GTP Top 100 Rock Bands of All TimeMusic
- Thread starter Danoff
- 166 comments
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Danoff
Premium
- 34,023
- Mile High City
Ok here it is. This was hard. I had trouble thinking of 20 bands that I thought should be in the top 20. But I did eventually, and even had to remove supertramp from the list.
1 Pink Floyd
2 Led Zepplin
3 Alice in Chains
4 Radiohead
5 Aerosmith
6 U2
7 Ian Moore
8 Queen
9 Metallica
10 Beatles
11 Guns 'n Roses
12 Van Halen
13 Megadeth
14 Soundgarden
15 Jimi Hendrix
16 Simon & Garfunkel
17 Red Hot Chilli Peppers
18 Tom Petty
19 David Bowie
20 Sheryl Crow
I don't know if Sheryl really counts as a rock band, but she's so great and it's a close call that I think she should be in there. The problem with including her is that I start thinking that Madonna should be in the list as well - but she's definitely pop, so that's a no go.
I had trouble with the placement of U2 and Ian Moore. I like both of those band so much that it's tough to not put them in the top 5... but I think this is the way it should be.
I'll rescore shortly.
1 Pink Floyd
2 Led Zepplin
3 Alice in Chains
4 Radiohead
5 Aerosmith
6 U2
7 Ian Moore
8 Queen
9 Metallica
10 Beatles
11 Guns 'n Roses
12 Van Halen
13 Megadeth
14 Soundgarden
15 Jimi Hendrix
16 Simon & Garfunkel
17 Red Hot Chilli Peppers
18 Tom Petty
19 David Bowie
20 Sheryl Crow
I don't know if Sheryl really counts as a rock band, but she's so great and it's a close call that I think she should be in there. The problem with including her is that I start thinking that Madonna should be in the list as well - but she's definitely pop, so that's a no go.
I had trouble with the placement of U2 and Ian Moore. I like both of those band so much that it's tough to not put them in the top 5... but I think this is the way it should be.
I'll rescore shortly.
- 1,403
here is mine:
1. Led Zeppelin
2. Black Sabbath
3. Tom Petty
4. Metallica
5. Scorpions
6. Guns 'n Roses
7. Lynyrd Skynyrd
8. Queen
9. Nirvana
10. R.E.M.
11. AC/DC
12. Pink Floyd
13. Jimi Hendrix
14. Eric Clapton
15. The Who
16. CCR
17. Whitesnake
18. U2
19. Collective Soul
20. Van Halen
1. Led Zeppelin
2. Black Sabbath
3. Tom Petty
4. Metallica
5. Scorpions
6. Guns 'n Roses
7. Lynyrd Skynyrd
8. Queen
9. Nirvana
10. R.E.M.
11. AC/DC
12. Pink Floyd
13. Jimi Hendrix
14. Eric Clapton
15. The Who
16. CCR
17. Whitesnake
18. U2
19. Collective Soul
20. Van Halen
- 6,546
- matthewjlcoleman
Well I've made an edit to include Chuck Berry in the list, so you can recount my list ... I've discluded Metallica from Number 20 ... everybody else after Chuck Berry has been moved down a place.
When are you updating the list, danoff?
When are you updating the list, danoff?
- 9,589
- GTP_DelphicR
- Esoterik1
PS
Not a chance... Record sales do not denote talent... Britney Spears sells more albums than anyone, but has very little raw talent...
PS
(Banned)
- 2,883
Delphic ReasonNot a chance... Record sales do not denote talent... Britney Spears sells more albums than anyone, but has very little raw talent...
But Brittany Spears is pop...
I just don't think the members belonging to this site are an accurate reflection of raw public opinion on talent.
- 12,993
- USA! USA!
No.PS
- 6,546
- matthewjlcoleman
The bands on this list should reflect a number of things, including, but not restricted to sales. Placements should be based on:
...among other qualities. If one band has all of these and another has only a few, it still doesn't mean the first band should be placed first. It's based on how well they perfect some or all of these qualities.
