Five Favorite Bands of All Time: Take the Challenge
Published July 21, 2006
Ever try to come up with your five favorite bands of all time? I was challenged to do this in 1996, and now I'm doing it again ten years later.
I took a class called Rock, Pop, & Soul during my senior year at Binghamton University, a class cool enough to compel me to wake up earlyish (usually). The professor was the perfect mix of academic cool and geek. I recall rocking out to "Fight the Power," by Public Enemy, and learning about its unique use of rhythm and beat.
As a get to know the class kind of thing, we were asked at the beginning of the term to provide some personal information, including our five favorite bands of all time. I was intrigued by this challenge, and very much struck both by how challenging it was – and is now – and how much the choices seemingly threaten to define my personality. Define me, really.
For example, the person who chooses Adam Ant, Kajagoogoo, Duran Duran, Cyndi Lauper, and Styx is very likely very different than the Iron Maiden, Metallica, Dream Theater, Queensryche, Rush dude, who again is probably worlds different than the Fiona Apple, Indigo Girls, Joan Baez, Patti Smith, Suzanne Vega person.
I believe that my musical tastes have widened and broadened over the last 10 years. It's my opinion that good music is good music, whether it be alt country or reggaeton or ska punk. As with anything, there's lots and lots of junk, but the joy is in diving for the Beastie Boys' pirate treasure and coming up with booty and gold. I enjoy tinkering around on sites like GarageBand these days, finding gems from the music deep, artists plying away at their craft completely separate (though perhaps not by choice) from the traditional commercialism of the music industry.
Therefore, I was a little bit surprised that my "Top Five" had changed so little over a span of 10 years. Perhaps that's because, when it gets down to the core, you form an attachment to music growing up that's just not the same when you're an adult. It's like learning languages, perhaps, the way it's able to fuse to your being and "lock in," never to completely go away, even if you haven't dusted off that ZZ Top LP in 20 years, or whatever. She's still got legs, you know?
That's likely part of it, but perhaps an even stronger connection between music and youth – and particularly adolescence and teenage years – is the powerful emotions, joys, and traumas that interact with music in such a special and unique way. You can only romantically kiss another person for the first time once, you can only feel the soul crush of getting dumped at the age of 14 when you're 14. And music was there, wasn't it? To sooth and amplify and smother and alienate. To take us down to the secret coves of identity, the magical kingdoms of solitude where we construct ourselves and our personas, what makes us strong and unique.
Eric Berlin is the Executive Producer of Blogcritics.org and publisher of Online Media Cultist. He's also prone to referring to himself in the third person in author bios in an attempt to make it look like someone Less Important wrote it for him.
Contact: dumpsterbust@gmail.com
- Five Favorite Bands of All Time: Take the Challenge
- Published: July 21, 2006
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Punk Rock, Music: Pop, Music: Lists, Music: Indie Rock, Music: Hard Rock, Music: Rock
- Writer: Eric Berlin
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Comments on this articleComments
One thing I really notice is how much your list says about your age, where you grew up, and who you are. Funny, eh?
i'm pretty sure i can't do five...might hurt myself.
Very cool, Sir Berlin. I'll have to think awhile on my list. If my brain doesn't explode I'll get back to ya.
I'm listening to Pavarotti right now. I love the Beatles and the Stones are OK. Am I showing my age or what?
Great choices, Douglas. I've challenged you to name five, but I'll try not to harsh you too much about it!
I think The White Stripes have the stuff, the real goods. Their records keep getting better and better, and the best songs on each are really amazing and timeless.
I toyed with having The Clash and Rancid on this list. They're both Top 15 all time in my book.
My five favorite bands each have 20 of the top 100 guitarists according to Rolling Stone.
Michael, you're absolutely right, all those factors are important. But I think the individual personality and experiences are great factors as well. A guy the same age who lived next door to me growing up could have easily picked Dave Matthews, U2, Phish, the Dead, and Frank Zappa or whatever, you know?
Poison, Ratt, Warrant, Motley Crue, Starland Vocal Band
Great Article...
