Best American rock band??

[Hal 2000]

Obviously open to interpretation, but most would probably put the Beatles, Stones, possibly Pink Floyd and Zeppelin ahead of almost any American band, so.. Who's the best American rock band of all time?

[Colonel Kataffy]

You forgot foreign bands the Who and AC DC. Man, thinking of it, its sort of sad for america. I guess I would have to say Bruce and the Estreet band.

[Hal 2000]

[ QUOTE ]
You forgot foreign bands the Who and AC DC. Man, thinking of it, its sort of sad for america. I guess I would have to say Bruce and the Estreet band.

[/ QUOTE ]

Forgot about neither.. I love both of them, however in the grand scheme, I'd put both of them on a second tier....

[Nottom]

The Eagles probably get my vote.

CCR
Nirvana
Beach Boys
and
G&f'nR

also represent their eras pretty well I think.

[Colonel Kataffy]

I thought I was the only who liked the eagles.

[Colonel Kataffy]

Ehh, I would agree that there not on the same teir as the Beatles or Zeplin, but I think they're similar to floyd and the stones.

[jdl22]

I'd probably go with the Hendrix lead bands The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Gypsy Sun and Rainbows/Band of the Gypsies. Noel Redding was English (and I think Mitch Mitchell but I'm not sure about him) but Hendrix obviously was American.

I'm not a big fan of Aerosmith but their early stuff was pretty good. Most of the good famous bands came later - Pearl Jam, Nirvanna for example.

edit: yeah I forgot the eagles.

[Hal 2000]

[ QUOTE ]
I thought I was the only who liked the eagles.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd put them in my top five for sure, other candidates......

The Doors, Van Halen, Aerosmith ??? Tough choices..

[RacersEdge]

Van Halen

[Colonel Kataffy]

As far as I'm concerned, early aerosmith was as good as anything ever made. That armagedden song, however, caused me to start listening to sports talk radio in the car. A habit i'm still trying to kick.

[fluxrad]

I'd put CCR on the short list.

[Colonel Kataffy]

The problem with American bands is the good ones (Nirvana, Hendrix, GNR...) don't seem to last long. Its hard give these bands that were great for a few years to the ones that were great for decades.

[Hal 2000]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd put CCR on the short list.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, yes I knew I left one out...

[Macdaddy Warsaw]

Big Star?

[[censored]]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd probably go with the Hendrix lead bands The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Gypsy Sun and Rainbows/Band of the Gypsies. Noel Redding was English (and I think Mitch Mitchell but I'm not sure about him) but Hendrix obviously was American.

I'm not a big fan of Aerosmith but their early stuff was pretty good. Most of the good famous bands came later - Pearl Jam, Nirvanna for example.

edit: yeah I forgot the eagles.

[/ QUOTE ]


WOW I would have bet a large amount of money that The Greatful Dead or Fish would have been included in your post.

Also somehow I agree with your post.

[jdl22]

Hendrix closed Woodstock, man.

nh btw.

[bort411]

Pretty surprising that neither The Ramones nor The Velvet Underground have been mentioned yet. I vote for VU, by a lot.

[ethan]

[ QUOTE ]
As far as I'm concerned, early aerosmith was as good as anything ever made.

[/ QUOTE ]

Rocks is still one of my favorite albums. Their Live! Bootleg album is great too. They were incredible until they sobered up - I liked Permanent Vacation and Pump, but the early stuff is just better.

[jason_t]

VU.

[Jack of Arcades]

I'll go with the Pixies.

[Sheriff Fatman]

The Pixies.

[wtfsvi]

What is this? Why haven't anyone mentioned R.E.M. The one great thing that country of yours have come up with damnit, besides poker /images/graemlins/tongue.gif And two-three important inventions.

Nirvana is pretty good as well.

[redrooski24]

Umm... The Doors anyone? As far as longevity and greatness I would put Pearl Jam up there too. But seriously, how are The Doors being overlooked so much here?

[Jack of Arcades]

[ QUOTE ]
What is this? Why haven't anyone mentioned R.E.M. The one great thing that country of yours have come up with damnit, besides poker /images/graemlins/tongue.gif And two-three important inventions.

