The 50 best rock bands of all time
A definitive guide to the very best rock bands to ever exist
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Rush at 3
According to Classic Rock
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Rush at 3
I mean....it has every band/artist I'd include (for the most part), but the order....I'm not sure about. Rush at three seems high, while the Beatles at 6 seems.....so weird...The 50 best rock bands of all time
A definitive guide to the very best rock bands to ever exist
Rush at 3
Don't get me wrong, I love Pearl Jam, Tool, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Bon Jovi, Springsteen....but I really don't consider any of them 'classic' rock. Classic rock in my eyes is 60s and 70s. Maybe I'm just splitting hairs because that list made me feel like a geezer 
I don't pay attention to these lists, it's all about feeling. As such here's the story behind the Rock of Gibraltar of Classic Rock. A more timeless song there isn't.
I just went through my Spotify playlist (about 2200 songs) and I have songs from 33 of the 50. Roxy Music at 50 is way too low.
The ratings is about bands not songs. Because while Stairway to Heaven is the greatest rock song ever, there is no way Led Zeppelin is the best rock band. My top 5 bands are:
1. AC/DC
2. Tool
3. Metallica
4. Motley Crue
5. Phil Collins
1. AC/DC
2. Tool
3. Metallica
4. Motley Crue
5. Phil Collins
Tbh - I'm with you - I just like the fact that Rush cracked the top 10 let alone top 5....shit let alone top 3. Will stop there.
It's a totally bogus list. There's a lot of bands who wouldn't make my top 200. Motley Crue, Slade, Marillion, Thin Lizzy
No Tom Petty, no R.E.M, no The Band, No Steely Dan, no Jethro Tull, no Neil Young.
Bogus.
No Tom Petty, no R.E.M, no The Band, No Steely Dan, no Jethro Tull, no Neil Young.
Bogus.
I'm not surprised that Rush is in the top three, they have never been more popular.
Lee and Leifson took part in the Taylor Hawkins Memorial concert. Half a dozen drummers are said to have vied to jam with them, I can verify four: John Dolmayan, Chad Smith, Dave Grohl and Dan Carrey.
Lee and Leifson took part in the Taylor Hawkins Memorial concert. Half a dozen drummers are said to have vied to jam with them, I can verify four: John Dolmayan, Chad Smith, Dave Grohl and Dan Carrey.
In January, 1977, I saw Thin Lizzy, opening for Queen. Both bands were, arguably, at or near their peaks artistically, if not commercially. Lizzy's set was better.
The guy(s) who made the list are quite obviously fans of big hair metal. I say guys because they put Rush at #3, and everyone knows that ALL of Rush's fans are male. Why is that? They never followed Butt-head's advice: "Sometimes...really cool bands, have to play wuss music, to get chicks, and stuff".
Where are The Sex Pistols, The Velvet Underground, The Guess Who, The Allman Brothers Band, etc., etc.
Most millennials haven't heard of these bands, because the classic rock stations they listen to only have 100 song playlists. Everything else that they know about classic rock was gleaned from their dad's collection of mildew-y Rolling Stone issues, disintegrating in a corner of the garage.
My Top 10 totally objective list:
01. The Beatles
02. Led Zeppelin
03. Queen
04. The Rolling Stones
05. Pink Floyd (my favourite band)
06. Rush
07. The Eagles (can't stand them, but still)
08. The Who
09. AC/DC
10. Aerosmith
01. The Beatles
02. Led Zeppelin
03. Queen
04. The Rolling Stones
05. Pink Floyd (my favourite band)
06. Rush
07. The Eagles (can't stand them, but still)
08. The Who
09. AC/DC
10. Aerosmith
My heart wants this:
1.Rush
2.Van Halen
3.Def Leppard
4.Queen
5.Ozzy Osbourne
6.Dio
7.Tragically Hip
8.Triumph
9.Bad Company
10.Kiss
...but as for musical impact
1.The Beatles
2.The Rolling Stones
3.Black Sabbath
4.Led Zeppelin
5.Free
6.Jimi Hendrix
7.The Who
8.ELP
9.The Doors
10.Queen
1.Rush
2.Van Halen
3.Def Leppard
4.Queen
5.Ozzy Osbourne
6.Dio
7.Tragically Hip
8.Triumph
9.Bad Company
10.Kiss
...but as for musical impact
1.The Beatles
2.The Rolling Stones
3.Black Sabbath
4.Led Zeppelin
5.Free
6.Jimi Hendrix
7.The Who
8.ELP
9.The Doors
10.Queen
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Yeah, it is all a mixed bag. I lean towards Pink Floyd also because of Dark Side and Wish You Were Here.
Beatles, some great stuff but take Something, a good song but what is with "you know I believe and how"?
AC/DC some great tunes but She's got the Jack?
Zeppelin, some off beat lyrics also but some great sounding studio stuff. What is up with the lousy live stuff?
I can't consider The Beatles to be a great Rock band.
They mostly ceased to be a Rock band about half way through Rubber Soul, and they were a Pop band after that.
I discovered this interesting bit: The Beatles Album Revolver was released on August 5, 1966. Their last full concert was August 29, 1966. They had a brand new album out, and they didn't play ANY of the new songs at that show.
With a Classic Rock band, one would expect that the new material would be prominent early in the set, (which is why you don't want to see a band that you like touring in support of a bad album).
The list is more about live performance than studio. As a live band, The Beatles were never better than just good.
They mostly ceased to be a Rock band about half way through Rubber Soul, and they were a Pop band after that.
I discovered this interesting bit: The Beatles Album Revolver was released on August 5, 1966. Their last full concert was August 29, 1966. They had a brand new album out, and they didn't play ANY of the new songs at that show.
With a Classic Rock band, one would expect that the new material would be prominent early in the set, (which is why you don't want to see a band that you like touring in support of a bad album).
The list is more about live performance than studio. As a live band, The Beatles were never better than just good.
How the fuck did Slade end up on anyone's Top 50 Rock bands list???!?!?!?!
OK, I thought I was alone on this one, LOL -- I also think Led Zeppelin sounded like shit live. At least on the recordings I've heard from the 1970s.
There's an excellent reason they never played songs from Revolver during concerts.
Most of the big songs on Revolver were virtually impossible for the four of them to recreate on stage. Got To Get You Into My Life, For No One, Eleanor Rigby -- these songs all required horns and strings. No bands at the time brought back-up performers with them.
Songs like Tomorrow Never Knows requires use effects that they couldn't reproduce on stage. Remember, it was just four guys playing guitars, bass and drums -- that's it.
Revolver was a super complicated album for its time.
