Always good to almost hear you, whispering Ad. Good to see the Smiths and Radiohead in there. I totally fell for the Coldplay joke, shouting What! across the office. Can't believe The Clash didn't make it though, probably taking Fleetwood Macs place. Good work mate
Great list Adam. Not going to get upset or spit my tea out. I think you’ve probably got the ten best, most influential British bands. The Who are one of the most underrated bands, even their very early stuff is fantastic. I would have definitely squeezed The Clash in but hey ho.
No Deep Purple ? Great list Adam, well argued as usual. I agree with your top two - but are The Beatles and The Stones really 'rock' bands ? If it was strictly rock bands then my list would be The Who, Zeppelin, Deep Purple in that order. Not sure about the rest. The criteria are so important. Although I respect their success, I've never understood the love for Queen; and much as I love the early Fleetwood Mac, in the mid '70s to me they became a musical soap opera - rock music's Dallas or Dynasty. Well done though and it was a mighty subject to start the year and get us all arguing. You succeeded with style. Loved your Coldplay joke too ! Hope you feel better soon...
Thanks Phil - one of the reasons I love doing the videos is to get the feedback and hear what everyone else thinks - and the love for Deep Purple in the comments is apparent! Fully appreciate people not feeling FM belong on here, but The Beatles and the Stones have featured on RRR so many times it would have been odd not to include them here.....as for Queen.....twice as nay followers on Spotify than even the Beatles...as I alluded in the vid, their sheer popularity can't be ignored...! Thanks for commenting :-)
I groaned when I read your topic title... but that didn't stop me watching! A nice contrast between your raspy voice and the eloquence of your arguments. I guess we could certainly agree on 7-or-8-of-10, with grudging respect for the recent career resurgence of Queen (damn you, biopic!). Their career drop-off was steep and embarrassing (at least on this side of the Atlantic) but those numbers don't lie. The perfect band for the streaming and sports arena age. Fleetwood Mac is, perhaps also controversial, judging from the comments below. Ya, three Californians fronted the band for much of their 'middle-classic period' but the Green-Spencer-Kirwan years are not to be ignored nor the contributions of Christine McVie. FMac's influence on contemporary pop, indie and country is undeniable, especially because it's easier to play than that of Queen. That leaves your sentimental choice, The Smiths. I love this band but recognize that both sales and influence hardly compare with The Kinks, The Cure or even Depeche Mode. Still, your preface set this up. It's great that bands from the post-Beatles/Stones era featured on this list. If I had to replace those three controversial choices, I'd show my prog-rock roots and say Soft Machine, Roxy Music and King Crimson. Maybe drop the Softies in favour of The Kinks. I've just lately (re-)discovered the music of Status Quo: their numbers and longevity are truly impressive. Maybe all they need is a decent biopic, eh? Deep Purple's gradual fading is a surprise to me. The annoying staying power of Coldplay may require a rethink 5 years from now. Too bad XTC never had the 'Third Act' they deserved. Sales and influence might also suggest The Police over The Smiths. Ah, now I'm just going round and round! You could certainly construct a compelling list from Ireland, Scotland and Wales, all countries 'punching well above their weight' in rock. Canada, Australia and Germany, for sure. America would need some sub-categories but could really generate some discussion! Happy New Year! Hope you're feeling better soon, Adam.
Thanks Dean....great arguments could be made for every band you mention, and great shout out for the Quo, who I don't mention enough on my show - must put that right!
In my view, Britain has produced the best rock groups over any other nation. In no particular order my Top 15 would include: 1. Radiohead 2. Led Zeppelin 3. The Beatles 4. Rolling Stones 5. The Smiths 6. Joy Division / New Order 7. Pink Floyd 8. The Cure 9. Depeche Mode 10. Black Sabbath 11. Roxy Music 12. The Clash 13. Queen 14. The Police 15. Blur Not to mention legendary British artists like: David Bowie David Coverdale Eric Clapton Elton John Phil Collins Elvis Costello Joe Cocker Kate Bush Van Morrison Paul Weller Cliff Richard Billy Idol Peter Gabriel Tom Jones Rod Stewart
What a brave man...... There are some givens for this list The Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and to address the "Beatles are not rock camp" if the Stones are in there so are The Beatles (even if you only limited the choice from Rubber Soul onwards) and for a similar reason I include The Kinks as well. My Top 10 1: The Beatles 2: The Stones 3: Led Zeppelin 4: Pink Floyd 5: The Kinks... No Oasis, Blur, The Jam etc without them. I adore the kinks. 6: Queen 7 : The Who 8: Black Sabbath 9: The Smiths 10: Radiohead Bubbling under - Iron Maiden, The Clash, The Jam, Joy Division, The Cure, XTC
Great to have you back Adam. For me you can't beat The Rolling Stones from 1968-1981 output. I have begrudgingly come to appreciate the Beatles especially their later output and solo works. The Clash would be on the list for me. Maybe next is the rest of the world ranking followed by the USA and ultimately your list for top 10 of the world. Get well soon.
