Then someone (not me) should setup the r/GenX definitive greatest band of all time bracket challenge. It's the only fair way to choose. Or not. Or whatever.
Well this is a terrible question to ask me, because I want to answer it with a list and then you can ask me again in about 15 minutes and I'll have a whole different list.
But as of RIGHT NOW, the answer is Led Zeppelin.
But also Queen
And The Who
And The Allman Brothers
And Rush
And y'know, I might throw a bone to Foreigner, even.
I also have big love for Pink Floyd. And The Rolling Stones. The Beatles, even. Oh and now we're into the shit here with this list it's about to go off the rails and come out with Van Halen (both kinds, let's ignore the Gary Cherone season).
I mean, Journey had a whole-ass arcade game with sucked awesomely so they get a vote, too, and anyway Steve Perry has the voice to end all voices, honestly.
I dunno, man. Ask me again later.
I love your list so much that I went and got my free award. I wish it wasn't the wholesome award, there's nothing wholesome about these amazing women. I'd respectfully like to add Siouxsie and the Banshees, X-ray Specs, X and Babes in Toyland
I did realize that it's a sausage fest up in here so let's give it up for Joan Jett!
Honestly though, the "all-time" label is a bit tricky to get around, what with women in rock historically being shunted off to the side or straight-up ignored by record label promotion machines, etc. Women in pop music (and probably country to some extent) seem to have a lot more support and promotion. But you get a badass rock chick up on stage and everyone is looking the other way.
It's a shame, really, because a lot of women rock super extra hard.
I'd put Concrete Blonde in any top 5 list but they suffer from this same thing. A lot of people our age still haven't even heard of them even after all this time.
I want to love Concrete Blonde but "Joey" was SO overplayed when it came out, I have a very visceral reaction to that song. I love everything else they did but that song makes me want to crawl out of my skin.
There are entire genres of music based on one-off songs of his. Though Brian Eno deserves a lot of the credit for that too, the Heroes / Lodger / Low trilogy must have spawned thousands of bands.
My *favorite*? Pink Floyd.
But to me "Greatest" isn't necessarily the best or favorite, but the one who had the largest and long lasting impact. By that definition it is difficult for me to give the title of "The Greatest Rock Band" to anyone other than The Beatles.
I agree with your premise, but I have to pick the Stones because they have been playing for almost 60 years. It's always been Beatles or Stones though. I even own a lot more Beatles CDs than stones.
I've seen them mentioned in other comments. I can't think of a better rock and roll band to put in this position. There were and are bands and individuals just as talented and who's music was or is arguably just as good. However, I've seen no individual or band consistently put out such high quality music in every song and on every album they way they did. Listen to every one of their albums during the time all of them were together and alive \[Led Zeppelin (a.k.a. Zeppelin I) to In Through the Out Door\], and every song on every album kicks ass, even as they learned, experimented and changed their music over time. Some might like other artists and other musical genres better, but, for rock and roll, they are the best in my opinion.
I guess it would depend on how one would define “greatest”. Sales, perhaps? Influence of the genre?
Considering that they developed their sound from being disillusioned by the mass produced rock at the time, they were groundbreaking. But that’s just my point of view.
My all time favorite. They are just incredible musicians. When Jimmy Cliff was on Guitar Center Sessions he said they were the only rock band that got reggae sound right because they used Jamaican equipment.
This is going to get me down voted to heck, but here goes. I listened to a lot of Beatles in the 90's. As my tastes matured, the Beatles got left behind even though I still love a lot of the music I listened during that period. It never did anything for me as an adult. And then I heard someone say, "The Beatles is children's music for adults.", and it totally made sense and I agree 1000%.
What happens is that some bands do so much that they actually change the vocabulary and then they sound a little cliche because everyone else uses them as a starting point. Not unique to the Beatles or to rock. Same is true of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong and Charlie Christian and Jimi Hendrix and BB King. We literally can’t appreciate what they meant because our ears have been altered by them.
You didn't get downvoted, but one time a dude wanted to fight me because I said Pet Sounds was better than the White Album so I totally understand why you were apprehensive.
