What are the greatest American rock bands ever?
I ask because of this: at my birthday party last night, someone (Erik Tanouye?) pointed out that when British music mags list the greatest British albums of all times, that Oasis’ What’s the Story Morning Glory is usually way up there, and often the number one. Several of us — myself, at least — was appalled at this notion. Not that WTSMG is a bad album — it’s a great one, but GREATEST BRITISH ALBUM ever? I spouted out the obvious: The BEATLES are from Britain — their best stuff should win over everyone, right? Then someone else pointed out that even if someone thought the Beatles were overrated (ridiculous, really, but okay) you could point to the Stones or The Who or Radiohead as having had greater albums that WTSMG. Then without thinking too much more, we remembered The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, or maybe even Elvis Costello’s Attractions. DeCoster, of course, hilariously rebutted several of these, but the point was clear: if you put an Oasis album as the number one British rock album you are either being willfully contrary or you are Noel Gallagher.
But then someone (Charlie Sanders?) raised an even more interesting questions: what are the greatest American bands of all time? And I’ll be damned if we had trouble coming up with 10 contenders at all, much less a list we all felt good about. We could name INDIVIDUALS up and down the charts: Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix (maybe should be counted as British anyway, of course), Joni Mitchell (Canadian, I suppose). But bands? What are the great American bands?
You could make very very good arguments for many bands: R.E.M., Pearl Jam, The Grateful Dead, Nirvana, The Allman Brothers, Aerosmith, Talking Heads, The Ramones, The Supremes and even The Pixies. And yes, Eliza, even Journey. But for each of these, we were quick the find arguments AGAINST them. Aerosmith just copied the Stones! The Grateful Dead were a social phenomenon, not a collection of great music! Nirvana had only three albums! The Supremes: can you really count that as a band, as opposed to a brilliantly-assembled product?
That’s very different from the British list, where almost anyone would put on The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, The Kinks, Radiohead without much argument.
Is there something about American culture that promotes the individual, and something about British culture that promotes collectives? As a long-form improviser who believes in the power of group mind, I wanna know.
I put it to you, friends of mine: what are the greatest American rock bands ever? We said no rap or hip-hop to keep it simpler and because I don’t know as much about it.
Mine, after having thought about it. These aren’t my favorites, but what I think is representative: Nirvana, Talking Heads, R.E.M., Allman Brothers, Metallica, Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, The Ramones, The Velvet Underground and, and… shit, I don’t know… Fleetwood Mac?
[edited to add:] It’s pointed out in the comments that Fleetwood Mac is not an American band. Ok, so they’re out.
On my iTunes now:
Child Star by The Unicorns from "Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?"
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Sep 3rd, 2006 at 3:46 pm
The Hollywood Vampires
Sep 3rd, 2006 at 5:16 pm
Fleetwood Mac is, technically, a British band. They were a British blues band at first, then much later picked up Californians Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to become more of a pop/rock band. Even then, at their commercial height, they had more British members than American members. (John McVie, Christine McVie, and Mick Fleetwood being Brits.)
-Terry
Sep 3rd, 2006 at 5:17 pm
I’m glad I prefaced that one with “I don’t know.”
Sep 3rd, 2006 at 6:52 pm
First off, Happy Birthday, Will Hines!
I certainly tend to agree with you about the relative amount of great British groups to American groups, and the great solo Brits to American soloists… I’m having a pretty tough time thinking of super A-list British solo artists beyond David Bowie, where America has Prince, Madonna, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, etc.
Now, some great American Bands:
First bands that are certainly world-class:
- The Beach Boys
- Guns ‘N Roses
- Van Halen
- The Stooges
- The Doors
- The Eagles (?)
- Phish (Do they fall by the same argument as the Dead? Though I do think the Grateful Dead deserve a place up there… how can you not give credit to a band that created such a massive social movement?)
