Top Ten Rock Bands of All Times

Music cleanses the understanding; inspires it, and lifts it into a realm which it would not reach if it were left to itself. Listening to the one right song can change your mood in an instant. Listening to a rock and roll number conjures up images of a happy-go-lucky world and is an immediate stress busters. Hard Rock acts as an adrenaline boost when you are feeling down. Punk Rock is a way of relieving all your pent up frustrations. And as the name suggests, blues rock are a good companion when you are feeling the blues. Pop is supposed to make you feel urban cool, but I just feel like banging my head to the wall when I listen to it. Music is the form of art that is most reachable and is the best medium to spread your message across to the world. It is a universal language that can be understood by everyone. So who is the greatest of them all? Which band has inspired generations with their music? Which band rocks the hardest? The trouble with any such top ten list is that everyone has their own opinion and there can be no one universal list with which everyone would agree with. One can either shudder anticipating the barrage of disagreements and make politically correct choices or can go ahead in his own flow, ignoring others and going ahead with his own judgement. So I am not going to pretend to be a music expert and claim this list to be the "Holy Grail" which every music reviewer on the planet has been searching for. It is just my opinion on who I think are the greatest.(This means the Top 10 bands of all time. No solo artists allowed. No female artists allowed. No collectives allowed)

1. Led Zeppelin - The greatest of them all. Generally regarded as the finest hard rock band , Led Zep were more than a just a band. They were a movement representing the carefree and groovy culture of the 70's. In a career spanning 10 glorious years churning out 9 albums, Led Zepplin were (and still are) the most popular rock band in the world. Their music was inspired from many sources and transcended genre's including metal, rock, blues, folk, funk, soul, rockability, pop and classical to name a few. 30 years on since disbanding, the band is still held in high regard for their artistic achievements, commercial success and broad influence. They developed the blues-based power trio-plus-lead singer archetype. John Bonham on the drums is widely considered to be one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music by other musicians, and one of the most important and influential musicians of his era. His drums solos were legendary and the raw talent and power he displays in his songs is out of this world. The greatest tribute to the skills of Bonham comes from his own band members who often stated that Led Zeppelin wouldn't have been half as good without him. John Paul Jones's bass and strategic keyboards glued the disparate elements of the band together. Together with Bonham, he provided the backbone to the band adding an eclectic dimension to the band making it more than just a rock band. Robert Plant’s vocals reached levels of deranged ecstasy with his lyrics often mystical, philosophical and spiritual, oozing with sexuality or classical myths. Jimmy Page was unquestionably one of the all-time most influential, important, and versatile guitarists and songwriters in rock history, producing the most influential guitar riffs and solos in history of rock music with unerring ease— from the heaviest crunch to the most delicate acoustic finger picking. So many bands have broken up and gotten back together again, some of their members being interchangeable. But Led Zeppelin was different. Each member was dependent upon the other. Without Page there would be no Plant. Without John Bonham there'd be no John Paul Jones, etc. They were all valuable pieces of the band; you could not have one without the other. The real legacy of Zeppelin is the timelessness of their music. Nobody can come close to "Stairway to Heaven" with its soft, peaceful opening and its steady increasing guitar energy to all out heavy metal euphoria, then ends as it began, peacefully. Their music doesn't sound dated; it breaks certain generational gaps that other musical genres just cannot do. Zeppelin's music always sounds fresh and is always gaining new audiences and maybe that is why they are called "classic". If it were not for Led Zeppelin, hard rock, heavy metal, or whatever it's called it now, would sound very different today. They defined what a hard rock/metal band is supposed to be.