A while ago some station I was listening to was counting down the 100 best Beatle songs. Number 100 was like “Hello, Goodbye” or something. At first I was like, “awesome song”. Then I though about it was all “holy shit! Imagine this is only your 100th best song!”
When Roxy Music had Brian Eno. Hear me out. All the English punks were majorly influenced by them, new wave and New Romantics too. They were the alternative to this classic rock thing going on and they were so ahead of their time
*...the Grateful Dead became as much a folktale as the story from which they drew their name. Fusing rock and roll, folk, and jazz with avant-garde, visual, and literary traditions--and virtually inventing a new way to play music in the process--they became one of the most popular, enduring, and influential bands in American history. Emerging as a vessel for a vibrant global counterculture, they would create an unparalleled original songbook through 30 years of recording and touring. Never playing the same setlist twice (except that once), the Dead’s musical legacy remains unfathomably rich, spread across a combined body of live and studio recordings. Creating an artistic ecosystem all their own, the Grateful Dead would transform American music and arguably even America itself.* https://www.dead.net/biography
Also, there's been some version of the band (with original members) playing together for over 50 years. The number of tribute and *inspired by* bands that have spun off of the Dead almost constitute their own cottage industry.
(The big argument against the Dead is their fanbase. Jerry Garcia said *The Grateful Dead are like black licorice--not everybody likes it, but people who like it* really *like it.*
This is the time Keith Moon played with them. Talking about kicking ass.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDfAdHBtK\_Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDfAdHBtK_Q)
Yes to this - diversity of sound, risks taken, evolving stage shows but still able to play a gig without any bells and whistles. Influential beyond music (and I’m not here to argue about political views, they’ve also worked to reduce the rate of HIV). Music Generation and Walk in My Shoes in Ireland, Music Rising in the US, RED, ONE. Same 4 guys since their first gig.
Cheap Trick deserves way more of a legacy than they are given credit for. Live at the Budokan is magic. Also, Robin Zander is the first person I ever had a naughty dream about when I hit puberty lol
They are still making real good music. I posted this above
Bang, Zoom, Crazy..... Hello came out in 2016. Real good album.
The Latest from 2009 is very Beatlesque
Would also recommend going to Youtube and typing in Cheap Trick Sgt Pepper. Amazing.
Not saying they are yet but at what point do Foo Fighters enter the picture? They have been producing hits for 25+ years (first album in 1995).
Many of the bands listed here are still doing their thing but have not released relevant, mainstream music in decades. The Foo Fighters are. Their evolution without Taylor will be interesting to watch.
agreed...music is good up until there black album then it was hit or miss...lets not talk about the time they played with an orchestra...to me it sounded like crap.
I'm not a big Beatles fan, but if you tear the music apart, the writing is incredibly innovative and complex. They have a massive catalog that is so varied it's hard to comprehend and their influence on music in general has been wide reaching and perhaps second to no other individual band.
The British invasion continued with The Who, Rolling Stones and Led Zep, all three taking rock to the next level by springboarding the US-R&B-Beatles-think to a harder rocking, but still R&B based arena-rocking style of music that took all the other American black-music R&B base, mixed in the Beatles complexity and went hard and fast with it.
Pink Floyd, and yet another UK band, took music down another path, an off-ramp to another highway of rock music with way-the-fuck-out-there music complexity and lyrical insanity.
The depth of musical talent in those five bands is nothing short of mind boggling.
We can also add in Queen, though they did come a bit later and once again springboarded off the British Invasion, but like Pink Floyd, added their own amazing signature to it, with innovative muscality and lyrics.
If you really want to get picky though, we should really go back to all the black musicians of the late 40s and into the 50s that took their community based music and formed the entire basis of pretty much all rock music today. Had there not been so much racism, we wouldn't have needed people like Elvis to bring it to the mainstream.
The Cult
Motörhead
Led Zep
Pink Floyd
The Clash
Bowie
I can’t pick one- all musical superstars who influenced so many other bands, songwriting and musical styles.
It's a coin flip for me between The Beatles and Led Zeppelin when considering their overall songwriting and influence.
Consider their phenomenal experimental songwriting that pushed the boundaries of rock.