Now some bands that would rank a step or so below:
- The Byrds
- Blondie
- The Jackson 5
- The Four Tops
- The Supremes
- Hall & Oates
- Huey Lewis & The News
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Though I think that keeping rap groups off the list is a bit unfair, as that keeps such huge names off as:
- Run DMC
- NWA
- Outkast
- Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
- Wu-Tang Clan
Sep 3rd, 2006 at 6:54 pm
Oh yeah: The Beach Boys and The Byrds — I should have mentioned them. I would definitley put them up there.
Lots of people last night were saying the Red Hot Chili Peppers should go up there.
Still man, compare these lists:
beatles, stones, kinks, who, led zep
pearl jam, beach boys, byrds, red hot chilli peppers
Am i the only one that would crack up when ‘red hot chilli peppers’ are read out loud?
Sep 3rd, 2006 at 9:59 pm
Happy birthday, Mr. Hines.
You keep leaving Pink Floyd off the British lists, which may be better for not slanting it away from the US further.
But just to throw out some great US bands that haven’t been named yet: Velvet Underground? They Might Be Giants? The Beastie Boys (who have done plenty of non-rap songs - see Graditude among others)? Nine Inch Nails?
And no, you’re not the only one who would crack up over RHCP being on any “best of” list.
Sep 4th, 2006 at 8:57 am
For your consideration:
Talking Heads
Big Star
Ramones
GBV
Magnetic Fields
The B-52’s
Weezer
But, as has been mentioned, the greatest American band in history is the Beach Boys.
Red Hot Chili Peppers aren’t anywhere near the list.
Sep 4th, 2006 at 9:34 am
The Velvet Underground
Love
Credence Clearwater Revival
I’m sure there are tons of others…
Sep 4th, 2006 at 12:06 pm
Sly and the Family Stone
Sep 4th, 2006 at 12:07 pm
The Mothers of Invention
Sep 4th, 2006 at 12:26 pm
Sly and the Family Stone, I agree.
The Mothers? I don’t know. I think there needs to be more commercial success or something. Even The Velvet Underground are more on people’s radars. But maybe.
Love could be. They’re better than Jefferson Airplane and the Dead, I think.
CCR — yeah, probably.
I’m thinking about the problem of Motown. “The Supremes” aren’t a band in the sense of the other ones on this list, but how can you leave out Motown? It wasn’t a single artist, it WAS a collective. I think maybe the entire Motown machine of the 1960s should be thought of as a band. What’s more American than a band which is also a business?
You could make it KIND of small by just listing the most frequent regulars:
Singers: Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Smokey, David Ruffin and Levi Stubbs
Songwriters: Smokey, HDH and Gordy.
Musicians: Funk Brothers.
That’s a nasty band! I’m not even counting Stevie Wonder because I think he qualified for solo status.
I would enjoy this conversation for a year.
Sep 4th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
is bruce a band?
is simon and garfunkel a band?
is CSNandY a band?
depending on the answers to that questions i may know more american bands that are great…upon looking at my top 5 bands 2 british bands in there
weezer (my fave but i dont about a great band)
beck
queen
radiohead
pavement (could be up there?)
Sep 4th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
Skynyrd
Sep 5th, 2006 at 12:09 am
Beach Boys
CCR
Ramones
Sep 5th, 2006 at 9:53 am
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Kiss
Sep 5th, 2006 at 10:12 am
Top Five American Rock Bands In No Particular Order
R.E.M.
The Velvet Underground
Sly and the Family Stone
Steely Dan
Los Lobos
Sep 5th, 2006 at 10:15 am
Also, if you haven’t seen the Hal Hartley film “Simple Men,” you need to get it from Netflix if only to see Martin Donovan deliver this awesome monologue:
“Hendrix.
Clapton.
Allman Brothers.
Zeppelin.
Tull.
BTO.
Stones.
Grand Funk Railroad.
James Gang.
T. Rex.
MC5.
Skynyrd.
