Best AMERICAN Rock Band?

[Minstrel]

More recent ones that I might include down the line (other than the Flaming Lips, whom MM mentioned): The Shins (assuming they haven't broken up), the Apples In Stereo, Vampire Weekend.

 

[Colonel Ronan]

Are you serious?

Soundgarden aren't my favorite, but as MM mentioned, they are very good and deserve a mention here.

Nothing about them interests me.

 

[The Professional Fan]

My vote goes to Pearl Jam.

Sublime was on course to be one of the biggest bands in the States before Bradley died.

Oh, and one more vote for TooL. If they released albums more often they would be the biggest rock band on the planet right now.

 

[Wheels]

Has anyone mentioned the Crickets, or are we thinking that's basically just Buddy Holly?

A few newer ones that are decent

Green Day
Weezer
Flaming Lips
RHCP


Also, groups like Iggy and the Stooges and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers should probably get some run too.

hey hey hey RHCP arent that recent

 

[Minstrel]

hey hey hey RHCP arent that recent

Yeah...enough with the dinosaur bands like RHCP.

 

[Rodolfo]

The Hollies

 

[Wheels]

Yeah...enough with the dinosaur bands like RHCP.

Agreed!

 

[Mediocre Man]

hey hey hey RHCP arent that recent

Ya, they shouldn't have been lumped in with the newer stuff.


Is anyone else a fan of Cheap Trick? They certainly don't belong in a conversation about best ever, but they are pretty damn good.

 

[crandc]

The Hollies

Weren't they British?

 

[Mediocre Man]

Weren't they British?

Yes, they are from England.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

The Monkeys

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

My vote goes to Pearl Jam.

Sublime was on course to be one of the biggest bands in the States before Bradley died.

Oh, and one more vote for TooL. If they released albums more often they would be the biggest rock band on the planet right now.

I thought Sublime took off after dude died?

 

[Mediocre Man]

The Monkeys

Maybe for who actually played the instruments for them

 

[Colonel Ronan]

 

[crandc]

The Monkeys

Monkees. Not a real band and one was British so not sure if they count. OTOH, who's the judge of who counts?

 

[Colonel Ronan]

Excuse that post.

 

[MARIS61]

All very talented bands there, but not one of them can touch The Mother's of Invention.

 

[MickZagger]

For me its;

1. System of a Down

2. Tool

 

[The Professional Fan]

I thought Sublime took off after dude died?

Yes, that is true. But their self titled album would have still blown up had he not died. "What I Got" was going to be a raging hit no matter. They would have ridden that wave as long as they wanted had Brad not died. I should have been more specific.

 

[STOMP]

Easily my favorite band I've seen 100+ times was Oregon's Cherry Poppin' Daddies. I gave them some artwork that eventually became their 1st CD cover though they were so low budget at the time I was paid in free shows and not credited on the CD because they'd forgotten my name

The Doors were my favorite as a kid through HS though Jim died a couple years after I was born. Jane's Addiction was awesome for a few albums. Loved Nirvana & Sublime. Santana, Prince, Dylan, Hendrix, Bruce all deserve a mention for guys with their name on the band. Parliament/Funkadelic put on a 5 hour show like no one else, but I'd give the Greatest American Band title to the Dead.

STOMP

 

[Nate4Prez]

Has anyone mentioned Sly and the Family Stone yet? Great group there. Man I forgot all about them, and they might even be top 5 for me.

Few bands more American than Sly and the Family Stone. GC MM.

[video=youtube;tWdVClbOYwI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWdVClbOYwI[/video]

 

[THE HCP]

Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Red Hot Chili Peppers......

 

[crandc]

Fleetwood Mac, not "great" but good.

Mothers of Invention, damn, that's a blast from the past. You know, I think someone might be arrested now if they produced a song with lyrics like Brown Shoes Don't Make It.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Fleetwood Mac, not "great" but good.

Mothers of Invention, damn, that's a blast from the past. You know, I think someone might be arrested now if they produced a song with lyrics like Brown Shoes Don't Make It.

I think Fleetwood Mac would fall under British and not American. The band was founded there, and the only original member is English. Good, good band though

 

[crandc]

I think Fleetwood Mac would fall under British and not American. The band was founded there, and the only original member is English. Good, good band though

Stevie Nix is American. Side note, she went to high school with a former coworker of mine. She was then Stephanie Nickerson. The two of them were in constant trouble at school, smart but major hippie misbehavior. Both turned out OK. My coworker left when another company sought him out for top management and Nix is doing just fine, thank you. My coworker said they still send each other obscene postcards.

 

[tlongII]

Did you get to see them @ The RG this summer? I saw them last summer in Atlanta. Killer concert!

No I missed it. I didn't even realize they were there until after the show. Shows you how much attention I pay to concerts these days.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Stevie Nix is American. Side note, she went to high school with a former coworker of mine. She was then Stephanie Nickerson. The two of them were in constant trouble at school, smart but major hippie misbehavior. Both turned out OK. My coworker left when another company sought him out for top management and Nix is doing just fine, thank you. My coworker said they still send each other obscene postcards.

Great story. Still doesn't make em American though

 

[Masbee]

There is no Beatles of American Rock Band history (or even Beatles and Stones) to have a clearcut no. 1. And me, I don't have a no. 1 fav.

If you define "band" as:

not a single artist (no Dylan) or duo (no Simon & Garfunkle) or dominat front man (no Prince, Springstein)
They write most of their own songs (no Motown)
They performed live a lot

Then, some Top 10 candidates off the top of my head from the last 20 years:

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Nirvana
Pearl Jam
Metallica
REM
Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Foo Fighters
Rage Against the Machine
Green Day
Soundgarden
Jane's Addiction
Alice in Chains

 

[crandc]

Pretty good definition, Masbee. I'd also include that at least some of them play instruments. (For example Four Seasons all sang but no one played, so I'd call them quartet or singing group, not band.) I would leave out performed live a lot because it would mean the Beatles stopped being a band after 1966!

BTW, not yet mentioned, Black Eyed Peas.

 

[julius]

Pretty good definition, Masbee. I'd also include that at least some of them play instruments. (For example Four Seasons all sang but no one played, so I'd call them quartet or singing group, not band.) I would leave out performed live a lot because it would mean the Beatles stopped being a band after 1966!

BTW, not yet mentioned, Black Eyed Peas.

My guess is they haven't been mentioned for a reason. They're not really Rock n Roll (but hip-hop), and to me personally, longevity plays a HUGE role. yes, they've been pretty successful for a while not, but realistically they've been around since 2003 (their first album, I believe, with that girl from Kids Incorporated).