So, the Stones hold this self-ascribed honour. (Yeah, honour with a “u” in Canada.) But really, who IS the greatest R&R band?
Hey, I love the Stones, but the Beatles are way too great here to ignore. I listened to a few Beatles discs last weekend and I’m still amazed at the lyrical content and the musical notes.
My vote is for the Beatles: I love the Stones, Who, and Doors roo.
Comments?
Ahh, Doors too, obviously…
The Beatles, hands down. This is the logic I use when debating rabid Stones fans. Lennon and McCartney, as solo artists, each had (at least) one bona fide classic. Let’s say “Imagine” and “Band on the Run.” (I’m making this rather simplistic, I know). Now let’s consider George Harrison. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that he had at least one “minor” classic during his solo career. We could say “My Sweet Lord” or “All Things Must Pass” or whatever you like.
Now. The fact that these three guys, capable by themselves of creating rock classics that everyone knows, were all from the same band tells me that nobody else can touch them for the title of Greatest Rock Band.
Has Mick or Keith ever had a solo hit? I remember Mick’s “Lucky in Love,” but that’s not quite in the same league as Lennon’s solo stuff…or even Harrison’s.
That’s an absurdly shortened version of my argument. But the point is made: I’d say that Lennon or McCartney or even Harrison would be the most talented member of any band they were a member of. Ergo, no band could be more talented than the three of them put together.
Let the debate begin!
The Beatles were at their best after they transcended rock and Roll, so I’ll go with The Who and/or The Rolling Stones. Close runners-up: Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, and The Doobie Brothers. Most overrated: The Doors and Jethro Tull.
What Dr. Rieux said. I love the Doors and Tull, but even I know they are over-rated and second-rate compared to the Stones or The Who.
It’s kinda like baseball. On any given night…
But I still vote for the Stones. 
Led Zeppelin. Everyone knows that.
Impossible to answer.
The Clash, with The Who running a close second: The Stones make it into third place, since they never released anything of worth after 1973, and Deep Purple, Led Zep, Motorhead and Black Sabbath tying for fourth. After that, anyone you like.
I figure The Beatles more as a pop band: some nice tunes, but they didn’t rock in the leather-trousered groupie shagging TV smashing hotel room wrecking Jack Daniels drinking car into swimming pool driving sense of “rock”: impossible to pin down, but it’s an attitude reflected in the music. As Tom Wolfe {?} put it, “The Beatles want to hold your hand. The Rolling Stones want to burn your town.”
Oh yeah, and The Doors were just a bar band who got lucky.
Buffalo Springfield, hands down! Their life was short, sweet, perfect and utterley Rawk an’ Roll.
mm
The Beatles were a great band but most of what they did, that was great, was not rock and roll.
The Stones are a good choice but it would be easier to pick them if they had all died in a car crash in 1980.
The Who would be a good choice if they never heard the term “rock opera”.
Led Zepplin certainly qualifies but I don’t care for them so screw that 
.
I’d go with the Clash.
Or the Ramones.
Or the Sex Pistols, although, not really as they’re more of an art school project about the perfect band…
Really hard to choose, but we know they’re English.
How weird is that?
I admire most of the bands above (exclude the Sex Pistols), but I believe the most under rated band was The Zombies.
Vu
English and 70’s, too. It is kinda odd, especially considering how fey and mimsy English bands have been for the past 20 years. I mean, what’s the most rock band England has now? The Darkness, with warmed-up Rainbow leftovers?
If Jimi Hendrix is a rock and roller, he (and the Experience) are the greatest.
Per Steph96’s argument The Eagles trumph The Beatles. They had Henley, Frey, Walsh, and Brown all with credible solo careers. Of course, I would never make that arguement as I think the Eagles suck pop rocks, with coke. Except Joe, he’s awesome.
I’ll second the Ramones. For 2.5 minute, 3 chord crunch, no band ever captured the purity of Rock & Roll like the Ramones.
The Stones, no doubt about it.
If we start with the argument that most of what the Beatles were great at was too complicated/sophisticated/deep/transcendent/whatever to be called Rock and Roll, then the choice defaults to the Rolling Stones and the Who.
The Who were louder than the Stones. Hell, at their peak, the Who were louder than World War II. In Rock and Roll, louder is better. Therefore the Who beat the Stones.
But since the greatest Rock ‘n’ Roller ever was Chuck Berry, all we’re doing is arguing over second place.
Someone I used to know constantly insisted that Smashing Pumpkins was the greatest band ever. I countered that, if you consider “greatest” to be an evaluation of the total talent of the individual members, then the Traveling Wilburys were the greatest band of all time.
I don’t think he cared to think about it that way…
The Rolling Stones, hands down.
With so many true anthems in their song book, (It’s only rock & roll but I like it, Sympathy for the Devil, Tumbling Dice, I could go on all day,) longevity of career, still touring, just released a wicked Cd, still chasing groupies and siring children out of wedlock. They make newer bands look like a bunch of Sheila’s.
I used to go to tons of concerts back when I was young, I lived in the big city and it was great. I saw a wide selection of performers,( BB King, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, John Mayall, Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, I could go on all day, seriously).
Then I saw the Stones. I’ll never, ever forget the experience. I saw them a couple more times after that, but haven’t seen them now in over 20 yrs. They made all the rest seem like rock and roll imposters.
When the Stones stop making music, well, then I’ll know I really am old.