Bloodrock!!!
You read it here first
That suggestion is DOA if you ask me. 
The Cars was always my go to in these convos.
This is a place where you and I differ, lieu. I see their stock going down a bit. Morrison’s rep has worsened, and, frankly, some of their songs don’t hold up/come across as sellout-y. I can’t deny their good stuff when it comes on, but man is he a douche.
I start by thinking that the few bands that will be discussed in a few hundred years will be The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan. I think of Hendrix and Dylan as American Bands because their sound required a “band sound” - Dylan’s electric stuff here. And also, they were working in the American idiom - screw whether Mitchell and Redding were Brits. Seriously.
Beyond that, I would go with The Beach Boys*, The Ramones, Talking Heads (more than Velvet Underground) Nirvana. It feels like they are the longest shadows in their eras. I love Aerosmith’s first four, and the peak Allman’s, too.
*If we can include the Beach Boys could we include the Wrecking Crew? 
James Brown’s bands were badass, but not quite the same thing.
Worth mentioning, despite the detour into commercialized AM pop: The Steve Miller Band.
And it was formed in London.
You are right on the money. They made the best music out of the whole SF scene. But the American bands were always specializing, or studio based or burning out or selling out. The pyramid for US bands is very steep and narrow, there was so many doing different things for only a little while. It’s hard to say any of these great acts are “the best”
Whereas it’s easy to say that The beatles, stones, who, or the kinks were masters of their craft.
I agree, they have to be in the mix. I can’t decide on a #1, but the top tier has to include The Doors, The E Street Band (I’m including Bruce by proxy), Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, and Metallica in order to cover a sufficient mix of genres. FF probably fits right under that top tier.
See, there’s the problem: if I’m going to award the label of “Greatest American Rock Band of All Time” to someone, I’d want them to “cover a sufficient mix of genres” by themselves.
So far Pearl Jam is the worst band to be nominated.
I can’t even express how much I dislike them.
“Oh No…he’s going to kill everybody in the classroom!!! You can tell by when the singers eyes go back up in his head! Intense”
For a different take on “American band,” I’ll suggest Los Lobos. Long tenure (40 years and counting), commercial success, critical acclaim, and they’ve definitely got Thudlow Boink’s “sufficient mix of genres” covered. And they’re just great live.
If you want to focus on Americana, there’s Uncle Tupelo - hugely influential (they spawned both Son Volt and Wilco, as well as the name “No Depression” for the seminal Americana magazine) and critically acclaimed, but with limited commercial success.
I’m with WordMan on this one. Maybe you just turned 17 at the right time…
Aerosmith is good, but I don’t think their songwriting is at the same level as some of the other contenders.
I was thinking of them too. Great playing, a melange of influences, maybe a bit too under the popular radar.
I have pretty much the same feeling about The Eagles. A lot of it sounds kind of bland to me now.
I had one of those for a bit when I was a teenager.
Me, too, although it might because I’ve heard all their songs so many times. The last “new” song of theirs I remember is Howl On, I mean, How Long, which was in 2007.
I’d still go see them live, though.
It’s never been so wrong to be right.
There is your real answer.
Same could be said about Booker T and the MGs.
The Eagles’ “Long Road Out of Eden” tour from 2008-2011 grossed over $250,000,000. Their current “History of the Eagles” tour is on pace to equal that amount. Both tours have had multiple sellouts and rave reviews.
The Eagles have sold 140,000,000 albums worldwide and their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 is the best selling album of all time in the U.S.
“Nobody listens to the Eagles anymore?”
What a ludicrous statement!
It’s like Yogi Berra’s comment about the restaurant nobody goes to anymore because it’s too crowded.
Nah, their first three albums were solid and rockin’. They’re not really my cuppa from that “grunge” genre (Soundgarden is my preferred from the bunch usually associated with that time and place), but they did good, and they put on a very good show and are gracious and appreciative towards the fans. The only band I’ve seen more loving of their fans is Metallica (and I assume Bruce Springsteen, judging by his legendary encores, although I’ve never actually seen him.)
This has been a fun thread to follow and it has led to some quality youtube time.
If Hendrix counts then I’d have to choose him. Many of the other acts mentioned, all of which rock in their own right, would have no business on the same stage with him.
I’m not sure if they’re the greatest, but if someone asked you what American rock n’ roll was and you played CCR’s “Fortunate Son” I’d feel like that was a pretty solid answer.
Honorable mention which hasn’t been mentioned yet: Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention.