Top 25 most important bands of 1981-2006

[Liam]

Tad Nugent was my nod to a joke on That 70's Show

EDIT: Incidentally, I've never heard his music and can't remember why I made the joke in the first place.

Edited June 1, 2006 by HGwannabe

[Heroin Bob]

Where the fuck are my Toasters?

[ChuBalso]

Ah, and that shows you just how much I love TV.

[Liam]

Ah, and that shows you just how much I love TV.

I don't watch much TV either, the joke was forced upon me.

[ChuBalso]

[gunnar hendershow]

Ted Nugent pretty much rocks harder than anybody else to ever pick up a musical instrument.

[YI]

Lagwagon is still around? Anyway, I think why Bad Religion didn'tg et a vote, is b/c while they were influencial, I'm sorry, but every CD sounds liek 1 long song. And I'm actually a bad religion fan, who was listening to Against the Grain and Suffer, and 80-85 over the last three days. Actually in a Bad Religion, Megaherz, Blaze (the hated guy who filled in for Bruce Dickinsin's Iron Maiden for two albums...whom I like better...clearly in the minority on this one), and Mike Patton phase over the last month.

Anyhow, I think that that may have taken away from them. You coudl say the same about Green Day, but they reached a level of "pop" stardom (especially with american idiot, basically re-inventing themselves...I would call it today's "dookie", bringing in the YOUNG fans again), that Bad Religion attempted to accomplish beginning with New America. Again, I say this as a bAd Religion fan, who was pissed to hear that they were opening up for one of these 2 year-fad spunk bands (I think it was blink182).

I would give the nod to Sick Of it All though, if anyone from that era. Being on an independant label and all, doing what they did in the time that they did (i.e. BAd Religion..opportunity on major label atlantic records, i.e. Green Day, on SONY/columbia records) Plus their shows kicked ass and wereteenypoppunkbopper free.

[Bushmeister]

Ted Nugent looks scary. I bet he could challenge a rhino's horn with that chin... And come out on top.

I think while Mayhem were the innovators Emperor deserves the spot for their IMPACT, thereafter.

Jumping acrross a totally different genre for an analogy, but why is BB king on the top of the Blues World etc. For his impact. There were guys before him like Pinetop Perkins (who recently won a lifetime blues award at last years Blues Awards) who were the true innovators of Blues...yet many don't know who the man was.

[Bob Roberts]

HOW ON EARTH are Tool and Radiohead on this list? I don't think anyone can deny the effect these bands have had on music, whether you like them or not.

How is Green Day important? Because they hopped on the Bash Bush bandwagon and made a crappy pop record that preteen girls bought? There are so many more punk bands more important to music in the last 20+ years than Green Day.

BLINK 182?!!!

Garbage.

Edited June 1, 2006 by Bob Roberts

[Pesci]

Radiohead? I would put Happy Mondays or Stone Roses on here before choosing them. And Kerrang!'s mostly a metal magazine anyway. I doubt they're that fussed about anything from the UK since the mid eighties.

[Liam]

Ok, I'll state it now for those who missed what Pesci said: Kerrang! only does metal...well, and some rock. So yeah, no Radiohead.

And I could see arguments for Tool's inclusion and for them not being included, and even though I'm a huge fan, I'd go with the latter.

[Bigal]

I AC/DC being so high, and deservedly so, imo. Let's just ignore that their crowning glories artistically were pre-81 >_>

That is all.

Oh, and why's Bon Jovi on?

Not criticising the selection, it's a genuine question.

[Liam]

Oh, and why's Bon Jovi on?

Not criticising the selection, it's a genuine question.

Because 100,000,000 Bon Jovi fans can't be wrong.

[Skummy]

Tool are hardly one of the most important bands of the last 25 years. Name one thing that they did that changed music.

[zero]

Oh, and why's Bon Jovi on?

Not criticising the selection, it's a genuine question.

Because 100,000,000 Bon Jovi fans can't be wrong.

Pretty much. Bon Jovi was pretty much the first hard rock act to have continued success as they transitioned from hard rock to pop. Bon Jovi has been around for twenty years and constantly are at the top of the charts, they pretty much lead the way for hair metal, and have a huge impact on pop music today. Do they suck? Absolutely, but they're important.

How is Green Day important? Because they hopped on the Bash Bush bandwagon and made a crappy pop record that preteen girls bought? There are so many more punk bands more important to music in the last 20+ years than Green Day.

