The Top 50 Classic Rock BandsIt's a really cool list... And you know I'm putting the link for anyone who wants to check out any of the bands they may not know (I can't honestly say I agree with the order but whatever.)
50. Black Sabbath Essential Album: We Sold Our Soul For Rock And Roll One of the longest lasting and most successful groups is credited as the first Heavy Metal band.
49. Grand Funk Railroad Essential Album: We're An American Band Achieved greater commercial success than any other American rock band in the '60s and early '70s.
48. B-52s Essential Album: Nude On The Moon They went from alternative to mainstream with a quirky combination of Surf Rock and dance music.
47. Lynyrd Skynyrd Essential Album: Skynyrd's Innyrds Described by All Music Guide as "the definitive Southern rock band," they reunited ten years after the deaths of three original members in a 1977 plane crash, and still perform today.
46. Sex Pistols Essential Album: Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols Their short life as a punk band was out of proportion to the huge influence they had on pop culture in England.
45. Mothers of Invention Essential Album: Absolutely Free The first and formemost practitioners of successfully combining humorous lyrics and avant garde rock music.
44. Big Brother & the Holding Company Essential Album: Big Brother & the Holding Company Catapulted from local San Francisco band to worldwide phenomenon with the addition of lead singer, Janis Joplin and a 1967 Monterey Pop Festival performance.
43. Kiss Essential Album: Gold Mix hard rock with over-the-top appearance and stage antics and you get the fathers of glitter-punk.
42. Chicago Essential Album: Only The Beginning The most successful orchestral rock group formed in 1967 and is still touring nearly 40 years later.
41. Doobie Brothers Essential Album: Best Of The Doobies They aren't actually brothers, but they have parlayed a distinctive Heavy Metal/Southern Rock blend into a 30+ year career.
40. Yes Essential Album: Very Best Of Yes In spite of more than the usual number of major personnel changes, this group has had a long and successful career.
39. Steppenwolf Essential Album All Time Greatest Hits This Canadian heavy metal band is credited with creating the Bike Rock genre.
38. Dave Clark Five Essential Album: 30 Greatest Hits Beatlemania helped propel this British group to great popularity in America.
37. Guess Who Essential Album: Anthology Canada's most popular rock band evolved from soft rock to hard from the early 60s through the mid 70s.
36. Steve Miller Band Essential Album: Young Hearts They paid their dues as a backup band before becoming one of the most popular groups of the '70s.
35. Deep Purple Essential Album: Very Best Of They shuffled personnel and musical styles until they became one of the most successful bands on the concert and recording circuit.
34. Creedence Clearwater Revival Essential Album: Chronicle At the height of the British Invasion, they were the leading American rock band.
33. Styx Essential Album: Come Sail Away After failing to break through with Progressive Rock, this group is credited with originating the more mainstream Arena Rock sound.
32. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Essential Album: Deja Vu More than any other group of their time, they endeared themselves to a generation of youth with their lyric themes and eclectic variety of musical styles.
31. Queen Essential Album: Platinum Collection The band that put the glitter in Glitter Rock is second only to the Beatles in album sales in the UK.
30. Buffalo Springfield Essential Album: Retrospective The group existed for less than two years, but was considered a significant force in the mid '60s rock, and launched the careers of members Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Jim Messina, and Richie Furay.
29. Blue Öyster Cult Essential Album: The Essential Blue Öyster Cult Formed in the mid '60s, this metal/psych rock band had a long string of successful albums throughout the '70s and '80s.
28. The Kinks Essential Album: Ultimate Collection They maintained their popularity through the '60s and '70s by adjusting their lyric themes and musical styles as times, and public tastes, changed.
27. Foreigner Essential Album: Complete Greatest Hits A group of back up players got together in 1976 and formed a group that became a longtime Arena Rock and radio airplay favorite.
26. Jethro Tull Essential Album: Very Best Of Jethro Tull Typically considered a Progressive Rock band, they developed and maintained a sound that was completely unlike any other group's, and which isn't easy to categorize.
25. Traffic Essential Album: John Barleycorn Must Die This group had far greater success with albums than with singles, and thrived in spite of numerous personnel changes and long breaks.
24. Journey Essential Album: Greatest Hits Its jazz-flavored progressive rock sound has been a fixture in the rock scene snce 1973.
23. Allman Brothers Essential Album: Eat A Peach The success of their unique fusion of hard rock, blues, jazz, and classical music has secured this group's immortality.
22. U2 Essential Album: The Joshua Tree Ireland's best known rockers have been a successful fixture on album charts and in concert venues since their formation in 1976.
21. ZZ Top Essential Album: The Best Of ZZ Top The self-proclaimed "little ol' band from Texas" was one of the earliest influences in Southern Rock, and continues so, three decades later.
