10 Most Important Bands in History


He must have his own group as #11.
 



Gil Scott Heron paved the way for all hip hop/spoken word artists. How about James Brown or Parliament Funkadelic?
Clearly this list is for a very narrow genre within rock & roll.
 



Remember, this list is his own personal opinion/experience/etc. I'm just surprised he didn't mention the Velvets or the Rascals. I've read/heard him him go on about both(New York-Jersey bands). If you haven't seen him introduce the Rascals into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame...give it a watch.
 

My Top 10 (in any order after 3)

1. Beatles
2. The Beach Boys
3. The Rolling Stones
4. Nirvana
5. Jimi Hendrix Experience
6. Led Zeppelin
7. Velvet Underground
8. The Who
9. Prince & the Revolution
10. Rage Against the Machine
 

Glad to see Sly & the Family Stone on there--was reminded by watching Summer of Soul how groundbreaking they were.

The Clash deserves notice. Also The Pretenders. Joy Division/New Order. Elvis Costello and The Attractions. A Tribe Called Quest and Beastie Boys.
 



My personal favorites (today).

1. Beatles
2. Kinks
3. Velvet Underground
4. REM
5. Who
6. Jimi Hendrix
7. Dinasuar Jr.
8. Zepplin
9. Ramones
10. Brian Jonestown Massacre

Just did a big Beach Boys marathon, so I'm good with them for a while.
 

I would rank my 10 "Favorite" Bands differently than what I would consider "Most Important", though there would be lots of crossover.
 

Ya'll are missing a critical band that spanned decades, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and one band who's legacy lives decades after its demise, Bob Marley and the Wailers.

Go Petty and Marley!!
 

As off August 11, 2021; here goes:
(I'll cheat at the start):

1. Beatles & Stones & Beachboys
2. James Brown's Famous Flames
3. Ike & Tina Turner Review
4. Skatalites
5. Yardbirds
6. Parliament
7. Clash
8. Talking Heads
9. Husker Du
10. NWA
 



From Stevie's list, I would have a hard time ranking the Byrds #4, but if it includes every group they were associated with (Flying Burrito Brothers, Buffalo Springfield, the Hollies, CSN+Y) as well as solo stuff, well then it's a no brainer. Still though, hard to rate above Dylan, who wrote several of their hits.
 

With me, my personal list keeps changing depending on the type of music I'm listening to. I've gone through phases where I was really into Motown, the Blues, Irish music, 60's music, a punk/new wave phase, and even a country/cow punk phase.

One question would be 'backing' bands. The Heartbreakers are a backing band to Tom Petty. the E Street Band is a backing band to Springsteen. Do you rate those groups the same as you would a group like the Beatles, the Stones or the Who?

but - some of my personal favorite groups, in no particular order:
Queen
The Band
The Who
Allman Brothers
the BoDeans (before Sammy got kicked out for being a perv....)
the Clash
the Alarm
The Grateful Dead
Blues Traveler
Pink Floyd
 

One question would be 'backing' bands. The Heartbreakers are a backing band to Tom Petty. the E Street Band is a backing band to Springsteen. Do you rate those groups the same as you would a group like the Beatles, the Stones or the Who?
Another question would be bands splintering similar to what I referenced with the Byrds, with Uncle Tupelo do you get to count Son Volt, Wilco, Tweedy, Farrar & Golden Smog? Husker Du does Hart, Nova Mob, Mould, Sugar get all wrapped in?
 

Lou Reed!!!

Alice in Chains...
 

I would rank my 10 "Favorite" Bands differently than what I would consider "Most Important", though there would be lots of crossover.
Most important list:
1. Beatles
2. Dylan
3. Stones
4. Beach Boys
5. Hendrix
6. Zepplin
7. Black Sabbath
8. Frank Zappa
9. Who
10. Sex Pistols
 

Well, this is all obviously very subjective. I mean...there's no Rolling Stones without Muddy Waters. My first go at "most important":

1. Chuck Berry
2. Muddy Waters
3. Elvis Presley
4. The Beatles
5. James Brown
6. Johnny Cash
7. Aretha Franklin
8. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
9. Herbie Hancock
10. Blondie
 


Another question would be bands splintering similar to what I referenced with the Byrds, with Uncle Tupelo do you get to count Son Volt, Wilco, Tweedy, Farrar & Golden Smog? Husker Du does Hart, Nova Mob, Mould, Sugar get all wrapped in?
Or the Yardbirds...
 


Ok...Top 10 Favorite Musical Acts:

1. Uncle Tupelo/Wilco/Son Volt/Farrar/Tweedy
2. Husker Du/Mould/Hart/Nova Mob/Sugar
3. Pearl Jam
4. The Beatles/Wings/McCartney/Lennon/Harrison/Starr
5. The Replacements/Soul Asylum/Westerberg
6. U2
7. REM
8. Richard (& Linda) Thompson
9. Buffalo Tom
10. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit/Drive-By Truckers

Slight cheat on #5, but Tommy did play and record with SA for about half a decade.

Top 5 Honorable mention: Steve Earle & the Dukes, Lemonheads/Dando, Dinosaur Jr/J/Sebadoh, the Jayhawks and everything connected with CSN&Y. I considered time listened to, concerts (both volume & quality), longevity, and most importantly musical appeal to me.

I am pretty unwavering in my Top 6, but I could see these Honorable Mentions, plus maybe 10 others, just as easily fit on the list.
 
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When thinking of "most important" bands, I just can't think of a reason why Nirvana wouldn't be in anybody's top 10.
 


stating the obvious = "most important" requires a value judgement.
I would say that "important" means the artist had a major impact on the music scene.

So, Important for me - and this includes solo artists as well as bands, with a couple of 'cheat' categories....

Hank Williams Sr.
Elvis
Bob Dylan
Beach Boys
Beatles
"British Invasion" - Stones/Who/Yardbirds
Zeppelin
Hendrix
Prince
"Hip-Hop" (Tupac, Biggie, Dre...)
 

When thinking of "most important" bands, I just can't think of a reason why Nirvana wouldn't be in anybody's top 10.
Important to whom, though? To a narrow band of 90s & 00s alt rock, sure. But what band today draws a clear influence from Nirvana?
 

Amending my original list to include Dylan (duh... not sure how I missed him) and The Monks. Partly for home-state pride but also because they were WAY ahead of their time.
 

The name we're all forgetting, of course, is Captain Beefheart and the seminal Trout Mask Replica. Everyone else is playing for second.
 

The name we're all forgetting, of course, is Captain Beefheart and the seminal Trout Mask Replica. Everyone else is playing for second.
And....his BAND (It's "most important bands" after all). You can't be more dedicated than living endless months in a sparsely provisioned house rehearsing over and over and....
 




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