Surfing on a tidal wave of hubris, I have selected the Top Ten Rock Bands of all time for MSNBC, and while I was at it, thrown in the Top Ten Rock Songs also. I already have a flood of emails respectfully begging to differ with my selections and/or questioning my sanity - the more the merrier.…
Article comments
726 - freerider
NIRVANA RULE ASS! GO KURT
1. NIRVANA!
727 - ellyn theis
uh why can no one get it right that outkast is not a rock band? eh.. its like a new millenium shit band that dosnt even deserve to be on the honorable mention or anything. down with outkast popularity, up with aerosmith and nirvana and pearl jam babe
728 - manuel
the best band yo nkow that
729 - F77
This is a good list of the most overrated bands in human history.
730 - mahesh
just going through the first post i saw someone mention metallica does not have a role as important as nirvana.Metallica was the reason forvarious bands like pantera megadeth,black crowes.even ur later bands like limp bizkit have a shde of them.please dont compare david and the goliath.metallica by millions is the goliath
731 - Lightbulb
you justifed that metalica are crap by saying all those stupid geeky goth bands like megadeth, nirvana are legend!
732 - RockN'Roll Fanatic
Not anyone of you got The Ramones on their personal list!!! THEY were the most influential band ever that came from America! They inspired everyone from Nirvana to U2 to Guns n' Roses & Metallica to pick up instruments and express something on their own. And that's it.
733 - L-G
How the fVck is Oasis not even an honorable mention !????
whoever wrote that article is a retard./
734 - STM
1) Beatles
2) Rolling Stones
3) Ramones
4) Led Zeppelin
5) The Clash
6) The Smiths
7) Mink DeVille
8) The Cult
9) Velvet Underground
10) The Vines :)
735 - joyo
my list
1.Beatles
2.The Rolling Stones
3.Led Zeplin
4.Aerosmith
5.Pink Floyd
6.ACDC
7.Fleetwood Mac
8.Van Halen
9.Guns N' Roses
10.Eagles
736 - DX
my list
1.ACDC
2.ACDC
3.ACDC
4.ACDC
5.ACDC
6.ACDC
7.ACDC
8.ACDC
9.ACDC
10.ACDC
737 - Pat
AC/DC is my favorite band and the greatest pure hard rock band of all time (from 75'to 81' they were damn near perfect);but the top five bands are all british. What america began in the fifties the british perfected in the sixties and seventies with Zeppelin and the Stones (Gods among boys). Floyd, The Who, and the Beatles round out the top five (the Beatles would have been higher but the first half of their career did not rock--she loves you Yah Yah Yah--give me a break). Doors, AC/DC, Creedance, Aerosmith, Halen, Eagles, U2, Sabbath, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Rush, ZZ Top, Heart, Nirvana are some of the other bands who have a volume of great songs which is the primary measure of their greatness.
738 - alessandro Nicolo
What about the Bay City Rollers?
739 - JC Mosquito
The only problem with your list Eric, is that some of those aren't rock bands, although they had lots of influence on rock. But fer shure, Beatles, Stones, Zep & U2 represent the Brits -add Mott the Hoople from me. Sabbath is more of a metal band if you get my meaning.
Just pick five Americanos - Skynyrd, Allmans, Aerosmith... it's late... I'll pick 2 more in the AM.
Skeeter.
740 - JC Mosquito
OK:
UK
Beatles
Stones
Who
Zep
Faces
US
Aerosmith
Skynyrd
Springsteen/E Street
Creedence
Doors
Ten only in a narrowed field (classic mainstream rock, no alternative rock, metal, funk, etc.).
Open the fied up & we'll be here all day.