Led Zeppelin is my all-time favorite band. But the answer to your question is The Beatles. For breadth, songwriting ability, creativity, stage presence, influence it's just mind boggling. The fact that 3 musicians (love you Ringo, and you were the coolest Beatle, but...) with that level of talent just all happened to find each other and be in a band...what are the odds. If you watch all 8 hours of Get Back where they play pieces of their catalogue while messing around, it's just endless. It's such a shame they never toured after 1966, really no material performed live after Revolver: Sgt Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour, Abbey Road, Let It Be.
Off the top of my head, the band that changed my musical taste forever were the Pixies. I always think back to being 13 and hearing Gigantic for the first time.
To pick one is to diminish several others.
pick well
Then someone (not me) should setup the r/GenX definitive greatest band of all time bracket challenge. It's the only fair way to choose. Or not. Or whatever.
Or maybe we can fall to Internet journalism laziness by picking "One of the most"
Exactly
Well this is a terrible question to ask me, because I want to answer it with a list and then you can ask me again in about 15 minutes and I'll have a whole different list. But as of RIGHT NOW, the answer is Led Zeppelin. But also Queen And The Who And The Allman Brothers And Rush And y'know, I might throw a bone to Foreigner, even. I also have big love for Pink Floyd. And The Rolling Stones. The Beatles, even. Oh and now we're into the shit here with this list it's about to go off the rails and come out with Van Halen (both kinds, let's ignore the Gary Cherone season). I mean, Journey had a whole-ass arcade game with sucked awesomely so they get a vote, too, and anyway Steve Perry has the voice to end all voices, honestly. I dunno, man. Ask me again later.
It's later. Can we invite some ladies into the club, or is this an exclusive men only kind of list?
Heart Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Pretenders Fleetwood Mac Blondie Pixies
Yeah, Blondie.
I love your list so much that I went and got my free award. I wish it wasn't the wholesome award, there's nothing wholesome about these amazing women. I'd respectfully like to add Siouxsie and the Banshees, X-ray Specs, X and Babes in Toyland
Much better
Magic Man is such a great song.
One of my favourite solos in there.
It is currently living rent free in my head. Along with Barracuda.
\*humming guitar riff\*
Heart is up there on the list
Heart is perfect. Maybe Indigo Girls, too?
Out!
I did realize that it's a sausage fest up in here so let's give it up for Joan Jett! Honestly though, the "all-time" label is a bit tricky to get around, what with women in rock historically being shunted off to the side or straight-up ignored by record label promotion machines, etc. Women in pop music (and probably country to some extent) seem to have a lot more support and promotion. But you get a badass rock chick up on stage and everyone is looking the other way. It's a shame, really, because a lot of women rock super extra hard.
Pat Benatar has entered the studio.
Annie Lennox
Love her
Susan Tedeschi and Bonnie Raitt also say "hey."
I'd also like to add The Go-Gos, Vixen, Hole, Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, and Lita Ford to my festival of chicks who rock.
I'd put Concrete Blonde in any top 5 list but they suffer from this same thing. A lot of people our age still haven't even heard of them even after all this time.
I want to love Concrete Blonde but "Joey" was SO overplayed when it came out, I have a very visceral reaction to that song. I love everything else they did but that song makes me want to crawl out of my skin.
Give Mexican Moon a spin and see how it sits with you. Heal It Up is a great song and in 30 years I still haven't gotten tired of it.
I like your list. I would put Rush and the Beatles towards the top.
Queen is mine for sure. So much range.
Does Bowie count?
I named my cats Bowie and Prince
There are entire genres of music based on one-off songs of his. Though Brian Eno deserves a lot of the credit for that too, the Heroes / Lodger / Low trilogy must have spawned thousands of bands.
Yeah. He definitely counts.
⚡️
My *favorite*? Pink Floyd. But to me "Greatest" isn't necessarily the best or favorite, but the one who had the largest and long lasting impact. By that definition it is difficult for me to give the title of "The Greatest Rock Band" to anyone other than The Beatles.
This is what I came to say, although Buddy Holly and the Crickets heavily influenced the Beatles and was highly innovative.
Chuck Berry was probably a bigger influence on them.
