# In your "Objective" opinion, which are the 5 greatest Rock Bands of all time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 15, 2008, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983 "2008-06-15T04:49:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/41 "2008-06-16T03:42:42Z")
[QUOTE=Nurobath] Opeth [/QUOTE] WIN ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/42 "2008-06-16T03:49:09Z")
[hijack] [QUOTE=TheFury] The Who, by popular vote or demand or whatever you call it, has 5 more votes than Queen. Of course, this means nothing, but it is interesting nonetheless. [/QUOTE] Interesting, indeed. Here’s a line from Freddie’s Wiki page: > [@](#): > > _After moving to England, Mercury became a fan of The Who…_ Fans of The Who have gone on to great things…I see that Pearl Jam’s set at Bonnaroo this weekend included _“Love Reign O’er Me”_. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/43 "2008-06-16T04:01:22Z")
[QUOTE=Cuckoorex] WIN [/QUOTE] Opeth isn’t a rock band, Opeth is their own genre of music. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/44 "2008-06-16T04:14:23Z")
Wow. This is really a tough, tough question. One band, for me, is clearly on the list: **The Beatles** The rest would be very difficult for me to rank. I think **Led Zeppelin** would have to be up there, too. I’m not a huge fan of them, but surely **The Rolling Stones** must count, too. Same goes for **The Who.** Wow, that only leaves one left. Maybe **Black Sabbath**? That’s the best I could come up with “objectively.” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/45 "2008-06-16T04:39:46Z")
This thread should be titled, “Pull your 5 favorite \*Fester-Rock \* bands out of your ass and assign them a numaracal value” :rolleyes: Any and all misspellings may or may not be intentional. ---
**Author:** ![Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a4c791/32.png) [@Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frustrated_Wonderer)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/46 "2008-06-16T04:45:53Z")
Someone mentioned Bob Marley and the Wailers. I do not consider them a “rock band”, but if this list were to include Pop and Reggae bands, then I would put Bob Marley WAAAAY up there. I do not know of ONE person (yet) that does not like \*\*_at least_ \*\* 3 or 4 Bob Marley songs. Plus, given the fact that he came from a 3rd world country and became a multi-millonaire and he still rallied for the poor and stood against political oppression speaks tons of this golden man. Sure he had a rather weird religion, and sure he might have smoked a bit too much in his life, but he (they) made some dame good music. It also dosen’t hurt to say that Marley’s “Legend” album is the best selling reggae album of all time with over 12 million copies sold. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/47 "2008-06-16T05:11:24Z")
[QUOTE=Gatopescado] This thread should be titled, “Pull your 5 favorite \*Fester-Rock \* bands out of your ass and assign them a numaracal value” :rolleyes: Any and all misspellings may or may not be intentional. [/QUOTE] What is Fester Rock? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/48 "2008-06-16T05:19:26Z")
In no real order: The Slickee Boys King Crimson The Pixies Pere Ubu Clutch ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/49 "2008-06-16T05:32:52Z")
[QUOTE=Qwertyasdfg] I respect other opinions, but I don’t really see how one can “objectively” find Queen the greatest rock band of all time. They’ve got many great songs, to be sure, but their catalog is pretty bloated and when their formula missed it was pretty bad. There are many other artists with similar or greater influence, consistency, and awesomeness. [/QUOTE] People have listed Stone Temple Pilots, Wilco, a fake joke band (Spinal Tap), plus over a dozen bands that 99% of people have never even heard of, and that’s the one you have a problem with? ---
**Author:** ![Greta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@Greta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greta)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/50 "2008-06-16T07:38:08Z")
[QUOTE=Octalcode] 4 Ramones [/QUOTE] About time! My choices, no explanation given 1.Ramones 2.Grateful Dead 3.Cheap trick 4.Van halen 5.MC5 ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/51 "2008-06-16T10:53:58Z")
Someone listed Mongolian Chop Squad, too. I don’t think anyone’s taking those seriously. Queen, though, one can take seriously and disagree with. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/52 "2008-06-16T11:02:51Z")
[QUOTE=blondebear] Who Beatles Floyd Stones Led Zeppelin Combine the audio/video catalogs of these guys, and you have a master’s course in the bands that paved the way for almost everyone else. [/QUOTE] I agree completely. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![buns3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c89c15/32.png) [@buns3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buns3000)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/53 "2008-06-16T11:06:25Z")
In no particular order: 1. Led Zeppelin (OK, that one is in order) 2. The Beatles 3. The Pixies 4. King Crimson 5. Polvo (seriously) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/54 "2008-06-16T15:10:15Z")
Five that influenced me, rather than five who had the largest sales: Cream Hendryx Queen Boston Beach Boys ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/55 "2008-06-16T16:52:36Z")
[QUOTE=TheFury] I do not know of ONE person (yet) that does not like \*\*_at least_ \*\* 3 or 4 Bob Marley songs. [/QUOTE] Please allow me to introduce myself. I may not be a man of wealth and taste, but I can’t stand Bob Marley. I have nothing against 70’s era regge either, I just think that Marley is insanely over represented and is possibly one of the weakest members of the genre. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/56 "2008-06-16T16:58:28Z")
Missed the edit window: ETA, perhaps it’s my age, but I don’t understand the Queen love being shown in this thread either. I mean yeah, Queen is ok, but top five of all time? Not even close. I think that the Beach Boys mention has stronger contention than Queen does, but as always YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a4c791/32.png) [@Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frustrated_Wonderer)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/57 "2008-06-16T17:03:54Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] Please allow me to introduce myself. I may not be a man of wealth and taste, but I can’t stand Bob Marley. I have nothing against 70’s era regge either, I just think that Marley is insanely over represented and is possibly one of the weakest members of the genre. [/QUOTE] Hahahaha Well pleased to meet you. There’s a first time for everything. 🙂 And yes, I agree with many, Queen is overrated BUT I take sales into account. I’m \*trying \* to take many things into account when “_objectivley_” rating bands, and I think sales represents influence, among other things, of course. I think Floyd to be the best band ever subjectively (duh). And I don’t like the Stones much. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/58 "2008-06-16T17:37:54Z")
1. Led Zepplin 2. Rolling Stones 3. Pink Floyd 4. AC/DC 5. The Who I consider the Beatles to be “Pop” music, not rock. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/59 "2008-06-16T17:54:34Z")
Rush The Rolling Stones Queen The Beatles Van Halen (w/Roth) I’d say Cowboy Mouth but everyone would scratch their heads. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983/60 "2008-06-16T18:22:05Z")
[QUOTE=Jonathan Chance] I’d say Cowboy Mouth but everyone would scratch their heads. [/QUOTE] Except me, I guess. But then I did live in Louisiana for a while. I think that the people who aren’t getting the Queen inclusion really don’t understand how popular they were outside the U.S. You don’t get 300 million records from Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, and Another One Bites the Dust. There was more. A _lot_ more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-objective-opinion-which-are-the-5-greatest-rock-bands-of-all-time/452983.md?page=4)