Leslie West.
Blackmore.
The Who… The old Who.
Ten Years After.
Santana.
Thin Lizzy.
Aerosmith.
Hot fucking Tuna.”
Sep 5th, 2006 at 10:22 am
good question. i think that duos are not bands. thus, simon & funk are not a band. i also think that singing groups are not bands. so, the supremes and almost all of motown is out. the jackson 5 does not count. even though like tito can play the bass they aren’t really a band. also, i don’t consider rap groups bands either. i think the defining characteristic is asking this question: do they play all the instruments? no, they don’t. a whole lot of it is sequenced, prerecorded stuff. not a band!
The Grateful Dead is most certainly a band!
In my mind, America’s greatest rock bands:
Aerosmith
The Dead
Pearl Jam
The Pretenders
Boston
CCR
The Cars
P-Funk
R.E.M.
Bon Jovi
CSN, or CSNY are a band but does it count that Graham Nash is Brit and Neil Young is Canadian? If you count that, then I also say the Band counts.
Sep 5th, 2006 at 10:33 am
Grand Funk Railroad paved the way for Jefferson airplane, which cleared
the way for Jefferson starship. The stage was now set for the Alan
Parsons project, which I believe was some sort of hovercraft.
For more information on Grand Funk, consult your local library!
Sep 5th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
Happy Birthday, Will! Hope your party kicked half as much a$$ as you do.
“America’s greatest rock bands” I interpret to be American bands that either revolutionized rock ‘n roll or were big long enough to became synonymous with it. So, hmmm… REM, Metallica, the Ramones, Aerosmith, Nirvana, Queen, the Beach Boys, the Doors, CCR, and ZZ Top. Just my opinion though.
Sep 5th, 2006 at 1:43 pm
I think some people have presented some good options here for great American bands. However, going along with your hypothesis, I also find it interesting how many of the American “bands” feel clearly like vehicles for one person.
American bands have a tendency to be some central figure who’s the creative force behind the band, and without which the band wouldn’t exist… and then some other guys.
Which is not to malign the other members of those bands as bad musicians, but there is a real tendency for an American band to really follow one person. Nirvana WAS Kurt Cobain. Just as the Foo Fighters ARE Dave Grohl. Yeah, the other people help out, and are a part of what makes these bands good, but in the end… they’re sort of replaceable.
Sep 5th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
But by the same token, the Kinks were Ray Davies and Oasis was whichever one of the Gallaghers agreed to join the band on the condition he got to write all the songs. And Radiohead is Thom Yorke.
The Stones, the Who, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin — I consider those, in their classic lineups, to have no “replaceable” members. (Despite the fact that even some of those bands have made replacements.)
Sep 5th, 2006 at 2:05 pm
Kinks, Oasis — yeah. I think Radiohead is more than Thom Yorke, but I see your point.
The Smiths were definitely Morrissey AND Marr.
We’ve got a good list of bands that are coming up a lot.
Pearl Jam, Beach Boys, Velvet Underground, Ramones, Skynyrd, Metallica.
Still, they pale when compared to:
Ray, Elvis, Buddy, Bruce, Dylan, Janis and whoever the kids listen to now (I guess Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Leonard Cohen aren’t American).
Wait — are there any great American stars from the 80s onward? Did we become a nation of bands with the rise of alt-rock: R.E.M., Pixies, Nirvana, Green Day, Weezer? Another thread!
Sep 5th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
I don’t think the Beach Boys pale compared to anyone — I count them among the top 5 bands in history, probably #2 after the Beatles — but other than that, I see your point.
Sep 5th, 2006 at 2:44 pm
Greatest American Bands in my opinion. The toughest part was parting with my favorite bands, and just thinking about success and importance:
REM, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Aerosmith, Beach Boys, Metallica….
That’s all I got for now.
Sep 5th, 2006 at 11:16 pm
that Sonic Youth hasn’t been mentioned here seems weird.