The 5 most crucial bands for me are based upon Musicianship,Originality & Emotional Connection. They are also the ones that I seem to gravitate to more than any others. Those five would be:
Michael Manring
Dream Theater
Mike Patton
Death
Toad the Wet Sprocket
well now...gonna hafta play this one out...
TOOL
Rush
Motorhead
Jethro Tull
Steppenwolf
honorable mentions: Hendrix, Ani DiFranco, Doors, Primus, Pantera
there ya go
Excelsior?
guppus! toad? wha?
anyway.
new order
the fall
beatles
public image ltd
disco inferno
(maybe)
oh yeah,
prince
top 5
The Clash
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
The Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan
Marah
Zing... You've never heard of Toad the Wet Sprocket? They were under the umbrella of NWOBHM but they weren't really metal more like heavy blues and yet, still way more mellower with some dark edges. "Bread & Circus" was a brilliant album but I still like all their releases:
Pale
Dulcinea
Coil
Fear
I'm sure I have missed one...but you should check 'em out.
I will give myself away, but here goes:
Led Zeppelin -- genius, the fourth and fifth albums are immortal, still underrated, so much more than Whole Lotta Love
Yes -- they take themselves seriously, they can play their instruments, they're self-indulgent (I like that), they have written pieces of great beauty and power (from Fragile to Relayer), they can still deliver live
Genesis -- Steve Hackett era, they made a graceful transition when Gabriel left, then jumped the track when Collins took over, Supper's Ready live off the Seconds Out album I consider to be a monument to Western civilization, Tony Banks is brilliant
Rush -- Whenever I hear anything from Grace Under Pressure or Signals, I'm right back in college (I'm not crazy about Geddy's singing, either), Peart is brilliant, and Lifeson knows what an electric guitar should sound like
Tool -- revitalized my interest in complex ass-kicking rock music, Carey is one of the best rock drummers ever, thank god the 80s ended
Honorable mention: Queen, Cream, The Allman Brothers, CSNY, Magma, Deep Purple, Todd Rungren, Pink Floyd
"Great" acts I'm indifferent to: Metallica, Dylan, The Who, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, The Eagles, AC/DC (yuk, actually), Springsteen, any punk or New Wave
Yeah, yeah, what an old fogey.
*BTW* they got their name from a Monty Python Skit...
guppus--yeah... i know who they are. they had some hit song years ago. kind of m.o.r. as far as i remember. wouldn't even think of calling them metal or heavy or blues or any of that. i never really listened to them... but i never expected you would listen to them. doesn't sound like your cup of tea. what's "NWOBHM?"
duane--led zepplin, underrated? ha. oh. ha. mymy. you kid. as in jest.
Yeah, I don't think you can ever say that Led Zep is underrated, though they have seemed to have dropped a bit in the overall and general musical conversation.
Zing, I've had this discussion with other people, and I usually enounter opposition, so I'm not surpised. LZ is, of course, the mother of all rock bands, but in my elitist fashion, I still believe that to the general public they are viewed as a heavy metal band --- they are identified primarily as a cock rock band that cranks out heavy versions of old blues songs. The cognoscenti know better, but when I say they're underrated, I mean in the eyes of the world, in general. They are unaware of the versatility and subtlety that LZ pulled off in the studio.
On the other hand, as a live act, they're overrated. Yeah.
Gotta go. Baby needs a new pair of shoes.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
U2
Allman Brothers
Beatles
Tie: Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul/Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes
What can I say, I was a teen in NJ in the '70s. I still remember going to the Garden State Arts Center every summer from mid '80s to early '90s to see the Jukes play. Dancing and singing along, what great nights!
Hmm...top 5 bands/musicians.
In no order:
1. Ryan Adams
2. Opeth
3. Elliott Smith
4. Smashing Pumpkins
5. George Harrison
Honorable Mentions: Nine Inch Nails, Morphine, Red House Painters, Judas Priest, VAST, Chopin, Prince, Mercenary, Tool, Bob Dylan, White Stripes
There. Age/Lifestyle revealed.
