Greatest Rock Band Ever

[Razor]

With the Rock genre collectively describing a huge variation of styles and encompassing the greatest bands that global music has ever seen...who is the biggest and the best?

Is it the Beatles? No, definately not.
Perhaps Black Sabbath? No, they didn't last long enough
Metallica? No, great music but far from being the greatest and some of their work isn't that great.

No, in my opinion, the only rock band that could ever be described as the greatest band ever, would be Queen.

Queen have brought out more Greatest Hits albums then most current top acts have had albums full stop, they are a band spanning 4 decades and can still guarentee to sell out 12,000 seater arenas with ease. There music is some of the most publicised and some people would say overused music ever, used in hundreds of movies, tv shows, anthems, the list is endless.

The big advantage though, and it is hard to really see why this is an advantage, but the advantage that i believe Queen had is Freddie Mercury's tragic passing. Queen lost one the greatest front men in music to Aids at the stage of their career that was perhaps the point where they were losing some of what they had in the early to mid 80's and when something like that happens, it creates a huge following...look at John Lennon with the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Tupac to see that death for a celebrity doesn't generally mean the end.

 

[Ennui]

Yeah, Queen kicked some ass.

 

[Evo]

Queen=Awesome, Amazing, Brilliant and so on and so forth.
Greates Rock Band EVER!

 

[Revisedsoul]

Led Zeppelin

 

[SenorDingDong]

i think the Beatles are still considered to be the most popular band ever.

 

[StardogChampion]

With the Rock genre collectively describing a huge variation of styles and encompassing the greatest bands that global music has ever seen...who is the biggest and the best?

Is it the Beatles? No, definately not.
Perhaps Black Sabbath? No, they didn't last long enough
Metallica? No, great music but far from being the greatest and some of their work isn't that great.

No, in my opinion, the only rock band that could ever be described as the greatest band ever, would be Queen.

Queen have brought out more Greatest Hits albums then most current top acts have had albums full stop, they are a band spanning 4 decades and can still guarentee to sell out 12,000 seater arenas with ease. There music is some of the most publicised and some people would say overused music ever, used in hundreds of movies, tv shows, anthems, the list is endless.

Queen? Was that a joke? Greatest hits albums are put out by record companies when the band are no longer together so they can milk as much cash out of them as possible. If you own a greatest hits album - shame on you.

For example, take the band Alice in Chains. Their lead singer was heavily into heroin so the time between each album increased, during this time the record companies aren't making any money, so they release a greatest hits to milk as much money as they can.

Another example - Pearl Jam just finished up their 5 album contract with Sony, so what do Sony do? Release a greatest hits...

Greatest hits albums do not make a band good.

The best rock band still around today = Pearl Jam. They have credibility too, they don't let their music be raped in commercials or anything, unless they're involved with it, like the movie Singles, or the song for Tim Burton's movie Big Fish.

 

[Zerimski]

If you own a greatest hits album - shame on you.

Greatest hits albums do not make a band good.

I own a copy of Mother Love Bone - Mother Love Bone, which is technically a greatest hits album (I also own Apple, but that's not the point). Also, while greatest hits albums do not make a band good, they do offer people a nice entry point into a band. And some best-of CDs are worth owning even if you have the entire back catalogue of the band in question, for example March to Fuzz by Mudhoney. It's a great set with a second CD full of b-sides and exclusives.

However, I do completely agree with you on Pearl Jam.

 

[DeusExMachina]

I'm gonna say Led Zeppelin or Velvet Underground.

 

[Ennui]

I have to say Zeppelin even if Queen kicked ass.

No one was more original than Zeppelin, and no one was quite as f*cking awesome either.

 

[Zerimski]

I detest greatest hits albums because they give an unclear impression as to a band's sound. I prefer to have a consistent view of a band's vision and see how it fluctuates over time, and greatest hits albums ruin this. I don't listen to music just so I can have something to bounce to while driving to my office job sipping my coffee.

Sooo...say someone bought Echoes, The Best of Pink Floyd and loved it. Then, over a period of a few months they bought and loved every other Pink Floyd CD they could get their filthy mitts on. That "Best Of" CD that you detest so very much has given someone else a starting point with your favourite band, and now they appreciate them as much as you do. Is that not a good thing? I know from personal experience that if you want to recommend someone a band that has a back catalogue as extensive as Floyds, then the best thing to do is give them a copy of the Greatest Hits. They may not "have a consistent view of a band's vision", but they will get an idea of whether or not that vision is worth seeing in the first place.

There's loads of bands that I wouldn't have gotten into without giving the Best Of a listen to first. Does that make me any less of a fan?

 

[Bohonkie]

Radiohead.

 

[willyd]

Blink 182

 

[Docm30]

Blink 182

That was a joke right?