Sep 6th, 2006 at 12:22 am
The Replacements
Yo La Tengo
A hearty second for Steely Dan
Will: Why doesn’t Joni count as American?
Sep 6th, 2006 at 12:25 am
Will: never mind. She doesn’t count as American because she’s CANADIAN. I get it now.
Best Canadian bands would be a much shorter but nonetheless fun conversation. (SLOAN!!!)
Happy Birthday!
Sep 6th, 2006 at 9:08 am
Violent Femes
They Might Be Giants
Janis Joplin and the Big Brother Holding Company
Gypsy Kings
Fleetwood Mac
Parliment
Tool
P.S. Happy Birthday Professor Will!
Sep 6th, 2006 at 10:59 am
I can’t believe everyone is overlooking the Osmonds. A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll, played their own instruments, had their own show - how many bands can say that?
Sep 6th, 2006 at 3:13 pm
Sean Taylor… “Queen” is British. So very British!
-Terry
p.s. Not to take anything away from the Beach Boys, but if that really is top American rock band… that is surprising to me.
Has “The Band” been mentioned? I guess it has (in reference to it having a Canadian member.)
Sep 6th, 2006 at 3:15 pm
a lot of the best American bands are full of dirtbags. CCR, CSN&Y, The Band….
Sep 6th, 2006 at 4:45 pm
Re: Duos
I count Steely Dan as a band, but not Simon and Garfunkel, because Garfunkel did not contribute anything to the mix– also, they are a folk duo rather than a rock band, aside from maybe ten songs.
Solo Paul Simon is a rock artist, however.
Sep 6th, 2006 at 11:39 pm
i just had this conversation via a message board a few weeks ago. it’s strange to think about because a lot of the choices (nirvana, pixies etc…) probably make the english feel like we feel when we hear oasis mentioned on their polls. someone else then started a poll about greatest american songwriters. brian wilson, bob dylan and johnny cash were out ahead in that one. it seemed easier to think of great songwriters than great bands. (while both are very lacking in the lady choices)
sorry to break up this sausage party.
Sep 7th, 2006 at 10:12 am
Seriously this time, what about Styx? They were huge before Dennis DeYoung did them in at the Monsters of Rock tour by following a young Metallica’s performance with the Mr. Roboto rock opera experience. Tommy Shaw got pissed at that and left to form Damn Yankees.
Before that miscue they were huge.
Sep 7th, 2006 at 10:16 am
For those who scoff, wikipedia states that “Styx is the first musical act to ever have four consecutive triple platinum albums.”
Taste is subjective of course, but they sold a ton of albums.
Sep 7th, 2006 at 10:07 pm
The Thud Chumps
Masterpiece Cheater
The Hard Bones
Sister Ideas
The Motion Detectors
Killing Siam
The Rusty Nail Hilltop Boys
King Blowhard
Amuse Bouche
Camouflage Lodge
Porage
Sep 8th, 2006 at 9:00 am
So we’ve got a kind of consensus of bands, which I’m too lazy to list. But I can tell you that’s not nearly as impressive as the list of solo artists, or bands that are little more than a solo career (simon & garfunkel).
But keep commenting. I love this discussion.
Sep 8th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
America
Sep 8th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
But seriously…America’s lackluster showing with rock bands but dominance with solo artists, might go back to its love affair with the phrase “rugged individualist”. At least, that’s what they crammed down my throat in American Literature class. That, and the term, the “American Dream”. And you can’t be living the “American Dream” if you’re sharing the stage with three other mop-heads. Also, maybe promoters and/or managers find it easier to sell records if they just focus on one individual in the band, i.e. “Janis Joplin and the Big Brother Holding Company”, “The Jimmy Hendrix Experience”, “Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band”, etc.
If someone held a gun to my head and I was forced to name the greatest American rock band of all time, I would say: “The Doors”. They wouldn’t be my personal favorite. And yes, Jim Morrison over-shadowed the rest of the band. But still…that’s who I’d go with.