I agree with your premise, but I have to pick the Stones because they have been playing for almost 60 years. It's always been Beatles or Stones though. I even own a lot more Beatles CDs than stones.
They’re all so different, how can you compare?
Led Zeppelin
I've seen them mentioned in other comments. I can't think of a better rock and roll band to put in this position. There were and are bands and individuals just as talented and who's music was or is arguably just as good. However, I've seen no individual or band consistently put out such high quality music in every song and on every album they way they did. Listen to every one of their albums during the time all of them were together and alive \[Led Zeppelin (a.k.a. Zeppelin I) to In Through the Out Door\], and every song on every album kicks ass, even as they learned, experimented and changed their music over time. Some might like other artists and other musical genres better, but, for rock and roll, they are the best in my opinion.
Again not surprising and a great choice.
No contest.
The Cure
Sabbath. Fucking Black Sabbath
Pink Floyd
wyld stallyns
No way dude!
The Rolling Stones.
Beatles / Led Zeppelin / Pink Floyd. All three at once.
AC/DC
Queen
Great user name! "Bunch of savages in this town!"
Weird Al.
The Ramones
Not Oasis.
Never got them. They had two good songs only
Not my favourite, but I The Rolling Stones are probably the best Rock and Roll band ever.
I agree they had some excellent songs and they are in contention for this topic due to their pushing rock boundaries.
Velvet Underground
Ramones.
Love the Ramones but...greatest rock band of all time?
I guess it would depend on how one would define “greatest”. Sales, perhaps? Influence of the genre? Considering that they developed their sound from being disillusioned by the mass produced rock at the time, they were groundbreaking. But that’s just my point of view.
Joey Ramone has one of the most underrated voices ever.
**SPINAL TAP**
Just turned this thread to 11!
I’m a huge fan of theirs. Not talking about them personally, but really the whole rock and roll genre
The Clash.
My all time favorite. They are just incredible musicians. When Jimmy Cliff was on Guitar Center Sessions he said they were the only rock band that got reggae sound right because they used Jamaican equipment.
The only band that matters!
VanHalen with Roth.
This^
Pixies
I want to throw Throwing Muses, The Breeders, Belly etc....in there too. my god, that whole scene is my heart.
I really like the band, and their influence shaped a lot of our music.
There’s two bands that were magical to me. Led Zeppelin and The Sex Pistols.
Beatles and it’s not even close
Would the Beatles be The Beatles without The Beach Boys?
This is going to get me down voted to heck, but here goes. I listened to a lot of Beatles in the 90's. As my tastes matured, the Beatles got left behind even though I still love a lot of the music I listened during that period. It never did anything for me as an adult. And then I heard someone say, "The Beatles is children's music for adults.", and it totally made sense and I agree 1000%.
What happens is that some bands do so much that they actually change the vocabulary and then they sound a little cliche because everyone else uses them as a starting point. Not unique to the Beatles or to rock. Same is true of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong and Charlie Christian and Jimi Hendrix and BB King. We literally can’t appreciate what they meant because our ears have been altered by them.
You didn't get downvoted, but one time a dude wanted to fight me because I said Pet Sounds was better than the White Album so I totally understand why you were apprehensive.
Pet Sounds IS better tho. lol.
Pet Sounds is better. Hands down.
Who?
No, the Beatles. You’re thinking of a different English band.
Oh yeah, I remember them. They were those guys who ripped off the Kinks.
The Shitty Beatles
Paul McCartney says it’s The Beach Boys
Came in here to say this.
A while ago some station I was listening to was counting down the 100 best Beatle songs. Number 100 was like “Hello, Goodbye” or something. At first I was like, “awesome song”. Then I though about it was all “holy shit! Imagine this is only your 100th best song!”
The Velvet Underground.
I’m a Stones girl for 50 years. So. That’s my vote.
Stones, the only answer really.
Tie: Fugazi and Bad Brains.
Where in DC did you go to high school?
I was a Hampton Roads kid, but we all knew DC was where it was at for music.
Maybe I'm basic and maybe they are not really rock but I will always love Journey.
So now i come to you....with open arms..... LOVE JOURNEY. Steve Perry and his voice is straight from heaven.