Nirvana is pretty good as well.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh, [censored], I knew I'd forgotten someone.

1. REM
2. Pixies.
3. VU

[Hamish McBagpipe]

Aerosmith!?! Ha ha ha. Someone interviewed Steve Tyler and asked him where he would rank Aerosmith among the top rock acts ever and he said somewhere below the Stones and somewhere above Led Zeppelin. What a joke, he['s off his lid. I'd say somewhere above Hootie and the Blowfish and somewhere below Trooper.

[ewile]

The Grateful Dead
Bruce Springsteen and the E St. Band
Pearl Jam
CSNY
Bob Dylan & The Band

[swede123]

N'Sync.

Swede

[Talk2BigSteve]

[ QUOTE ]
Van Halen

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed.

Steve

[TylerD]

Pixies.

[Sponger15SB]

[ QUOTE ]
You forgot foreign bands the Who and AC DC. Man, thinking of it, its sort of sad for america. I guess I would have to say Bruce and the Estreet band.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not really. Music is music. It doesn't bother me one bit that we don't have a better share of the top rock bands in the world.

[touchfaith]

Santana

Oh, I'm not a big fan, but I hear that Elvis guy was fairly popular.

[nothumb]

[ QUOTE ]
But seriously, how are The Doors being overlooked so much here?

[/ QUOTE ]

Because they're an overrated, flaky LA band without a bass player that reunited with Scott Weiland singing for them. Yuck.

NT

[nothumb]

[ QUOTE ]
Bob Dylan & The Band

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd like to say the Band too, but they were 80% canucks.

There's this guy named Johnny Cash that I think some people are forgetting here BTW.

NT

[ewile]

Lucinda Williams. Not a band...not pure rock...but pretty tallented.

[Dan Rutter]

Guns n Roses, and if you just think of GNR as Appetite, listen to the Use Your Illusions nobody can compare with them.

[pryor15]

Buddy Holly

let's get wilco into the discussion

[ChipWrecked]

[ QUOTE ]
Santana

Oh, I'm not a big fan, but I hear that Elvis guy was fairly popular.

[/ QUOTE ]

Carlos Santana was born in Mexico.

I think you hit it with Elvis though.

[JMP300z]

Wilco
Jeff Buckley
The Mars Volta
Elliot Smith (I guess hes not really a rock band)

[tbach24]

What about Green Day?

[Dominic]

[ QUOTE ]
Umm... The Doors anyone? As far as longevity and greatness I would put Pearl Jam up there too. But seriously, how are The Doors being overlooked so much here?

[/ QUOTE ]

The Doors blew. If Morrison had lived, he'd be 250 pounds and opening for Wayne Newton in Vegas tonight.

Has to be the most over-rated band of all time.

[touchfaith]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Santana

Oh, I'm not a big fan, but I hear that Elvis guy was fairly popular.

[/ QUOTE ]

Carlos Santana was born in Mexico.

I think you hit it with Elvis though.

[/ QUOTE ]

He started playing guitar when he lived in TJ, so I guess it's a toss up.

When you want to get drunk, TJ is part of the states...

If you are running from the cops, it's not.

[fluxrad]

[ QUOTE ]
Lucinda Williams. Not a band...not pure rock...but pretty tallented.

[/ QUOTE ]

I live next to the Botanic Gardens here in Denver and I heard her play a few nights ago. She was f'ing terrible.

Maybe it's a live thing, but what I heard automatically precluded her from any "Top 10" list aside from maybe "Top 10 crappiest live performances."

[fluxrad]

Someone needs to define whether we're talking about "personal" favorites or "real" favorites (i.e. if you put it to a vote in the States then these guys have a real shot at winning).

If you're talking about the former, then I can see some of the names on this list. If you're talking about the later, than any list that contains names like The Pixies, Velvet Underground, REM, and Pearl Jam might as well have been sponsored by f'ing MTV.