2. Queen - There have been many bands that have graced the stage, but none could be compared to the grace and power of Queen. Formed in 1970, members Brian May, renowned singer Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and John Deacon, set the world on fire with years of grandeur. Queen as a band showed no limitations in talent, mixing hard rock, opera, and pop, among many musical styles. They have been associated with a wide range of genres including dance/disco, glam rock, hard rock, heavy metal, pop rock, progressive rock and psychedelic rock, country, opera, gospel, and folk. Queen utilized both a hard rock grit of distortion laden guitar, and the soulful keyboard styling which was a one of many trademarks of this epic rock group. Queen is remembered for its never-seen-before theatrics, showmanship, camp and bombast; in particular its musical eclecticism and ground-breaking live shows. In the mid-to-late '70s, the group's work reached new levels of creativity and accessibility thanks to the development of its four members as songwriters. Guitarist-vocalist Brian May and drummer-vocalist Roger Taylor wrote catchy rockers, bassist John Deacon proved to be an adept writer of pop songs and flamboyant vocalist-pianist-frontman Freddie Mercury was particularly skilled at penning ornate, sometimes campy tunes. His semi-operatic "Bohemian Rhapsody" stands as Queen's signature song and has been voted many times as the greatest song in history of music. The track showcases the group's layered vocal harmonies, which is one of Queen's most distinctive trademarks. Queen's live performances were truly ground-breaking, employing massive lighting rigs, pyrotechnics, and other special effects to make their shows into engaging theatrical events. The energy with which they performed, the excitement, enthusiasm and pure adrenaline Freddie Mercury brought with his vocal performance, was so natural and so genuine that the audience almost always joined in and sang. Queen wrote songs with the specific purpose of involving the crowd, like "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions," and tailored some songs, like "Radio GaGa" to involve claps. They changed live concerts forever from the staid, stodgy events that had prevailed since the time of the Beatles, where performers would merely stand around and play their instruments. John Deacon, their bass player, not content with just playing a background role and playing root notes, used his bass guitar as a lead instrument as well as a rhythm instrument. He played in a highly technical style, with numerous runs, walking bass lines and tight quick note changes. Roger Taylor is known for his "big" unique sound and is considered one of the most influential rock drummers of the 1970s and 1980s. Brian May was a virtuoso guitarist. He was able to play the most intricate guitar solos and come up with the most catching guitar riffs and was known to be able to produce unusual sounds, using his guitar to mimic a trombone, a piccolo and several other instruments. But Freddie Mercury was the heart and soul of the band. As a performer, he was known for his vocal prowess and flamboyant performances. As a songwriter, he used to write musically complex material involved the wide range of genres. But his true genius was truly showcased in his live performances. He immersed himself in the crowd's adulation and thrived off their excitement. Those who compile lists of Great Rock Frontmen and award the top spots to Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, etc. all are guilty of a terrible oversight. Freddie, even on his worst day, was easily the most godlike of them all. When Queen were at the peak of their powers, they were generally panned by the critics due to their extravagant performances and music style. In recent years, the group's critical stock has increased considerably: they have generally become recognized as pioneers of heavy metal, glam rock, progressive rock and stadium rock, been cited by innumerable acts as diverse as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, Metallica, Extreme, Dream Theater, Steve Vai, Trent Reznor, Robbie Williams, George Michael, Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, Foo Fighters, Muse, The Darkness, Franz Ferdinand, and Joan Osborne as being influential to their sound. It’s very early songs were a key bridge between glam rock and heavy metal. One of rock's most successful, influential and popular acts, the band has released a total of eighteen number one albums, eighteen number one singles, and ten number one DVDs worldwide making them one of the world's best-selling music artists. Queen albums have spent a total of 1,322 weeks or twenty-seven years on the United Kingdom album charts; more time than any other musical act. Queen is also one of the most bootlegged bands ever. We Will Rock You is the most frequently played song ever. Their 1985 Live Aid performance was voted the best live rock performance of all time in an industry poll. If anyone is still sceptical about Queen, just look at this statistic: On April 20, 1992, the surviving members of Queen and other artists like Elton John, Annie Lennox, David Bowie and Def Leppard performed a memorial concert at Wembley Stadium in England in the honour of Freddie Mercury. That show was broadcast worldwide to an astonishing audience of more than one billion. Their lyrics inspire and move you, and sometimes may even bring you to tears. Queen will live forever.