Others in contention?
The Velvet Underground-influential, but probably big enough.
The Beach Boys-might’ve released the greatest American album ever, but to me they don’t seem much of a ROCK band.
The Grateful Dead-Biggest following, but I still wouldn’t vote for them-they’d be close though.
Allman Bros-Awesome in the ’70’s, but seem sorta fratty now.
Pearl Jam-Awesome in the ’90’s, but seem sorta fratty now.
Nirvana-I bet over time people will call Nirvana the greatest American rock band ever. I won’t agree with this (though I do like their songs), but critics and fans seem to jizz over everything they did. They especially love it when the lead singer dies young. If I were starting a band, I would have the lead singer die half way thru the first song they recorded and then have the band break-up. Critics will be analyzing that half of a song for decades.
But still, my vote for now is with The Doors. Now, if you could take that gun away from head, I’d greatly appreciate it. Mainly so I don’t have to keep writing this extremely long winded rant.
Sep 11th, 2006 at 9:54 am
Are you kidding? The Beatles are not overrated. From a musicians perspective I can say that the key to the Beatles is the chords, almost every other band out there no matter how much you like their licks, and bass lines are using the basic 1, 4 and 5 chords. The Beatles songs have such complicated chord progressions at least for Rock/Pop music that they are in an entirely different catagory. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but, for me no one comes close to the fab four.
Sep 11th, 2006 at 12:49 pm
Three Dog Night
Sep 12th, 2006 at 10:19 am
Springsteen is known as a solo act, but had the E-street Band, whose musicianship was essential to all the early albums and all the best songs. In his case it maybe more a problem of who got the credit.
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles are more soul, but they fit into the vibe of American power groups…
Down the ladder but still notable are:
-Blood Sweat & Tears
- The Spinners
- The Funk Brothers (played the all the music on all the Motown records)
Future Contenders (Bands that could go down in those ranks):
-Sonic Youth
-Metallica
-Green Day
-The White Stripes
-System of a Down
And of course:
-Ugly Kid Joe
Sep 12th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
…and in the ladies department we can’t forget Heart w/ over twenty top 40 Hits… the only other female group I can name right now is those chicks that used to dance behind Robert Palmer… I think they made an album…
Sep 13th, 2006 at 6:44 am
Just as you said Aerosmith was ripping off the Stones, couldn’t it be argued that the Stones were ripping off American R&B groups, and the Beatles as well? Of course all of those groups found their own sound eventually.
I would include (hopefully not including ones that have already been listed)-
-Modest Mouse
-James Brown and the J.B.s (He had some huge musicians playing with him, Maceo Parker, etc., so I think he qualifies for band status)
-The Dead Kennedys
-Mr. Bungle
-The Roots (hip hop, but they play all their own instruments)
In my opinion Stevie Wonder should count as a band in and of himself because he often played almost every instrument on his albums.
As far as hip hop goes, I don’t think the Brits have come close to the U.S. as far as quality of groups goes.
Sep 13th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
This is a great topic. As you have set the criteria with the list of British bands you consider great, a comparable list might be American bands that the Brits consider great and wouldn’t question in the same way you question Oasis (although you’re not the only ones doing the questioning there). I think we’d probably let you have:
The Beach Boys
The Doors
The Velvet Underground
Blondie
Ramones
REM
Sep 15th, 2006 at 1:40 am
Santana, Parliament/Funkadelic, Isley Brothers, The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Chicago, Montrose, Los Lobos, Soul Coughing, Tower of Power, Gamma
And, not ‘cuz they’re great but because they’re American: The Eagles, The Doobie Brothers, Styx, REO Speedwagon,
and, I can’t resist…
Duke Ellington Orchestra
Count Basie Orchestra
Weather Report
Miles Davis Quartet/Quintet (ca. 1955-1967)
John Coltrane Quartet
Thelonious Monk Quartet
Sep 15th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
I was curious about the listing of The Gypsy Kings as a great American band because I never knew where they were from but I just assumed it was somewhere else. According to the internet sources I looked at, they are from southern France. So maybe move them over to France’s list along with Air.
