The 50 Best Rock Bands of All Time - Do You Agree?

[MaVolta]

Classic Rock (loudersound.com) just released their list of the 50 best rock bands of all time on their website as voted on by fans. I suppose the poll was on their website. I get their newsletter but don't always go to the website.

So here is the result that was posted earlier this week. Did your bands make the top 50? Who, in your opinion is missing? And what about the ranking? 

https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-50-best-rock-bands-of-all-time

Most of my favorites are there, but one is missing, and the rankings would be a little different, in my view. I don't want to comment without a spoiler alert, so I'll see if I can do that in the next post. 

Look forward to your comments. 

[LouLit01]

https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-rock-bands-of-all-time

This list is more reasonable.

[MarybethG691589]

I have to disagree with this list!!!! I don't think they are true classic rock and roll fans hey they're not old school!!! My bands are there but not in the order they should be : are you kidding me Rush and no mention of Moody Blues Bob Seger Boston Foreigner Jethro Tull Neil Young really!!! Well I just know one thing we all know who makes the list in our eyes and what order they should be because we are the true classic rock and roll fans here!!!!!

[LouLit01]

[BeatleloverKT]

Also another omission I saw, where are the Grateful Dead??

[MaVolta]

Aerosmith landed at #17 on the list while The Doors checked in at #36.

Agree, Grateful Dead is quite an oversight.

[LouLit01]

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@MaVolta wrote:

Aerosmith landed at #17 on the list while The Doors checked in at #36.

Agree, Grateful Dead is quite an oversight.

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The Doors are #36. Number 36. There are 35 rock bands better than the Doors. 

ON WHAT PLANET?

[BeatleloverKT]

Ah @LouLit01  I knew you'd have to read the list lol

Totally agree about the Doors, I'm shocked with the whole thing and still wondering who did the voting. Not us, the true rockers, so well put by @MarybethG691589 lol Also along with all the other ratings, in what WORLD does ZZ Top end up at #48?? They deserve better! And I don't know about you guys but there are a bunch of bands in there I've NEVER heard of, and I've been listening to rock music for a long time!!

[LouLit01]

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@BeatleloverKT wrote:

Ah @LouLit01  I knew you'd have to read the list lol

Totally agree about the Doors, I'm shocked with the whole thing and still wondering who did the voting. Not us, the true rockers, so well put by @MarybethG691589 lol Also along with all the other ratings, in what WORLD does ZZ Top end up at #48?? They deserve better! And I don't know about you guys but there are a bunch of bands in there I've NEVER heard of, and I've been listening to rock music for a long time!!

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ZZ Top has always been under rated.In my opinion, it's at least partially because their MTV videos stunk.

[MaVolta]

This newsletter originates in the UK, so there were probably a lot more British and European voters than American voters like us. It may also explain why a lot of British bands get a higher vote than American ones. Like, who ever heard of Marillion? Even so, they are still missing bands like The Hollies, for example.

There are some bands that I've never heard of, and some that I have, but never listened to. I never liked any of the grunge bands or punk bands, and Metallica is the only heavy metal band that I ever liked, for that matter. "Just give me that old time rock and roll"  that Bob Seger sings about!

So here's an American fan ranking for the top 100. It's continuously revised by fan votes. It's a lot more reflective of bands we've been talking about. This list also includes individual artists, like Elvis. What is missing is older artists like Little Richard who had tremendous influence on British rock bands of the 60's. If you want to vote, just create an account. They have a lot more categories to browse, as well.

https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-rock-bands-of-all-time

And this list of top 50 was put together based on certain criteria, which is a fairer representation, although it's still subjective since they are taking the opinions of music critics into account.

https://rateyourmusic.com/list/chriswalczyk55/top_50_classic_rock_bands_of_all_time/

[ls1873]

Can't  take  this  list serious !  Who  the  heck  is  Marillion  and  how  can  they  be  ahead  of  Cream  and  Journey  ?!   Slade  ahead  of  Chicago, CCR,  and  the  Doors  ?!   Jethro  Tull  and  Frank  Zappa  should  be  on  this  list  !   Beatles  and  the  Who  should  be  1  and  2  respectively  !

[BeatleloverKT]

@MaVolta  The other two lists are more realistic. A list from the UK explains a lot. Although doesn't explain things like ranking Van Halen, who covered a Kinks song but not ranking the Kinks! Also, as I said, tons of obscure bands made the list but a lot of bands were snubbed. And, imo heavy metal bands don't belong with classic rock bands. But the most important thing to remember is that a bunch of those that made the list wouldn't even exist without the Beatles. Hence why they are the BEST BAND EVER!!

[MaVolta]

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@BeatleloverKT wrote:

@MaVolta  The other two lists are more realistic. A list from the UK explains a lot. Although doesn't explain things like ranking Van Halen, who covered a Kinks song but not ranking the Kinks! Also, as I said, tons of obscure bands made the list but a lot of bands were snubbed. And, imo heavy metal bands don't belong with classic rock bands. But the most important thing to remember is that a bunch of those that made the list wouldn't even exist without the Beatles. Hence why they are the BEST BAND EVER!!

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Agree. The Beatles were the launch pad for everyone that followed. But even the Beatles and all of the blues-rock bands were influenced by the 50's rockers like Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Elvis, and Buddy Holly, not to mention all of the blues artists, as well.