3. Velvet Underground - Here is a band that is an enigma to me. Cited by many critics as one of the most important and influential groups of their era, they were never a commercial success. Brian Eno once stated that, despite hardly anyone buying this album on its release, everyone that did buy it seemed to have formed a band. Decades after they broke up, they have been gradually accepted as one of the best and most important bands in rock history. Why did it take such a long time for their art to be appreciated. When the rest of the world was singing about peace and happiness, the Velvet's were singing about drugs, sex and sadomasochism. Lou Reed was quoted by Rolling Stone magazine as saying "My prime ambition was to knock the door down on what rock & roll songs were about." The band sought not just to entertain, they were on a mission to prove that rock and roll could be dangerous again. They managed to create an aesthetic so extreme, alien and ahead of its time that it has taken three decades for the world to catch up. Kurt Loder, one of the most respected music critics once stated "Why doesn't the Velvet Underground just reunite, make an album of its own, and instantly become the most meaningful band on the planet?" That is the respect that VU commands amongst the music community. The Velvet's dished out just 4 albums, but in doing that they left a legacy of their own. Without VU, there would have been no glam rock, no krautrock and no punk. Their legacy is defined by their noisy sound, their cynicism and a long list of great songs. But the true legacy is their lyrics, which blew open a whole new world that rock bands would go on to explore in decades to come. David Bowie has said, "The nature of Reed’s lyric writing had been hitherto unknown in rock...he supplied us with the street and the landscape, and we peopled it."Listen to mainstream rock acts like Bon Jovi or Guns N' Roses, and you'll hear the influence of the Rolling Stones. Listen to college or alternative radio stations, and it's clear the heroes are the Velvet Underground.
4. The Beatles - The Beatles were one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music who changed the face of music with their songs. It's not a mere coincidence that the Rolling Stones, the Billboard and countless other music publication have named them #1 in their top 100 lists. With John Lennon on Rhythm Guitar, Paul McCartney on Bass Guitar, George Harrison on Lead Guitar and Ringo Star on the Drums, with all four of them providing the vocals, the band had a combination of explosive energy, boyish charms and immaculate musical talent that made them instant stars across the globe. John Lennon and Paul McCartney together formed one of the most influential and successful songwriting partnerships of the 20th century and wrote some of the most iconic music in rock and roll history. Each Beatle had a personality of their own that everyone can relate to and yet they remained united as a group. They made themselves so easy to love and adore which gave birth to what was billed as Beatlemania. They generated an intensity of joy that slapped millions of people in the face with the awareness that happiness and exuberance was inevitable in their presence. They generated an energy that was amplified a million times over and returned to them in a in form of intense levels of hysteria by their fans (specially love struck teenage girls). But more importantly, it was the message that their music portrays that insures their success today. They were innovative and defiant. Unlike many groups today, the Beatles message was not that of menace and evil, but it was a message of peace, love and happiness that set out to change the world by changing the minds of the individuals listening.
5. U2 - U2 is the most important and influential band of the post-punk era, combining sonic guitar rock, punkish attitude, Celtic spirituality, innovative production and electronic experimentalism — all gelled together by singer/lyricist Bono’s transcendent vision and charisma. Since their inception, U2 have developed and maintained a distinctly recognisable sound, with emphasis on melodic instrumentals and expressive, larger-than-life vocals. The Edge has consistently used a rhythmic echo and a signature delay with his guitar that has yielded the ambient and sweeping sound which defines U2. Bono has nurtured his operatic voice and has exhibited a notable lyrical bent towards social, political, and personal subject matter while maintaining a grandiose scale in his songwriting. U2 have introduced new elements into their musical repertoire with each new album. U2's early sound has been described as “containing a sense of exhilaration that resulted from The Edge's radiant chords and Bono's ardent vocals”. U2's sound began with post-punk roots and minimalistic and uncomplicated instrumentals heard on Boy and October, but evolved through War to include aspects of rock anthem, funk, and dance rhythms to become more versatile and aggressive. The songs from The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum placed more emphasis on rhythm as they mixed distinct and varied styles of gospel and blues music. In the 1990s, U2 reinvented themselves as they began using synthesizers, distortion, and electronic beats derived from alternative music, dance music, and hip-hop on Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop. The 2000s had U2 returning to a stripped-down sound, with less use of synthesizers and effects and a more traditional rhythm. But their music is not what separates them from the rest. What makes U2 different is how well they have reacted to fame. U2 has been the leading rock band since the '80s because its members believe that rock ‘n’ roll can save the world, and they have the talent to make that notion not seem hopelessly naive. Since the early 1980s, the members of U2—as a band and individually—have collaborated with other musicians, artists, celebrities, and politicians to address issues concerning poverty, disease, and social injustice. U2 have used tours to highlight social issues. There rarely has been a band that believed so deeply in rock's potential for revolution as U2, and there rarely has been a band that didn't care if they appeared foolish in the process. They were (and still are) rock & roll crusaders during an era of synthesized pop and heavy metal, equally known for their sweeping sound as for their grandiose statements about politics and religion. Most other bands have used their fame and fortune for personal gains, multimillion dollar contracts, sex and drugs. Not U2. They are different. They use their music to make a change, to make a difference in the world (Bono has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and has been awarded knighthood for his work). That is why they are great and are rightfully the biggest band on the planet.