Always like your videos. You have a fantastic knowledge. However, The Kinks did not have massive sales but surely rank in any top 10 because of their influence. The first heavy metal song, the first punk band etc etc. Listen to what Pete Townsend and any of their contemporaries say about them. I am not sure you could say the same about Radiohead and Queen for example.
10. yes 9. totally 8. yup 7. hell yeah 6. you better you bet 5. I agree 4. okay 3. can't disagree 2. of course 1. spat out my tea-oh you were joking! :D Beatles no doubt!
1. The Beatles 2. Queen 3. Led Zeppelin 4. Pink Floyd 5. Rolling Stones 6. The Who 7. Genesis 8. The Police 9. Dire Straits 10. Def Leppard Honorable Mention: Supertramp Maybe that's a little too subjective but here we are. Happy New Year Adam, and be well!
So many great British bands, so little time. I didn't even include ELO or Fleetwood Mac (though I consider them a British-American hybrid). It's incredible the body of work the UK has given us.
Interesting list, Adam! I am a fan of all these bands, except perhaps Fleetwood Mac, which I am not very familiar with, apart from some hits (probably should invest more time into them). Adam, I have a question for you. Why do you think Deep Purple is always ranked lowest out of the Unholy Trinity of bands? Is it because of an ever-changing line-up, in-fighting and all that stuff? I love Deep Purple so much from my early days, but I always wonder why they are considered "worse" than Zeppelin and Sabbath. P.S. Are you also planning to make a list of top 10 Welsh and Scottish bands? Joking, of course :)
Hi Audrius - really good question, which I'm sure others on here could discuss as well. I certainly don't think the changing line up helped their image, but possibly more importantly their manager Tony Edwards didn't have the same clout and intimidating persona that Sabbath's Don Arden and Zep's Peter Grant had - both of whom were pivotal in promoting their bands so well. I do know many many musicians cite Purple as a huge influence (esp drummers and guitarists) but in the public eye perhaps Smoke On The Water has been a bit of ball & chain for them they never quite escaped (ie. the old guitar shop joke that you are not allowed to play it) ....but you just don't hear their music that much nowadays compared to the other bands....perhaps their publishers need to be more proactive in licensing it...?! if you look at Spotify follower stats (a good yardstick for how much the next generation are aware of band) they have 6m followers compared to Sabbath's 8m and Led Zep's 15m ) Whereras Queen whose music is heard everywhere have almost 50m) ....so it may well be a combination of all those things - it's certainly not a reflection of the music , which I totally agree with you is fantastic at its best. What are your thoughts?
@@rockrecordsreviewed1880 Hi Adam. Thanks for sharing your opinion. Indeed, a smaller relative influence of Deep Purple is perhaps more a matter of marketing than musical substance. I may also be somewhat impartial regarding Purple, as they have been the soundtrack of my life from my childhood. And Ian Gillan is probably my favourite rock singer of all time. Re. Black Sabbath. In the past year I tried to get into them, with no success so far. Ozzy's vocals is a big roadblock for me. And I find songs to be repetitive, many of them based on one musical motif, repeated ad nuseam. The riffs are very cool, but they are repetitive, too. In any case, I will give it another try.
My most played English bands of 2021 are 10 Deep Purple 9 Rolling Stones 8 The Beatles 7 Roxy Music 6 Electric Light Orchestra 5 10cc 4 Pink Floyd 3 Supertramp 2 Genesis 1 The Who Are they the best or most important? Probably not, but they have proven to be my favourites.
With the exception of the obvious picks (Beatles, Stones, The Who, Floyd) this is my top 10: Soft Machine The Zombies Cream Van der Graaf Generator The Yardbirds Joy Division Uriah Heep The Animals Porcupine Tree King Crimson
HNY Adam, excellent review as normal. Special mention to the one album wonder , Sex Pistols. SP blew the mid-seventies soft rock/psyc rock to the absolute shithouse and influenced heavily the mighty Clash and to a lesser degree the important Police and Stranglers. So many great UK bands, you could probably do a top 50.
My favorite ten or eleven: Beatles Pink Floyd Rolling Stones Yes The Who Fairport Convention Fleetwood Mac (especially the Welch/Kirwan era) Genesis (Gabriel era) Jethro Tull King Crimson Moody Blues
A couple of omissions for me are The Kinks and The Clash. I'd include The Clash for the same reasons you included The Smiths. Also, I'd rate Zeppelin higher than the Stones. Zeppelin's top 5-6 albums absolutely crush the Stones' best albums. The Stones had longevity but many of their albums are weak as they have just been cashing in for the last 40 years.