Sep 19th, 2006 at 5:36 pm
Los Lobos, one of America’s five greatest rock bands, is performing at Irving Plaza on September 28.
I have a ticket already, and hope to see the rest of you there.
Oct 5th, 2006 at 6:06 am
I don’t know much about either British or American bands because I’m French… Anyway, for a long time I kept getting confused with my favorite bands’ nationalities… British? American? Australian?
But as for me, I consider Pink Floyd as the greatest British band ever, in terms of length, talent in lyrics as in melodies, originality…
I’m surprised you know about the Gypsy Kings… They are so famous here in France, but I never figured out you could have heard of them ! It’s a shame that only French artists singing in English could be famous out of their country… But I propose you to listen to Phoenix and Daft Punk (singing in English) and to Raphaël, Cali and Jean-Louis Murat (”soloists” focusing on lyrics rather than melodies… but the latter are often very good anyway!). There’s also the French “Cure” : Indochine. I don’t really like it, but they’re quite famous here.
As for the greatest American band ever, I don’t know… but my boyfriend who’s in the room is claiming : the Doors !!
Jan 29th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Aerosmith, hands down
Mar 15th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
Greatest American bands?
Grateful Dead (who had incredible music and no, they were much much more than a social phenomenon. If that’s what you think of them you haven’t got a clue)
Rush (Canadian band but on the American continent who are still together and putting out amazing music)
Steely Dan
Allman Brothers (still put on killer shows)
REM
Dave Matthews Band (just fecking unbelievable live)
CSNY
Neil Young and Crazy Horse
Van Halen (far from what they once were but still a great band for their time)
I don’t know…comparing these bands is much like comparing apples to oranges. Not much point to it really. It’s all good.
Apr 1st, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Is it just my misunderstanding or does the number of bands produced by America turn out to be a lot more than Britain but the quality of the British bands turn out to be unsurpassable. Take The Who; they may be the greatest band of all time in my opinion with the countless masterpieceson only Tommy not even considereing the other hits on Who’s Next which can be related to Seargent Pepper or others. Some bands that may not be that great but aren’t hardly getting any hype:
Styx
CSNY
Uriah Heep
Wishbone Ash
Thin Lizzy
Bob Dylan
The Clash
Yes
Van Halen
Apr 21st, 2007 at 12:42 am
ZZ Top
Apr 21st, 2007 at 12:43 am
Oh, and the underrated Dr. Hook
Apr 21st, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Brittish Bands inc;
Fratellis, Goldfrapp, Razorlight, Kasabian, Kaiser Chiefs, Oasis, Kooks, The Feeling, The Automatic, Franz Ferdinand, Snow Patrol, Keane, Muse, U2, Coldplay, Texas, Travis, The Cure, Deep Purple, Depeche Mode, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, Zutons, The Clash, The Who,
Libertines, Chemical Brothers, The Darkness, Blur, Gorillaz, The Coral, Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden, Kinks, Black Sabbath, Queen (Definately British!), Thin Lizzy
Just a small list of British Bands that are good (some admittedly better than others)
Apr 29th, 2007 at 9:07 am
hi Will
totaly agree with you about american solo artists and british bands.
i think for solo talent no one can touch the americans - dylan,wonder,jackson,bruce ect.. ect.. all great,all very solo.
but.. when it comes to american bands i dont think thier a touch on the british bands. the word GREAT is used to describe american bands far to easily for my opinion,yes thier were some good bands to come from the usa and maybe one or two of those bands can be bestowed with the name GREAT.
but please… dont try and elevate every half decent band to come out of america to the status of GREAT because it dosen’t work like that.
