DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Top Ten Rock Bands of All Time

I got this idea from two threads. bonefish started a thread about music albums. The first post mentioned greatest albums, but the thread deviated from the greatest to personal favorites off the beaten path so to speak. stripper made a thread about Keith Richards top rock groups.

I think we should have a thread about about the Top Ten Rock groups of all time. No gimmicks. No tricks. Nothing clever.

The criteria is the groups that who had the most influence on society, their popularity, their musical accomplishments, how innovative they were, etc. Please don't throw some random group in there to be different. There are plenty of musical threads on this board for that, including another one I started...........Off the Beaten Path.

With that said, I think the top groups are fairly clear, but how we rank them is another story. Here is where we can use personal preferences to distinguish the rankings.

My rankings and I am truly doing this off the top of my head after the first three. I might even change my mind if you present a good argument because there are so many good bands.

Btw---it would be cool if you included a brief blurb as to why you chose your band in each position.


1. Pink Floyd: The most innovative band ever. No one can copy their sound. They are unique. Their music tells stories both lyrically and instrumentally.

2. Led Zeppelin: Huge amount of hits. Tremendous individual performers. Mixed blues and mystic undertones seamlessly.

3. The Beatles. Probably should be number one because they had so many hits and revolutionized music. But, it's subjective.

Now, it gets tough.

4. Rolling Stones: I really don't like them here because I like other bands better, but damn, I just can't ignore their impact. They had some songs I absolutely hated and it's why I don't want them this high, but they had great songs that I adore and their impact was huge.

5. The Who: A lot of people don't appreciate them, but they were musical greats. Their concept albums were legendary.

6. The Doors: Highly underrated in my opinion. Great blues background w/a great vocalist. Shrouds of mystery surround them and power was a plus.

7. Eagles: Not as hard as the others, but they had great songs and Hotel California was a superb album. I can't believe it wasn't highlighted on the Music Albums thread. Dudes could harmonize very well and could tell stories while playing pleasing music.

8. Fleetwood Mac: This band transformend more than any other. Started off w/some crazy blues, changed, changed, and then changed again into a pop band that had so many great hits. I'm not a huge fan of mainstream music, but this band had a great sound throughout.

9. CCR: Hard driven ballads and never compromised. It isn't for everyone, but they had some powerful political songs and their background music was even more powerful.

10. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Probably a little controversial, but they had a ton of hits and were really pure. They always wanted to be a blues band and finally achieved it late, but Petty's songs were the kind that tugged at one's soul.

Mudvayne
Slipknot
Linkin Park
Green Day
Red Hot Chili Peppers
System of a Down
Disturbed
Bullet for my Valentine
Guns N Roses
AC/DC

You didn't follow the criteria, bro. [Whacking Swish's knuckles w/a wooden ruler...LOL]

I'm gonna post my thoughts without reading anyone else's. I have personal faves that didn't make the list but I try to take everything into account: a few of them are longevity, influence, SONGS, musicianship, respect from their peers.

In no order:

Beatles
Stones
Zeppelin
Queen
U2
Nirvana
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Doors
Gus n Roses

I tried, but I’m not into rock music as much as I am into techno and hip hop, so it’s hard to name the overall best simply because I’m not as into the culture as others.

I listed my personal top 10, but I’m way too far into outer space to do a proper breakdown.

I was just messing w/you, bro. It's cool.

I didn't see your request for a brief analysis on each band. Sorry, but I don't think it's necessary. I think the cred of the bands I mentioned speak for themselves.

Damn I forgot about Floyd. I'm still rolling with my first post though.

Nah, you definitely need to explain why The Doors are in your top 10.

I mean isn't this the point of a message board to encourage discussion rather than tell people "only put the bands that everyone agrees are the greatest"?

Being a gatekeeper is a bad idea.

Great addition.

Alright. Buckle up.

Jim Morrison was a great poet and on-stage performer. He held the stage. He also had a natural gift for melody. He didn't read music or play an instrument.

Then you have Densmore, one of the most unappreciated drummers ever. Robbie Kreiger had a unique, eclectic guitar style - influenced by jazz, rock, folk and flamenco - and Ray Manzarek was a creative keyboardist.

So they had all that.

But when blended together, the whole was greater than the sum. They're legendary, and so unique that anyone who tries to imitate them ends up looking like an arse.

