If you had to choose, what would be your Top 5 bands and the reasons why?

Not naming solo artists, and in no order -

R.E.M.
Rolling Stones
Kinks/The Who (will trade for a spot in the top five depending on the mood.)
Beatles
Monkees

List subject to change

 

Frankly, other then The Beatles the rest of the top 5 could shift on a weekly basis. BUT, Crowded House would be in there very often, as would Zep, The Who, Elton John, Jars of Clay, Toad TWS, Jude Cole, Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson, Genesis, ELO, Pink Floyd, Big Big Train, and Neal Morse.

Of course, Rush would make appearances, along with Live, Alan Parsons (and his Project ), Split Enz, the Eagles, etc., etc.

Even a top 10 would vary over time.

 

The Beatles - I saw them on the Ed Sullivan Show as a child and thought they were almost as good as the Beach Boys (I loved the Beach Boys). I'm not a fan of their early material, except when they rocked. There were too many pop love songs for my taste but they made up for it in spades later on. Abbey Road is my all time favorite album.

The Rolling Stones - Rocked much harder than The Beatles early on and Mick is an incredible front man.

Pink Floyd - I don't know how many times I have heard DSOTM but it never gets old. Anything from Meddle on still plays in a regular rotation on my turntable.

Dire Straits - I just love the sound of Mark Knopfler's guitar work and his voice. When I'm in the mood to just relax and hear some beautiful music they are a great option.

AC/DC - Kick A** Rock & Roll Band. Angus rules!!!

Angel City (The Angels) - Not a real well know band here in the US, but they are another Kick A** Rock & Roll Band. I have no idea why they were not more popular here, but I bought their first five releases in the US on vinyl back in the day, so I'm a happy camper.

 

The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
The Who
U2
The Clash

 

I have 2 lists of top 5 bands. The first are the bands that I began early with as a child and all music I enjoy has been based from them. I will never stop listening to them.

The Beatles
The Monkees
The Kinks
The Byrds
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers


My favorite bands/artists from the second half of my living life so far include:

Neil Young
Harry Nilsson
Lee Hazlewood
Broadcast
Beck

 

Oh, right, I forgot "why." Mostly because I like their music a whole bunch.

 

1. PINK FLOYD-Without a shadow of a doubt IMO the greatest band ever. Gilmours guitar, spacey, drifting, wafting, forever filling my ears with greatness undefined.
2. VAN HALEN-In my generation, they ruled the world. With Diamond Dave out front entertaining the masses and the LAST of the great guitar gods Edward Van Halen on guitar, no one held a candle to them.
3. KISS-THE greatest show on earth, PERIOD. When you payed to see them in their prime, you got every penny worth out of it. They were always about partying, women and having a good time and for that I am forever grateful.
4. Def Leppard-When I first heard High N Dry I was a fan. Great harmonizing band and great song writers. Their Obscure stuff like Scar, Desert Song, Deliver me, Paper Sun are epic. Steve Clark on stage was awesome.
5. The Eagles-This last pick was the toughest. Left out some really great bands but I love the Eagles. Mellow, great songwriting and multiple singers make this band #5 on the count down.

 

Oops I forgot Chuck Berry! I'd place him before Eddie Cochran, Cochran should be no. 6.

 

the OP said bands not individual artists

these 5 might not be my favourite bands but to me they personify the idea of a band ,i.e. a group of people working together and achieving something than an individual can't

The Band
Jefferson Airplane
Grateful Dead
Fairport Convention
The Beach Boys (around the time of Holland, Sunflower)

 

Agreed, but most of his Wovenhand records are pretty bad from a mastering angle, though I don't hear it as much on my favorites Blush Music and Mosaic, in fact I'm not bothered by those at all, even though they are louder than I would like, especially compared to the early (and great sounding) 16 HP records. The ones after have gotten progressively worse, but you're right, The Laughing Stalk was too much for me too. For most of the world, this new one is released on Deathwish records, so you can guess the rest

Yours is kind of a refreshing list of bands, BTW.

 

Thanks for the compliment on my bands list.

I think the biggest problem that DEE has had of late is he's up against it in terms of budget. I think to save on studio costs, he's played the last few live in the studio but, I believe, The Laughing Stalk might have been recorded differently, but I'm relatively certain that Ten Stones and The Threshingfloor were done this way. He's used Alexander Hacke (Crime & the City Solution) as his "producer" for a couple of records as I recall. I think the brick walling is just due to not having enough time to record, mix, and master properly. I certainly agree that albums like Mosaic, Consider the Birds, and the s/t don't have the horrible mastering jobs some of the more recent stuff has. It's a shame because Wovenhand is about the subtle inner workings of DEE's musicianship contrasted with his lyrics and a lot of that is lost with the massive blasting that has become the norm of late. From what you say, unfortunately, the new one sounds like more of the same. That said, I'll still happily buy it!