Checking out the comments I can see that these favourite bands of mine(Away from the usual suspects) haven't got a mention but I believe that they deserve some love and respect: 10. Budgie 9. Ten Years After 8. The Stranglers 7. Camel 6. Sutherland Brothers & Quiver 5. Echo & The Bunnymen 4. Wishbone Ash 3. Barclay James Harvest 2. T. Rex 1. UFO
I've always considered "rock" as a generic term covering many styles, not least heavy rock, folk rock, metal, punk, pop, prog, synth. So any argument about whether The Beatles were rock or not is redundant to me. Also Adam, going by your criteria for what qualifies a group to be on this list, I can't argue too much with it. However, if I remove some of the criteria and replace it with bands which are important to me, I'd come up with something like this: 1. The Beatles 2. King Crimson 3. Radiohead 4. Joy Division/New Order 5. Genesis (for me, only up to 1976. But their appeal afterwards still qualifies them.) 6. The Police 7. Led Zeppelin 8. Jethro Tull 9. Blur 10. XTC Yes, I know, some obvious omissions here (e.g. I love many Stones songs rather than albums, and The Smiths completely passed me by), but these bands get me through the night.
@@rockrecordsreviewed1880 I've just realised that I foolishly left out Pink Floyd 🤦🏻♂️ Just goes to show how many great English bands there have been. Looking forward to the Prog list!
Before today I thought Queen was ONE of the most overrated bands of all time. But now, they might have to go straight to number one! But great video. I was okay with Radiohead being on the list when I still thought the Kinks and the Clash were going to make it, but as we got closer and closer to number one and still no sign of those bands... Since the video title says bands, I'll excuse the omission of Elvis Costello, though if you limit yourself to his work with the Attractions, you could make a very strong case, even though he is generally considered a solo artist. Just curious, would you consider Pretenders American or English?
Thanks Chris.....I love Elvis Costello but he may have to wait for the Solo artists list! Good question on The Pretenders, who I'm a big fan of (literally have just been watching them on YT) ....I think if pushed I'd say English as they broke here, were 3/4 English and a vast majority of their members over the years have been English...BUT it's impossible to escape the fact that now CH IS the band.....that's a tough one - what would you say?
10. Radiohead 9. Fleetwood Mac 8. The Smiths 7. Black Sabbath 6. The Who 5. Pink Floyd 4. Queen 3. Led Zeppelin 2. The Rolling Stones 1. The Beatles HM: - The Kinks - King Crimson - XTC - The Cure - Blur - The Stone Roses - The Police - Cream - Roxy Music - Depeche Mode - Joy Division - New Order - Cocteau Twins - Teenage Fanclub - The Jam - Oasis - Def Leppard - Nazareth - Manic Street Preachers - Duran Duran - Deep Purple - Primal Scream - Pulp - Gorillaz - Suede - Supergrass - Arctic Monkeys - Interpol
Happy new year, I hope my choices are English and are Rock...the other criteria may not be met since I cannot really evaluate them. If they made no impact on me it it hard to say how important they were for others except going by sales numbers or how many videos deal with them (there goes e.g. Queen). I left out some of the most important English bands as they may not strictly be rock (King Crimson, Soft Machine, Fairport Convention, Caravan, Motorhead etc) PS - Beatles were a rock band? The name says they were a beat band, a pop band, a comedy act - but rock? 10. Roxy Music 9. Black Sabbath 8. Smiths 7. Pink Floyd 6. Deep Purple 5. Clash 4. Jethro Tull 3. Who 2. Led Zeppelin 1. Rolling Stones
Hi Roxanne - I thought someone might question whether the Beatles were 'rock' - if we were to agree they were would they have made your list? ...Great to see Tull on your list....must get round to doing a Tull Top 10...!
@@rockrecordsreviewed1880 Ouch, I would have needed another excuse to omit them, e.g is Liverpool still English. We are not talking about British bands, right?
@@rockrecordsreviewed1880 Even if you would consider Beatles a rock band (maybe because they tried their hand at it in a song or two), I would still not include them. Their massive impact, that nobody can deny, was on pop culture, making their music and similar acts acceptable for the mainstream, putting young music on the TV etc. They made the songbook of McCartney's grandmother part of the pop heritage. Looking at rock music, they never were ahead but rather tried to catch the train that had long left their station. For the same reason, I had excluded your beloved Fleetwood Mac - apart from selling a lot of albums, they did not really have any impact on rock.
@@roxannewalsh Liverpool is very much England Roxanne....yes I've deliberately omitted Scottish, Welsh and Irish bands - who may have a list all of their own one day...