20. Van Halen Essential Album 1984 One of the most innovative and influential heavy metal groups of the late '70s, the group continues to perform some 30+ years after its inception.
19. Blood Sweat & Tears Essential Album: Blood Sweat & Tears Virtually a small orchestra, this group established a milestone in rock history with its large horn section and jazz-blues orientation.
18. Santana Essentail Album: Abraxas This groundbreaking Latin Rock group timed the release of its first album to coincide with a highly successful performance at Woodstock in 1969.
17. Aerosmith Essential Album: Toys In The Attic Originally written off as Rolling Stones imitators, the group has consistently produced multi-million-selling albums for 30+ years.
16. The Byrds Essential Album: The Byrds' Greatest Hits Among the pioneers of Folk Rock, their popularity in the mid-60s rivaled that of the Beatles.
15. Def Leppard Essential Album: Hysteria Futuristic instrumentation and vocal harmonies have kept them near the top of the all-time best selling albums lists for a quarter of a century.
14. Cream Essential Album: Wheels Of Fire The group existed for less than three years but staked its place as one of the first and most enduringly popular of rock's "power trios."
13. Boston Essential Album: Boston When their first album was released in 1976, it was the highest grossing debut album ever seen up until that time.
12. AC/DC Essential Album: Back In Black This pioneering hard rock/ heavy metal group has sold en estimated 100-million albums worldwide.
11. Fleetwood Mac Essential Album: Rumours After numerous personnel and msuical style changes, their 1977 Rumours album in still among the top ten best selling albums ever.
10. Moody Blues Essential Album: Days Of Future Passed With the exception of a few years in the mid-70s, this progressive/psychedelic group has toured and recorded since 1964.
09. The Doors Essential Album: The Doors In spite of a short life and limited discography, they became one of rock's most popular and influential groups.
08. Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship Essential Album: While Bathing At Baxter's Pioneers of the Psychedelic Rock genre, they were in the vanguard of the counter-culture of the '60s and '70s.
07. Grateful Dead Essentail Album: Anthem Of The Sun One of San Francisco's first "flowr power" bands, their fan following is nearly as strong today as it was when the group disbanded in 1995.
06. Eagles Essential Album: Their Greatest Hits Another of rock's longest-lasting acts, their 1976 greatest hits album is the biggest selling album of all time.
05. Led Zeppelin Essential Album: Led Zeppelin IV Their Stairway To Heaven is believed to have received more radio airplay than any other song in history, even though it was never released as a single.
04. Rolling Stones Essential Album: Sticky Fingers The original "bad boys" of rock, they are among the most durable bands, recording and touring with few breaks since they began in 1961.
03. The Who Essential Album: Who's Next One of the first, most successful, and longest lasting "power trios," this group was innovative both musically and technically.
02. Pink Floyd Essential Album: Wish You Were Here They had one of the flashiest stage shows of any band, but their music gained its most fame being used in movies.
01. The Beatles Essential Album: Revolver With record sales estimated at more than a billion worldwide, no other band had a greater influence on the course of rock music.
01. The Beatles Essential Album: Revolver With record sales estimated at more than a billion worldwide, no other band had a greater influence on the course of rock music.
I recently heard a street type band playing and singing Beatles songs in a really, really beautiful and artistic mountain top setting. The band was decent and made me smile. The Beatles have such universal appeal. Even if a band is only average, they can draw a crowd and get money thrown in their guitar case by playing a Beatles song. I paused to listen and took their picture and gave them some money, but I was really paying tribute to the Beatles.
**************************** A voice, a chime, a chant sublime, of peace on earth, good will to men.
How can The Go-Go's and The Bangles not be on the list of the Top 50 Classic Rock Bands? That's heresy!
I'll just jolly well add them to the list!
The Go-Go's Essential Album:Beauty And The Beat The first and foremost all female rock band who were the first all girl band to write their own songs, play their own instruments, and make it big on their own terms, thankyou! This album showcased Belinda Carlisle (vocals), Charlotte Caffey (lead guitar, keyboards), Jane Wiedlin (rhythm guitar), Kathy Valentine (bass), and Gina Schock (drums) at their very best where every track is a classic gem from the first listen. Songwriters Caffey, Wiedlin, and Valentine, and occasionally Carlisle and Schock offer a great punk rock treat to fans from their first effort.
The Bangles Essential Album:Everything Following on the heels of The Go-Go's but with their own unforgettable style, inspired by great bands like The Beatles and The Beach Boys, come the quartet of Susanna Hoffs (rhythm guitar), sisters Vicki Peterson (lead guitar) and Debbi Peterson (drums), and Michael Steele (bass). The songwriting and vocals of all four ladies match their jangly garage pop-rock beat with smooth harmonies but without losing their rocking edge.
(I can't honestly say I agree with the order but whatever.)