Also, I love Metallica, but I don't consider them a 'classic rock' band. I suppose it could be argued that Black Sabbath was the first true heavy metal band but they still have classic rock credentials, imo. They were the first band that ever went that 'dark and heavy', as I recall. They did open the door to the genre and the bands that followed.

Personally, I would only consider bands that had their origins in the 50's, 60's and 70's as being 'classic rock' bands. There wasn't a lot that came out of the 80's for me as rock n roll was mostly dying out and giving way to punk, grunge and slash metal. That's not 'classic' or 'rock' to my notion! 

My soap box speech for the day, LOL! 

[MaVolta]

Spoiler

The Beatles at #6? OMG!! What's up with that?

Most of my favorites are on the list: Rainbow (43), CCR (37), Fleetwood Mac (31), U2 (25), Bon Jovi (24), Thin Lizzy (22), Eagles (18), The Who (13), Deep Purple (11), Metallica (9), Rolling Stones (8), The Beatles (6) ???, Pink Floyd (4), Led Zepplin (1) ???. 

Missing from the list: Steppenwolf (the step-child of rock, it seems) and Moody Blues, a leader in the psychedelic / prog-rock movement, and the first to publish a concept album. 

I would rank Purple over Zepplin on any day of the week. But that's me!

[BeatleloverKT]

I don't know how to do the spoiler alert thing so here goes my thoughts-

First off the Beatles at #6?? That's an absolute TRAVESTY! I'll be in shock forever at that one. I love Led Zeppelin but sorry they don't belong at #1. Basically I disagree with the top ten, among others. 
Stones at #8? (They should be higher) Queen at #2? Black Sabbath at #7? Rush at #3? (Don't even belong on the list) NO WAY! Also, Bowie is only at #23 and Dylan at #21? Totally disagree!

Notable omissions for now are- No Moody Blues, No Jethro Tull and no ELO? Really? Who voted for this? Not me that's for sure!

[MaVolta]

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@BeatleloverKT wrote:

I don't know how to do the spoiler alert thing so here goes my thoughts-

First off the Beatles at #6?? That's an absolute TRAVESTY! I'll be in shock forever at that one. I love Led Zeppelin but sorry they don't belong at #1. Basically I disagree with the top ten, among others. 
Who voted for this? 

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Probably a bunch of millenials who fancy themselves classic rock fans! I read the articles here from time to time, as well as Rolling Stone and Ultimate Classic Rock. Quite often the writers are not contemporary with the subject matter. Sometimes I have to laugh. I don't know how many times I've seen them write about Purple being a heavy metal band.

I forgot to mention CREAM  (as in 'cream of the crop) and they are at 45? They would be on most people's short list for at least the top 10 if not the top 5.

It's hard to rank bands like this since they are different in many ways. I only know who my favorites are, and I think that is how most fans tend to vote. I certainly haven't spent a lot of time listening to all of them, just the ones that I like.

In their top 5, I only agree with Pink Floyd. My top 5 would probably go - 1) The Beatles, 2) The Stones, 3) Pink Floyd, 4) Cream, and 5) Deep Purple. I would have Moody Blues in the top 10, as well as Fleetwood Mac, The Who, Rainbow and Led Zepplin.

Two other bands not mentioned are The Guess Who and Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. They would make my top 20 along with Steppenwolf. 

[MaVolta]

One more missing - what about Foreigner? They reigned supreme in the late 70's and into the 80's.

[BeatleloverKT]

I didn't see Aerosmith either or might of missed them. I would have a different top five, Beatles#1 always, agree on Pink Floyd, Stones belong there and the Mac also and ELO, who didn't even make the list belong at least in my top 20.

[LouLit01]

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SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

@BeatleloverKT wrote:

I don't know how to do the spoiler alert thing so here goes my thoughts-

First off the Beatles at #6?? That's an absolute TRAVESTY! I'll be in shock forever at that one. I love Led Zeppelin but sorry they don't belong at #1. Basically I disagree with the top ten, among others. 
Stones at #8? (They should be higher) Queen at #2? Black Sabbath at #7? Rush at #3? (Don't even belong on the list) NO WAY! Also, Bowie iRUSJly at #23 and Dylan at #21? Totally disagree!

Notable omissions for now are- No Moody Blues, No Jethro Tull and no ELO? Really? Who voted for this? Not me that's for sure!

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Thanks for this post; you saved me from reading the list. Black Sabbath is a better band than the Rolling Stones? Rush is #3?  Who made this list, a bunch of stoned out their minds baby boomers listening to 8-track in mommy's basement?

And I'm not even going to mention... 

[BeatleloverKT]

Sorry @LouLit01  if I messed you up! (My bad)

Also I'm VERY upset about where Fleetwood Mac ended up ( I won't give it away) lol but I wonder who voted on this list??

[LouLit01]

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@BeatleloverKT wrote:

Sorry @LouLit01  if I messed you up! (My bad)

Also I'm VERY upset about where Fleetwood Mac ended up ( I won't give it away) lol but I wonder who voted on this list??

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No, for once I wasn't being facetious. I'm glad I didn't read that list. C'mon, Rush is a better band than the Beatles? They need to put the crack pipe down.

Sincerely, thanks.