the beatles
the rolling stones
the who
led zeppelin
pink floyd
the kinks
the smiths
radiohead
u2
queen
black sabbath
deep purple
the clash
the cure
try this experiment (humour me),make up an “american band” list to put up beside this one,any band from the usa,in any order you like.
now look at the lists carefully (spend 5 min.. on each list),think about all the bands in both list’s,thier music,thier impact,thier legened status.
now… you are going to wipe-out from music history one of the two list’s…
the list that you choose will be completely deleted from rock history period.
all the bands and the music they wrote and produced (from that list you chose),completely wiped-out from existence… forever.
ok two questions - 1. which list did you delete from existence ?
2. which list if deleted would cause the biggest ripple effect through music history ?
Apr 30th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
BEATLES no doubt what so ever on my mind
Aug 10th, 2007 at 6:30 am
So far people keep posting “U2″ as a British band, but they’re Irish, not British…
Another thing that I notice is that the British bands listed are mostly classic Rock bands (which is fine by me, as they’re great bands). The likes of Arctic Monkeys, The Stone Roses, Blur, The Verve, The Libertines, The Cure, The Manic Street Preachers, Pulp are seemingly being forgotten.
Oh yeah as for American solo acts how about Jeff Buckley and Beck?
Oct 22nd, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Greatest American bands (in terms of quantity and quality):
1. The Beach Boys
2. Wilco
3. Flaming Lips
4. the Byrds
5. Pavement
Hands down.
Oct 29th, 2007 at 10:24 am
Wow Casey thats not hands down at all. You are not smart. The Beachboys yes, all others…no. The Flaming Lips!!!!! HAHAHA
Oct 29th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
you are ok in my books my friend. As an english man myself (I say man, I’m 21) all the best/origonal bands in the world are english. for every great band you have, we have another band who would piss on their tits. I’m glad you see that. but I also agree that oasis are not up there with the best, they are just a massive part of british culture. noel definitely writes good songs, but at the end of the day, he’s just trying to be john lennon. that’s all I have to say on the matter. thanks
May 25th, 2008 at 11:09 am
English bands-
Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols, Radiohead, the Who, Oasis, the Police, the Smiths, Cream, Coldplay, the Clash, Black Sabbath, Dire Straits, Yes, Joy Division, Queen, the Kinks, Motorhead, Roxy Music, the Cure, Depeche Mode, the Jam
American bands-
Nirvana, the Doors, Beach Boys, REM, Velvet Underground, Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads, Crosby Stills Nash, the Byrds, Guns n’ Roses, the Eagles, Steely Dan, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Ramones, Pavement, Metallica, Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead, Lynard Skynard, Van Halen, the Stooges, Pearl Jam, Pavement, Sonic Youth, the Replacements, the Pixies, Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, Jane’s Addiction, Pearl Jam, Public Enemy, Aerosmith, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blondie, Jefferson Airplane, Sly and the Family Stone, ZZ Top, the Supremes, Parliament Funkadelic, Alice in Chains, Bon Jovi, KISS, Dave Matthew Band
While none of the US bands reach the quality of the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones; there are actually a ton of very good American bands when you sit down and think about it. Also, there are a lot of groups that are huge in America (Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Grateful Dead) but that aren’t really known outside of the US. I’m sure there are a lot of big English bands that are that are not big here as well, Stone Roses and the Jam come to mind.
American Solo acts
Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, James Brown, Paul Simon, Marvin Gaye, Prince, Santana, Madonna, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Johnny Cash, BB King, Tom Waits, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Eminem, Tupac Shakur, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Lou Reed, Chuck Berry, Frank Zappa, Burt Bacharach, Janis Joplin, Little Richard, Neil Diamond, Al Green, Beck, Tom Petty, Jimmy Buffett
British Solo Acts
David Bowie, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Peter Frampton, Nick Drake, Jeff Beck, Billy Idol
I think that Americans dominate the solo list although in fairness a lot of the top British solo performers (Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Sting)have already been mentioned on the band list.