Plus, if it goes on sales, you have to base that according to the era. Albums weren't purchased nearly as much as they are in today's society. If people bought albums as much as they do today, bands like Led Zeppelin would have sold many, many more albums, but pop icons like Britney Spears, Nu Metal bands like Korn and the like are selling tons of albums, because a lot of teenagers are attracted to these artists, based mostly on image, not musical ability.
GTP Top 100 Rock Bands Of All Time According To Sales would be a very different list. Bands like The Yardbirds, who were incredibly talented, wouldn't have made the top 500, let alone 100.
- Sales
- Songwriting
- Musical talent and ability
- Multiple good songs
- Diversity
- Uniqueness
...among other qualities. If one band has all of these and another has only a few, it still doesn't mean the first band should be placed first. It's based on how well they perfect some or all of these qualities.
Plus, if it goes on sales, you have to base that according to the era. Albums weren't purchased nearly as much as they are in today's society. If people bought albums as much as they do today, bands like Led Zeppelin would have sold many, many more albums, but pop icons like Britney Spears, Nu Metal bands like Korn and the like are selling tons of albums, because a lot of teenagers are attracted to these artists, based mostly on image, not musical ability.
GTP Top 100 Rock Bands Of All Time According To Sales would be a very different list. Bands like The Yardbirds, who were incredibly talented, wouldn't have made the top 500, let alone 100.
Despite what I've written above, it's still GTP's Top 100, not the world's.PS
Danoff
Premium
- 34,023
- Mile High City
PS
Certainly not - that would be boring. In this thread you can take into account the general popularity of a band when chosing your personal top 20 - but I didn't. This is a top 100 list generated from each individual person's top 20. In otherwords it's a combination of everyone's personal best-bands-of-all-time list.
Besides, just going on sales would mean that bands like soundgarden who didn't stay together long enough to make very many albums would get the shaft. But then, if you base it on a sales/album quantity you don't take into account bands like Aerosmith who have released tons and tons of albums over a loooong period of time and have been very influential and consistently good - but perhaps didn't sell any one particular album super well.
So going by sales would be tough to do... and really more of an accounting job.
- 29,353
- Glasgow
- GTP_Mars
Was interested to see how our (danoff's) poll here on GTP compared to the VH1 chart that so many of us thought was complete BS... so here is an attempt to show how similar/different they are... about half the bands on our list do not appear on the VH1 chart, with some notable omissions from theirs (The Beatles 
), and some merciful omissions from ours (Joan Jett And The Blackhearts 
) The top ten is remarkably similar 
Key:
Pos/Band Name/Votes on GTP/Change relative to the VH1 Chart (this is the number to look at... 👍 )
GREEN = Biggest positive difference between our chart and the VH1 chart
RED = Biggest negative differente between our chart and the VH1 chart
na = not applicable (artist is in our chart and not in the VH1 chart)
BLUE =Change of less than +/- 10 places between charts
1 Led Zeppelin 387 0
2 Pink Floyd 314 13
3 Beatles 222 na
4 Jimi Hendrix 197 -1
5 Who 192 3
6 Guns 'n Roses 153 3