 

Gentle Giant
Jimi Hendrix Experience
Black Sabbath
Beatles
Jethro Tull (1968-1980) Deep Purple (1968-1975)
Others - King Crimson, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Yes, ELP, Rolling Stones ( 1964-1973) U.K., UFO, Byrds, Dylan, Xhol Caravan and to many to put down!

 

Jimi Hendrix Experience/Band of Gypsys
Jeff Beck Group
Peter Greens Fleetwood Mac
The Allman Brothers (the original 6)
Free

Why???? They are quite simply the 5 greatest bands that ever existed!!! Well..........To my ears anyway!!

 

1/ The Beatles
Since 1964 when I was an impressionable 11 year old, to this minute, my all time favourite band.
Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt Peppers.......how can you top that streak of music?
Their catalogue of music cannot be equalled, except, maybe by my second favourite.....

2/ Bob Dylan
As far as I am concerned Dylan and The Beatles are on a pedestal miles above the rest.
Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61, Blonde On Blonde....how can you top that.
All other artists you can rank where ever you like.

3/ The Rolling Stones
Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers....incredible !!!
Plus the 1972 show at Maple Leaf Gardens is still one of my favourite live shows.
Best live band ever except possibly for some Springsteen shows I have seen.

4/Bela Fleck
His immense talent never ceases to amaze me.
He has taken the five string banjo to a level that is unequalled.
Jazz, bluegrass, new grass, classical, world music.
Bela is possibly the greatest musician on the planet but too far from mainstream to get the
Recognition he deserves.

5/ The Band
Timeless music........

My apologies to Jerry Garcia, John Hartford, Van Morrison, CSN, Neil Young,
Jethro Tull and The Allman Brothers Band for not cracking the top five.

Glen

 

Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band - Relentlessly creative.
The Beach Boys - Brilliant songwriting, singing, arranging, and everything else that goes into a song.
The Beatles - Consistently superb throughout their career.
The Kinks - Ray's songwriting was so unique and of such a high caliber.
Big Star - They made wonderful music.

This would probably be different if we included solo artists, which I would definitely try to make room for Bob Dylan and Harry Nilsson.

 

The Beatles
Rolling Stones
Beach Boys
Young Rascals
Grateful Dead

 

I'll go with five of the bands I'm most likely to play right now, extending it to family, and with preference to those still (mostly) making music ...

Red Red Meat/Califone/Loftus/...
Pick one ... hmm, that's pretty tough, but if pushed I'd probably go with that first Califone record, Roomsound, from 2001. I love them from back in the more eclectic Red Red Meat days, but this one is vintage, and finally got the vinyl treatment it has always deserved a couple years ago. At first the songs kind of all meander together, but pretty soon it starts to fall into scenes. Almost like a landscape. I think Califone (and Tim Rutili in particular) does have a vision similar to that of a good cinematographer, and when you add in the array of expertly played acoustic instruments, and the subtle electro-organic textures by Brian Deck that add space and ambience, and the junkyard percussion that goes almost unnoticed at times, it all adds up to music with a real heart and soul. Electronically textured junkyard folk blues? Always something left to explore in these old deconstructed blues and fragmented ambient trips only hinted at in Keith Richards younger daze at Nellcôte, and in the Appalachian country-blues of Dock Boggs. Great sound as a bonus, and even includes some nice video footage live in an industrial bathroom performing a few tunes.

Three Mile Pilot/Black Heart Procession/Pinback
Love Pinback, especially Blue Screen Life and Summer in Abaddon. They have a coupla very nice EPs that might even be better. And in the beginning it was Three Mile Pilot, and specifically love their excellent and hard banging 1995 Geffen second album, The Chief Assassin to the Sinister. The lumbering bass-heavy, "Aqua-Magnetic", playing as I type. That's a bunch of years ago, back when even rock CDs still had a bunch of dynamics. Originally released on the little indie Headhunter in 1994, then picked up by Geffen about a year later, treated to a remaster with a couple extra songs, then unceremoniously dropped back to the indies, as Geffen and the rest of the biggies did with so many other bands in the mid 90s. Very heavy. Really sounds like a combo of the two bands they split into, Black Heart Procession and Pinback, mixed up with some of that dark, double-bass foundation of Girls Against Boys, but heavier than all of them combined. Have to crank it up too, way up, up in that volume control region that doesn't get used with any modern CDs, cause it ain't all crammed into the top couple decibels like that modern stuff. Nice sound, nice extended bass. This one even reminds me a little of Slint at times, but more of that Pinback melodic sound. Kind of Television sounding, with maybe a hint of middle-Eastern sound. Very cool. Post-rock meets pre-punk. The Songs From an Old Town We Once Knew odds and ends collection also has some real gems on there. Another Desert, Another Sea is another 90s classic, at least in my world, may even be their best. The run of three Black Heart Procession records, 2, 3, and Amore Del Tropico is one of my favorites of modern times. Listen to them all the time.

