Greatest band: The Allman Brothers
Greatest album: “Blood on the Tracks” – Bob Dylan
Greatest song: "Just My Imagination (Runnin’ Away With Me) – the Temptations
Greatest guitarist: James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix
Re Alice Cooper as the greatest - I don’t think so. He did some unusual, for the time, theatrics but he never came close to the influence on the rest of the music world that the Beatles did. By the same standard of measure used for Alice, you could nominate Kiss and Ozzy Osborne as the greatest.
As for the Stones, even Mick Jagger admits that John Lennon and Paul McCartney taught the Stones how to write songs. I would agree that, if you are talking about a concert band, (that is, live shows) the Stones are probably the greatest. But that’s only because the Beatles stopped giving concerts and broke up. At any time when the two bands were still playing, Beatles tickets were always harder to get than Stones tickets.
As for the Allman Brothers as the greatest – they are certainly a good band, but puhleeze . . . .
As for greatest guitarist, there seems to be a majority consensus on Hendrix - and I would guess that even some of the people voting for him haven’t seen him live.
Ahhh… but you make my argument. Kiss and Ozzy would never have had an audience, had Alice not paved the way. Many other artists claim that Alice Cooper had a huge influence on their musical careers - you’d probably be surprised.
It’s not just the theatrics, that I credit Alice with, it’s the whole visual show. I honestly believe that without Alice (or some other pioneer like him) every rock and roll show would feel just like a Doobie Brothers concert… not that there’s anything wrong with that… it’s just a bit subdued. Of course, Jimi was tourching his axe at about that time and The Who were smashing their kit, so maybe it would have evolved… eventually.
You make a very good point. I hadn’t thought of Alice, not because I don’t consider him great, but just because there are so many bands that it’s hard to think of everybody. I may have to amend my post.
While it’s true that Elvis and the Beatles defined rock & roll in its beginnings, the genre has moved along quite a bit. For example, for raw energy from the band or the crowd, compare Elvis with Pantera. There is no comparison–it’s not a fair contrast. Alice Cooper took an existing art form and EXTENDED it into something entirely new, but without losing what it was about originally.
There have been several redefinitions of Rock in the last few decades, starting with Metal and Punk in the '70s, what I consider “Rock” and New Wave in the '80s, Glam/Hair metal in the late '80s & early '90s, the current waves of Alterna-Pop (Rap/metal/sorta-punk fusion) and Hardcore (bands like Sevendust and KMFDM)…
But I think that Alice Cooper probably has made bigger contributions than all of that–if not for him and what he did, we’d still be snapping our fingers and humming “Hard Day’s Night”.
NOW.
In defense of Ted Nugent, There have been more technically proficient guitarists (wizards like Satriani and Vai) and people with more soul (Stevie Ray Vaughan)…Even people who made bigger contributions and had wider influence (Hendrix). But considered across the board, I think he has a better combination of all those traits than anyone I’m aware of. He’s proficient, he plays good music, he’s innovative, and he has personality and energy to spare (I doubt anybody can deny that). And I’ll bet that even though not a lot of guitarists credit him specifically, he’s had a bigger influence than you guys give him credit for.
Besides, I saw him on a kid’s show called Newton’s Apple, explaining (and demonstrating) Audio Feedback and how it can be used positively. 
Just for that he deserves to be the best. hehe
There are no dangerous weapons,
Only dangerous men.
Joe Cool
Not to knock the OP, I love this kind of discussion, but I still think Keith Richards gave the best answer to this question when someone asked him he thought the Stones really were the “Worlds Greatest Rock and Roll Band.” Keith answered that the worlds greatest Rock and Roll band was some bunch of kids playing in a club somewhere that night that no one had ever heard of, and that it would be someone else the next night.
It’s great to be in a non-critical argument for once. However it comes out, it will be a good game in the meantime.
Such as the audience was. I wouldn’t call them the mainstream, and in their best year, I doubt they ever reached as many people as the Beatles reached on the single day they released the White Album. If that’s your criteria, then Led Zeppelin would rank above them for spawning the much greater genre of heavy metal.
I would be happy to compare it with the list of artists who say that the Beatles were a huge influence. One that comes to mind right now is the Beach Boys, who some would argue are a contender in their own right. Another would be the Stones, whom they taught how to write songs. They were also responsible for the “British Invasion” among other things.
Yes, as opposed to the actual music.
There is always someone looking to go over the top in Rock and Roll. That’s part of what it is all about. But I don’t think that really qualifies to go into the top ranks. Personally, I hate to knock your favorite, but I don’t think I would rate Alice Cooper even in the Top 10 Greatest. Probably not even the Top 20. Certainly not by record sales, and not by influence, either.
Wow, this one is so incredibly easy
- Led Zeppelin
- Animals: Pink Floyd
- too many to choose from as well (leaning towards dazed and confused live BBC Sessions)
- who else? Jimmy Page
c’mon guys its not that difficult
Erm, Ok why not…
Greatest Band: Nirvana. At 31 I am too young to recall the beatles, so that undoubtedly slants my view. However based on my lifetime, and personal tastes, Nirvana was the largest impact band I ever had the opportunity to live through and experience.
Greatest Album: Probably Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill. For an unknown to have that many quality songs, and lets face it a lot of them were large hits, was the determining factor in saying this was ‘The Album’ for me.
Greatest Song: Not really sure. There are several that I think are timeless and love, but to say one is the best? Can’t do it.
Greatest Guitarist: Steve Vai. Even by his pears he is considered one of the greatest ever, with Joe Satriani and several other people who slip my mind at the moment. But again based on my experinces I prefered Steve Vai and as such give him my vote here.
On to the arguing now!!!
