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Most Influential Bands ever


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Recently I surveyed over 50 people on the most influential rock bands ever. This is a list of the results and feedback I received. Who would you say is the most influential.

Rnk Band -- Avg - 1st

1. Beatles -- 7.6 - (13)

2. Elvis Presley -- 7.0 - (19)

3. Jimi Hendrix -- 3.9

4. Led Zeppelin -- 3.5 - (4)

5. Rolling Stones -- 3.2 - (1)

6. Chuck Berry -- 3.0 - (5)

7. Buddy Holly -- 2.9 - (3)

8. Bob Dylan -- 2.4

9. Black Sabbath -- 2.0 - (3)

10. Doors, The -- 1.8

11. Who, The -- 1.5

12. Beach Boys, The -- 1.4 - (1)

13. Eric Clapton -- 1.3

14. Pink Floyd -- 1.3 - (1)

15. Eagles, The -- 1.1

16. Janis Joplin -- 1.1

17. Elton John -- 1.0

18. Grateful Dead -- 0.9

19. Aerosmith -- 0.9 - (2)

20. Queen -- 0.9

21. Nirvana -- 0.9

22. Van Halen -- 0.8

23. Sex Pistols -- 0.6

24. Clash, The -- 0.6

25. Creedence Clearwater Revival -- 0.5

26. John Lennon (solo) -- 0.5

27. Simon & Garfunkel -- 0.4

28. Bruce Springsteen -- 0.4

29. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers -- 0.4

30. U2 -- 0.3

31. Neil Young -- 0.3

32. David Bowie -- 0.2

33. Joni Mitchell -- 0.1

34. Fleetwood Mac -- 0.1

35. Van Morrison -- 0.1

36. Kinks, The -- 0.0

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Unthinkable that there is no mention of Bo Diddley (the Originator).

About half of these 'influentials' have severe cases of Diddley-itis. And it is guaranteed that each and every artist named here would feel honored to have shared a stage with Bo Diddley.

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  • 1 month later...

Yes, I believe they did. There was a time when I underestimated the importance of the Beatles, but then one day, I suddenly realized that yes, they are that good. However, for a few of the entries, I suspect that the voters were influenced by their personal favorite bands rather than going for the most influential band. For example, I can't think of any band directly influenced by the Grateful Dead, though this may be because I am not exactly a fan of the Dead and likewise would not be moved by the music of their followers. I would, however, definitely agree Bowie should be in the top ten - his various styles of music over the years has resulted in a good number of contemporary musicians benefiting from his influence.

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Pink Floyd should be higher. They were doing stuff no one else was doing. They basically invented electronica, they were using sampling techniques before anyone knew what sampling was and I think they were absolute pioneers when it came to "concept albums".

Nobody wants to give them credit for anything, everyone always says the Beatles did everything. Well.....they didn't.

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Wilco, Blitzen Trapper, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, My Morning Jacket, Fleet Foxes, Calexico...

Ah, yes, Fleet Foxes! :doh: I must remember to think before posting.

they were absolute pioneers when it came to "concept albums".

I can't disagree with the rest of your post, but... the Beatles had Sgt. Pepper's. ;) And then, of course, the Who created Tommy and Quadrophenia, two of the most iconic rock operas, before Pink Floyd wrote The Wall.

But, I was thinking and... shouldn't the Velvet Underground be on this list? They basically pioneered alternative music as we now know it.

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Recently I surveyed over 50 people on the most influential rock bands ever. This is a list of the results and feedback I received.

I'd be interested to know how you posed the question, the range and demographic of your focus group, the system you used for making sense of your research. I'd like to do the same with a UK focus group, to see how different the outcome might be. I reckon it might be interesting.

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  • 1 month later...

Yerrr, Where are the Ramones, Iggy Pop and the Stooges? These 2 bands were the inspiration for at least 3 of the bands listed (Clash, Sex-P's and U2), and coutless others! Music was NEVER the same after them! Shurley they should have got a gig? I mean, who apart from ELO and 10CC did the Beatles inspire?

The NY Dolls were around at the time of the Ramones but MC5 and Iggy were far stronger, and better role models!

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