=Angulimala=
I'd have put Zep at #6, mostly for Physical Graffiti (the album) and LZ3. Saw them once at Madison Square Garden around 1977, they were 90 minutes late starting because "Plant forgot his favorite pair of jeans at the hotel." Yeah, right ;)
Stones are oool but fall in my overrated bin. Definitely were never the world's greatest rock and roll band.
I love all of these choices, y'all. I think it's very cool to "show the cards" and see where other people are at.
The hardest part about this exercise for me was to be flat-out honest.
Eric - I'd be allright with 3 out of your 5 at any given time of day.
Gonzo - I'm suprised! Old school for the most part, 2 outta 5 are up there in the top for me too. I guess I was expecting soomrthing more esoteric. just don't start quoting Aqualung on that other thread.
Duane - great list(s) - fogeys rule, I guess!
My list, subject to any amount of change, of course:
Springsteen/E Street
Velvet Underground
Beatles
Tull
Zep
I would've thought there would be more alternative stuff, but if I'm being honest, I'm pretty mainstream, I guess. 6 through 20 would be a wider slice of taste, good or bad (Grand Funk would be there, fer shure!).
And my Halen kin? Nope - not at all.
And Bill - Men w/o Women and Hearts of Stone are the two most underrated albums of all time!
Great article, but I'm worried because I'm a Nirvanian with FionaAppLeo rising and my Marquee Moon in Roxy Musicapricorn --will my head explode or will I go tone-deaf or something?
Anyway, I'm going to stick to the letter of the law here because you specifically said "bands," not solo artist--so that lets out DYLAN, TOM WAITS, FIONA APPLE, AIMEE MANN, SPRINGSTEEN -- and while I hate to even contemplate this, I guess it even lets out ELVIS COSTELLO, though "and the Attractions" begs for inclusion. But here goes:
BEATLES
KINKS
REPLACEMENTS
BEACH BOYS
NIRVANA
Honorable mentions:
PIXIES
TELEVISION
ROXY MUSIC
WILCO
CLASH
Well...Zingzing, my friend, yee hath no idea what turns the gears inside this mind. I see alot of other people mentioning what makes them tick...so here is another of my lists:
(ofcourse the five already mentioned)
Elvis Presley(Gospel)
Atheist
Cynic
Aghora
Necrophagist
Deliverance
D.R.I.
IronChrist
The Carpenters
Brandi Carlile
The Living End
Tiger Army
Ken Bonfield (www.kenbonfield.com)
Will Ackerman
Christopher Parkening
Opeth
The Dolphins
Yngwie Malmsteen
Iron Maiden
Queen
The Police
Devastation
Defiance
The Showcase Showdown (Boston Punk)
VooDoo Glow Skulls
U.S. Bombs
Neuraxis
Watchtower
Victor Wooten
Men at Work
King Diamond
Ratt
Fates Warning
Tommy Emmanuel
Between The Buried and Me
Control Denied
Iced Earth
Demons & Wizards
Ron Jarzombek
Michael Hedges
*Phew* there is quite a bit more but I won't take up space!!
Yeah, 5 is ridiculous.
Next time try 3!
Vern Halen: Agreed!
Five is pretty tough number but this is usually a fun discussion to have as long as no one gets bent too far out of shape.
Jazz, not that I really have a great knowledge:
Buddy Rich Band: I saw these guys about seven times in the decade before he dies and even though he was using cheap recent North Texas grads for most of the seats his drumming was so awesome he's still my favorite non-rock musician.
Miles Davis Group with Shorter and Corea in the mid '60s
Benny Goodman's big band, the one he used on his radio show in the late '30s
Pat Methany Group, the lineup from his first few records from the late '70s
Weather Report
Naw.. I stopped listening to them after "Hammer Smash Face". Same with Cryptopsy & Deicide. Glorifying Satan & Bloody Deaths gets a little boring after a while {:>(0)
Pink Floyd - First album I ever bought was "The Wall". Their performance at Live8 a year ago reminded us all just how great they are.
Blue Oyster Cult - They're labelled as 'thinking man's metal', but I think they were always more than a metal band. They can rock out with the best of them, but they've also excelled at sublime pop with a sinister edge. I'm seeing them live tomorrow night.