I am going to go with the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

 

[Lemonking]

Queen
case closed

 

[Revisedsoul]

Jethro Tull.

you mean Jethro Dull.

just a quirky remark made by jimmy page way back when

 

[Zerimski]

I never said anything of the sort and you know it. I just don't like greatest hits albums. I said nothing about them not bringing in new listeners.

No, but I'm saying that Greatest Hits albums serve an important purpose

 

[stemot]

Greatest Rock band ever, yes, I would say Queen pretty much own that title, even if you don`t like Queen, you only need to take a step back and look at their career to see it.

Best band ever on the other hand, well, despite some peoples protests, that will always be the Beatles, Elvis invented Rock n Roll, the Beatles made it their own, then after they were finished, let lose one of the greatest solo artists of all time.

Everyone who is naming recent bands (last 20 year) really ought to look a little harder at what these 2 bands have done.

 

[Dalamari]

The Beatles are the best rock band ever, almost every song they wrote was pure genius and every album they put out (more especially their later stuff) is a hit. They had the uber song-writing combo of Lennon and McCartney, and even George Harrison bringing things to the table sometimes.

 

[SupremePain]

Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin.

 

[brink's]

JoHnny Johnny Johnny, I I I I I

No one will agree with me, but I'm gonna have to say the RedHotChiliPeppers,

It's really a personal choice as no band has really been able to create the same feeling I get when I listen to their music. There is so much enthusiasm in Kiedis's voice and the bands overall style that Ill prolly never get tired of it.

23 years and still going strong, they've also been able to, disbite some f+ckups, stay together as a band and friends for some most of their career. Kiedis and Flea, have been there since the beginning, John has released 4 solid, if not brilliant albums over the past 15 years with them, while Chad joined in the late 80's and and has been doing great things with them ever since.

I also feel they're quite underrated, many bands have come and gone in the last 23 years, ones that dominated at whatever style was in at the time and disappeared into the history books once it was all over. RHCP didn't follow a style they created them, Funk- Punk/funk- alternative, I'm not saying they created alternative and Funk (though im pretty sure they were the first to combine punk and funk) but they certainly brought it to area's no one had ever seen. Plus they sell like mad, 7 mill in the US alone for SEx,blood and 13 Million worldwide for Californication and im pretty sure 9 mill for by the way, and close to 1 mill for Mothers Milk( which was quite good for a punk/funk band finding themself in the late 80's).

I know what ur thinking, the Stones, Zeppelin, Beatles, which are all great but I still can't go 24 hours without hearing both Californication and Johnny, dig a whole in the sky.

 

[willyd]

Yessir (in reply to whethere blink 182 comment was a joke)

 

[Razor]

I am only a fan of very, very few Beatles hits, not my cup of tea.

Led Zeppelin is another one of the greatest bands though, as i would say Pink Floyd is.

 

[Revisedsoul]

But...they use like every instrument on the face of the Earth. Don't see how anyone in their right mind can call them dull. But then, this is Jimmy Page who said this, so I'm not so sure...

i was saying it more as a joke because i listen to them myslef and love them.

 

[Ol'Master]

Depends how you define 'greatest'. If you mean best, then I'd say Radiohead, if you mean biggest that would probably be a toss up between Queen and the Beatles.

 

[Pressure]

Metallica is EXTREME! It may be metal but it still qualifies because how EXTREME it is.

 

[PoeticRocker]

Yep its Queen all the way = they did all forms of music which kept it fresh

My opinion:

Led Zep = good but same rock format nothing ever new
Beatles = sure some hit songs but then alot of fillers on their albums
Pink Floyd = good but gets old
Jimi Hendrix = rocks but hes not really a band
Pearl Jam = bad memories of early alternative rock
Metallica = lame
Radiohead = lame

 

[stemot]

Depends how you define 'greatest'. If you mean best, then I'd say Radiohead, if you mean biggest that would probably be a toss up between Queen and the Beatles.

Could you even describe Radiohead as a rock group, even in their old days of music I wouldn`t have described it as rock.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

QUEEN

\o/

 

[SupremePain]

Yep its Queen all the way = they did all forms of music which kept it fresh

My opinion:

Led Zep = good but same rock format nothing ever new
Beatles = sure some hit songs but then alot of fillers on their albums
Pink Floyd = good but gets old
Jimi Hendrix = rocks but hes not really a band
Pearl Jam = bad memories of early alternative rock
Metallica = lame
Radiohead = lame

I don't agree that Led Zeppelin never spiced it up. They had a great mix of Blues and Heavy Rock. The Wall was on top of the charts in the UK for 20 years or something.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience


Pearl Jam good ol' 90's action, but can hardly be compared to classic rock bands, neither can Radiohead. And man, oh man, I wish Metallica had continued making good music.