Before this turns into yet another argument...I posted the criteria for the thread. Here it is again:

The criteria is the groups that who had the most influence on society, their popularity, their musical accomplishments, how innovative they were, etc.

If you don't like that, start your own damn thread. It's amazing how even the most simple things turn into personality contests on this board.

Please guys.......can we please just stick to the topic. Send me a pm and tell me how much you despise me. I won't report you. Just let this thread live it's rightful course. Please?

Bro.........you have pissed me off the last couple of days, but that was an epic post. Maybe your best ever!

I know you were being sarcastic, and that's cool, but you did ask....

I have no idea what I posted to piss you off, but.... thanks, anyway???

But top 10 legendary as a sum?

I dunno.

They're more top 10 than Robert "Imma rip off your song" Plant and Jimmy "I'll steal music from all these minority musicians" Page.

Let's see ..... No sense repeating the classic bands others are sure to mention, so ..... some of my favorites:

Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble. A blues/rock guitarist who could hang with Clapton, BB King, or any other. It's a shame he passed way too soon.

Deep Purple. Man, the intro to smoke on the water is what every aspiring guitarist wants to learn to play.

Van Halen. 2 very different lead singers, and accompanying style changes, yet anyone can tell a Van Halen or a "Van Hagar" song immediately. Eddie Van Halen is reportedly a jackass, but he is quite possibly the greatest rock guitarist of all time.

Boston: The greatest rock concert I have ever seen, bar none.

Journey: 2nd greatest live rock show I have ever seen.

Def Leppard: Driving rock with great hooks. Finally inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame. Long past due.

Metallica/Megadeath: OK, I am putting these 2 together, because Dave Mustaine was originally in Metallica ... until they kicked him out. The result was 2 kick butt bands. (Well, at least earlier on with Metallica, anyway)

Black Sabbath: Great guitar with Tony Iommi, and super strong bass with Geezer, along with Ward on drums, and Ozzie blasting out his unique vocals .... yeah, they make the list.

Night Ranger: My favorite band, and a great live show, so they make my list.

April Wine: Another of my favorites.

Man, I could probably make a top 100 list and still leave off a lot of great bands. I figured that most people would go for a lot of the classic type influence bands, so I went in a slightly different direction.

You "dunno", but I do.

1. The Beatles-Quite consistent quality from album #1 to the last one. Let the machine of the Rolling Stones and other similar Brit bands catch fire.

2. Queen-Freddie Mercury shaped concerts in 1986 with Live Aid. Brian May pioneered two guitar harmonies. The cultural impact of Queen stretches far and wide.

3. Roger Waters-David Gilmour Era Floyd-This is the era of Floyd that everyone loves. Syd Barret kept this band too obscure.

4. Boston-Pioneers of arena rock. Soo many rock groups owe a ton to Brad Delp and Tom Scholz through the Rockman tech, the soaring vocals, and the layered guitars. Journey owes their career to Boston.

5. Green Day-This group made pop-punk mainstream. They've sold countless of records in different styles of punk, and they continue to remain relevant today.

6. Nirvana-The godfathers of alt-rock/grunge. Gave birth to groups such as Foo Fighters, Bush, and other genre bending rock bands.

7. CSN/CSNY-The guitars, the vocals, and the technical mastery should put them up high.

8. Oasis-Hit it huge in the UK! Unfortunately never made it too big in the US, but they're still meant to be mentioned in this conversation.

9. Black Sabbath-The godfathers of heavy metal! This band recorded a plethora of different albums under a bunch of different lineups, yet they birthed a phenomenal genre.

10. Metallica-Took the lessons of Black Sabbath, and took the genre of metal and rock into an entire different direction. Sooo many albums sold, a ton of successful sold out tours, and continue to push themselves in new directions.

I think the "Beach Boys" should get an honorable mention. They were pretty popular during my school days.

I thought about putting them towards the bottom, but I decided against it as The Temptations did everything they did in a better way.

You're right, I always loved The Temptations rendition of 'Little Deuce Coupe' and 409.

Top 10 in no certain order.

Pink Floyd: totally unique sound.
They took the 60s psychodelic sound and popularized it. They also made the stage show important with their light show. They made the album important when the single still ruled.

Johny Cash: combined country and rock elements, and brought the 'bad boy' lifestyle to both. He probably influenced more great bands than any single person. He also brought the American music scene into the international world when all was British.

Frank Zappa: pushed music as far as he could with a jazz/rock fusion. He almost always has social/political insults in his music. He was also the father of digital music.