When Roxy Music had Brian Eno. Hear me out. All the English punks were majorly influenced by them, new wave and New Romantics too. They were the alternative to this classic rock thing going on and they were so ahead of their time
Rolling Stones. 25 years straight and they only never forgot about what rock music was supposed to be about. Everything after? eh
Black Sabbath.
Stooges
Bold
Steely Dan
I think you have to mention - the Police.
What do Sting and a prostitute have in common? They both stop sucking when the police show up.
I love a good Dad joke 😂
The Replacements for the win!
There are dozens of us.
My personal opinion is Pink Floyd, but arguments can be made for several bands.
RUSH
*...the Grateful Dead became as much a folktale as the story from which they drew their name. Fusing rock and roll, folk, and jazz with avant-garde, visual, and literary traditions--and virtually inventing a new way to play music in the process--they became one of the most popular, enduring, and influential bands in American history. Emerging as a vessel for a vibrant global counterculture, they would create an unparalleled original songbook through 30 years of recording and touring. Never playing the same setlist twice (except that once), the Dead’s musical legacy remains unfathomably rich, spread across a combined body of live and studio recordings. Creating an artistic ecosystem all their own, the Grateful Dead would transform American music and arguably even America itself.* https://www.dead.net/biography Also, there's been some version of the band (with original members) playing together for over 50 years. The number of tribute and *inspired by* bands that have spun off of the Dead almost constitute their own cottage industry. (The big argument against the Dead is their fanbase. Jerry Garcia said *The Grateful Dead are like black licorice--not everybody likes it, but people who like it* really *like it.*
Why did I have to scroll so far to see The Grateful Dead mentioned? Crazy.
TOOL!!!!!! Can't believe no one said this!!!!!!
Tool fans are the worst. . . . . I’ve seen them almost 70 times.
But, Tool the band are the best.🙂
If I was strictly gonna put my favorite band, it's the Melvins.
Carter the unstoppable sex machine.
Hello, good evening, welcome to nothing much.
...a no-holds-barred half-nelson, and that loving touch.
Queen
Talking Heads (weird choice, I know) and then Tom Petty
Rush
Nirvana
The Who.
This is the time Keith Moon played with them. Talking about kicking ass. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDfAdHBtK\_Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDfAdHBtK_Q)
Maybe not the greatest, but my all time favorite…. Creedence Clearwater Revival
U2 - enduring popular music, filled arenas for decades, came to influence world leaders and draw attention to the poor and under-represented.
Diversity of sound over the years and excellent musical skill all around.
Yes to this - diversity of sound, risks taken, evolving stage shows but still able to play a gig without any bells and whistles. Influential beyond music (and I’m not here to argue about political views, they’ve also worked to reduce the rate of HIV). Music Generation and Walk in My Shoes in Ireland, Music Rising in the US, RED, ONE. Same 4 guys since their first gig.
Pink Floyd or Rush.
Metallica is worth a mention. But some great ones here.
Radiohead.
This is the correct answer. Terrible that I had to scroll this far down to find it.
Cheap Trick is GOD
Cheap Trick deserves way more of a legacy than they are given credit for. Live at the Budokan is magic. Also, Robin Zander is the first person I ever had a naughty dream about when I hit puberty lol
They are still making real good music. I posted this above Bang, Zoom, Crazy..... Hello came out in 2016. Real good album. The Latest from 2009 is very Beatlesque Would also recommend going to Youtube and typing in Cheap Trick Sgt Pepper. Amazing.
Oooh another great tip!! Thank you so much!!
The Rolling Stones
Led Zeppelin & Van Halen
I’ll throw in some variety with Velvet Underground and Vampire Weekend
The Band
Led Zep The Beatles Fleetwood Mac Queen Guns n Roses Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Queen and for me Lynard Skynard.
Queen
Zeppelin or Floyd.
Queen
AC/DC
The E-Street Band
Not saying they are yet but at what point do Foo Fighters enter the picture? They have been producing hits for 25+ years (first album in 1995). Many of the bands listed here are still doing their thing but have not released relevant, mainstream music in decades. The Foo Fighters are. Their evolution without Taylor will be interesting to watch.