The only real contenders are:

The Eagles,
CCR,
The Doors,
Santana,
Aerosmith (as much as this makes me cringe),
The Beach Boys,
Van Halen,
The Greatful Dead.

And the clear answer is The Eagles. No, I don't particularly like their music. But they're clearly what one would consider the "greatest" American rock band of all time if you look at the question from a relatively objective standpoint (not from a "why kind of rock do I like" standpoint.)

FYI - When people ask why there are no great American group acts, ask them how many foreigners they can put up to compete with: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Janice Joplin, Elvis, Buddy Holly, or Lyle Lovett and his big band.

[ewile]

The Eagles make me want to Fukking vomit. Screw you Don Henley. Joe Walsh makes me want to burn myself.

I vote Grateful Dead.

Oh, idea...how about Gov't Mule. Perhaps not one of the best Ever, but one of the best pure rock bands out there right now.

And by the way...You Wanted The Best You Got The Best...The Hottest Band In The World...KISS!

[fluxrad]

Damn. I did forget KISS.

But as for the Eagles. Like I said, I'm not particularly fond of them either. I also [censored] hate cheese. But I've come to accept the fact I'm in the minority.

[Jack of Arcades]

[ QUOTE ]
Someone needs to define whether we're talking about "personal" favorites or "real" favorites (i.e. if you put it to a vote in the States then these guys have a real shot at winning).

[/ QUOTE ]

Since when did "greatest" become "most popular"?

REM, the Pixies, and VU are all acceptable answers, and I'd put Pearl Jam... in the top 15 probably.

[MrWookie47]

I suppose we could settle this with one with a poll-off like we've been doing with 80's action movies. We've got plenty of nominations in this thread to get things started, and seedings would be pretty easy with a "Choose N groups" poll.

[fluxrad]

I'm almost sure we've already had one of these polls before.

In response to JOA:

In terms of "greatest" what other measure than popular choice and sales figures do we have to (as objectively as possible) determine the greatest American rock band of all time?

[Jack of Arcades]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm almost sure we've already had one of these polls before.

In response to JOA:

In terms of "greatest" what other measure than popular choice and sales figures do we have to (as objectively as possible) determine the greatest American rock band of all time?

[/ QUOTE ]

Subjective opinion?

There is no objective measure of art in terms of greatness, IMO.

[nothumb]

[ QUOTE ]
Subjective opinion?

There is no objective measure of art in terms of greatness, IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]

Correct.

The Dude: Jesus, man, could you change the channel?
Cab Driver: [censored] you man. If you don't like my [censored]' music get your own [censored]' cab!
The Dude: I had a rough...
Cab Driver: I pull over and kick your ass out!
The Dude: Come on, man. I had a rough night and I hate the [censored]' Eagles, man!

[man]

"possibly" led zeppelin? there is no debate as to the fact that zep WAS the greatest rock band of all time. they did it all. to put them in the same sentence as pink floyd is bothersome. floyd was trying too hard to be zep. I like their music but it isn't very imaginative.

the eagles suck so much. they didn't do anything interesting. you could predict every one of their melodies. give me a break.

other bands in their category that also suck, but appear to be good: boston, GNR, aerosmith (although some of their earlier stuff was OK.. not beatles or stones good but you could tolerate it), steppenwolf (american?), and I can't think of any others for osme reason. nirvana and metallica were OK, but overrated.

my vote goes to the jimi hendrix experience. although it really was just jimi hendrix, so I feel weird calling it one of the best "bands". if you did that then you'd have to consider Bowie... who I would say was the best stand-alone musician of all time. (not really much debate about that either.)

honorable mentions include the talking heads, phish, the grateful dead (I'm only sort of sure that they're american..), pearl jam, and the beach boys... although pearl jam is the only one in that group that really qualifies as "rock," I guess.

[man]

AAAHHH and holy [censored] I forgot Rush. they could be the best american rock band of all time.. DEFINATELY the best rock band of the 80's.

[touchfaith]

[ QUOTE ]
AAAHHH and holy [censored] I forgot Rush. they could be the best american rock band of all time.. DEFINATELY the best rock band of the 80's.

