 'Let's Get Rocked' etc.?? No way, they lost it after Steve Clark died.

My criteria: Technical skill, innovation, influence, commercial success (not in order)

1. The Beatles
2. The Who
3. The Rolling Stones
4. The Beach Boys
5. Led Zeppelin

This is of course extremely subjective, and many folks will say that the Beatles and the Beach Boys were not rock. They were extremely innovative and influential toward rock, though, so I'm including them.

My casual response to this question usually is "The Who," because for me they are a perfect synthesis of blues-based hard rock with artistic flourishes (concepts, instrumentation, etc.), as well as being one of THE best live acts in their prime.

That opinion also puts me at odds with the legions of Stones fans. It's a debate that's been raging for more than 40 years, and I'm in a sizable minority. But I keep fighting the good fight, and will to my death.

Honorable mentions (in no order): Pink Floyd, Yes, The Kinks, The Eagles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, U2, Queen, Van Halen, AC/DC, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, Nirvana, the Doors, the Grateful Dead.

While I agree with most of that, Iommi's riffing is definitively BETTER on "Heaven and Hell" and "Mob Rules" than it is on any other studio album, before or after.

I wonder if your top 5 songs would come from your top 5 bands or if stuff would be randomly mixed in.

My honorable mention list is much more American...

CCR, The Doors, Tom Petty, Rick James (not sure if that counts), Nirvana, Van Halen, Skynyrd, SRV

Great post.

KoRn
NIN
Tool
Sublime
Red Hot Chili Peppers

Based on those I have seen live:

Rush
U2
Pearl Jam
The Police
Rolling Stones

Steely Dan
Pink Floyd
Eagles
Zep
Stones

I see Buck added "put Elvis on your list if you want."

I'd say no, simply because that opens it up to individuals, and you have to include Dylan, Chuck Berry, Little Richard etc.

I probably should've included Steely Dan in honorable mentions. Thought about it.

I loved Def Leppard's first two albums (saw them in Portland on their "High and Dry" tour when I was in high school) but didn't care for their stuff after that. My wife loved "Pour Some Sugar On Me" so I ended up having to suffer through that album for a while. I would have to go back and play "Wasted" to purge it from my brain.

I picked up Never Say Die and Technical Ecstacy for my son last year and was surprised at how good they are, especially since they seem to be universally hated by fans. There is some weird stuff there but some really good stuff, too. You can also hear the seeds of Blizzard of Ozz in some of the songs.

You're 36.

You're 56. :D

#1) Pink Floyd - EU
#2) Oceansize - EU
#3) Porcupine Tree - EU
#4) Tool - AM
#5) Led Zeppelin - EU

A lot of people rag on Def Leppard, but I still love them.

pretty close. I'm 29, but how dare you put me past the 35 mark!!1!

I want a redo and I'd like to add Hands Across America as my #1. lol

Well, I'm 39 and most of those bands were popular when I was in college/my early 20's.

I don't think anyone could judge my age by musical tastes. It's all over the place.

Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains

:rockon:

Posion
Bon Jovi
Metallica
Skid Row
Anthrax

No particular order here, although... I tend to always claim VH as my all-time favorite and specifically, the Roth era. I enjoyed the Hagar era, but it honestly can't touch VH prior to 1984 in my opinion.

Aerosmith
Led Zeppelin
Van Halen
The Doors
Guns-N-Roses

I was torn on GnR... there's a handful there that could fit, but went with what bands are likely more heavily favored in my music rotation.

Yes.

First off, Paul McCartney wrote the book on playing rock and roll bass guitar.

Second off...the sphere of the Beatle's influence cannot be overstated. Every single musician who plays any kind of music except classical, jazz, and opera has been influenced, either directly or indirectly, by the Beatles.

Take, for instance, any and every metal band from Metallica to Cradle Of Filth. Well, 'heavy metal' was basically inverted by Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, yes?? Well...both Ozzy Osbourne and Ian Paice were absolute Beatles nuts. Ozzy had Beatles pictures all over the wall and dreamed of his sister marrying a Beatle. It's why he got into a band. It's why EVERYONE got into a band back then.