Marillion - They defied the critics by playing full-blown prog rock when it was most unfashionable, and have continued to change and evolve with the times.
Rush - I keep forgetting just how great their 70s and early 80s material is. Then I dig out their albums, and remember.
Ritchie Blackmore - This is a cheat to include two great bands, Deep Purple and Rainbow. Forget Jimmy Page, Blackmore was my 70s guitar hero. It didn't hurt that he worked with three world-class singers (Gillan, Coverdale and Dio)
Honourable mentions - Yes, Frank Zappa, Black Sabbath (both with Ozzy and with Dio), Genesis when Steve Hackett was in the band, King Crimson.
Possible candidates for ten years time - Mostly Autumn, Porcupine Tree, Opeth, The Mars Volta
David Bowie, Elvis Costello & Attraction, Beatles, Guided By Voices, Bob Dylan
As a major music collector five is tough. But in no particular order: The Beatles, Led Zepplin, Queen, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and so many more!
The Beach Boys deserve an honorable mention. I just recently bought most of their catalog and Brian Wilson did some amazing stuff! If you haven't heard 2004's SMILE, check it out.
oh fuck. bowie. the beach boys. i would have to put bowie in my top 5... no contest. out goes disco inferno...
new order, the fall, david bowie, beatles... that's as far as i can really say right now.
and i second smile. brilliant, brilliant album, but i must say that i like the o.g. 66-67 bootleg recordings better than the 2004 version... the album loses a bit of impact in the new version i suppose. still great.
What No one bows to the God of Stevie Ray Vaughn? or Eric Clapton? If only five are the criteria, then with two down--I say Allman Brothers (Old and New fashioned) The Dead, and surprise, B.B. King. Oops, is my age showing?
It's pretty much impossible for me to list five artists from the multitudes spanning several generes that I listen to, but here's five off of the top of my head.
Wilco
XTC
Roxy Music
Delerium
Bill Laswell
For jazz, at the moment:
Miles Davis
Clifford Brown
McCoy Tyner
Keith Jarett
Dave Holland
metal:
Metallica - early stuff
Yngwie Malmsteen
Judas Priest -1st half of the catalogue
Scorpions -1st decade of the catalogue
Iron Maiden -1st half of the catalogue
Van Morrison
Tim Buckley
Richard Thompson
The Who
The Replacements
Honorable Mention: The Kinks, because they were the best live band I ever saw
Hm, I don't know if it's a cure or a curse, to come in after 40 or so comments.
If I had been number one, I'd probably list five bands or artists - and then I'd see what others wrote and think...fuck me! Why did I forget this one! Or that one!
but just some that have endured for me over time:
U2
Pink Floyd
Aerosmith
AC/DC
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Cheap Trick
Grateful Dead
B52s
Jeez Eric - Five is hard to do!
but nice article nonetheless : )
Oh damn, the Who and The Kinks. I forgot to mention those two. Social observation is crucial in rocknroll. Two of the best at it....
I have two very distinctly different tastes - in bands, and in singer-songwriters. They both show my age. Heh.
Skunk Anansie.
Foo Fighters.
Counting Crows.
U2.
Pink Martini.
David Gray.
Ben Harper.
Damien Rice.
Ray LaMontagne.
Tom McRae.
These two lists (or indeed, even the fact that there are two separate lists) are subject to change at a moments notice. This is just what I compiled when I first thought about it.
"Rock"
The Beatles
U2
The Polyphonic Spree
The Flaming Lips
David Bowie
"Dance/Electronic/Ambeint/Etc."
Air
Boards of Canada
Daft Punk
Moby
Gary Numan
Replacements
Ramones
Screeching Weasel
Johnny Cash
Black Flag
for the fun of it...here goes---
Classic all times favs:
U2
REM
New Order
Morrissey/the Smiths
Depeche Mode
Alanis Morrissette
(couldn't have just 5)
Favorites I'm listening to now quite a bit:
Ryan Adams
Damien Rice
Ben Harper
David Gray
Howie Day
what can I say, I'm a sucker for a cute, sensitive guy with a guitar
guilty pleasures:
Madonna
Christina Aguilera
I guess the minister's daughter is in love with the snake, Berlin.
