Given that the Chargers/Penguins have yet to play a real game, and the Orioles are playing like the season's already over, I think it's time to mix things up. Therefore, here's my first non-sports post of the year.
Top 10 Bands of All Time
But first the honorable mentions, meaning I won't list any of the top 10 today.
H5. Nirvana
Arguably, the creators of grunge music, and the reason alternative music became incredibly popular during the 1990s. The band represented Generation X and their Unplugged concert is legendary. Of course, you could also argue they wouldn't have been nearly as popular if Kurt Cobain hadn't killed himself.
H4. AC / DC
One of the most distinctive rock bands of all time, AC / DC sold almost as many copies of Back in Black as Nirvana sold total albums. They further pioneered the hard rock genre, just as Led Zeppelin split up. Not only is their music the quintessential rock music, their concerts were filled with amazing special effects and highly entertaining. The knock on them would be that probably over half their songs sound very similar if not the same, and have the word "rock" somewhere in the title.
H3. Bad Religion
Probably best known for their songs in the mid-1990s, Bad Religion has actually been around since 1980. They are a punk rock band in true Clash form, and are responsible for the popularity of punk rock bands such as the Offspring, Green Day and Blink-182 in the 1990s. Their lyrics are filled with interesting vocabulary, metaphors, and other things that put them a cut above the rest in music content. And they HATE George W. Bush. The negative is that your initial reaction to hearing them is "oh, this sounds like [band name]". While some find them distinctive, many don't even think twice about the band. Not exactly top 10 material then.
H2. Foo Fighters
Many might say it's blasphemy to rank Foo Fighters above Nirvana. Whatever. First, Dave Grohl is a far better frontman than a drummer. Second, Cobain was brilliant but not very skilled at guitar (purists just died a little). Third, despite a very subpar latest album, the Foo Fighters are one of rock music's hottest acts in a time of high levels of competition. The first four albums by this band are in my opinion some of the best hard rock albums ever recorded. The Colour and the Shape in particular is great, with grunge and alternative elements mixed with heavy metal thrashing and shrieking, with some acoustic thrown in for good measure. It feels like a Led Zeppelin album in versatility and unpredictability. You can see that it's one of my favorites. Unfortunately for Grohl for the second time on this list, he is only an honorable mention because you're only as good as your last album. And it showed a turn for the bland, which docks the Foo Fighters from the #10 spot, where I originally had them. Onto the shafted-est group on the list:
H1. Queen
Would you believe me if I told you Queen has spent more time in the Billboard Top 200 than the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Elvis Presley, and every other artist in the history of music? Probably not, but it's true. Also, their Greatest Hits album is the highest-selling album of all time in the United Kingdom, with almost 700,000 more copies (a full gold album) ahead of Sgt. Pepper. They have an incredibly distinct and unique sound, and one of the all-time greatest ballads in "Bohemian Rhapsody". So why are they an honorable mention? This is a matter of personal preference, which you will see clearly in the actual top 10 in my next post. Apologies now go out to:
The Beatles (just kidding, they're overrated), The Doors, Oasis, Aerosmith, Boston, The Goo Goo Dolls, The Rolling Stones, The Clash, Metallica, Radiohead, and U2. None of you made the top 10 (well, top 15) despite being incredibly successful, popular, and in most cases great all-around acts. You'll just have to find out how the top 10 stack up later.
- Matt