@@roxannewalsh Wow, you are strict! lol.....much to mull over here...don't forget I did mention I'd have to consider sales as a criteria as well....I think you and I will forever disagree on FM but I think we can both live with that 🙂
I guess I have more to say, which is the sign of a great video, right, it's ability to spark controversy and conversation. I'm not a Pink Floyd fan, but I sort of knew they were going to be on there. But I gotta say, Black Sabbath really floored me. I suppose they are influential, but I've never seen the appeal. I'm not a fan of heavy rock in general outside of Led Zeppelin, but then Zeppelin are in a class, arguably a whole genre, by themselves. I listen to bands like Sabbath and Deep Purple and I find them plodding and silly, whereas with Zeppelin, even when they're plodding and silly, they're still brilliant. Quite honestly, I listen to the song Black Sabbath, and I find it's efforts at being menacing truly risible. Satan's coming round the bend, that sounds more like a kindly elf out of a children's story than a demon to be feared. I can't stand Ozzy's voice and I think the lyrics are stupid and the guitar riffs juvenile, but, hey, other than that I guess they're a good band. :) But I really shouldn't trash them so harshly because I know a lot of people love them. Besides, if it weren't for Sabbath we might never have had Spinal Tap. I'll probably get pilloried here, and deservedly so, most of the people here, you and Roxanne especially, know a lot more about music than I ever will. I just wanted to take the opportunity to rant. Cheers.
I love this post Chris as it's all about opinions and respectful, playful discussion as far as I'm concerned.....as I say in the video, their influence on metal (and all it's sub-genres) is just inarguable, whether you or I like them or not, and as that's such an enormous field of music they just have to be in there. Can totally appreciate your comments about Ozzy's voice, but as a sound, and a musical movement (to say nothing of the musicians, who are all great and very influential) I couldn't leave them out! Personally, as I said in my Sabbath Ranking a while back, there are times when only the Black Sabbath sound (noise!lol) will do, and I have to put them on.....hmm, wonder what that says about me?! I think Sabbath, Purple and Zep are 3 very different beasts, and I'm as guilty as anyone for always lumping them together in the (un)holy trinity of English hard Rock...
Glad you weren't offended, I was afraid I came off as too mean spirited. At any rate, I always wanted to be a rock star, so I can respect anyone who has the moxie to make it happen. Some recommendations for future rankings: I think I already suggested Elvis Costello, but what about Graham Parker and Joe Jackson? Maybe a show devoted to the trio of angry young Brits. And a Nick Cave ranking would be welcome. And P.J. Harvey. I guess that's enough for now.
If it's Ozzy that's grinding your ears, try Heaven and Hell with Ronnie James Dio on vocals. Neon Knights is the best introduction to any album ever imho, and the rest ain't too bad either! Turn it up, lose yourself, go rocking mental.
queen the beatles led zeppelin black sabbath pink floyd the rolling stones the who motorhead the kinks deep purple honorable mentions - judas priest & iron maiden
1. Queen 2. Led Zeppelin 3. The Beetles 4. Black Sabbath 5. Judas Priest 6. Motörhead 7. Def Leppard 8. The Rolling Stones 9. The Clash 10. Deep Purple
You had me there for a moment with Coldplay..lol..Glad to see you've maintained your sense of humor. Feel better!!
Thanks for your great videos. Hope you don’t have COVID, rest well
Always good to almost hear you, whispering Ad. Good to see the Smiths and Radiohead in there. I totally fell for the Coldplay joke, shouting What! across the office. Can't believe The Clash didn't make it though, probably taking Fleetwood Macs place. Good work mate
Hey Suave......The Clash for FM would be very do-able, and I almost did.........!
Good list, man. If you were to ever expand it to Top 20, some other contenders for me would be The Cure, Depeche Mode, and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Could easily have had the Cure in my list for sheer invention, influence and longevity....great shout!
Great list Adam. Not going to get upset or spit my tea out. I think you’ve probably got the ten best, most influential British bands. The Who are one of the most underrated bands, even their very early stuff is fantastic. I would have definitely squeezed The Clash in but hey ho.
Thanks Chris...Yes The Clash were hard to leave out and could easily have made it on another day. Must do a Clash vid soon...
No Deep Purple ? Great list Adam, well argued as usual. I agree with your top two - but are The Beatles and The Stones really 'rock' bands ? If it was strictly rock bands then my list would be The Who, Zeppelin, Deep Purple in that order. Not sure about the rest. The criteria are so important. Although I respect their success, I've never understood the love for Queen; and much as I love the early Fleetwood Mac, in the mid '70s to me they became a musical soap opera - rock music's Dallas or Dynasty. Well done though and it was a mighty subject to start the year and get us all arguing. You succeeded with style. Loved your Coldplay joke too ! Hope you feel better soon...
Thanks Phil - one of the reasons I love doing the videos is to get the feedback and hear what everyone else thinks - and the love for Deep Purple in the comments is apparent! Fully appreciate people not feeling FM belong on here, but The Beatles and the Stones have featured on RRR so many times it would have been odd not to include them here.....as for Queen.....twice as nay followers on Spotify than even the Beatles...as I alluded in the vid, their sheer popularity can't be ignored...! Thanks for commenting :-)
Queen is a rock band
I groaned when I read your topic title... but that didn't stop me watching! A nice contrast between your raspy voice and the eloquence of your arguments.