Radiohead
Morphine
Wilco
Nine Inch Nails
Rage Against The Machine
Indeed, Mark, and great choices! All outstanding bands. Radiohead and Rage are certainly in my top 10-15, and Morphone and Wilco are certainly great spins anytime.
Great responses overall! Very interesting that there was such a heavy classic rock focus in the comments for a while there, nice to see some diversity as it goes on.
And very very cool that people are splicing out their own "vertical" categories (rock, jazz, ambient, etc.!).
oh..yas want jazz too?
k...
Bird (and Diz)
Miles
Thelonius
Jaco Pastorius
Buddy Rich
nuff said...
Excelsior?
Ooh - fun! I love this game.
In no particular order:
Smashing Pumpkins
Radiohead
Ani DiFranco
Tori Amos
Bright Eyes
I don't know if I'm genre-izing myself, but I'm definitely making it clear when I grew up (I think.)
It's interesting seeing everyone else's, and especially which bands *keep* showing up in different lists - I had no idea Pink Floyd was that beloved.
I'll just list this article in my top five favorites I've read by you, Eric. Of course, I've only been on board for a couple of months.
I thought it would be easy to name my all-time favorite five bands, but every band I think of brings to mind another band. That being said, here are my five favorite bands, in no particular order, and subject to change in my next breath:
The Velvet Underground. When I was fourteen, I read about this band that Andy Warhol was promoting (I think it was in Village Voice)and I knew I had to check them out. This wasn't easy, since I lived in East Texas (Tyler) but I was on a mission and eventually found a mail order source. I realize now that my obsessive compulsive tendencies were blossoming then, but I also discovered rock and roll that I had never heard before. That album "the Velvet Underground Featuring Nico" influenced me in ways that are still with me to this day.
The Clash. I got my punk cred in 1978 when I saw the Sex Pistols in 1978 (I haven't worn bell bottoms since)and I'd already written a few punk reviews for a magazine called Upbeat when "London Calling" was released stateside in 1980 (I'd bought the import a few months before.) I raved it up, of course, and my local peers decried me as a sellout, just as they decried the Clash. Fuck 'em. It's still the single most important of the 1980's.
David Bowie and whatever band is backing him at the moment. I first got turned on to Bowie with "The Man Who Sold the World" album, mainly because of the images it made swirl in my head--and that was without blotter. I've followed his career for what is it now?--over thirty five years now (jeez!) Throughout it all, his constant transformations have intrigued me.
Stevie Ray Vaughnn and Double Trouble. Before he became a household name, I used to see him in a little Dallas dive called St. Christophers. The bar has long since fallen to victim to urban development, but those raw live performances still live in my memory.
The Beatles. Obvious choice, I know, but anybody who grew up in the late sixties and says they never cared for the Beatles is, to quote Robert Crumb (out of context) "a liar, a cheat and not to be trusted."
Anyway, thanks for a great article, Eric.
Early Allman Bros
Early Marshall Tucker....
Early Missing Persons
Zappa instrumentals
Holdsworth (a variety of ensembles)
Nowadays... I really don't have a favourite group/electric team
but... I do enjoy
Pat Metheny ensembles
Ginger Bakers ensembles
Chick Corea Electric band
Jazzy Andy Sommers
Jazzy Tony Levin
and a variety of top shelf drummers...
Favorite Guitarists
Holdsworth
Buzzy Feiten
Jeff Beck
Frissell
Bassists (living)
Tom Kennedy
Pettittucci
Wooten
Bailey
Tom Harrell
Tony Levin
Drummers
Weckle
Bassinett
A few others
Keyboards
Too many to list but... Corea and Methany's top the list.
Horns (living). Marselles for sure.
Saxes... don't know
whew... to much thinking here... I give///uncle// let me go... or I'm telling mom!
Okay I'm in. Here goes:
1. Beatles: Seeing them on the Ed Sulllivan show at the age of seven opened my eyes to the big, beautiful world of music and basically changed my life. There has never been, nor will there ever be, another band like them.
2. Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band: Bruce's performance on December 20, 1978 at the Seattle Center Arena changed my life all over again. It was my third time seeing him live (I've gone on to see him 30 something times over the years) and remains the greatest rock and roll show I've ever seen to this day.
3. Genesis (Gabriel/Hackett era): Some of the most marvelously textured and layered, challenging, and beautiful music I've ever heard. Phil Collins ruined this band when he took the helm and basically turned them into a crappy white version of his vision of Motown. But I still have my Selling England and Lamb Lies Down CDs (the live Lamb from the box set puts the studio version to shame) to remind me how great they once were.
4. Radiohead: The only band I've heard in the past ten years (and yes that includes Nirvana) to continually challenge commercial convention and make great music simply for the sake of their art. There was a time that seems like forever ago when most of the bands out there gave a shit (or at least pretended to) about the idea of their music as "art". Thank God, there's still at least one band that still does.
5. Pink Floyd: When they are playing at the top of their game, there is nothing that matches the grand sweep of Pink Floyd. The cinematic scope of albums like Dark Side and The Wall are one of the few occasions in rock history where a band actually lives up to it's artistic ambition and then some. Listening to Echoes on headphones with a nice glass of wine aint a half bad way to spend twenty or so minutes either.
Honorable mention: Dylan; Neil Young; The Who; Phil Spector; Brian Wilson; sixties era Jefferson Airplane; Prince; Hendrix; Marvin Gaye; CSNY; Beastie Boys; Public Enemy; Wilco; David Bowie; The Who; U2; Echo and The Bunnymen; The Chameleons; Patti Smith; Jimi Hendrix; Janis Joplin; The Doors; John Fogerty; The Ramones; The Clash; Alice Cooper; Mott The Hoople
I'm mainly into jazz, which is not primarily band-oriented, with due respect to Franklin Chase. Anyways, my 1st 4 favorite rock bands are easy: Minutemen, X, Replacements, Beatles. Slot #5 is tough, but at the moment I'll type Doors.Othe possibilities would be MCR, Dolls, or Hendrix Experience, whom some people don't like to consider a band, for some reason. Come to think of it, make HE my #5.
1. Foreigner
2. Journey
3. Loverboy
4. Reo Speedwagon
5. Captain Beefheart
BTW thanks whoever that was for making me aware of the live Lambs from Genesis Archive 1967-1975. I've long been curious about how a live version might sound (the studio version is sort of cheesy sounding),and the samples on CD Universe sound great. Kind of a shame about me being broke, yet again.
In no particular order Rock Bands or Artists:
The Police
Elvis Costello (alone and with The Attractions)
Richard Thompson (alone and with Linda and Fairport Convention)
Belle and Sebastian
Graham Parker (alone and with The Rumour)
In no particular order Non Rock bands or Artists:
Wes Montgomery
Miles Davis
John Coltrane
Thelonious Monk
Hank Williams
Excellent article, Sir Berlin, i adored every syllable. i'm not so much adoring the thought of the task at hand...
All right, i'm gonna go with what i believe to be the case here and now, whilst also taking into account the years o' favourite bands done picked up here and there.
The Pogues
Bright Eyes
The Libertines
Bjork
Whiskeytown
Billy Bragg
i had to do it quick, otherwise i'd be screaming about "what, no Proclaimers / Green Day/ Wildhearts / Miles Davis /Johnny Cash /Adam Green / Babyshambles (i know i have the libertines, but i adore Babyshambles in a terribly different way) / Rilo Kiley..."
argh! no, leave them there...
again, brilliant writing, Sir Berlin
aw i can't BELIEVE i forgot Bob Dylan and Cursive and The Dead Kennedy's and GG Allin and...
Screw it. Too much thinking is doing nothing but destroying my mind cells.
Grateful Dead
Wilco
Beatles
Bob Dylan
Lyle Lovett
Wishing Chair - I like the music a lot, and they're also two of the best friends a gal could have
Indigo Girls - listening to them in college shifted my musical world view from Amy Grant to pretty much everything I listen to now
Moxy Früvous - sadly, no longer performing as a group, but it would have been cool to see them in their heyday
...I can't think of any other folks in my favorites list that I would rank significantly higher than the others, and my flavor of the week changes regularly.