The Who: pushed rock boundries with the rock opera and outstanding musicians. Lost the heart of the band after Keith Moon's death.

Queen: took the rock opera and went operetic. They probably had the world's most outed gay man add their front man, and no one cared about his sexuality.

The Beatles: this was the world's first boy band. A formula of music that would be used by the music industry forever. Had a few hits too. They're not one of my favorites, but had to be mentioned.

Jethro Tull: a fusion of Irish folk and rock. They were proof that the music industry formula's did not have to be followed to have success.

Rolling Stones: proof that marketing wins out over talent. None of them were really good musucians, or good looking, or really talented. My wife describes them as guys that had none choice but to start a band to get girls. Somehow their simple tunes and lyrics made them famous.

Black Sabbath: they pretty much created the heavy metal culture of today, which is really odd. If you've ever seen old videos, they looked like hippies.

Allman Brothers: pretty much created the southern rock genre. Thanks. No time for purple fonts.

Moody Blues: fused rock and orchestral music. Also probably gave someone the idea for muzak, which we all listened to in stores for years.

The Ramones: the first punk band. Also created the bad boy image in rock. There are a ton of bands that owe them their careers.

OK. I went over 10.

Before we get to the bands, I believe that the electric guitar IS rock and roll. Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix and Dick Dale brought rock to where it is today. I think just about every band on this list has mentioned Chuck Berry as an influence. I did this really fast this morning, I'll probably think of some I should have included/removed.

The Beatles - More hit songs than just about any band ever. Extemely talented writers/musicians.

The Who - Started the "play really loud" thing. Wrote great songs, stepped away from the generic 2m 45sec songs to write creative rock operas.

The Kinks - under rated. Wrote a bunch of tunes that ring through people's heads, but don't know who penned them.

Pink Floyd - explained already

Queen - How this band evolved from album 1 until FM's death was spectacular, though I preferred the 1rst 4 albums. Talent in spades...not just Freddie, either.

Black Sabbath - Brought heavy metal to the masses

Van Halen - Took the electric guitar to the next level, in an era where good guitar playing had become stagnant.

The Rolling Stones - Too many hit songs to leave them out.

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - Many people didn't really listen to the blues until they were amazed by Stevie.

ACDC - Not the most talented musicians, but few bands have as many songs that just about everybody on earth can recognize.

But what about:

CCR
Aerosmith
Fleetwood Mac
Tom Petty
Elton John
Billy Joel

and of course

The Eagles (#2 as far as I'm concerned)

Beach boys are more pop than rock.

j/c:

For the record, I didn't include groups like The Temptations because they were Motown and I titled this Rock Bands. If we just said Top 10 Groups or Bands, I would have included them.

I also left out some that were known more as solo performers than just as a band. That excluded people like Stevie Ray, Dylan, Elton John, Hendrix, Bowie, etc. I really went back and forth on that one, but there are so many great bands to choose from, I decided to eliminate them.

While I am not dogging anyone for liking the Beach Boys, I don't think they were a rock band. I have another name for them, but I can't utter it on here. LOL

No doubt. I was going to include Chuck Berry, but decided not to due to my reasoning in the above post. But yeah, so many rockers point towards Chuck Berry as a huge influence on their music.

Moody Blues "Late Lament" might be one of the greatest pieces of rock poetry ever written.

Breathe deep the gathering gloom,
Watch lights fade from every room.
Bedsitter people look back and lament,
Another day's useless energy spent.
Impassioned lovers wrestle as one,
Lonely man cries for love and has none.
New mother picks up and suckles her son,
Senior citizens wish they were young.
Cold hearted orb that rules the night,
Removes the colours from our sight.
Red is grey and yellow white.
But we decide which is right.
And which is an illusion?

Im going to go strictly off Versatile Dog guidelines.

1. Led Zepplin. yes they stole from the Delta blues artists. from the ashes of the Yardbirds
came this force. Jinmy Page took a no name singer and drummer from the Midlands...now you throw in the best sessions bassist of his time.
Zepplin set the bar.

No other band blended rock folk country blues any better. every song was distinct.and no other band controlled their own legacy better than them.