I guess we could certainly agree on 7-or-8-of-10, with grudging respect for the recent career resurgence of Queen (damn you, biopic!). Their career drop-off was steep and embarrassing (at least on this side of the Atlantic) but those numbers don't lie. The perfect band for the streaming and sports arena age. Fleetwood Mac is, perhaps also controversial, judging from the comments below. Ya, three Californians fronted the band for much of their 'middle-classic period' but the Green-Spencer-Kirwan years are not to be ignored nor the contributions of Christine McVie. FMac's influence on contemporary pop, indie and country is undeniable, especially because it's easier to play than that of Queen. That leaves your sentimental choice, The Smiths. I love this band but recognize that both sales and influence hardly compare with The Kinks, The Cure or even Depeche Mode. Still, your preface set this up. It's great that bands from the post-Beatles/Stones era featured on this list.
If I had to replace those three controversial choices, I'd show my prog-rock roots and say Soft Machine, Roxy Music and King Crimson. Maybe drop the Softies in favour of The Kinks. I've just lately (re-)discovered the music of Status Quo: their numbers and longevity are truly impressive. Maybe all they need is a decent biopic, eh?
Deep Purple's gradual fading is a surprise to me. The annoying staying power of Coldplay may require a rethink 5 years from now. Too bad XTC never had the 'Third Act' they deserved. Sales and influence might also suggest The Police over The Smiths. Ah, now I'm just going round and round!
You could certainly construct a compelling list from Ireland, Scotland and Wales, all countries 'punching well above their weight' in rock. Canada, Australia and Germany, for sure. America would need some sub-categories but could really generate some discussion!
Happy New Year! Hope you're feeling better soon, Adam.
Thanks Dean....great arguments could be made for every band you mention, and great shout out for the Quo, who I don't mention enough on my show - must put that right!
In my view, Britain has produced the best rock groups over any other nation. In no particular order my Top 15 would include:
1. Radiohead
2. Led Zeppelin
3. The Beatles
4. Rolling Stones
5. The Smiths
6. Joy Division / New Order
7. Pink Floyd
8. The Cure
9. Depeche Mode
10. Black Sabbath
11. Roxy Music
12. The Clash
13. Queen
14. The Police
15. Blur
Not to mention legendary British artists like:
David Bowie
David Coverdale
Eric Clapton
Elton John
Phil Collins
Elvis Costello
Joe Cocker
Kate Bush
Van Morrison
Paul Weller
Cliff Richard
Billy Idol
Peter Gabriel
Tom Jones
Rod Stewart
Can't disagree with anyone on those lists Mark.....the depth of stellar talent produced here is incredible really...!
What a brave man...... There are some givens for this list The Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and to address the "Beatles are not rock camp" if the Stones are in there so are The Beatles (even if you only limited the choice from Rubber Soul onwards) and for a similar reason I include The Kinks as well.
My Top 10
1: The Beatles
2: The Stones
3: Led Zeppelin
4: Pink Floyd
5: The Kinks... No Oasis, Blur, The Jam etc without them. I adore the kinks.
6: Queen
7 : The Who
8: Black Sabbath
9: The Smiths
10: Radiohead
Bubbling under - Iron Maiden, The Clash, The Jam, Joy Division, The Cure, XTC
Very similar to mine Gavin and it hurt to leave the Kinks out......and great shout for XTC
Great to have you back Adam. For me you can't beat The Rolling Stones from 1968-1981 output. I have begrudgingly come to appreciate the Beatles especially their later output and solo works. The Clash would be on the list for me. Maybe next is the rest of the world ranking followed by the USA and ultimately your list for top 10 of the world. Get well soon.
Already thinking about it David. Thanks !
I’d pretty much agree with this - maybe Floyd over Queen and drop Sabbath behind Smiths and Radiohead but other than that 👏
Always like your videos. You have a fantastic knowledge. However, The Kinks did not have massive sales but surely rank in any top 10 because of their influence. The first heavy metal song, the first punk band etc etc. Listen to what Pete Townsend and any of their contemporaries say about them. I am not sure you could say the same about Radiohead and Queen for example.
Fair comment Steve, would never argue against the Kinks, who I love. So many bands could make a claim to be in there..
The Who - only 12 Studio albums? I didn't realise it was so few. Still, Quality over Quantity
10. Oasis
9. Genesis
8. Queen
7. Radiohead
6. Cream
5. The Who
4. Pink Floyd
3. Led Zeppelin
2. The Beatles
1. The Rolling Stones
10. yes
9. totally
8. yup
7. hell yeah
6. you better you bet
5. I agree
4. okay
3. can't disagree
2. of course
1. spat out my tea-oh you were joking! :D Beatles no doubt!
I love Yes
Hi.