7 AC/DC 152 -3
8 Queen 144 5
9 Black Sabbath 141 -7
10 Metallica 107 -5
11 Rolling Stones 102 56
12 Eric Clapton 90 na
13 Iron Maiden 84 11
14 Deep Purple 83 8
15 Van Halen 82 -8
16 Lynyrd Skynyrd 80 55
17 Tool 73 71
18 U2 72 na
19 Rush 67 9
20 Doors 66 12
21 Cream 62 -5
22 Motley Crue 62 7
23 Creedence Clearwater Revival 60 na
24 Pearl Jam 59 -3
25 Bob Dylan 56 na
26 Neil Young 56 13
27 Judas Priest 53 -4
28 Eagles 52 na
29 Joe Satriani 51 na
30 Nirvana 51 -24
31 Dire Straits 48 na
32 REM 46 na
33 Alice in Chains 44 1
34 Stevie Ray Vaughn 44 na
35 Dream Theater 43 na
36 Radiohead 43 na
37 Grateful Dead 42 na
38 Oasis 39 na
39 David Bowie 38 na
40 ZZ Top 36 4
41 Soundgarden 35 na
42 Yes 35 52
43 Ramones 34 -26
44 Blue Oyster Cult 33 11
45 Simon & Garfunkel 32 na
46 Coldplay 31 na
47 Chuck Berry 30 na
48 Muse 30 na
49 Tom Petty 30 na
50 Steve Vai 29 na
51 Supertramp 29 na
52 They Might Be Giants 28 na
53 Frank Zappa 27 -17
54 Ozzy Ozbourne 27 -36
55 Aerosmith 26 -44
56 Allman Brothers 26 na
57 Fleetwood Mac 26 na
58 Green Day 24 22
59 Motorhead 24 -33
60 Paul Mc Cartney 22 na
61 Billy Joel 21 na
62 Dredg 21 na
63 Genesis 21 na
64 Faith No More 20 -12
65 Randy Rhoads 20 na
66 Pantera 19 -21
67 Teenage Fanclub 19 na
68 Yngwie Malmsteen 19 na
69 Extreme 18 na
70 Flogging Molly 18 na
71 Joy Division 18 na
72 King Crimson 18 15
73 Rage Against the Machine 18 -44
74 Steve Miller Band 18 na
75 Thin Lizzy 18 -24
76 A Perfect Circle 17 na
77 Blur 17 na
78 Camel 17 na
79 Kaiser Chifes 16 na
80 Red Hot Chili Peppers 16 -50
81 Scorpions 16 -35
82 T-Rex 16 na
83 White Stripes 16 na
84 a-ah 15 na
85 Elvis 15 na
86 Franz Ferdinand 15 na
87 Guess Who 15 na
88 Kiss 15 -78
89 Mad Season 15 na
90 Tragically Hip 15 na
91 Foo Fighters 14 -19
92 Ian Moore 14 na
93 Kasabian 14 na
94 Mastodon 14 na
95 Nine Inch Nails 14 na
96 Pixies 14 -15
97 Van Morrison 14 na
98 Boston 13 na
99 Elton John 13 na
100 Jane's Addiction 13 -65
), and some merciful omissions from ours (Joan Jett And The Blackhearts ) The top ten is remarkably similar Key:
Pos/Band Name/Votes on GTP/Change relative to the VH1 Chart (this is the number to look at... 👍 )
GREEN = Biggest positive difference between our chart and the VH1 chart
RED = Biggest negative differente between our chart and the VH1 chart
na = not applicable (artist is in our chart and not in the VH1 chart)
BLUE =Change of less than +/- 10 places between charts
1 Led Zeppelin 387 0
2 Pink Floyd 314 13
3 Beatles 222 na
4 Jimi Hendrix 197 -1
5 Who 192 3
6 Guns 'n Roses 153 3
7 AC/DC 152 -3
8 Queen 144 5
9 Black Sabbath 141 -7
10 Metallica 107 -5
11 Rolling Stones 102 56
12 Eric Clapton 90 na
13 Iron Maiden 84 11
14 Deep Purple 83 8
15 Van Halen 82 -8
16 Lynyrd Skynyrd 80 55
17 Tool 73 71
18 U2 72 na
19 Rush 67 9
20 Doors 66 12
21 Cream 62 -5
22 Motley Crue 62 7
23 Creedence Clearwater Revival 60 na
24 Pearl Jam 59 -3
25 Bob Dylan 56 na
26 Neil Young 56 13
27 Judas Priest 53 -4
28 Eagles 52 na
29 Joe Satriani 51 na
30 Nirvana 51 -24
31 Dire Straits 48 na
32 REM 46 na
33 Alice in Chains 44 1
34 Stevie Ray Vaughn 44 na
35 Dream Theater 43 na
36 Radiohead 43 na
37 Grateful Dead 42 na
38 Oasis 39 na
39 David Bowie 38 na
40 ZZ Top 36 4
41 Soundgarden 35 na
42 Yes 35 52
43 Ramones 34 -26
44 Blue Oyster Cult 33 11
45 Simon & Garfunkel 32 na
46 Coldplay 31 na
47 Chuck Berry 30 na
48 Muse 30 na
49 Tom Petty 30 na
50 Steve Vai 29 na
51 Supertramp 29 na
52 They Might Be Giants 28 na
53 Frank Zappa 27 -17
54 Ozzy Ozbourne 27 -36
55 Aerosmith 26 -44
56 Allman Brothers 26 na
