The original Guns-n-Roses lineup.
Top 5 greatest American bands
- Thread starter bluelifer
- Start date
Great call on Chess Records band. I should have included what is hands-down the best American band ever. The Muddy Waters band from 1952 to 54.
Muddy Waters, vocals and slide guitar
Jimmie Rogers, lead guitar
Otis Spann, piano
Little Walter Jacobs, harmonica
Willie Dixon, stand up bass
Fred Below, drums
Muddy Waters, vocals and slide guitar
Jimmie Rogers, lead guitar
Otis Spann, piano
Little Walter Jacobs, harmonica
Willie Dixon, stand up bass
Fred Below, drums
How could I have omitted the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson the mad genius, Pet Sounds a masterpiece. Oops
I mean technically speaking, the house band that was Booker T and MG's would have to be top 5-10, I mean Booker T on B-3 organ alone and they were backing band for Otis Redding and Sam and Dave, not to mention playing with Issac Hayes and Albert King. Wow. Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn were pretty good.
The swampers in Muscle Shoals influenced everyone from Stones to George Harrison, Aretha, ABB
My all time American bands.
ABB
Steely Dan- Fagen and Becker but
Fogerty/CCR
Beach Boys
The Doors
Santana - Carlos was born in Mexico but grew up in San Fran.
ZZ Top
Stevie Wonder from 1970-76, brilliant
Chicago 1969-75, Terry Kath dying was end of the road for Chicago, great early career, influential,
Paul Butterfield Blues Band- most influential White Blues band of all time, started the British blues groups,
Mayall, Cream, Yardbirds, Stones, influenced a ton.
J Geils Band- early before centerfold.
You cannot name Aerosmith, Journey, Styx, Boston, Kiss and such and be taken serious. Sorry
The swampers in Muscle Shoals influenced everyone from Stones to George Harrison, Aretha, ABB
My all time American bands.
ABB
Steely Dan- Fagen and Becker but
Fogerty/CCR
Beach Boys
The Doors
Santana - Carlos was born in Mexico but grew up in San Fran.
ZZ Top
Stevie Wonder from 1970-76, brilliant
Chicago 1969-75, Terry Kath dying was end of the road for Chicago, great early career, influential,
Paul Butterfield Blues Band- most influential White Blues band of all time, started the British blues groups,
Mayall, Cream, Yardbirds, Stones, influenced a ton.
J Geils Band- early before centerfold.
You cannot name Aerosmith, Journey, Styx, Boston, Kiss and such and be taken serious. Sorry
Take it to the Limit is the only Eagles song that isn't awful. There is absolutely no debate about that.
REM is like AIDS for your ears. If you enjoy Michael Stipe's voice, I genuinely dislike you as a person.
I consider The Experience American and thus they shall be on my list. Do not attempt to question this.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Return to Forever
Miles' Second Great Quintet
The Velvet Underground
Pearl Jam
REM is like AIDS for your ears. If you enjoy Michael Stipe's voice, I genuinely dislike you as a person.
I consider The Experience American and thus they shall be on my list. Do not attempt to question this.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Return to Forever
Miles' Second Great Quintet
The Velvet Underground
Pearl Jam
The rules are simple:
-Must be an American band, where at least one member was American and didn't use a fake British accent.
-Can include solo artists with backing bands as long as the backing band has an official name.
-Must include The Eagles and not Kiss, Metallica, Foreignor, or the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Pretty simple stuff here guys, try to keep up.
-Must be an American band, where at least one member was American and didn't use a fake British accent.
-Can include solo artists with backing bands as long as the backing band has an official name.
-Must include The Eagles and not Kiss, Metallica, Foreignor, or the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Pretty simple stuff here guys, try to keep up.
Most of mine have been covered except two (and thanks for all the props for Parliament-Funkadelic)
Earth, Wind, and Fire
MC5
Earth, Wind, and Fire
MC5
In no particular order and in rambling fashion:
Jimi Hendrix Experience
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
The Black Crowes
The White Stripes
Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble
Allmand Brothers Band
The Doors
Santana
Rage Against the Machine
Black Keyes
Mothers of Invention
At The Drive In
Stooges
Ramones
Talking Heads
The Byrds
Van Halen
ZZ Topp
Just about all of those have been in my top 5 at some point or another. And I'm sure i've left some out.
Jimi Hendrix Experience
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
The Black Crowes
The White Stripes
Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble
Allmand Brothers Band
The Doors
Santana
Rage Against the Machine
Black Keyes
Mothers of Invention
At The Drive In
Stooges
Ramones
Talking Heads
The Byrds
Van Halen
ZZ Topp
Just about all of those have been in my top 5 at some point or another. And I'm sure i've left some out.
MC5 was years ago for me, but didn't last.
I enjoy those first 3 funkadelic records the best, pre-bootsy.
Cant believe I forgot the Stooges. They are in my top 10 favorite bands of all time.
I don't think any of them are though, almost all of the great rock bands on my list are foreign. Of course, I'm not big into classic rock (like I hate The Beatles , for example) but there are some I like. Mogwai, Clash, Rolling Stones, Kinks, Sex Pistols, New Order, Smiths, Joy Division, Bush, and pg.lost off the top of my head.