Queen
Pink Floyd
Deep Purple
Cream
Black Sabbath.
Fleetwood Mac & Peter Green
Oasis
My top 10 in any particuly order.
1. The Beatles
2. Queen
3. Led Zeppelin
4. Pink Floyd
5. Rolling Stones
6. The Who
7. Genesis
8. The Police
9. Dire Straits
10. Def Leppard
Honorable Mention:
Supertramp
Maybe that's a little too subjective but here we are. Happy New Year Adam, and be well!
First mentions for Dire Straits and Def Leppard I think...great calls!
So many great British bands, so little time. I didn't even include ELO or Fleetwood Mac (though I consider them a British-American hybrid). It's incredible the body of work the UK has given us.
Interesting list, Adam! I am a fan of all these bands, except perhaps Fleetwood Mac, which I am not very familiar with, apart from some hits (probably should invest more time into them).
Adam, I have a question for you. Why do you think Deep Purple is always ranked lowest out of the Unholy Trinity of bands? Is it because of an ever-changing line-up, in-fighting and all that stuff? I love Deep Purple so much from my early days, but I always wonder why they are considered "worse" than Zeppelin and Sabbath.
P.S. Are you also planning to make a list of top 10 Welsh and Scottish bands? Joking, of course :)
Hi Audrius - really good question, which I'm sure others on here could discuss as well. I certainly don't think the changing line up helped their image, but possibly more importantly their manager Tony Edwards didn't have the same clout and intimidating persona that Sabbath's Don Arden and Zep's Peter Grant had - both of whom were pivotal in promoting their bands so well. I do know many many musicians cite Purple as a huge influence (esp drummers and guitarists) but in the public eye perhaps Smoke On The Water has been a bit of ball & chain for them they never quite escaped (ie. the old guitar shop joke that you are not allowed to play it) ....but you just don't hear their music that much nowadays compared to the other bands....perhaps their publishers need to be more proactive in licensing it...?! if you look at Spotify follower stats (a good yardstick for how much the next generation are aware of band) they have 6m followers compared to Sabbath's 8m and Led Zep's 15m ) Whereras Queen whose music is heard everywhere have almost 50m) ....so it may well be a combination of all those things - it's certainly not a reflection of the music , which I totally agree with you is fantastic at its best. What are your thoughts?
@@rockrecordsreviewed1880 Hi Adam. Thanks for sharing your opinion. Indeed, a smaller relative influence of Deep Purple is perhaps more a matter of marketing than musical substance. I may also be somewhat impartial regarding Purple, as they have been the soundtrack of my life from my childhood. And Ian Gillan is probably my favourite rock singer of all time.
Re. Black Sabbath. In the past year I tried to get into them, with no success so far. Ozzy's vocals is a big roadblock for me. And I find songs to be repetitive, many of them based on one musical motif, repeated ad nuseam. The riffs are very cool, but they are repetitive, too. In any case, I will give it another try.
My most played English bands of 2021 are
10 Deep Purple
9 Rolling Stones
8 The Beatles
7 Roxy Music
6 Electric Light Orchestra
5 10cc
4 Pink Floyd
3 Supertramp
2 Genesis
1 The Who
Are they the best or most important? Probably not, but they have proven to be my favourites.
Love it Paul, best /most important means nothing at the end of the day (much like my vids)... - it's all about what we like....great list!
With the exception of the obvious picks (Beatles, Stones, The Who, Floyd) this is my top 10:
Soft Machine
The Zombies
Cream
Van der Graaf Generator
The Yardbirds
Joy Division
Uriah Heep
The Animals
Porcupine Tree
King Crimson
That's the most out-there list yet - with some brilliant names on it!
HNY Adam, excellent review as normal. Special mention to the one album wonder , Sex Pistols. SP blew the mid-seventies soft rock/psyc rock to the absolute shithouse and influenced heavily the mighty Clash and to a lesser degree the important Police and Stranglers. So many great UK bands, you could probably do a top 50.
Thanks Pete, absolutely. Good call.
Top 10 American bands would be interesting
My favorite ten or eleven:
Beatles
Pink Floyd
Rolling Stones
Yes
The Who
Fairport Convention
Fleetwood Mac (especially the Welch/Kirwan era)
Genesis (Gabriel era)
Jethro Tull
King Crimson
Moody Blues
Love the prog element!
A couple of omissions for me are The Kinks and The Clash. I'd include The Clash for the same reasons you included The Smiths. Also, I'd rate Zeppelin higher than the Stones. Zeppelin's top 5-6 albums absolutely crush the Stones' best albums. The Stones had longevity but many of their albums are weak as they have just been cashing in for the last 40 years.