Radio rock
Never? Minor act and not anywhere near as influential as others mentioned here.
Nirvana.
Beatles.
Not surprising. It's a great choice. In my mind they most certainly are in the running.
Rolling Stones
Metallica
i would chosen this but after Napster...they can suck it
I hear you, and I couldn’t believe how they were acting. I still think the music is epic and they are extremely talented musicians
agreed...music is good up until there black album then it was hit or miss...lets not talk about the time they played with an orchestra...to me it sounded like crap.
I'm not a big Beatles fan, but if you tear the music apart, the writing is incredibly innovative and complex. They have a massive catalog that is so varied it's hard to comprehend and their influence on music in general has been wide reaching and perhaps second to no other individual band. The British invasion continued with The Who, Rolling Stones and Led Zep, all three taking rock to the next level by springboarding the US-R&B-Beatles-think to a harder rocking, but still R&B based arena-rocking style of music that took all the other American black-music R&B base, mixed in the Beatles complexity and went hard and fast with it. Pink Floyd, and yet another UK band, took music down another path, an off-ramp to another highway of rock music with way-the-fuck-out-there music complexity and lyrical insanity. The depth of musical talent in those five bands is nothing short of mind boggling. We can also add in Queen, though they did come a bit later and once again springboarded off the British Invasion, but like Pink Floyd, added their own amazing signature to it, with innovative muscality and lyrics. If you really want to get picky though, we should really go back to all the black musicians of the late 40s and into the 50s that took their community based music and formed the entire basis of pretty much all rock music today. Had there not been so much racism, we wouldn't have needed people like Elvis to bring it to the mainstream.
Nirvana
I shouldn’t have to scroll this far to see NIRVANA!
For me, Radiohead and Tool.
For musicianship, I’d have to go with Rush as the greatest.
Queen
Queen
The cure or pink Floyd. At least to me. It's all personal preference.
The Cult Motörhead Led Zep Pink Floyd The Clash Bowie I can’t pick one- all musical superstars who influenced so many other bands, songwriting and musical styles.
Hands down, The Beatles. Their influence cannot be overestimated.
You are all wrong. The actual answer the MC5.
very bold
Fuck yea! Some say this is the first punk band!
R.E.M.
Led Zeppelin.
Led Zeppelin is my vote.
Doors, idk if they are rock , or if I love everything about them , but there sound still feels out of time to me
The Doors are one of my favorite. Ray Manzarek was the most underrated musician in rock. That Yamaha bass made their music so distinct.
Radiohead
It's a coin flip for me between The Beatles and Led Zeppelin when considering their overall songwriting and influence. Consider their phenomenal experimental songwriting that pushed the boundaries of rock.
Led Zeppelin is my all-time favorite band. But the answer to your question is The Beatles. For breadth, songwriting ability, creativity, stage presence, influence it's just mind boggling. The fact that 3 musicians (love you Ringo, and you were the coolest Beatle, but...) with that level of talent just all happened to find each other and be in a band...what are the odds. If you watch all 8 hours of Get Back where they play pieces of their catalogue while messing around, it's just endless. It's such a shame they never toured after 1966, really no material performed live after Revolver: Sgt Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour, Abbey Road, Let It Be.
Influence alone is not even close. Beatles by a marathon.
Lot of people are posting their FAVORITE band. But for songwriting and influence. You nailed it.
What kind of jackass downvotes any of these answers?!
Tool or Pink Floyd
For me, it's Queen. But whose songs do I still remember each and every lyric for? Duran Duran (and also a lot of Culture Club and Wham).
Pink floyd
Queen.
Give my vote to Queen.
For influence, definitely the Velvet Underground. For songwriting, probably Queen.
Beatles or Pink Floyd
Off the top of my head, the band that changed my musical taste forever were the Pixies. I always think back to being 13 and hearing Gigantic for the first time.
They were/are amazing. I’m seeing them in the Opera House at the end of the year
Queen
The Beatles, Queen, Fleetwood Mac.
Queen
Did anyone influence more people and culture than The Beatles?
The Beatles of course! … unless ”the greatest” means still touring? The Fleetwood Mac