57 Fleetwood Mac 26 na
58 Green Day 24 22
59 Motorhead 24 -33
60 Paul Mc Cartney 22 na
61 Billy Joel 21 na
62 Dredg 21 na
63 Genesis 21 na
64 Faith No More 20 -12
65 Randy Rhoads 20 na
66 Pantera 19 -21
67 Teenage Fanclub 19 na
68 Yngwie Malmsteen 19 na
69 Extreme 18 na
70 Flogging Molly 18 na
71 Joy Division 18 na
72 King Crimson 18 15
73 Rage Against the Machine 18 -44
74 Steve Miller Band 18 na
75 Thin Lizzy 18 -24
76 A Perfect Circle 17 na
77 Blur 17 na
78 Camel 17 na
79 Kaiser Chifes 16 na
80 Red Hot Chili Peppers 16 -50
81 Scorpions 16 -35
82 T-Rex 16 na
83 White Stripes 16 na
84 a-ah 15 na
85 Elvis 15 na
86 Franz Ferdinand 15 na
87 Guess Who 15 na
88 Kiss 15 -78
89 Mad Season 15 na
90 Tragically Hip 15 na
91 Foo Fighters 14 -19
92 Ian Moore 14 na
93 Kasabian 14 na
94 Mastodon 14 na
95 Nine Inch Nails 14 na
96 Pixies 14 -15
97 Van Morrison 14 na
98 Boston 13 na
99 Elton John 13 na
100 Jane's Addiction 13 -65
- 5,622
- eMadman
I still don't get why people consider led zep as the greatest band of all time. Don't get me wrong, the guys are great. But what about them makes them the best? They constantly get the top place in countless lists, but I just don't get the ultra high rank. Their music is good, but it's not amazing. Is there something I'm missing maybe?
- 9,589
- GTP_DelphicR
- Esoterik1
PS
Matters not... What does the genre have to do with anything?... It was just an example of popularity versus talent...
The members of this forum ARE able to give an accurate representation of GTP's opinion on the matter... That's all this thread is for...
- 2,208
PS
...or are very good judges of talent, either. The inclusion of Guns N' Roses, the lamest, weakest, phoniest bunch of posers hard rock has ever seen, invalidates the whole exercise. They manage to piece together one decent cut in their entire career, and they make it onto this list?
And you rate Deep Purple way above U2? Oh, God....
- 7,271
Hmm, Guns N' Roses hater? One question, how can you say Slash wasn't talented?Zardoz
EDIT - And what are some examples of what you consider "talented" bands?
- 26,628
- OREGON
- a6m5zero
I'm not a fan of the Guns N' Roses or anything, but I have no problem with the inclusion of the band either. "Appetite For Destruction" alone almost put them in my list. It was pretty close, and would've been in, if it was a top-30. Sweet Child O'Mine, Patience, Welcome to the Jungle and Paradise City were my favorite Guns N' Roses songs. 
Danoff
Premium
- 34,023
- Mile High City
Zardoz
Guns N' Roses put together quite a few oustanding ALBUMS - not just one song. Slash is one of the greatest guitarists to ever live (not THE greatest, but one of). I'm surprised that you don't see the talent.
But I don't see the talent of plenty of that bands on that list - that's not the point of this exercise. The point is to take a composite view of everyone's taste here to see where the similarities lie. It's also to give us a chance to rectify the wrongs done in the VH-1 top 100 list.
- 4,680
Deep Purple was way more innovative than U2. Easily one of the biggest influences on metal. U2 are better songwriters in my opinion (Their earlier stuff, like The Joshua Tree), but Deep Purple absoltely demolishes them in terms of musicianship. U2 is a mediocre band at best in terms of instrumental ability. I'd certainly rate Deep Purple above U2.Zardoz
Although U2 has sold a lot more records than Deep Purple, but then again as stated previously, sales are useless for determining talent.