When Dookie hit it big, record labels started snatching up any band that sounded like Green Day. Without Green Day, mainstream audiences would have never been introduced to Rancid, Bad Religion, or NOFX. Sure, you can argue Bad Religion started the punk revival, but Green Day is what got it airplay. And with your elitist attitude in your post, I'm sure you're gonna say it's about the music and airplay isn't what matters. Well, people can talk all day long about how they liked this band two years before everyone else, but guess what? In the grand scheme of things. The underground doesn't mean shit. A band can't be deemed important if no one's ever heard them before. The greatest bands on earth will probably never be heard, but that's the way the music industry works. Green Day put out Dookie, which sold an insane amount of copies, had continued success throughout the 90s, and then re-invented themselves three years ago. You can bitch all you want about how it's music for pre-teen girls or whatever snobbish stance you want to take, but the bottom line is, it's sold over five million copies, won multiple awards, not to mention the loads of critical acclaim that was given to it. Is it a pop album? I suppose you could label it as such. Personally, I listen to it and I hear rock music with mainstream appeal. It reaches out to all listeners to present its message, and whether or not you agree with a band making that decision, you can't deny that it accomplished that task. It's not like they're Sugar Ray and completely changed their musical sound to get airplay on Soft Rock stations. The sound is polished, but it's still Green Day. And all that certainly warrants their spot on this list. I'll agree with you on blink though.

[Bob Roberts]

Tool are hardly one of the most important bands of the last 25 years. Name one thing that they did that changed music.

Edited June 1, 2006 by Bob Roberts

[zero]

Plus, they're unique because they sell millions of records while making probably the most un-radio friendly albums of any "mainstream" band in America today. You never see them on MTV, VH1, and rarely ever hear them on the radio, and they still go double-triple platinum every album.

You don't see any rock music on MTV or VH1 these days. MTV plays rap and R&B music with bands like Fall Out Boy sprinkled in between and VH1 plays stuff like Bon Jovi and if they're feeling really heavy, Blue October. But Tool gets plenty of radio play, and they have a die-hard fan base. There are lots of bands that do well with even less radio/TV support than Tool, but I don't think anyone is calling for the inclusion of the Insane Clown Posse on this list.

I do think Bad Religion started the punk revival, and Green Day is probably what got it airplay, but by that point anyone who consided themselves a "true" punk fan was completely against Green Day and had called them sellouts and all that. So what importance did they really end up having? They left their punk roots and became more of a punk/pop band (with the emphasis on pop). If anything, to me, Green Day's biggest influence is on the shitty pop/punk bands that are out today like Blink, Fall Out Boy, Good Charlotte, etc.

Again, you think the underground scene matters, it doesn't. "True" punk fans called Green Day sellouts? What makes someone a "true" punk fan? That's elitist subculture bullshit that doesn't matter. Without Green Day, there would have been no 90s punk revival. Just like without Nirvana, there'd be no grunge movement. Ask any "true" grunge fan, and they'll say Nirvana is overrated. But your average person does not give a fuck about what makes them a "true" fan. They like the music they hear on the radio and see on TV, because most people don't want to go searching for music because most people don't care about liking a band two years before they're mainstream. People turn on the radio and listen to what they like, simple as that. Just like I said before, the greatest band in the world is probably playing in a bar somewhere and will only be heard by a couple hundred people. You have to realize that MTV, VH1, Kerrang, record labels and every radio station on the air are not in the world of art. They are selling a product. No different than the film industry, and no different from Wal-Mart. The music business is just that, a business. It's not about art, that's why Green Day's on this list and that's why Iron Maiden is number one.

[gunnar hendershow]

Actually, why are Bon Jovi on here over Motley Crue? I'd say Crue are more important than Jovi in terms of 80's metal... and possibly even GnR since Crue according to a lot were the first truly "evil" band to make it big and they also probably kickstarted glam metal.

[fineintent]

Who sold more, Bon Jovi/Guns n Roses or Motley Crue? Thats why they're on the list.

[zero]

Actually, why are Bon Jovi on here over Motley Crue? I'd say Crue are more important than Jovi in terms of 80's metal... and possibly even GnR since Crue according to a lot were the first truly "evil" band to make it big and they also probably kickstarted glam metal.

Probably because the Crue has sold 60,000,000 fewer albums than Bon Jovi. And the Crue has been pretty much doing the same thing for the last twenty years, while Bon Jovi morphed their style into appealing to all audiences from Pop, Rock, to Country.