Canada/Australia/Ireland solo and band-
Neil Young, the Band, Joni Mitchell, AC/DC, the Bee Gees, U2, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello
Some classic acts from outside of the US/UK as well.
Jun 2nd, 2008 at 6:39 pm
I’ll probably get some stick for my opinion but I suppose I’m entitled to it…
A suggestion for the british list would be Iron Maiden for they have a good amount of record sales and a very large fanbase world wide.
A fairly controversial selection for America, but in my opinion an acceptable one, would be Green Day. I think they deserve praise for bringing punk (whatever form, pop/punk; punk rock etc.) to the mainstream. They gave the genre the recognition it deserves and their songs are so catchy and the lyrics well thought out that they are extremely popular and I think people tend to forget that and overlook them.
Jun 2nd, 2008 at 7:03 pm
All the bands being listed are all bands from the past and yes… i do think that at that time british bands dominated american bands. But, at present, american bands mop the floor with british bands. Right now, british bands seem to be copying one another and as a result we have this craze known as “Indie”. There is a much wider variety in american music these days compared to britain where it’s all bands with long hair and skinny jeans. So, for the beating american bands took when compared with british bands in the past… compare the bands of today and you’ll notice the americans are in the process of levelling the score. For example…
No american bands came close to The Beatles, Led Zep, The Who etc. But, compare the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs and Razorlight with Green Day, Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chilli Peppers you notice american bands dominate proceedings in the present day industry.
Aug 9th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Well… Being a Brit… you will probably think I am biast when I say that British Music is much better than American Music.. first off.. a couple of reasons.
1. Has a history and is very cultural.. good bands throughout all the eras.
2. Progression and Evolution.
3. Original and Fresh.
Can’t be bothered with anymore!
I’ll explain by giving the above number and what I mean.
1. I can name bands that have stood the test of time… have several great albums.. and are well known around the world. AND.. someone mentioned the Brits sing with american accents?! It’s the other way around… I could prove it.. but cant be bothered.. besides the point. We actually have 100’s of bands that sing in local dialect and accents.. for example.. The Kooks.. Pigeon Detectives.. Klaxons.. Razorlight.. Bloc Part.. the list goes on. We like that.. it’s been that way all through history.. accents are the way forward! =]
2. The music has developed and rapidly evolves. There are not clear cut genres like in the US and people tend to like music rather than certain genres. People like things because they like the music nom matter what part of the spectrum it’s from. Our music doesnt fit a genre because its fresh.. not been done before.
3. New ‘genres’ and ideas.. pushing the boundaries. Most British music is not heard by the american ear. You hear and love the things most true brits frown up.. e.g. Leona Lewis.. great.. but not british in my eyes. Immatation of some great americans like mariah etc. that got found on TV.. goes against everything brit if you ask me! As mentioned the Nu Rave scene is off the wall and the indie scene getting ver y creative.
ANYWAY… A lot of the british bands mentioned are great.. but not the greatest!
AND… WTSMG is not the greatest album if you look at if from your own perspective.. and views etc. and taste comparing it with bands you like better ..but when looking at it on a wider scale it’s an album a lot of brits from different ’scenes’ areas and places can all access and love.
DESPITE THIS!!!
There are some AMAZING AMERICAN artists coming through… who are doing something different! Enough to even have a little list.. but a lot of it sounds the same old.. and a lot sounds likes it wanting to be british.. and a lot is just bad! =P
BUT JASON MRAZ… Is my favorite artist.. so I’ll give you credit for that!
And most Americans in other forums agree.. so am not biast.. I promise! =]
Now I probably sound well full of national pride.. and like I hate americans.. but I really dont! Just.. don’t dig their music!
Aug 18th, 2008 at 2:07 am
THE REPLACEMENTS!