Hmmm… I like a lot of songs by both bands, but I’ll take Journey because Neil Schon is a remarkable and highly underrated guitarist.
King Crimson or the Jimi Hendrix Experience?
That one’s very hard, because KC has a sprawling multi-decade discography where they changed their sound 3-5 times, while the other band ended when its lead member died and thus didn’t have much of a chance to show their stuff long term. I’d go with KC mainly because of Robert Fripp’s uncompromising attitude c.f. artistic integrity.
Oh…
REM vs. U2.
U2 !
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five -v- Beastie Boys !
Beastie Boys easy. They are one of the best groups of all time regardless of genre plus they had massive influence over multiple decades. They are even in the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame.
Howlin’ Wolf versus BB King
Howlin’ Wolf. Great songs, and I’d rather listen to Sumlin play than King.
Umm,
Sonic Youth vs. The Flaming Lips?
Sonic Youth had more of a cultural/musical impact, at least here in Portland anyway.
Ozric Tentacles or Hawkwind?
Ok, I think I’ve let this sit long enough to let someone else answer it.
Hawkwind. Because if I can get my Space Rock with Lemmy on top, I’m gonna have it with Lemmy on top.
Jimmy Cliff or Peter Tosh?
Y’all are getting pretty obscure. I listened to a couple tracks from both and like Peter Tosh’s voice more.
Kim Deal or Kim Gordon?
Deal, easily. Sonic Youth’s high up there on the list of bands that I “should” like, but don’t. Pixies are awesome, the Breeders are awesome.
If we’re getting too obscure… Katy Perry or Taylor Swift?
Taylor Swift has more credibility since she writes her own music and can play instruments, but I like Katy Perry more and she is more of a standout pop star. So Katy.
Social Distortion or Bad Religion?
Oh. I’ll say Bad Religion, but not with any enthusiasm.
Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons or the Four Tops?
That’s a tough one, but I’ll go with the Four Seasons.
Okay, I had to read back to see if anyone had done this one yet, and I can’t believe no one has:
Prince or Michael Jackson?
I thought of that too, but did not want to do, afraid it would come off as too cliché.
Prince is the better guitarist, and more prolific song writer. However prolific and great are NOT the same thing, many of the songs he wrote for other artists to me seem bland or just bad, think “Manic Monday” or “Nasty Girl” by Vanity 6. His attempts to always come off as sexy seemed like an epic failure.
Michael Jackson is the superior artist, his songs have worn better than Prince, though not all. He has more classic songs then the Purple One, he is the better dancer and always seemed to be more fun to hang around with.
While Michael seemed to always be smiling, Prince always seems stuck up and like something is up his behind, bothering him. MJ comes off as more charismatic and likeable than Prince.
Regardless of all factors, Michael Jackson will be remembered better in a century’s time than Prince.
Plus Prince does not allow his music videos to remain on YouTube, he is an epic douche and thinks his work will be stolen if people are able to listen to his songs.
Seriously every other artist has their videos and songs available, what is so special about Prince?
Michael Jackson is the winner, and Prince knows this till his dying day!
Cage the Elephant vs. White Stripes?
White Stripes. Cage the Elephant’s good, but it’s missing a bit of oomph for my tastes.
How about Gang of Four (first two albums) vs Wire (let’s say first three albums, although you can amend this if you want to the first two or the second and third albums.)
Gang of Four
Monkees or Young Rascals?
The Young Rascals, although I like the later Rascals stuff too.
Not that I don’t like the Monkees, I just prefer the Rascals. If you listen to, say, Anthology, you see their progression from wedding covers band though 60s pop stardom to hippie jazzy concept album creators…
One for the antipodeans here: the Triffids or the Mutton Birds?
although it’s been posted already I’m going to have to go with Stevie because to quote Eddie Murphy, Stevie Wonder it’s a musical genius !
Boston or Kansas?
The Triffids for me.
Okay, Roth-era Van Halen or Sammy-era Van Hagar?