2. The Beatles. really great songwriters. harmonies 2nd to none. well crafted songs.
BTW they arguabally made the 1st hard rock metal song "Helter Skelter"....yea that band

3. KISS..the band that critics hated. yet they hsve been at it for 46 years.
they took arena rock to a new level.
they actually said your eyes are just as part of the show as your ears.
behind the pyro and bombs they actually crafted some well written songs.
catchy hooks and choruses.
it doesnt get any better than Detriot Rock City.
all theses artists that have bombs pyro.
traces back to KISS.

4. Black Sabbath. the godfathers of hard rock metal. Tony Iommi is on the Mt Rushmore of guitar innovators. Sabbath created a new sound genre.
and their subject matter was deep.
drug abuse....the occult...insanity...believing in yourself....politics.

5. Pink Floyd. they lost a genius in Syd Barrett
and then upped their game. like Sabbath they created their own sound.

6. Alice Cooper. he brought a theatrical sense to rock. it was like watching characters come to life. rock does have to have guys standing in one spot on stage being gentlemen saying thank you.

7. Rolling Stones. they influenced so many American acts..Aerosmith ...Guns and Roses..and they experimented too with disco.

8. The Eagles..they really perfected the California sound. such profound musicians that had incredible careers.
Don Henley..Glenn Frey..Joe Walsh.

9. Lynard Skynard. the kings of hell raising southern rock. the Outlaws..Molly Hatchet..38 Special...Blackfoot...dont exist if no LS.

10. Motley Crue. the blueprint of the LA hard rock scene in the 80s.
most bands acted dangerous...but they were.
Dokken LA Guns Ratt Poison all wanted to be the Crue. really simple rebellious kinda of music.
with a concert experience 2nd to none.
they sang about what many young teens experienced.

35,384,640 tickets sold
417,600 hours of live performances
36,086 songs
2317 concerts
30 years
11 members
1 band

The Grateful Dead


Say what you will. Their impact on the music industry is profound. Pushing technology in the studio and in live arenas.
There was nothing in the world like a Grateful Dead show.

and Jerry Garcia didnt own one stick of deoderant.

Influenced by what I love and what I read:

1. Beatles. They have influenced so many including other all time greats. They were prolific. They were so big in their prime - I don't believe any other artist or group come close to their stature of being front and center the popular culture of their day - around the globe.
2. Led Zeppelin. I don't know if they are universally recognized as being this high up any 'All time list' - but here they stand for me.
3. Rolling Stones. Another whose influence is immense - and whose longevity is just amazing.
4. U2. The biggest rock band of 'my era' - they broke on to the scene when I was at high school and have been influential and brilliant for the last 3 decades.
5. The Who. Unbelievable and just amazing live and pioneering. larger than life personality and music.
6. The Doors. I don't know how universally respected they are - and having spent 30 years in England growing up I don't truly comprehend how big they might have been (they weren't that big in the UK) but they didn't produce a song I didn't love.
7. Pink Floyd. Another ground breaking group of geniuses!
8. ACDC - Just damn good, straight forward RnR. Bon Scott is one of my favorite voices.
9. Jimi Hendrix - hard to believe he's down this far.
10. CCR - So good, and such a unique sound.

Hard to leave out bands like Queen, The Eagles, The Kinks, Tom Petty, Aerosmith .... then what about Elvis and Dylan and Stevie Wonder - are they 'Rock'? Makes it tough if they qualify for the list !

Man there are a lot of wonderful musicians.

Elvis is rock, but not a "band" so you can leave him off for that technicality.

Otherwise, if he's not #1, it's a bad list.

That alone is absolutely insane.

That's over 38 hours a day, every day, 365 days a year, for 30 years...

Even if it's manhours, the band had 6 members at any given time? That's still 6.35 hours per day, every day, 365 days a year, for 30 years..

I'm questioning how they arrived at that number.

Common core math?

Good question.

1. The Beatles. It blew off the charts with them.

2. Elvis…..I could have easily put him #1. He is the King of Rock.

Now the groups follow, maybe no real order...

The Doors..just a solid band

Lynerd Skynerd….Southern rock had a sound, and they had it.

Led Zeppelin...metal has to be included

The Eagles....another rock group with a southern sound....hard to be ignored.

Eric Clapton. A great guitarist who can cross the spectrum of music.

David Bowie...Lou Reed may have ben the first real punker, but Bowies Spiders from Mars is a great album.

So, that's 8....

Let's go Chicago....a rock band with horns? How cool was that? They were a solid rock band but became a ballad band, but it still doesn't take away from the cool sound.

Oh...the Stones...no list can be made without mention of them.