ISTM there are two approaches to the question:
- What British music to you like best
- What British music you think was the most impactful.
#1 is subjective.
#2 has some basis in fact you can argue.
You may be in for a long evening!
j
Very little to add to the “greatest” Brit bands already named, but in the interests of mentioning some bands the OP may have missed:
Love Sculpture - Dave Edmunds at his peak as a guitarist (admittedly, the band is identified as “Welsh” on Wikipedia). I think they only released two albums, but they do kick ass.
Brand X - Jazz/fusion band. Phil Collins was the drummer for a little while. Not for everyone, but undeniably a band with a great deal of talent.
The Who
Rolling Stones
Kinks
Mott The Hoople
Beatles
Dire Straits
- What British band has highest record sales?
- What British band was genuinely the best but never caught on?
- What British band had the most longevity?
And so on…
Of course it can get murky, but I purposely didn’t name this thread ‘What’s your favorite British Band’. I want to know what poster consider the greatest. Whether you feel that means record sales, influence on later bands, best songwriting, best stage shows, etc.
To me, influence on their genre should be high on the list. Maybe others don’t feel that way.
Yes, I’m not sure whether I’d put them in the “6 greatest,” but I’d at least give it serious consideration. It’s good to see them mentioned in a thread that is otherwise so dominated by “classic rock” from the 60s and 70s.
(Although “classic rock from the 60s and 70s” includes a lot of really great bands. I’m glad to see so many people mentioning The Kinks, and that The Moody Blues are getting some love.)
Incredibly true. I remember reading somewhere that their drug use was described as “spectacular”. Though I love Ozzie and Dio vintage Sabbath, as I understand it the first lineup were four brawling louts who happened to be extremely good at one thing. And yet despite all that, Tony Iommi has brilliantly assumed a persona of an elegant elder statesman of metal.
None of this is a criticism; I have an Epiphone SG Tony Iommi signature edition guitar that I love with a passion 
So I will go with:
Black Sabbath
Iron Maiden
Judas Priest
Budgie
Queen
Deep Purple
Black Sabbath is British?
I always though they were American.
TIL
Respectfully, if you’re not whooshing me, yes, they were Brits who were seriously tough guys.
No whoosh…if anything it is on me.
I honestly though Black Sabbath were Americans. To be fair, I never looked it up. Just assumed it was so. Learned something new.
Beatles
Jethro Tull
Rolling Stones
Traffic
Moody Blues
And another one I learned is British…I thought I knew better. Seems I do not.
You’ve heard Ozzy speak, right? I mean, not to pick on you, but I guess I’m picking on you…
throw in the sex pistols and youd have my list…oh and the petshop boys lol
My brain is fried tonight. I was sitting here thinking “What does Keith Moon have against Zappa and why is his book just being published now?”
I just thought Ozzy was fucked-up on drugs and never got a good read on it (and I was never a fan so I never paid any attention to them).
And here’s a bit of trivia. Sabbath’s guitarist, Tony Iommi, did a very brief stint with Jethro Tull. He left not long after as he didn’t like the “command structure” (for want of a better phrase) within the band, though he did bring back to Sabbath some selected disciplinary philosophies (eg defined and adhered to work hours).
No love here for The Dave Clark Five?
Joking of course. Pretty good, and only for 2-3 years.
- Beatles
- Rolling Stones
- The Who
- Led Zeppelin
- The Clash
- Pink Floyd
Honorable Mention: Dire Straits, Queen, The Hollies, The Kinks, The Police, Cream
new order…
But shouldn’t we rephrase topics like these as the best in “rock” or “metal” or “EDM”
categories OP categories!