1.)Third Eye Blind
2.)Dave Mathews Band
3.)Filter
4.)Metallica
5.)Counting Crows
6.)The Beatles
7.)Rolling Stones
8.)Creed
9.)Godsmack
10.)Ramstein
This is the way I see it…maybe some are not in order, but all deserve to be up there. here are some runners up:
Wallflowers
Bob Dylan
Fuel
Smashing Pumpkins
Nirvana
Stone Temple Pilots
Pearl Jam
Honorable Mention:
Bloodhound Gang
Bracket
Goldfinger
The Beatles
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Reel Big Fish
Millencolin
Korn
Weezer
Nerf Herder
Ministry
<shameless plug>
…and, of course, JerkWaterJive!!! 
</shameless plug>
Oh, God . . . Am I the only one who knows pop culture existed before 1960? And are these bands, musical groups or singles? I don’t think Bob Dylan on his best days was a “band.”
OK, these are my favorite (non-classical) groups. In no order:
John Phillip Sousa’s Band
James Reese Europe’s Band
The Paul Whiteman Orchestra (1920s-era members)
Vic Schoen’s Orchestra (they backed up The Andrews Sisters)
The Beatles
Cab Calloway’s Harlemaniacs (early 1930s-era)
Glenn Miller’s Orchestra
Artie Shaw’s Orchestra
New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra
The Beach Boys
Hey, I’m nothing if not eclectic.
We’re talking rock bands, right? Not solo artists like David Bowie, Elvis Costello, or Morrissey?
Of course, if you’re including the whole twentieth century, there’s a lot more that should be included. Glen Miller Orchestra, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, etc, etc…
Pink Floyd
Grateful Dead
The Smiths
Bruce Springsteen
Cat Stevens
Nirvana
The Beatles
The Cure
Steve Miller Band
(gonna cheat here…) Green Day, Weezer, Blink 182
Oh yeah, one more thing: RUSH SUCKS!
I’m done now…
A list of ten favorites in no particular order:
The Rolling Stones
The Who
The Replacements
Television
Concrete Blonde
Sonic Youth
The Allman Brothers Band
Double Trouble (Stevie Ray Vaughan)
The Reverend Horton Heat
Deep Purple
I’d probably second Glenn Miller and throw in Benny Goodman when “I’m In The Mood”.
Is a duo a band? Well, who cares, I’m including them anyway.
My favorites:
The Lemonheads
Simon and Garfunkel
The Beatles
The Police
Nirvana
The Foo Fighters
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
U2
Adam and the Ants
Cheap Trick
This is my mood today. Ask me tomorrow and I might change my mind.
House of Pain
Pearl Jam
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Bloodhound Gang
Metallica
Fuel
Everclear
Bush
Rammstein
Foo Fighters
The Who
Queen
CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
Foo Fighters
Beastie Boys
Green Day
MatchBox20
The Doors (Jim Morrison)
Def Leppard
Lynyrd Skynyrd
RedHot Chili Peppers
Billy Idol
I’ll probably think of more later 
Ad Noctum, Musician, and Music Expert
Off to IMHO, and your moderator is off to bed. G’night
In no partiucalr order,
The Cure
Depeche Mode
Creed
Switchblade Symphony
Orgy
Cat Stevens
Rush
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Nine Inch Nails
Silverchair
In no particular order (bands, not solo artists):
You Yankees: Download Tragically Hip songs today. Listen to these tracks, in this order:
New Orleans is Sinking
Cordelia
38 Years Old
Courage
The Luxury
Three Pistols
Wheat Kings
Nautical Disaster
Eldorado
Locked in the Trunk of a Car
Thompson Girl
You’ll be converted.
10.No Doubt
9. Red Hot Chili Peppers
8. Stone Temple Pilots
7. Hole
6. Chris Cornell*
5. Nine Inch Nails*
4. Beck*
3. VAST*
2. Tori Amos*
*solo artists, but I’m using them anyway, dammit 
Based on my cd collection/most listened to:
Peter Gabriel
Paul Simon et. al.
Jethro Tull
Donal Lunny et.al. (trad. Irish -stunning)
Tori Amos
Kornog (Breton/Scots trad.)
Gin Blossoms
James Taylor
Mozart - hey,…it’s genius
CSNY and co.
I’m cheating a bit by including solo works/individuals but hey it’s my list.
part II
The Beatles
The Chieftans, cheesy but fun
Squeeze
Elvis Costello
Tragically Hip
Elliot Smith
Dougie Mclean
Cat Stevens, what can I say, I’m a child of the 70’s
DMB
The Pogues
The Pogues
XTC
The Beatles
The Clash
Dead Kennedys
The Beautiful South
Robyn Hitchcock
Peter Gabriel
The Who
Johnny Cash
With apologies to Mike G and Ad Noctum
In order that I think of them:
Your mileage may vary…
Nirvana
Deftons
Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Garbage
Smashing Pumpkins
Metallica
David Bowe
Slip Knot
Tori Amos
Nine Inch Nails
Damn, two awesome artists I forgot all about (the Housemartins were good, too). And I don’t know how it slipped my mind, but definitely add Sly & the Family Stone to my list.