Like, seriously - the American gov't stamped out rock n' roll by the early 60's; Elvis was in the Army, Little Richard was preaching, Chuck Berry was in jail, Eddie Cochran died in the same crash that paralyzed Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee was in purgatory for marrying his 13year old cousin, Buddy Holly and Richie Valens were dead, et al.

There was NO rock and roll - the music had died, and then the 3 French Corsicans were hired to off President Kennedy in Nov '63.

The Beatles touched ground in Feb '64 - and the world hasn't been the same since.

They influenced Bob Dylan to go electric; he influenced them by turning them on to grass and expanding their lyrical parameters.

The sounds they attained in the recording studio (by using equipment that was obsolete even by 1960's standards - a 4-track recorder) are still nothing short of astounding, and people still try to recreate the amazing sounds they did with Producer George Martin TODAY with digital equipment...sometimes they get real close.

They literally changed the world, changed the way music was recorded, changed the was it was presented, changed the actual SOUND of it. They ****ing changed it all.

THAT'S why they're held in such high regard. Because they EARNED it. They did it ALL and they did it all FIRST.

So you may not like the Beatles or you may not 'get' it, but the artists you listen to love them, and were extremely influenced by them. So, no matter what you listen to, you owe a debt of gratitude to the Beatles.

Buckethead all things Buckethead he has played in a ton of bands.
Deli Creeps & Praxis are two of my fave Buckethead bands.

Guns N Roses with Buckethead even with out I love the new line up of Gunners

Primus &

Les Claypools Bucket of Bernie Brains

Rolling Stones

My real list:

Alice in Chains
G n' R
Seether
Collective Soul
Smashing Pumpkins

What are we doing here: Our personal favorites? Or are we taking a historical perspective?

Because those are two totally different things.

My five favorite bands are:

1a. Yes
1b. Genesis
2. The Who
3. King Crimson
4. Pink Floyd
5. Porcupine Tree

(Yes, I cheated)

Of course got to love Tenacious D

word. couldn't imagine if I was just a little older then how many of those bands I'd have seen live in their prime or while Brad Nowell was still alive. Would've made for great memories. I've seen KoRn, NIN, Sublime with Rome, Tool. All past their prime, but Tool I seen them when they released Lateralus. Ahhh good times.

Iron Maiden
Metallica
Pink Floyd
Black Sabbath
Beatles (not a big fan really, but they clearly deserve to be here)

No particular order

1) The Beatles
2) Rush
3) Led Zepplin
4) Judas Preist
5) Yes

Well that's easy....in order.

1) Led Zeppelin
2) Beatles
3) Aerosmith
4) Doobie Brothers
5) Pink Floyd

What'd you think of the new album, Different Kind of Truth??

I liked it a lot, and thought the show from the Sprint Center was awesome.

Here's a recording I made if you want :

http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-d....php?id=408185

I should've included Boston in my honorable mentions.

1. Led Zepplin
2. The Rolling Stones
3. Nirvana
4. Tool
5. Nine Inch Nails

He said he didn't 'get it', so I offered a context in which he could maybe 'get it' from.

Yeah no doubt they were the first and changed history. No argument there. I just hate their sound.

I know it's a me thing. I've come to accept that.

In no order;

Guns N Roses
Metallica
AC/DC
The Eagles
The Rolling Stones

Led Zeppelin would make it except they are enormous thieves.

Sheer terror
Black flag
Bon Scott AC/DC
Beowulf
Jerry Lee

Motorhead

Radiohead
Queen
MUSE
The Smiths
The Cure

jesus, it's like every band I can't stand:

Here's my 'bottom 5', i.e. bands that are revolting ear vomit that make me want to stab my ears out with a rusty ice pick :

1. Styx
2. REO ****ing Speedwagon
3. Foreigner
4. Boston
5. Journey


I mean, females over the age of 40 get a pass on listening to such schlocky drivel, but goddamn, I have to change the channel. Those 5 bands are the reason why I can't listen to the 'classic rock radio' format. It's such whiny girlie CRAP. Just my opinion...but the music from all 5 of those bands is, like, salt-peter limp.

Fave punk bands

Iggy Pop and the Stooges

Sex Pistols

The Ramones

The Clash

Misfits