Top 5 greatest American bands of all time

[PorkPieHat]

I think if you're defining 'great' by 'lasted a long time, put out a lot of good songs, maybe were at least a little influential', then the list is:

Beach Boys
Bruce & E Street Band
Allman Brothers
Aerosmith
Eagles

If Quality > Quantity then maybe one of these below replaces Aerosmith:

G 'n' R
Skynyrd
CCR

If it's one of those 'weird and only critics and cult followers and guys who suck off the critics' lists, then:

Velvet Underground
Nirvana
Pixies
Doors
etc

AFA my personal opinion, I'd have GnR far above Aerosmith, and both the Doors and Nirvana would be relegated to the scrap heap. The only thing influenced by the Doors music was Jose Feliciano, and Nirvana ushered in the grunge era, only to have it last all of 5 years and be replaced by Britney Spears.

Of course, if this were a top 10 list then I'd likely have Boston, Bon Jovi, and Weezer in it, but I am starting to lean towards teh ghey in my old age.