Top 10 (roughly) Most Influential BANDS of All Time

[liberalpragmatist]

Answer the question. However, if you have under 10 or more than 10, it's pretty flexible -- list as many as you need, though if you can limit it to 10, that'd be good. Here's my list. The order, beyond the Beatles being #1, is a little bit generic and imprecise. Here's my list:

1) The Beatles
2) The Rolling Stones
3) Nirvana
4) The Byrds
5) Led Zeppelin
6) Jimi Hendrix Experience
7) The Sex Pistols
8) The Clash
9) The Ramones
10) AC/DC
11) U2

Up to you all now. Please answer the question -- "MOST INFLUENTIAL" -- however, if you want you can ALSO give a list, or give commentary as to what the BEST bands are and/or what your FAVORITE bands are.

[Jack_Dawson]

1. GnR

[liberalmuse]

2. The Velvet Underground. n/t

n/t

[rbnyc]

4. Yep. I'll be back with a list.

If I'm not too busy spamming the lounge.

:toast:

[Ellen Forradalom]

5. 2) The Velvet Underground

3) The Velvet Underground
4) The Velvet Underground
5) The Velvet Underground
6) The Velvet Underground
7) The Velvet Underground
8) The Velvet Underground
9) The Velvet Underground
10) The Velvet Underground

[liberalmuse]

14. Uh, yeah. I forgot to say...

that other than missing The Velvet Underground, I agree with your list! There would be no Ramones, Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, etc, etc, etc, without The Velvet Underground. I won't boot the Stones (I've never liked them, for some reason), so my list will have 11.

[sasquatch]

3. Motorhead should be somewhere on that list

How about the Yardbirds as well:shrug:

[rbnyc]

6. No particular order.

Beatles
Velvet Underground
Buddy Holly
Bob Dylan
B.B. King
Yardbirds
New York Dolls
David Bowie
Led Zeppelin
Lost my train of thought. Did anyone else just hear Mike Malloy go totally bonkers?

[sasquatch]

9. I did it was fun

At least it's him and not me:)

[bobthedrummer]

7. Well, Jimi is still the most influential of them all

Here's my list
1. Jimi Hendrix Experience
2. Bob Dylan
3. The Beatles
4. Muddy Waters
5. Aretha Franklin
6. Led Zeppelin
7. The Temptations
8. The Sex Pistols
9. Bob Marley and The Wailers
10. Nirvana
on edit
11. David Bowie

[bobthedrummer]

24. More influential musicians

Chuck Berry Beethoven
Little Richard Mozart
Booker T. and The MG's J.S. Bach
Robert Johnson Little Walter
Pink Floyd Patti Smith
Bo Diddley King Crimson
Louis Jordan Soundgarden
T-Bone Walker Pere Ubu
Elmore James The Grateful Dead
James Brown Sneaker Pimps
Parliament Garbage
John Lee Hooker No Doubt
Sonny Boy Williamson2 Carl Perkins
Etta James Siouxsie and The Banshees
Miles Davis Johnny Cash
John Coltrane Matt Murphy
Charlie Parker Albert Collins
Dizzy Gillespie Duke Ellington
Willie Dixon Pinetop Perkins
Theolonius Monk The Doors
Elvis Presley

[Jack_Dawson]

8. The Cure

[Spider Jerusalem]

10. Bands? How about individual artists? Do they count?

Or is that another list?

Oh, well...any list of most influential rock acts HAS to include one or two individual performers. I'm going to, sorry if it doesn't fit your criteria:

1. Beatles (no argument there).

2. David Bowie.

3. Pixies (Nirvana and most of grunge are unimaginable WITHOUT the Pixies coming first.)

4. Velvet Underground

5. Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention

6. Kraftwerk (imagine modern techno/electronica without them.)

7. Nine Inch Nails

8. Pink Floyd

9. Jimi Hendrix Experience

10. Doors

11. U2

(not necessarily in order)

[tishaLA]

11. Television and NY Dolls

should prolly be there.

[ALago1]

12. How could anyone not have the Beatles as #1??

It is puzzling...

[koopie57]

13. I have been greatly

influenced by Queen and Meatloaf.