[/ QUOTE ]

Any other non-American bands you want to toss in here?

Zeppelin is British and RUSH is Canadian.

Happy 4th

[zephed]

EAGLES SUCK!




Jimi Hendrix, nobody else comes close.

[zephed]

Your play, brilliant IMO.

Delete your post while you still can!

[fluxrad]

[ QUOTE ]
floyd was trying too hard to be zep

[/ QUOTE ]

This is without a doubt the worst statement anyone has ever made about music in the history of music or that will ever be made in the all encompassing music-time continuum. This statement is so bad it has actually caused a small tear in some musically gifted child's brain. A tear that will cause him eventually to hemmorage and die in withering agony because of the absolute and undeniably retardedness of the statement.

You have caused the early death of the next Mozart. Are you proud of yourself?

[man]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
floyd was trying too hard to be zep

[/ QUOTE ]

This is without a doubt the worst statement anyone has ever made about music in the history of music or that will ever be made in the all encompassing music-time continuum. This statement is so bad it has actually caused a small tear in some musically gifted child's brain. A tear that will cause him eventually to hemmorage and die in withering agony because of the absolute and undeniably retardedness of the statement.

You have caused the early death of the next Mozart. Are you proud of yourself?

[/ QUOTE ]
take it easy hoss. you can almost hear no quarter and in through the out door in the dark side of the moon. am I wrong? do you really think floyd was *that* original? yes, they made good music, and I enjoy it. but we're talking groundbreaking originality here, not stuff that's simply fun to listen to.

[man]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
AAAHHH and holy [censored] I forgot Rush. they could be the best american rock band of all time.. DEFINATELY the best rock band of the 80's.

[/ QUOTE ]

Any other non-American bands you want to toss in here?

Zeppelin is British and RUSH is Canadian.

Happy 4th

[/ QUOTE ]
I didn't know rush was canadian.

[Tron]

Are you retarted? DSTOM was released in '73, In Through The Out Door was released in '79.

[man]

[ QUOTE ]
Are you retarted? DSTOM was released in '73, In Through The Out Door was released in '79.

[/ QUOTE ]
point! OK, you got me, I clearly don't study floyd, these are just arbitrary speculations based on my shameless devotion to zep. may you enjoy your 4th.

[fluxrad]

[ QUOTE ]
Are you retarted?

[/ QUOTE ]

That's rhetorical, right?

[Tooork]

The Doors!

[fluxrad]

Keep nominating. I've got a seed list of 15 bands right now (almost everyone listed here + Metallica since I feel they shouldn't be left out of seeding (not because I think they're anything more than worthless)).

Give me more ideas. Rock bands only please. No front men w/ a backup band (i.e. Hendrix Experience, E Street Band, etc.)

I'll post a seeding poll to get the top 8 later tonight.

[CallMeIshmael]

[ QUOTE ]
The only real contenders are:

The Eagles,
CCR,
The Doors,
Santana,
Aerosmith (as much as this makes me cringe),
The Beach Boys,
Van Halen,
The Greatful Dead.


[/ QUOTE ]

Not putting the VU on this list is absurd

[Nottom]

A few more I don't think have been mentioned yet:

Allman Brothers
Lynard Skynard
The Band
Steely Dan
Talking Heads
RHCP
Fleetwood Mac

[Pocket Trips]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
floyd was trying too hard to be zep

[/ QUOTE ]

This is without a doubt the worst statement anyone has ever made about music in the history of music or that will ever be made in the all encompassing music-time continuum. This statement is so bad it has actually caused a small tear in some musically gifted child's brain. A tear that will cause him eventually to hemmorage and die in withering agony because of the absolute and undeniably retardedness of the statement.

You have caused the early death of the next Mozart. Are you proud of yourself?