6. The Who - The loudest band in the World. The Who have been there and done that all. Formed in 1964 with guitarist Pete Townshend, vocalist Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon, The Who are renowned for their energetic live performances (their music is not bad either). They rose to fame with their explosive stage performances and a series of Top Ten singles.Pete Townsend, the man who introduced the world to 'The Windmill' was the primary songwriter for the group and is considered to be one of rock's most accomplished composers. Daltrey's vocals were the vehicle through which Townshend's visions were expressed, and he gained an equally vaunted reputation as a powerful vocalist and riveting frontman. Daltrey's habit of swinging the microphone around by its cord on stage became a signature move. His stuttering expression of youthful anger, frustration and arrogance captured the revolutionary feeling of the 1960s for many young people around the world and became the band's trademark. His scream near the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again" became a defining moment in rock and roll. Daltrey was the face and voice of the band as they defined themselves as the ultimate rebels in a generation of change. His stage persona has earned him a position as one of the “gods of rock and roll” and has influenced the development of many other bands since. The Who's progressive approach to the writing of albums and their live shows are matched by few. Their hard rock style set the stage for bands from Led Zeppelin to The Clash. Their loud and agressive approach to rosk and snotty attitude earned them the title of "Godfathers of Punk" influencing bands from Sex Pistols to Green Day. The Who's 60's singles were the birth of Power Pop influencing groups from Raspberries to Cheap Trick. The Who have been credited with devising the "rock opera" and for making the first notable concept album. The Who are rightfully regarded as the greatest live band of all times and certainly one of the most influential.
7. AC/DC - AC/DC are perhaps the most aptly named band in Rock history. Listening to their songs send a jolt of current running through your body, shocking and mesmerizing you at the same time. Their raw energy and power driven performances are so infectious that it can get even the laziest bum (like me) on his feet grooving to their tunes. Formed by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young, AC/DC are considered to be pioneers of heavy metal. Malcolm Young is regarded as a leading rock exponent of rhythm guitar. He is responsible for the broad sweep of AC/DC's sound and has been instrumental in developing many of the band's guitar riffs and the band's material. Angus Young is the face of AC/DC and is known for wild, energetic performances and schoolboy-uniform stage outfits. He is especially noted for his vibrato, his intricate improvisation in live shows, and his stripped down and simple approach to guitar play. But the thing that separates him from other great guitarist of the his era is his wild on-stage antics. He is a bundle of energy on stage be it intense jumps, running back and forth on the stage while playing his guitar, the Spasm (throwing himself on the ground, kicking, shaking and spinning in circles, while playing guitar), the Bob (headbanging while tapping his feet to his guitar) , the Strip (name suggests it all). He would even climb on Bon Scott's (and later Brian Johnson) and they would make their way through the audience with smoke streaming from Young's back, while playing an extended guitar solo. Scott was rated as one of Rock's Greatest Frontman along with Freddie Mercury and Robert Plant. They truly are the thunder from down under that gives you the second-most-powerful surge that can flow through your body.
8. The Jimmy Hendrix Experience - OK I admit. I am cheating here. But I had to put Jimi Hendrix Experience in to get the man in the top 10. He is widely considered to be the greatest guitarist in the history of rock music by other musicians and commentators in the industry, and one of the most important and influential musicians of his era across a range of genres. He is the guy that gave the world the electric guitar, establishing it as a unique sonic source, rather than merely an amplified version of the acoustic guitar. Had there been no Jimi Hendrix, rock, as we know it, wouldn't have existed. There would have been no Led Zeppelin, no Velvet Underground, no Aerosmith, no The Who and no other hard rock/ metal band today. His feedback, wah-wah and fuzz-laden soloing moved guitar distortion well beyond mere novelty, he used these effects pedals and units with dramatic results. Hendrix established a sonically heavy yet technically proficient bend to rock music, significantly furthering the development of hard rock and paving the way for heavy metal. He took blues to another level. His music has also had a great influence on funk and the development of funk rock. He was a dazzling showman - he could and would play behind his back and with his teeth and set his guitar on fire. His extraordinary guitar play often obscured his considerable gifts as a songwriter/ singer. His untimely death robbed the world of one of the greatest musician of his time. One can only imagine what he may have achieved had he lived on.