Frank Zappa
Oregon
King Crimson
Soft Machine
Miles Davis (60-75)
um...
Spiritualized
Led Zeppelin
Pink Floyd
Joni Mitchell (is she a "band?")
Stereolab
I think...
In no order:
Porcupine Tree
Pink Floyd
Bass Communion
Jethro Tull
Marillion
That looks awfully 'proggy', but these are the bands to which I consistently return, rather than the far wider range of my normal listening habits.
Interesting to see so many mentions of Floyd and Tull.
Thanks for the kind words Duke. Yes, very amazed that you left off Dylan. I dig the hell out of his music, by the way .
Thanks everybody. I was ready to discover some new stuff. A quick cut & paste into Bearshare search & I've got 5 or 6 CD's full.
Maybe this thread has died, but here's my 2 cents.
Top 5:
1. Beatles (I know it's redundant in this thread, but just being truthful. I still listen to at least 1 beatle song every week, and have for many many years. Mostly John & George's tunes. Happiness is a Warm Gun is a masterpiece...)
2. Bob Wills & his Texas Playboys. Although the technology was pretty limited in the 30's & 40's and their catalog is decidedly Lo-Fi, there is some great stuff in there.
3. Antonio Carlos Jobim - Mostly with Gil Gilberto but I like it all whether it's Stan Getz, Charlie Byrd, or any good jazz band.
4. Led Zeppelin - Although I get most of my Zep fixes these days via Dread Zeppelin. I almost listed Dread as number 4, I love that band. But they wouldn't be possible without the 3 Kings.
5. Zappa
Those are the top 5 that I never tire of. I can think back to different periods of my life (I'm over 50) when I had other favorites - Ventures, Hendrix, Credence, Santana, Tower of Power, Harry Nilsson, 10 Years After, Dylan, Kinks, Hayseed Dixie, Gillian Welch, Bach, Lyle Lovett, Chick Corea, Django (with Grappelli), Nat Cole Trio (with Oscar Moore), Boswell Sisters, Lalo Shiffrin, Miles, Weather Report, Firesign Theater, Elvin Bishop, Yes, Boz Scaggs, Pheobe Snow, Johnny Winter, Julie London, Steely Dan...
Thanks again
I have been avoiding this thread for a while because it was hard for me to pick five.
Fortunately, I have had many opportunites recently to have to pick a limited number of CD's/MP3's to bring on feploytments. Maybe I'll get an iPod and drag al my music with me but having kicked myself for not having some music readily at hand, I thiunk I can finally asnswer.
1. Webb Wilder. No mater what he calls his backing band, it has been almost all the same guys for over 20 years, and theri repertoire runs from all styles of rock to country to swing, you name it, they probably have a song, and none of their songs suck. In a just world, Webb Wilder would be famous.
2. THe Pretenders. (original edition)Great song writing, great musicianship, and a fantastic female singer. This band fills my niche for pop, semi new wave, and female vocalists.
3. Stevie Ray Vaughn. Picking a guitar hero was challeging, but as much as I love Jimi and Jeff Beck and so many others. Stevie is who I consistenly turn to for a guitar fix.
4. Grandmaster Flash/ Furios Five. Between the rap and the samples, I have a lot of R & B and funk in there, and why not gop to the guys who pretty much laid the foundation for all that came after.
5 Rammstein. For those moments when I need to get the aggression out, and I learn more German everytime I listen to them.
I hope that I never put in the position of having only five bands to listen to, but I could probably survive with this limited, yet eclectic playlist.
1.JEFFERSON AIRPLANE
2.BEATLES
3.SPIRIT
4.YARDBIRDS
5.JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE
In no particular order, and sorely lacking in social significance. They just make me feel good.
1. Lynyrd Skynyrd (shuddup)
2. Marshall Tucker Band
3. REO Speedwagon
4. Nazareth
5. Guns N' Roses
I know, I know. Pitiful, aren't I? lol
A list with no NEIL YOUNG is not a list.
Cummon.....