Sixteen Horsepower/Woven Hand/Lilium
Godshifter and I talked some about the Wovenhand part above, but it started in 1995 with some knockout singles like "Black Soul Choir", "Haw", and "Coal Black Horses", and then the first self-titled EP, and then the amazing debut in Sackcloth 'N' Ashes. No other band like them at the time, no band like them since. And they kept putting out great records all the way until the end with Folklore. Hard to pick a favorite still, but those early ones will always be at the top for me. Perfect blend of swampy Credence Clearwater, mixed with Appalachian folk, religious fervor, and large part of dark gothic Americana. Like Joy Division running from the Devil. The split to Woven Hand and Lilium left David Eugene Edwards more able to express his strong religious beliefs, with Jean-Yves Tola and Pascal Humbert following their own muse. Wovenhand has been much more active since DEE was the primary songwriter, but the Lilium Short Stories record is very good (nice sounding too), and still features a vocal by DEE.

Songs:Ohia/Magnolia Electric Co
I feel like I've said so much since Jason died last year, I don't think any artist has ever meant more to me. Still sad to talk about his music, but I listen to it all the time, and while in the end it may not have been enough to save him, it has helped me and countless others in ways we can't even begin to express. Didn't It Rain, Magnolia Electric Co, Black Ram ... I wouldn't be the same person without those records in my life, and not many I can say that about.

Court & Spark/Hiss Golden Messenger/Golden Gunn/Black Dirt Oak
This isn't a completely linear connection, Steve Gunn wasn't on those Court & Spark records, and the Court & Spark guys aren't in the Black Dirt Oak ensemble, but it is all related in my mind through that amazing Golden Gunn connection, and it's a big part of my part music personality these days. There's a good thread covering this whole obtuse connection along with my discoveries along the way... http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...ore-but-bless-you-is-still-a-great-one.141510

 

reasons not given but:
1 rolling stones
2 megadeth
3 twisted sister
4 the kinks
5 grateful dead/the doors/ the who

solo artists:
1 prince
2 bob dylan
3 stephen stills
4 bruce springsteen
5 jeff beck

 

The Byrds
Daryll-Ann
Happy End
The Rolling Stones (~1982)
Teenage Fanclub

 

queen.
they were my favourite band for a couple of decades. they were just so different. a few embarrassing moments here and there but overall fantastic.

king's x.
again they were unique sounding when they started recording albums. their first producer described them as being
a mix of hendrix/the beatles/black sabbath/ and a pinch of james brown thrown in.
one of the very first to use dropped D tuning.
they can be very heavy or not. nice harmonies, and loud bass on many of their lps.

thin lizzy.
they had their own sound. loved the twin leads.
the songs really told stories most of the time.
their guitarists were great and there were usually really good solos.

ufo/early aerosmith..
i don't listen to them much anymore, but at the time they were a big part of my music listening.
ufo were quite melodic.

the beatles.
well they are number one really, but i never count them as such when it comes to lists like this. to me its just a given that they are at the top.
they are at another level in the universe so it's not fair on all the other bands to put them in a top 5 or top 10 list.

 

England.
The Beatles. Inspired so many to form a band .. The Byrds did alright. . The Beatles 3 periods pop/psychedelic/rock were all excellent and excelled in any musical genre, they also gave birth to power pop.

The Rolling Stones.
Firstly a rhythm and blues band and pop band then rock band., circa late sixties. Always had a mystery to them something about their Decca album covers I find appealing.

The Sex Pistols.
Not enough output. But their debut album will make them immortal.

America.
The Beach Boys
I prefer their pre Pet Sounds period love the harmonies, production and Brian Wilson songs.

The Velvet Underground.
Lou Reed USA's best songwriter along with Paul Simon. Don't play VU as much as I did from a couple of decades earlier but have to give him major kudos for creating 4 stellar classic albums.

Steely Dan.
Always find it a joy to listen to their music such dazzling tempo changes, great musicianship and production. I prefer their last three albums with the edge to Gaucho.

 

Roxy Music

They changed everything for me.

 

The Byrds (My favourite 60s/70s band ever)
The Clash
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
The Smiths
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

 

The Monkees.....Oh dear..

 

Cold Chisel - Jimmy could sing a bit and Khe Sanh is a mighty song, the album it's off is brilliant too
Split Enz - True Colours and Time & Tide are two of the greatest albums released in the 80's
The Beatles - Some of their stuff is pretty good.
Steely Dan - Katy Lied & Pretzel Logic are major parts of the sound track of my life
The Band - I love Levon Helm. His version of The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down is the best for me. Music from Big Pink is a favourite.

Honourable mentions: Wings, Hello Sailor, Midnight Oil, America, Santana, Deep Purple, The Kinks & The Doors.