With today’s announcement of the Top 10, Gibson.com’s Top 50 American Rock Bands of All Time is complete. Below, you can check out the full list from top to bottom.
Plus, scroll down to see the readers’ Top 25 picks.
Top 50 American Rock Bands of All Time
1. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
2. Aerosmith
3. Nirvana
4. The Ramones
5. Metallica
6. Van Halen
7. The Byrds
8. R.E.M.
9. The Beach Boys
10. The Allman Brothers Band
11. Guns N’ Roses
12. The Doors
13. Eagles
14. Creedence Clearwater Revival
15. The Stooges
16. Lynyrd Skynyrd
17. The Velvet Underground
18. Pearl Jam
19. Wilco
20. Buddy Holly and the Crickets
21. The Grateful Dead
22. The White Stripes
23. Sly and the Family Stone
24. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
25. The Replacements
26. KISS
27. Big Star
28. Red Hot Chili Peppers
29. Foo Fighters
30. ZZ Top
31. Sonic Youth
32. Los Lobos
33. X
34. Pixies
35. Talking Heads
36. Booker T. and the MG’s
37. The Flaming Lips
38. Mountain
39. The J. Geils Band
40. Buffalo Springfield
41. NRBQ
42. Cheap Trick
43. The Strokes
44. Alice Cooper
45. The Lovin’ Spoonful
46. Kings of Leon
47. Elvis Presley and the Blue Moon Boys
48. Yo La Tengo
49. Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention
50. Green Day
Gibson.com Readers Poll – Top 25 American Rock Bands
The readers picked many of the same bands that made the final list – although certainly not in the same order – with Van Halen coming out on top. They made cases for higher placements for CCR, Wilco and Mountain and showed love for a few bands that missed out on the final tally, including Poco, Steppenwolf and Alice in Chains.
1. Van Halen
2. Guns N’ Roses
3. Allman Brothers Band
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival
5. Aerosmith
6. Wilco
7. Mountain
8. Poco
9. The Replacements
10. The Byrds
11. ZZ Top
12. Grateful Dead
13. KISS
14. The Ramones
15. The Doors
16. The White Stripes
17. Metallica
18. Nirvana
19. Steppenwolf
20. Talking Heads
21. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
22. Buffalo Springfield
23. Alice in Chains
24. Cracker
25. Foo Fighters
I don't quite get how Bruce & the E Street Band could be tops in one poll and not in another. But whatever.
Where's Bon Jovi?
With Gibson.com’s Top 50 American Rock Bands fully revealed, let the debate begin! We fully understand that we can’t please all the people all of the time and are preparing for the onslaught. What about Mötley Crüe, The Turtles and Alice in Chains? Isn’t Slash English? Buffalo Springfield had Neil Young and he’s a Canadian! How can you ignore Bret Michaels’ glory years with Poison?
Well, everyone who contributed to the poll – editors, writers and readers – can share in the blame. But, to redress the balance and open up more debate, we’re posting three bands that didn’t make the list, but probably should have. Or maybe not!
Bon Jovi
It’s hard to imagine – well, no, it’s near impossible to imagine – a top 50 American bands list that would exclude quite possibly, at least in terms of record sales (and probably concert attendance, too), the most successful American rock band of all time. The tale of the tape for Bon Jovi doesn’t lie: 130 million records sold worldwide (6 of their 11 studio albums hit either #1 or #2 in the States), 2,600 concerts performed before 35 million people, induction into both the U.K. Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame (for both Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora), as well as their first nomination from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Obviously, and unfairly, Bon Jovi suffers from an ’80s band “image hangover” (at least to those voting in this poll). Pity, too, because despite their image, Bon Jovi have always been the real deal. – Sean Patrick Dooley
2 comments:
Sean was right! Where the hell are our men? Bon Jovi should have made this list. Who the hell voted on this? Rolling Stone Magazine editors? Pfffft. The people who chose this list need to have their heads examined!
Sambora/Jovi Girl
Bon Jovi is among the best rock bands in history and it is really surprising that they have not made it to the list. Anyhow, we all have our ideas and opinions and let us be honest that while music is said to unite us, that is not completely true for topics like this. Everyone has his or her favorite band and we just have to respect that. One can see by the play music and how their instruments create beautiful tunes (like that of guitar playing with the use of guitar picks for instance) how dedicated they are in their craft. Nonetheless, Bon Jovi will always have a special place in our hearts.
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