These are the rock bands from the Beatles forward (including solo artists) generally considered among the best ever. Is there anyone else who rightfully has a claim to be in this group? This doesn’t mean your favorite artist, but someone who has been considered the best. If you add someone to the list, they should realistically be able to stand up to this competition.
The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
The Who
Bob Dylan
Led Zeppelin
U2
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Rush
Queen
Van Halen
AC/DC
Bruce Springsteen
Hell, even some of the more recent stuff I’d put there. Like Cake or The Barenaked Ladies.
This list will be long and debated.
I’m not a Stones fan but they belong on this list but U2?!, they don’t belong anywhere near the list of “the best Rock bands”.
Unclviny
Neil Young.
I’m no U2 fan, but they clearly belong on the list. They lasted longer than most groups on the list and put out critically successful albums for 20 years.
I’d add
The Kinks (underrated, but their sound was highly influential and Ray Davies was one of rock’s top songwriters.
The Band
Traffic
Frank Zappa
Pink Floyd
The Grateful Dead
The Clash
Bands? 
Bob Dylan is a genius, but he makes a terrible rock band. 
Seriously, if he’s on the list then why not Elvis Presley? Chuck Berry? Bo Diddley? Rock didn’t start in the 1960s.
The Beach Boys were taken as seriously as the Beatles. They won out over them for best band of the year in some NME reader competition in the 60s.
The Allman Brothers has always been my choice for best American rock band, musically, if you don’t count the Beach Boys as rock.
But the Brits have all the other claims for greatest rock, emphasis, rock bands. Look who you can add who started in the 60s. Pink Floyd. Cream. Fleetwood Mac. The Kinks. The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Ten Years After.
After that you just get into a pissing contest between people of different decades. And different definitions of rock. Michael Jackson, anybody?
The OP did say solo artist too. But just to make everyone happy.
Bob Dylan and The Band
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band
Neil Young and Crazy Horse
Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention
Plus I would like to add:
The Beach Boys
Aerosmith
Black Sabbath
Deep Purple
Metallica
Nirvana
I’d add Heart. Dreamboat Annie was an amazing album and they had plenty of good songs outside of it. They also did/do the best Led Zeppelin covers. They’ll also probably be the only band with females on the list.
Wow, my OP must have been poorly worded. I thought I made it fairly clear, but apparently not. What I was asking about were bands that have been considered the best rock band ever. That means, the best. I wasn’t asking for a list of good bands. We’ll be here for weeks. Does anyone really think Deep Purple is the best band ever? Aerosmith? Heart? Barenaked Ladies?
No offense, since my OP apparently wasn’t clear.
Every rock band was considered the best rock band ever by their fans.
Welcome to the Internet.
I will, of course, second Sabbath, and throw a interesting one into the mix:
The Ramones. Because, of course, all that other stuff being played? That wasn’t rock. Rock was three chords and a backbeat.
Jimi was from Seattle. Yup, he got his start in the UK, for some odd reason, but still…
No offense taken, but you did say in the OP “considered among the best”–but altho’ the next sentence says “someone who has been considered the best” you didn’t really emphasize “the best” as your subsequent post makes more clear.
Best ever? No
Southern Yankee maybe not best evr, but Aerosmith certainly has a lot of longevity. Same with U2.
The OP’s list is hard to beat. I would throw on:
Gratefull Dead
Metallica
Aerosmith
AC/DC
Bruce Springstein (and the E Street Band if you want to be technical about it)
Pink Floyd
Pearl Jam (I just think they are a better band than Nirvana)
REM
and Queen as contenders
I think Guns 'N Roses has to be near the top. Appetite for Destruction is one of the top albums of all time and they didn’t stop there.
The Beach Boys
The Velvet Underground
R.E.M.
the Pixies
The Ramones
The Clash
are all bands that have been considered among the best ever, none of which I would object to.
Joy Division probably belong on the list as well, but I’m not as sure how widely they’re considered among the greatest rock bands.
ETA:
And of course, David Bowie.
I would add The Clash and Queen, but remove U2 and Led Zeppelin.
VH1 considered Led Zeppelin as the best rock and roll band ever in one of their shows I think.