Checking out the comments I can see that these favourite bands of mine(Away from the usual suspects) haven't got a mention but I believe that they deserve some love and respect:
10. Budgie
9. Ten Years After
8. The Stranglers
7. Camel
6. Sutherland Brothers & Quiver
5. Echo & The Bunnymen
4. Wishbone Ash
3. Barclay James Harvest
2. T. Rex
1. UFO
Some really great bands in there!....will feature a few of them before too long
I've always considered "rock" as a generic term covering many styles, not least heavy rock, folk rock, metal, punk, pop, prog, synth. So any argument about whether The Beatles were rock or not is redundant to me.
Also Adam, going by your criteria for what qualifies a group to be on this list, I can't argue too much with it. However, if I remove some of the criteria and replace it with bands which are important to me, I'd come up with something like this:
1. The Beatles
2. King Crimson
3. Radiohead
4. Joy Division/New Order
5. Genesis (for me, only up to 1976. But their appeal afterwards still qualifies them.)
6. The Police
7. Led Zeppelin
8. Jethro Tull
9. Blur
10. XTC
Yes, I know, some obvious omissions here (e.g. I love many Stones songs rather than albums, and The Smiths completely passed me by), but these bands get me through the night.
Great list, love the prog leanings...must do that Prog top 10 soon !
@@rockrecordsreviewed1880 I've just realised that I foolishly left out Pink Floyd 🤦🏻♂️ Just goes to show how many great English bands there have been.
Looking forward to the Prog list!
In order 1-10
The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
The Kinks
The Who
David Bowie
Led Zeppelin
Pink Floyd
Jeff Beck
Richard Thompson
Elvis Costello (1977-86)
Brilliant list, but I thought I'd so solo artists another time.....
@@rockrecordsreviewed1880 Okay, thanks. I'll take out the solo artists and add: Mott The Hoople, Roxy Music, Black Sabbath and Radiohead
@@kevtruth Mott! Brilliant....
1. The Beatles
2. Rolling Stones
3. Pink Floyd
4. Led Zeppelin
5. The Who
6. Cream
7.Supertramp
8. Queen
9. The Jam
10 Radiohead
Supertramp! The Jam! Cream...! This could have been a water-tight top 30, I think!
It it so hard
Before today I thought Queen was ONE of the most overrated bands of all time. But now, they might have to go straight to number one! But great video. I was okay with Radiohead being on the list when I still thought the Kinks and the Clash were going to make it, but as we got closer and closer to number one and still no sign of those bands... Since the video title says bands, I'll excuse the omission of Elvis Costello, though if you limit yourself to his work with the Attractions, you could make a very strong case, even though he is generally considered a solo artist. Just curious, would you consider Pretenders American or English?
Thanks Chris.....I love Elvis Costello but he may have to wait for the Solo artists list! Good question on The Pretenders, who I'm a big fan of (literally have just been watching them on YT) ....I think if pushed I'd say English as they broke here, were 3/4 English and a vast majority of their members over the years have been English...BUT it's impossible to escape the fact that now CH IS the band.....that's a tough one - what would you say?
Like you, I would probably say British, but it's also arguable that they don't belong in either category, are unclassifiable.
Yes, The Beatles had to be No 1
10. Radiohead
9. Fleetwood Mac
8. The Smiths
7. Black Sabbath
6. The Who
5. Pink Floyd
4. Queen
3. Led Zeppelin
2. The Rolling Stones
1. The Beatles
HM:
- The Kinks
- King Crimson
- XTC
- The Cure
- Blur
- The Stone Roses
- The Police
- Cream
- Roxy Music
- Depeche Mode
- Joy Division
- New Order
- Cocteau Twins
- Teenage Fanclub
- The Jam
- Oasis
- Def Leppard
- Nazareth
- Manic Street Preachers
- Duran Duran
- Deep Purple
- Primal Scream
- Pulp
- Gorillaz
- Suede
- Supergrass
- Arctic Monkeys
- Interpol
Happy new year,
I hope my choices are English and are Rock...the other criteria may not be met since I cannot really evaluate them. If they made no impact on me it it hard to say how important they were for others except going by sales numbers or how many videos deal with them (there goes e.g. Queen).
I left out some of the most important English bands as they may not strictly be rock (King Crimson, Soft Machine, Fairport Convention, Caravan, Motorhead etc)
PS - Beatles were a rock band? The name says they were a beat band, a pop band, a comedy act - but rock?
10. Roxy Music
9. Black Sabbath
8. Smiths
7. Pink Floyd
6. Deep Purple
5. Clash
4. Jethro Tull
3. Who
2. Led Zeppelin
1. Rolling Stones
Hi Roxanne - I thought someone might question whether the Beatles were 'rock' - if we were to agree they were would they have made your list? ...Great to see Tull on your list....must get round to doing a Tull Top 10...!
@@rockrecordsreviewed1880 Ouch, I would have needed another excuse to omit them, e.g is Liverpool still English. We are not talking about British bands, right?
@@rockrecordsreviewed1880 Even if you would consider Beatles a rock band (maybe because they tried their hand at it in a song or two), I would still not include them. Their massive impact, that nobody can deny, was on pop culture, making their music and similar acts acceptable for the mainstream, putting young music on the TV etc. They made the songbook of McCartney's grandmother part of the pop heritage. Looking at rock music, they never were ahead but rather tried to catch the train that had long left their station. For the same reason, I had excluded your beloved Fleetwood Mac - apart from selling a lot of albums, they did not really have any impact on rock.
@@roxannewalsh Liverpool is very much England Roxanne....yes I've deliberately omitted Scottish, Welsh and Irish bands - who may have a list all of their own one day...
@@roxannewalsh Wow, you are strict! lol.....much to mull over here...don't forget I did mention I'd have to consider sales as a criteria as well....I think you and I will forever disagree on FM but I think we can both live with that 🙂
Yep- Queen owe it to The Beatles as much as Zepp owe it to the Stones.
✌🏻🥁🎸
Roxy have to be in there surely - Smiths more influential??
Yeah it's a good call, could easily have got in there. But you can't underestimate the impact the Smiths had pretty much single handedly.
I guess I have more to say, which is the sign of a great video, right, it's ability to spark controversy and conversation. I'm not a Pink Floyd fan, but I sort of knew they were going to be on there. But I gotta say, Black Sabbath really floored me. I suppose they are influential, but I've never seen the appeal. I'm not a fan of heavy rock in general outside of Led Zeppelin, but then Zeppelin are in a class, arguably a whole genre, by themselves. I listen to bands like Sabbath and Deep Purple and I find them plodding and silly, whereas with Zeppelin, even when they're plodding and silly, they're still brilliant. Quite honestly, I listen to the song Black Sabbath, and I find it's efforts at being menacing truly risible. Satan's coming round the bend, that sounds more like a kindly elf out of a children's story than a demon to be feared. I can't stand Ozzy's voice and I think the lyrics are stupid and the guitar riffs juvenile, but, hey, other than that I guess they're a good band. :) But I really shouldn't trash them so harshly because I know a lot of people love them. Besides, if it weren't for Sabbath we might never have had Spinal Tap. I'll probably get pilloried here, and deservedly so, most of the people here, you and Roxanne especially, know a lot more about music than I ever will. I just wanted to take the opportunity to rant. Cheers.
I love this post Chris as it's all about opinions and respectful, playful discussion as far as I'm concerned.....as I say in the video, their influence on metal (and all it's sub-genres) is just inarguable, whether you or I like them or not, and as that's such an enormous field of music they just have to be in there. Can totally appreciate your comments about Ozzy's voice, but as a sound, and a musical movement (to say nothing of the musicians, who are all great and very influential) I couldn't leave them out! Personally, as I said in my Sabbath Ranking a while back, there are times when only the Black Sabbath sound (noise!lol) will do, and I have to put them on.....hmm, wonder what that says about me?! I think Sabbath, Purple and Zep are 3 very different beasts, and I'm as guilty as anyone for always lumping them together in the (un)holy trinity of English hard Rock...
Glad you weren't offended, I was afraid I came off as too mean spirited. At any rate, I always wanted to be a rock star, so I can respect anyone who has the moxie to make it happen. Some recommendations for future rankings: I think I already suggested Elvis Costello, but what about Graham Parker and Joe Jackson? Maybe a show devoted to the trio of angry young Brits. And a Nick Cave ranking would be welcome. And P.J. Harvey. I guess that's enough for now.
@@chrisboerger465 Definitely have plans for a few of those names Chris - love the angry young Brits angle
If it's Ozzy that's grinding your ears, try Heaven and Hell with Ronnie James Dio on vocals. Neon Knights is the best introduction to any album ever imho, and the rest ain't too bad either! Turn it up, lose yourself, go rocking mental.
@@harveylee2018 I do love the cover of that album so maybe I will.
Beatles
Cream
Rolling Stones
Who
Led Zeppelin
Clash
Squeeze
Yes
Police
Animals
UK vocalists Tom Jones, Freddie Mercury, McCartney, George Michael
Squeeze - what a great band they were !
Sorry, not viewing past the inclusion of radiohead
haha, fair enough, but I'd still be keen to see your Top 10.
queen
the beatles
led zeppelin
black sabbath
pink floyd
the rolling stones
the who
motorhead
the kinks
deep purple
honorable mentions - judas priest & iron maiden
1. Led Zeppelin
2. Pink Floyd
3. The Smiths
4. The Moody Blues
5. The Beatles
6. The Animals
7. The Cure
8. The Zombies
9. The Hollies
10. Deep Purple
The Animals, the Moody Blues and The Hollies - excellent!
1. Queen
2. Led Zeppelin
3. The Beetles
4. Black Sabbath
5. Judas Priest
6. Motörhead
7. Def Leppard
8. The Rolling Stones
9. The Clash
10. Deep Purple