[Toronto Ron]

15. Led Zep

The Beatles are far & away #1, but I'd give #2 to Zeppelin. As far as I'm concerned, they invented hard rock (apologies to The Who, who also deserve to be on the list). Zep were also pioneers in moving beyond blues-rock and importing world musical flavors (as heard, e.g., in Kashmir, Battle of Evermore, and many other songs from their third album on).

[XNASA]

16. 1. The Beatles

2. The Rolling Stones
3. Led Zeppelin
4. The Who
5. The Kinks
6. The Clash
7. The Beach Boys
8. Nirvana
9. The Talking Heads
10. The Sex Pistols

Now if it was a list of the 10 bands who have influenced me the most, then I'd say:

1. The Beatles
2. Led Zeppelin
3. The Clash
4. The Who
5. Roxy Music
6. Cheap Trick
7. Radiohead
8. Elvis Costello and the Attractions
9. The Talking Heads
10. The Raspberries

[GOPisEvil]

17. Sonic Youth? Mudhoney?

The Stooges? Husker Du?

[rbnyc]

21. Nice List!

I'm going to wait until there are more replies and then rob you all for the real top 10. I think you got 3 of them for sure.

[GOPisEvil]

22. I got reminded of Mudhoney by watching Queer Eye.

They took this guy to the Mudhoney Salon in NYC. I thought that was a cool name. It was a very "rock and roll" salon, too. Looked like a neat place. But anyway, it got me temporarily back into them. Too bad I lost their cd, and all I have is the one tune on the "Singles" soundtrack. I might need to do some downloading. :D

[Dookus]

18. I'd have to put...

Bowie in that list. Not a band, but a major influence.

[IronLionZion]

19. Pink Floyd

come on! how can you forget the floyd?

[rbnyc]

20. oh yeah....

...it was that darn Mike Malloy! He distracted me!

[FDRrocks]

23. Dunno, but Velvet Underground would be somewhere high on that list.

Oh and many early jazz musicians.

[midnight armadillo]

25. Rush

If nothing else, Geddy Lee has inspired legions of bass players.

Motorhead was hugely influential in heavy metal.

Motown. Does this count? The Motown sound (James Jamerson et.al.) was pretty unique!

Sometimes the most influential are not the best known, or they're only known inside the genre.

[rbnyc]

26. VETO! (nt)

[enough]

27. List

Duke Ellington
Toots and the Maytals
Dylan
The Beatles
The Who
Greatful Dead
Sly and the Family Stone
The Clash
Talking Heads

and...

oh, Graham Parsons

[leftofthedial]

28. I don't know where some of you young whippersnappers are coming from

by cracky!

1. The Beatles
2. Led Zeppelin
3. The Rolling Stones
4. The Who
5. The Jimi Hendrix Experience
6. The Velvet Underground
7. The Everly Brothers
8. The Miles Davis Quintet (from the mid-50's)
9. The Beach Boys
10. The Yardbirds

These aren't MY influences per se. I wish I could have said the Clash and the Kinks and Little Feat and even touched on American soul, punk and metal, plus named about 25 "solo" artists, but 10 is not enough and this is "bands."

I really wish I could have named R.E.M. too. In many ways they really defined and legitimized the indie movement that has now superceded the mainstream major-label industry.

My personal influences (not including solo artists):

1. The Beatles
2. The Who
3. The Small Faces (especially once Ian McLagan joined)
4. The Everly Brothers
5. Little Feat
6. Led Zeppelin
7. The Byrds (pretty much all their phases)
8. Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys
9. The Doors (Ray Manzarek in particular)
10. The Rolling Stones

[Nazgul35]

29. Not a single Police nod...

for shame!!!!!

[Kenneth ken]

30. I'll give this a whack

in no particular order:

John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
The Beatles
The Yardbirds


the other 7 would probably be bands from the big band era, Dixieland Jazz, and depression-era blues bands...

Interesting, how so few of the people who listed individuals skipped over Elvis Presley. :eyes:

[salinen]

31. The freeper list

Pat Boone
Ted Nugent
Dean Martin
Britany
Ricky Martin
Barry Manilow
?
?
?
?

[leftofthedial]

33. Lee Greenwood

Toby Keith
Darryl Worley

[devilgrrl]

32. Without Kate Bush we wouldn't have heard from...

Tori Amos
Sarah McLachlan
Dido
Fiona Apple
Jewel
Paula Cole
Heather Nova

etc....