Top 5 greatest American bands of all time

[Quinn Warren]

Beach Boys
Velvet Underground
REM
Sonic Youth
Wilco

[NT!]

meh, I think we can consider The Band to be American, they primarily lived and recorded in America, got their start here, and formed here. They are definitely in the top 5.

The Doors are not.

[pauliewalnuts]

[ QUOTE ]
Beach Boys
Grateful Dead
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
CSN & Y
The Band is considered American, right? Or are they Canadian?

[/ QUOTE ]

One of my favorite bands ever, but Nash is from England and Neil is from Canada.

[prohornblower]

Skynyrd makes it.

Halen doesn't.. aren't 2/4ths of the band Dutch?

[NT!]

[ QUOTE ]
Skynyrd makes it.

Halen doesn't.. aren't 2/4ths of the band Dutch?

[/ QUOTE ]

i think when we discuss a band's eligibility, the citizenship / origin of its members shouldn't matter as much as where it was formed, where it gained a following, primarily rehearsed and recorded, etc. VH was formed in Pasadena and gained its following in that area, I'd say they count. Not sure I'd have them in my top 5 though.

[nick604]

[ QUOTE ]
Guns N Roses
Metallica
Creedence Clearwater Revival
The Ramones
meh Nirvana

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd be inclined to put the Pixies above Nirvana.

Would love to see Pavement in there too, but don't honestly see them competing with the GnR/Metallica/Beach Boy crowd in terms of influence.

[NT!]

[ QUOTE ]
I'd be inclined to put the Pixies above Nirvana.

[/ QUOTE ]

I wasn't going to put them in my list because nobody will buy it, but honestly, you'd be hard pressed to find a more influential American rock band over the last 20 years. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] the Pixies

[theben]

[ QUOTE ]

Metallica


[/ QUOTE ]

Damn good pick!

[casey_brick]

CCR
Pearl Jam
Areosmith
The Eagles
Metallica

[NT!]

A few thoughts in the interest of narrowing down and/or broadening before I get to a list:

I think the most interesting eligibility question would be the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Hendrix was born and raised in America, and had previous musical experience here with Little Richard, etc. But he achieved fame and formed the Experience in England and enjoyed relatively brief success here in the States before his death. Hence I would say the Experience is not eligible. If they were, they would clearly be an automatic top 5.

The other question around the Experience is whether they count since they are basically formed around a single, leading member. Would Johnny Cash and the Tennesee Two count? What about Big Brother and the Holding Company? James Brown and the JB's? Probably not, since all of these bands are known for a single leading member.

Other groups, like Creedence, the Yardbirds, etc became known later on primarily for members who went on to have big solo careers, but they rose to prominence as a band and members were not rotated in and out with the frequency of a group like the JB's or other large 'backing' bands.

The JB's incarnation featuring Bootsy and Catfish would probably be another mandatory Top 5 if they were eligible.

I also suppose 'band' to imply that members produce all or almost all of the music used in recordings and performance; hence, R&B legends like The Four Tops, The Temptations, etc are not eligible.

With this in mind I will put together a top 5 shortly.