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree it is dumb as hell.. But it is consistent with the amazing supidity of mentioning all non-American bands in a thread about AMERICAN bands...

its posts like this that make me question some of the poker advice given on this site

[OrangeCat]

In no particular order:

Aerosmith
Van Halen
Jimi Hendrix
Beach Boys
Nirvana
Chuck Berry

[BaggyAnt]

no mention of The Beach Boys - come on they have to be up there - Good Vibrations is the ultimate in perfect pop for one - Pet Sounds etc; etc;

[BaggyAnt]

or how about

The Byrds
Love (who recorded possibly the best album ever)
The Ramones

[RicktheRuler]

[ QUOTE ]
Give me more ideas. Rock bands only please. No front men w/ a backup band (i.e. Hendrix Experience, E Street Band, etc.)


[/ QUOTE ]

I can't even begin to explain to you why Jimi Hendrix must be one of a few acceptable answers to this question.

[Uston]

[ QUOTE ]
Keep nominating. I've got a seed list of 15 bands right now (almost everyone listed here + Metallica since I feel they shouldn't be left out of seeding (not because I think they're anything more than worthless)).

Give me more ideas. Rock bands only please. No front men w/ a backup band (i.e. Hendrix Experience, E Street Band, etc.)

I'll post a seeding poll to get the top 8 later tonight.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lynyrd Skynyrd. They may not be the best but in terms of musical ability they bury all but a handful of the bands that have been mentioned in this thread. Still, the only 'band' that can stand up to Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones in terms of talent and a massive body of work isn't even a band, it's Bob Dylan.

[tomdemaine]

Green day best modern rock band.

[man]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
floyd was trying too hard to be zep

[/ QUOTE ]

This is without a doubt the worst statement anyone has ever made about music in the history of music or that will ever be made in the all encompassing music-time continuum. This statement is so bad it has actually caused a small tear in some musically gifted child's brain. A tear that will cause him eventually to hemmorage and die in withering agony because of the absolute and undeniably retardedness of the statement.

You have caused the early death of the next Mozart. Are you proud of yourself?

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree it is dumb as hell.. But it is consistent with the amazing supidity of mentioning all non-American bands in a thread about AMERICAN bands...

its posts like this that make me question some of the poker advice given on this site

[/ QUOTE ]
I appreciate that.

yeah I should probably listen to more music before I actually give an opinion on it.. but I dunno, what I've heard of floyd just reeks too much of zep. I'm probably wrong. also, the Wall was pretty brilliant.

and yeah, my bad for sparking a conversation about non-american bands in this forum. I was referring to the OP's discussion of great british bands.. I thought he had brushed zep aside for some reason. I got caught in the heat of the moment, what can I say.

has anyone mentioned Lynyrd Skynyrd yet? I don't think they're that great.. they had some good guitar stuff, but it seems like they're in the same strain as the Eagles.. they made a lot of simple, catchy stuff. the Allman Brothers were also excellent guitarists, although their stuff seems a bit homogeneous, if you will.

[JDErickson]

Boston and Queensryche are 2 I can think of

[bugstud]

how are we defining american here, just as a quick reference. Where the band formed, or member nationalyity and whatnot.

[PokerBob]

[ QUOTE ]
Big Star?

[/ QUOTE ]
ooooooo....good one

[PokerBob]

.....and it's not close. OK, maybe it is kinda, but they were great.

[IndieMatty]

Probably REM; but give WILCO two or three more albums and a case can be made for them. The comercial success of REM still would probably put them over the top.

[fluxrad]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Give me more ideas. Rock bands only please. No front men w/ a backup band (i.e. Hendrix Experience, E Street Band, etc.)


[/ QUOTE ]

I can't even begin to explain to you why Jimi Hendrix must be one of a few acceptable answers to this question.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hehe...no. You certainly can't explain it at all.

[ewile]

The Funky Meter's and The Neville Brothers have certainly stood the test of time.

[Los Feliz Slim]

[ QUOTE ]
AAAHHH and holy [censored] I forgot Rush. they could be the best american rock band of all time.. DEFINATELY the best rock band of the 80's.

[/ QUOTE ]

Rush:

A) Canadian
2) Sucks the balls

[Hal 2000]

[ QUOTE ]
how are we defining american here, just as a quick reference. Where the band formed, or member nationalyity and whatnot.

[/ QUOTE ]

Going by the majority of its members were from the U.S.