Seriously I see a lot of Beetles up here, and I was shocked to not see any Elvis fans (What no Elvis Sighting today?) speaking out. But after reading everyones thoughts, and opinions I think I see the genius of this question being all of us dating ourselves in one time period or another.
Boucanier, excellent thread…
Band: The Smashing Pumpkins
Greatest Album: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Greatest Song: toughy…
Guitarist: James Iha
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Boucanier *
**Lot of threads/posts about music/albums/etc. lately. Lets cut to the chase. In the genre of Rock n Roll only who or what is…
- The Greatest Band Ever
- The Greatest Album Ever (original material only. No Best of, Greatest Hits, Etc.)
- The Greatest Song Ever
- The Greatest Guitarist Ever (Since Rock n Roll revolves around this instrument so much)
]
-
Beatles (I know, so obvious, it hardly bears repeating, but there it is.)
-
Hmmm… even though I’ve heard it so many times that I’m sick of nearly every song on it, and haven’t played it in many years, I’ll go with “Who’s Next.” Because the first trillion times I played it, it was magnificent.
-
I’ll change my mind in 30 seconds, but at the moment, it’s “Expresso Love,” by Dire Straits.
-
Oh… David Gilmour of Pink FLoyd.
Greatest Guitarist Ever?
hmmmmm.
You can make a case for Hendrix. He was mind-blowing. Multidimensional. From another planet. Touched by God. That sort of thing.
You can make a case for Clapton, Page, Richards, Beck (Jeff), Gilmour, Duane Allman, those guys. They weren’t Hendrix, but their playing was more accessible. It’s easier to cop a Clapton lick than a Hendrix lick. I’d separate out Gilmour as more of a creature of the studio, though.
You can sort of make a case for Eddie Van Halen. Not my cup of tea but undeniably influential.
Heck, you can even make a case for Bob Dylan. He was the troubadour with a guitar that gave rise to millions of troubadours with guitars. Not that that’s necessarily a good thing.
Ya know, all those guys are great, but the greatest guitar playing I’ve ever encountered, playing that brings tears to my eyes, that really moves me, is (was) done by Jerry Garcia rippin’ it up with the Grateful Dead. Nothing beats that in my book.
Moderator’s Note: Since we now have a place to put this thread, I’ll move it to Cafe Society.
Stevie Ray Vaughn only gets one mention in this thread?
I’m appalled.
Best Band: The Beatles
Best Album: The Wall
Best Song: Stairway – I don’t care if it’s a cliche.
Best Guitarist: Stevie. Chrissakes. Stevie goddamned Ray fucking Vaughn.
Hello?
Of course the Mothers Of Invention and the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band were doing theatrics, writing witty lyrics full of self mocking irony long before it made any money.
In fact, it was Frank Zappa that first signed Alice Cooper to a record deal, putting out his first three albums.
Greatest band ever - The Beatles, 'nuff said
Greatest album - Sgt. Pepper. It changed the whole rock world. It showed everyone that an album could be much more than a collection of singles. The boundaries were broken.
Greatest song - too hard to narrow down.
Greatest guitarist - I saw Hendrix twice and Cream three times. Too close to make a call. I’d even have to throw Townshend and Zappa into the mix. Different styles, but truly masters of the guitar.
Another guitarist that often gets overlooked is Roy Buchanan. It was obvious he knew the sound that could be made by every molecule of his guitar. The first time I went to see him, a guitarist friend of mine was working on the stage crew. He came out before the show, after the sound check, shaken. He said he watched Roy do the sound check with a can of Miller in one hand, playing Malaguena with the other hand. He was ready to give up the guitar then and there.
Greatest Group: The Beatles, with the Who a distant second.
Greatest Album: Allman Brothers Band Live at Fillmore East
Greatest Song: Bruce Springsteen’s “Rosalita”
Greatest Guitarist: Duane Allman
Okay, if we’re going to talk about the band that purely embodied the spirit of Rock N’ Roll, it can be none other than The Who. Not only did they write some of the greatest kick-all rock and roll of all time, but they lived it. Keith Moon died being a crazy man. Pete Townshend rammed a whammy bar through his hand. Their hotel room destruction capability alone would qualify them for the hall of fame.
I could never definitively answer any of these question. However, I’ll give answers, just for my own interest.
1. The Greatest Band Ever
The Velvet Underground - The Beatles were heroes to most, but they never meant shit to me. Paul McCartney sang Hey Jude, Lou Reed did Venus in Furs. That sums it up there. I could count on one hand the number of songs that the Beatles did that still stand up today, but Stephanie Says or All Tomorrows Parties still sound fresh. The Velvets invented music for people who didn’t always top the charts, who didn’t want to go the easy route with their music and who understood that you needed a little bit more than love.
Nirvana - You listen and you know. Throat-shredding, mind-blowing rock; catchy and memorable yet uncompromising and powerful. Whether it’s the riff-o-rama of Smells Like Teen Spirit or Lithium or the ferocious noise of their earlier material, or say Territorial Pissings you can just tell that Nirvana were special.
The Pixies - because without them, there would be no indie music in the last fifteen years, and if there was, it would sound a lot different.
R.E.M. - because without them, no-one would have ever heard any indie music in the last fifteen years.
Radiohead - Have you heard Ok Computer? Then you know.
I’ll think about the other questions, but they’ll probably be too hard.
I"m perplexed as to why “Eat A Peach” was named “Best Album” in the OP, and not “The Fillmore Concerts,” which contains much better versions of the same material.
Hats off to Arnold! I agree with picks 1, 2, and 4 completely. And it is too difficult to pick the greatest song ever. Hell, my opinion on that changes just about every day, but today I’d have to say “96 Tears” by ? and the Mysterians.