Queen are rock icons, no doubt about it. They did tons of diffrent genres which is cool, and they unlike other rock bands, were able to use the vocals as a main attraction in their songs. Best pop-rock band ever. But I wouldent say they did any groundbreaking stuff that ended up defining rock music.

 

[MrWhite]

Its so tough to say, Queen was classic, but I think the god of the guitar jimi hendrix and his two white boys he had along with him were the greatest rock band of all time, and you can't say that jimi hendrix wasnt a band, because the band was the jimi hendrix experience, he did have another guitarist (two others at one time) and a drummer

EDIT: heh, didnt see the jimi hendrix experience reference above me. oh, and the wall was pink floyd, not led zeppelin

 

[SupremePain]

EDIT: heh, didnt see the jimi hendrix experience reference above me. oh, and the wall was pink floyd, not led zeppelin

Behold the magic . Would be kinda sad if I knew the album had been on top of the UK charts for so long, and I knew the name of the album, but dident know the name of the band. Ofcourse it was Pink Floyd!

 

[Revisedsoul]

isnt money by pink floyd still on the top most played songs of all time?

beingin in the 30ish -40ish range

 

[StardogChampion]

Pearl Jam good ol' 90's action, but can hardly be compared to classic rock bands, neither can Radiohead. And man, oh man, I wish Metallica had continued making good music.

Pearl Jam always get thrown off as "early 90's angst, but not classic". If you actually listen to a lot of their stuff (not just Ten), you'd realise they have so many songs that would be considered classics, had they been performed by another artist.

See "Yellow Ledbetter" for instance. (link with preview - click) If this was sung by some classic artist (Otis Reading or someone, I can't think) it would be a hugely well known song.

"You Are" (link with preview - click) The music in this one sounds like something Radiohead would create (ok, maybe not, but it's all I could think of) . You don't get to hear it much in the clip though.

Also "Down", if it was a Bruce Springsteen song everyone would know it.

 

[CptStern]

best rock band without doubt is the rolling stones ..I know that's probably not a popular seeing as how they've sucked for the last years ...but during their heyday (1967-79) they were billed as "the worlds greatest band" ...plus their chuck-berry blues rock influenced everyone from stevie ray vaughn to the black crowes ...not too mention that mick jagger singlehanded created rock showmanship


the Stones invented the rock in rock and roll

listen to Exiles on Mainstreet to hear why they're the best rock band of all time

 

[Dinkleberry]

Pink Floyd, followed by Jethro Tull. Both of them are the highest form of modern musical genius.

re: Pink Folyd - SNAP! I was gonna say that... or Frank Zappa, but he's too unpopular to be considered 'The Greatest' (he is to me though )
And Zerimski's right - although I started listening to Pink Floyd 'From the Beginning' (Piper at the Gates) - even thought they'd released all their stuff, I first heard Zappa on a greatest hits album. This was the best way because it gave a big bite of accessible, nicey nice music that 'broke you in' as it were. So best's of are good.

 

[Ol'Master]

Could you even describe Radiohead as a rock group, even in their old days of music I wouldn`t have described it as rock.

Pre-OK Computer, and even bits of OK Computer, are rock. Paranoid Android, Just, My Iron Lung, Electioneering etc. I would call rock.

 

[Vigilante]

Definately not The Beatles. Their music is so BORING and SIMPLE. god...thinking of their music just pisses me off.

 

[stemot]

Pre-OK Computer, and even bits of OK Computer, are rock. Paranoid Android, Just, My Iron Lung, Electioneering etc. I would call rock.

I thought to be described as rock, well, a band had to, well, you know....rock? I don`t mean that as a derogatory slur, I just mean that the songs I`ve heard of Radiohead, (from Creep through Street Spirit up to Paranoid Android etc) I wouldn`t describe them as rock, maybe Indie?

The only song I`ve heard of their`s that has even a little rock in it is Creep, hardly circumstances to bill the entire band as rock.

I will admit to not hearing all their music (in particular after they went all Kid A) but I`ve heard a sizable portion of it. Maybe I`m wrong, just my thoughts.

 

[stemot]

Definately not The Beatles. Their music is so BORING and SIMPLE. god...thinking of their music just pisses me off.

If there`s one thing you can`t accuse the Beatles of it`s being simple, some of their lyrics I still can`t get my head round now.

 

[Dalamari]

Definately not The Beatles. Their music is so BORING and SIMPLE. god...thinking of their music just pisses me off.

Boring and simple? most of their later concept songs can never be recreated because of the odd recording tricks used to make them, one of them being Tomorrow Never Knows. Granted, their pop songs are boring, although I do enjoy some of it.

Beatles pwn, nuff said.