741 - Pat
You can see my personal picks above (april 24th, 07') and why the bands were chosen, but not the reason I believe Eric Olsen's list is flawed. Eric's list had 30 music bands ( top ten plus twenty honorable mention ). Eric seems to give way too much credit to influence ( or at least how he measures a bands influence ) as the primary measure of a bands greatness without asking himself if the band actually rocks. The primary measure of a bands greatness is the volume of rockin' tunes (a songs greatness comes in its ability to remain a rockin' tune over time). Many of the bands in Eric's 30 picks either did not rock, had too small a volume of songs, or were not in the rock genre (Velvet Underground, The Ramones, Bob Marley, and The Beach Boys have their merits but they dont really rock, and Sly and the Family Stone, Earth,Wind & and Fire, Buddy Holly, and Roxy Music- Huh?). But Eric's true sin comes in the bands he omitted from the list when compared to the above mentioned bands on his list like Roxy Music- Huh? AC/DC, Aerosmith, Creedence, Rush, ZZ-Top, Skynard, Van Halen, Metallica, Pearl Jam, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience just could not make the cut even though they are the true influence of a real rock audience. I guess Maiden, Priest, the Scorpians, Leppard, Motley Crue, and Guns and Roses all had to bow down to the unholy Buddy Holly. In closing, say to yourself (VOLUME OF GREAT SONGS= GREAT BAND- GREAT SONG=ABILITY TO ROCK OVER TIME).
742 - JC Mosquito
Interesting... a formula!
Seriously - I wonder how something as organic as a rock band be rated according to a formula that takes in the various factors - (i.e., sales, longevity, who they were influenced by, who they in turn influenced, how much they border on other genres, etc.).
It would still be pretty subjective, but at least there could be scales of comparative ranking (The MC5's three official albums would be worth about the same as the New York Dolls first two effort plus thier modern incarnation, but way less points than the Stones 300 albums but who's counting?).
Ooooh - a project for someone!
743 - Lawrence Aron
I think that Kool & the Gang should be on the top ten group list with Celebration as one of the top ten hits.
744 - Lawrence Arun
Top Ten Groups
1. Beatles
2. Eagles
3. Michael Jackson
4. Bob Marley & the Wailers
5. Kool & the Gang
6. Earth wind & Fire
7. Madonna
8. Prince & the Revolution
9. Lionel Richie
10. U2
745 - Leo
The Police should be in the top 10. Infact in my opinion they're a much better band than U2.
Now wouldn't that be a good battle? The Police vs U2?
I'm curious though Eric? By any chance are you a Hippie? no disrespect but your top 10 list has way to many "hippie bands" I'm actually shock the doors are not in the ten, considering how musically bias you seem to be
746 - JJ GALATI
Just above signing into this "intellectual survey"
I noticed the "comment policy" No personal attacks! What a joke!! Almost every other comment from you musical mis-fits is attacking the one before. These are your OPINIONS, nothing else. If some one thinks the Monkees are better than the Beatles, its their OPINION. It doesn't mean he's right, so there is no reason to call names and curse. So, from going thru my teen years in the '60's, to teaching music apprece. at a Calif. U. here is my OPINION:: (in no part. order)
THE BEATLES
BOB DYLAN
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE
JANIS JOPLIN
JIMI HENDRIX
CREAM
THE DOORS
LED ZEPPELIN
MOODY BLUES
747 - SpadeDemon
Here's Mine
1.Rage Against The Machine
2.Guns-N-Roses
3.Metallica
4.The Beatles
5.The Steve Miller Band
6.Led Zepplin
7.Social D
8.Santana
9.AC/DC
10.Nirvana
748 - geraldkrug
16 songs...(I'm just showing off) gerald krug
Zebra - Who's behind the door
ELP - Touch and Go
Heart - Mistral Wind
John Lennon - God
Earth Wind & Fire - Fantasy
Frank Zappa - Do you like my new car?
Ozzy Osbourne - Tomorrow
Jerry Garcia - The Wheel
Rod Stewart - Better Off Dead
Yardbirds - Glimpses
Eagles - King Of Hollywood
Doors - l'America
Foghat - Driving wheel
George Harrison - Wah wah
U2 - God part 2
Ian Hunter - (God) Advice to a friend