1. Neil Young
2. Beatles
3. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4. The Who
5. The Ramones
1 - TOOL
2 - Inner Surge
3 - Nirvana
4 - Smashing Pumpkins
5 - Rage against the Machine
1) White Lion
2) Black Sabbath (with Ronny James Dio) tied with Dio's solo career
3) Led Zeppelin
4) David Arkenstone
5) George Michael
#1. Led Zeppelin (no contest) #2. The Beatles #3. Pink Floyd #4. The Who #5. The Stones
Oh Wow Tough Question UMM I gotta go with:
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Wolfmother
BEatles
U2
Jimi Hendrix
AAAAAAHHHHHH But theres much more ACDC Fall Out Boy Led Zepplin Cant DEcide
Over the years there have been many bands I liked; and many, many songs I liked. But when it comes to naming "all-time favorites", I apply a different screen. It's not just whether I put them at the top of the quality heap, but rather, did they transform my life? By that measure, there are really only four. In chronological order:
1. Otis Redding
2. Beatles
3. Little Feat
4. Talking Heads
And if I were to compare the transcendent power of these four, there's really just one worth mentioning, and that is, of course, The Beatles. They seem to be on most everyone's list, regardless of their age. No other band in the history of recorded music has ... well, there's no profundity I could put here that hasn't already been articulated better by someone else. I'll just say this, with respect to my own life: For no other band would I travel, 47 years after the fact as I did, to the place where the band was formed, walk the same sidewalks, under the same sky, and find it meaningful. Those who have been introduced to their music in latter years, even those who are now big fans, cannot appreciate the scale of their impact upon young people (who are now old people). Nothing - NOTHING - compares to it. They may as well have been from another planet, so different was their sound from what went before. Today, of course, one hears the Beatles against the backdrop of ten thousand other bands who themselves were influenced by the Beatles. If ever another band comes along that can repeat what the Beatles did - and, like fusion power, it is at least theoretically possible - count yourself blessed if you get to experience it.
The Grateful Dead
Little Feat (Lowell George era especially)
The Clash
Uncle Tupelo (Wilco & Son Volt too)
Eric Clapton (pre 1974)
This is way too difficult! Any list without Bob Marley, John Mayall, John Coltrane, Theolonious Monk, Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard, Charles Mingus, Duane Allman, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Mark Sandman and too many more to name is hardly a list at all.
Led Zeppelin
RHCP
Bob Marley
any Clapton
Hendrix Experience
I know this is more than five but these seven I think are in a class of there own above everything else. I'm sure this list will change over time. I'm a 19 year old guy if you were wondering.
The Beatles
Led Zeppelin
Pink Floyed
Jimi Hendrix
Steely Dan
Rage Against the Machine
Radiohead
Almost make it: Beck, The Verve, The White Stripes
Nick Drake, Frank Zappa, Kings of Leon
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/50625)
OK, a very subjective question, but a good one. Let me try to answer. My criteria will be based on there social influence on me at the time, plus their live performance ability (the influence of attending the church of rock n roll). Let the coffee kick in, my answers could change within an hour...
Not necessarily in this order and subject to change...
Doors (not afraid to challenge authorities)
Beatles (Sgt. Peppers did it to me)
Rolling Stones (Sticky Fingers, excellent and consistant live)
Yes (the human services of bands. Sing about mountains and families. Killer shows and musicians)
10cc (Very advanced technique. Amazing live)
Led Zeppelin (of course)
Grateful Dead (Amazing, consistant live. Nobody else had a deadhead following. That says something...)
Pink Floyd (and to think, they are a far out blues band)
White Stripes (I think there is more than we can see right now going on. They pulled off an amazing presentation live last year. As good as anyone)
X-15 (OK, unknown Seattle band from 1980. As good as anyone. PinkFloyd and Clash mixed. Grunge can thank them for getting the industry to look that way. Mentors for Soundgarden. Hey, I saw Nirvana in the mix, so...)
OK. I'll knock cobwebs out of my head and make changes if needed. How about Burning Spear or Freddie King or...other music catagories? Were are the Yardbirds in my mix....Oh the battle is starting...