Greatest band of all time?
 

I think there's enough music aficionados here to chime in on this...

Taking EVERYTHING into account...

- raw musical talent
- stage presence
- chemistry among members
- no weak link members
- core members remaining the same
- sheer number of hits vs. filler
- longevity
- music style
- personal style
- timing in history
- personality
- behavior / antics / excess offstage
- innovation
- commercial success
- other bands who consider them an influence
- overall legacy to this day

Who would be #1 in your eyes?

I think most bands that would fit all of these categories would be from the 60s / 70s... But Led Zeppelin ultimately wins.

Led Zeppelin popped into my head as well . . .

Queen is definitely up there

The correct answer is Led Zeppelin.

great players, good solid rock, cute Asian babes, what's not to like?

:thumbsup

Led Zepplin; John Bonham
B.B.King
Aerosmith
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Beatles
Stevie Ray Vaughn; Reese Wynans
Dave Brubeck

Too many to list that were influential, had style, and were inovative.

zz top, rammstine, ramones, beach boys, BLACK SABBATH, nirvana etc..

Led Zeppelin
Pink Floyd
Fleetwood Mack
The Eagles
Queen

As a footnote... while I do prefer the Beatles music slightly over Zeppelin, I think they would take 2nd. Honorable mention to The Who, Rush, Rolling Stones, Queen and Nirvana.

Queen
Depeche Mode
Muse

Queen :thumbsup

If the question were what is the greatest hard rock/heavy metal band then Led Zeppelin would be the correct answer (although Black Sabbath and Deep Purple have a claim).

There is clearly only one acceptable answer for most intelligent life forms: The Beatles.

It's The Beatles and "everyone else". The artists mentioned here would fall under the "everyone else" classification. No other band on Earth has been as beloved or as influential including influencing just about all the artists mentioned so far. It's not "who is your favorite band" but "who is the GREATEST band of all time".

:thumbsup

There is no doubt the Beatles are the most beloved. But again, see the list above. Led Zeppelin checks every box, taking ALL things into account. The Beatles are my favorite but when you look at every aspect of what makes a rock band absolutely legendary, Led Zeppelin has the edge. I'd put the Beatles 2nd in this regard. However, musically I do prefer The Beatles myself.

Toss up between Dipset:



Or Roc-A-Fella:

#1 Grateful Dead
#2 The Beatles

Well The Beatles "check all the boxes" as well. It depends on your definition of a "rock band" as The Beatles were also quite pop. They were both (and more) which is what makes them unmatchable. Led Zeppelin always sounded like Led Zeppelin while The Beatles sounded like, well, everything.

Bottom line: there IS no Led Zeppelin without The Beatles. So, for me, it's not a debate. BTW: The Who are my favorite band after The Beatles. I prefer them to Led Zeppelin. But Zep was incredible too! :)

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

- raw musical talent - Beatles
- stage presence - Beatles
- chemistry among members - Both
- no weak link members - Zeppelin (sorry Ringo)
- core members remaining the same - Both
- sheer number of hits vs. filler - Beatles
- longevity - Both (10 years each)
- music style - Beatles
- personal style - Beatles
- timing in history - Beatles
- personality - Beatles
- behavior / antics / excess offstage - Zeppelin
- innovation - Beatles
- commercial success - Beatles
- other bands who consider them an influence - Beatles
- overall legacy to this day - Beatles

:pimp

Without any doubt the greatest of all times were "The Beatles", followed by "The Rolling Stones".

You could add Queen or Pink Floyd to the list of top 5 or top 10.

Honestly can't find any american band in the top 5, but for musicians I would put Elvis Presley or BB King, in the top 5 of musicians. For American Bands, I remember in the 90's Aerosmith was quite popular same as Guns and Roses and Nirvana.

For heavy metal you could definitely add Metallica, ACDC and Iron Maiden to the top 10.

Talking about Aerosmith, never understood why there was a sudden trend with Virtual Reality in the 90's for a few years, then it vanished and disappeared completely, only to re-appear again in recent years.

...band?

fucking with y'all, have fun

plus 1 on Depeche Mode though

Beatles, Queen, Nirvana, Eagles, Beach Boys.

I'd hit it so fucking hard. :winkwink:

When this discussion isn't being had, it's the Beatles.

Only when people stop and think about it, divide things into categories etc, do they come up with a different answer.

Rolling Stones
Beatles
Chicago
Joe Cocker

Chicago is great but I waver to put them in top 10.

I like Chicago's first two albums and "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" is great...but no way are Chicago or Cocker all time greats. They both devolved into schmaltz peddlers.

There is no category for this asshat.

Who each one of us thinks is the greatest of all times has to do with our age and what kind of music we were into as a teen / young adult.

The Beatles ranks up there, they were ground breaking, and had a massive impact on music.... In the 1960s and maybe the 1970s. Not my cup of tea.

Queen ranks up there for me. Great music, they could rock any stadium, and Freddie Mercury could mesmerize any crowd. I wasn't a fan as a kid, but I became one now that I am older. I think I've watched every concert they have on YouTube.

One of my personal favorites is Genesis. I don't like their super early music, but anything from "Then There Was Three" on works for me.

Others that I think should be on this list is Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Chicago, Rolling Stones...

1st Pink Floyd
2nd The Beatles
3rd Queen

ozric tentacles

25 to 64 to you too :1orglaugh

The Doors I would say, but it's more about Jim Morrison

Queen
Fleetwood Mac
Eurthymics

Pink Floyd and Pearl Jam.

Subjectively one of the very best bands of all time are The Replacements:

Beatles - they are your favorite bands favorite.

Sublime.

*Beatles
*The Who
*Pink Floyd
*Allman Brothers
*Crosby Stills Nash & Young
*Led Zepplin

Too hard to pick just one

I'd pick Zep over The Beatles as well.

When you get best drummer lists
Best singer lists
Best guitarist lists
none of the Beatles appear on them.
They were the best songwriters, but not the best band.


I've seen them in concert. But if we're going in that direction.. Gong!

their drummer balazs szende was my college mate :pimp :2 cents: :thumbsup
he is a superb drummer and his story how he joined the band is absolutely amazing!!!

Good point. McCartney is the only Beatle respected for his musicianship. Fantastic bass player.

The Beatles looked up to and tried to be like Elvis...
Elvis tried to be like ...
-------

wow that's quite awesome! (isn't he Szanda btw?;)

and hidria space folk, for that matter (shared the stage with them in 2006). and hawkwind. and... tons of others. :)

For me, it is Parkway Drive

He was a truly great bassist and singer, one of the best, but they all were respected players. The others weren't the greatest singers.

Paul M though pound for pound could go against any double threat and even some single threats like Robert Plant. Listen to "I've got a feeling" and then try it yourself. That was recorded live.

Clearly Lynyrd Skynyrd and Led Zeppelin had better guitarists but that's a very high bar, and just one metric.

I see your Band Maid and raise you one Babymetal



:upsidedow

Cream
Led Zepplin
Pink Floyd
Crosby Stills Nash
Beatles
Genesis (up to Duke)
The Who