9. The Kinks - Nearly half a century on from their debut, the legacy of prime-era Kinks is still impressive. At a time when the Beatles and the Stones were still in thrall to American blues and rock & roll artists, The Kinks were spearheading the British Invasion.Led by Ray Davies, who is indisputably rock's most literate, witty and insightful songwriter, the Kinks were one of the bands that really started the Rock & Roll movement in America. Their single "You really got me going" introduced distortion and the power chord to the world and is widely regarded as the starting point of Heavy Metal and Punk Rock. The song brings together the elemental fury and desperation so essential to punk rock and the distortion and relentless intensity of the lead guitar sound so prevalent in heavy metal. The Kinks were never as commercially successful as their peers, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, or Led Zeppelin, mostly because of their fierce creative disdain of commercial musical trends that were imposed by record labels. This in itself makes them true legends of Rock & Roll which is all about the fight against the man. Today they are cited as one of the greatest, most influential acts and the quality of their finest material remains unquestionable. Their early hard-driving singles set the tone in the mid-1960's for rock and roll music. Their albums are unique, literate pop masterpieces that stand alongside any albums of that influential era. The number of acts the band has influenced vary from hard rock and heavy metal to punk rock, and the notorious Britpop movement, with many of the acts owing much to the Kinks and Ray Davies' superb songwriting skills. Pete Townshend famously said for "The History of Rock 'n' Roll": "The Kinks were much more quintessentially English. I always think that Ray Davies should one day be Poet Laureate. He invented a new kind of poetry and a new kind of language for Pop writing that influenced me from the very, very, very beginning." Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have acknowledged permeating influences of the Kinks on some of their own classics. Ray Davies has left his mark on rock music as one the best, most prolific and perceptive songwriters of his time. His catalogue of songs, soaked with English musical and lyrical influence, is one of the finest available, and he remains one of the most acute observers of the quirks and eccentricities of ordinary English life. The Kinks are truly Legen - wait for it..... Dary!
10. Pink Floyd - Pink Floyd is the most eccentric and experimental multi-platinum band of the album rock era, creating exceptional cinematic sound sculptures like “Meddle,” “Dark Side of the Moon,” “Wish You Were Here,” and the band’s magnum opus “The Wall.” Pink Floyd are known for philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album cover art and elaborate live shows. Beginning in the mid-'60s as a R&B-based hard rock band with Syd Barrett on guitar and vocals, Roger Waters on bass and vocals, Richard Wright on keyboards, and Nick Mason on drums, the band mutated quickly into a strange combination of British psychedelia and long-form instrumental space rock. The music soared into entirely uncharted sonic territory, combining the new pallet of distortion guitar with classically influenced organ and driving percussion. Lyrically, the songs painted a bemused and whimsical landscape of interstellar travel and childhood daydreams. After guitarist David Gilmour joined the group to replace Barrett, Floyd became a democratic foursome sharing writing, singing and leadership duties. As Floyd headed more deeply into experimental symphonic explorations, the more popular they became. Each successive album, supported by regular concert tours, built Pink Floyd's stature and broadened their epic ambition. The release of "Dark Side of the Moon" in 1973 was a thunderclap across all of pop music. A tour-de-force of production, arrangement, song-writing and timing, Dark Side rose to #1 on the Billboard chart and stayed there for the next 12 years, carving Pink Floyd a legend that remains untouched to date and will likely remain indefinitely. The albums "Wish You Were Here" and "Animals” sold millions of records and were supported by record-breaking, over-the-top tours. But it wasn't until "The Wall", Roger Water’s dismal vision of modern life and alienation, that Pink Floyd would again break new ground. Waters' influence, though darker and more earth-bound, also yielded material better suited to the singles format. The touring production for The Wall involved the construction of a huge wall between the band and the audience during the show (broken at the end of show, obviously) and remains to this day one of the most ambitious road shows ever toured. Pink Floyd defined the Progressive Rock genre and influenced scores of artists like David Bowie, Genesis, The Nazz, Queen, Phish, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Yes. Floyd were different to say the least. Not everybody’s cup of tea. They defied musical trends and beliefs. They crossed all borders and genres. They went where no one had gone before and found that they were comfortable there. They crossed in to unchartered waters and opened a whole new world for all of us to admire. Their music was original and different from anything the world that had seen before. There has been no band like Floyd and most probably never will be. That is the legacy of Floyd.