Only non-English ones I would nominate would be the below. I had to expand some in hardcore metal and stuff in the greater alternative genre that mostly everyone on here probably won't like.
Pixies
Ramones
At the Drive-In
Darkest Hour
Emery
Godspeed You Black Emperor
Modest Mouse
Nodes of Ranvier
Officer Negative (only The Death Campaign Project era)
Saves the Day
Mars Volta
Underoath
Unearth
Godspeed and Darkest Hour might be the only two that I would put in the same group with the foreign bands I listed
ramones
velvet underground
sly & the family stone
replacements
i guess nirvana
w/r/t musicianship and overall body of work, the motown funk brothers and the parliament-funkadelic core have serious cases
velvet underground
sly & the family stone
replacements
i guess nirvana
w/r/t musicianship and overall body of work, the motown funk brothers and the parliament-funkadelic core have serious cases
The first incarnation was band with Skunk Baxter but you are right about studio guys. Their music and musicianship was just so damn good regardless. Fagen and Becker I guess make up a band.
one nation & hardcore jollies really grew on me more i listened
i also forgot the stooges and that reminded me of MC5
Love this order but I would take out Steely Dan and maybe put in Grateful Dead (though I'm not a huge fan). Loved the Allmans early stuff with Duane and Oakley. They were not everyone's cup of tea though. You had to enjoy a lengthy guitar instrumental but Duane was a trailblazing genius that was snuffed out much too early.
Can't say they are top 5, but I got into The Outlaws, Molly Hatchet, and a local band called New Grass Revival. NGR featured Sam Bush and John Cowan and are legendary in my part of the Bluegrass.
Edit: I suppose New Grass was really Bluegrass but I thought they deserved a mentioned since they are from Kentucky.
Edit: I suppose New Grass was really Bluegrass but I thought they deserved a mentioned since they are from Kentucky.
Pearl Jam just announced a date at Rupp. That's a band that deserves some mention.
http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...9/pearl-jam-tour-includes-lexington/79008952/
http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...9/pearl-jam-tour-includes-lexington/79008952/
You'll never convince me that they ever did much of anything worth a damn after A4D and GnRLies.
From Kill 'Em All to ...And Justice for All, those 4 records in a 5-year span might be as impressive as anything a hard rock/metal band has ever done. It's a shame that in the last 19 years, they've only put out one good record in Death Magnetic.
Beach Boys
CCR
Allmann Bros.
Van Halen
Pearl Jam
Hon. Mention - Aerosmith, Black Crowes, Alice in Chains, Eagles, Doors, Pixies, Nirvana, Lynyrd Skynrd, Boston, GNR, ZZ Top, Heart, Grateful Dead, DMB, Journey, Steely Dan, RHCP.
I can't include acts like Hendrix, Petty, Seger, Springsteen as bands as they are solo acts with backing bands to me.
CCR
Allmann Bros.
Van Halen
Pearl Jam
Hon. Mention - Aerosmith, Black Crowes, Alice in Chains, Eagles, Doors, Pixies, Nirvana, Lynyrd Skynrd, Boston, GNR, ZZ Top, Heart, Grateful Dead, DMB, Journey, Steely Dan, RHCP.
I can't include acts like Hendrix, Petty, Seger, Springsteen as bands as they are solo acts with backing bands to me.
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The Dan was serious in the studio, so they went with studio guys. The touring Dan was a lot more improvisational and frankly a lot more fun. Here's my current fav version of Pretzel Logic, that just got put up in December:
What does "best" mean?
There's some general idea of personal preference, but then the styles you like are going to drive your choices.
If it's technical proficiency, it's basically impossible to do a list if we're including jazz artists and groups.
Then there's biggest influence on American popular music. That's probably the most important consideration, really.
James Brown (all bands)
The Talking Heads
The Velvet Underground
The Pixies
CCR/The Ramones/Metallica
There's some general idea of personal preference, but then the styles you like are going to drive your choices.
If it's technical proficiency, it's basically impossible to do a list if we're including jazz artists and groups.
Then there's biggest influence on American popular music. That's probably the most important consideration, really.
James Brown (all bands)
The Talking Heads
The Velvet Underground
The Pixies
CCR/The Ramones/Metallica
yeah if they qualify under the rubric you apply--and that's totally up to you--then the james brown band is right up there. especially the late 60s maceo parker etc unit & the bootsy/catfish collins crew that replaced them. hugely influential, great chops, and a sort of twisted jazz ethic in that the leader was a borderline nonverbal lunatic grunting and directing the band with body tics. movie they made ain't citizen kane but it is very true to the music, and that makes it worth watching
classic coltrane quartet sets a pretty high bar for musicianship (somebody else mentioned the second miles quintet). charlie parker seems to be the consensus #1 genius player, but he was such a scumbag he didn't keep a band together for long
classic coltrane quartet sets a pretty high bar for musicianship (somebody else mentioned the second miles quintet). charlie parker seems to be the consensus #1 genius player, but he was such a scumbag he didn't keep a band together for long