My Greatest Bands of All Time

1. The Beatles - the lads from Liverpool have done more for rock music that any other band. they didnt just open new doors, they built the house. true ground breakers they turned the simple pop song into genius, had 80 bajillion number 1 hits in just three years, then they went out and in less than 2 years produced Rubber Soul, Revolver & Sgt Peppers (holy fuck that's a good stretch). still bigger than jesus.

2. The Band - 4 canadians and 1 american redefined music right in the middle of the psychadelic era, mixing folk, rock, gospel and blues into a tight package that yearned to explode at the seems. from a hoary r&b dancehall band to dylan's backing band, they transformed themselves through two albums of americana folk tales into one of the most influential bands of all time and put a large pink house in upstate new york on the map.

3. The Replacements - rising from the minneapolis scene, their punk influences and their rollercoaster live shows (blisteringly hot or drunkingly incoherent) set them up for breakthrough with Let It Be. westerberg's songwriting skills blossomed on that album and allowed them to make the jump to warner bros, which tamed them a bit, until they fell apart and became paul's springboard to a solo career. their unwillingness to promote themselves kept them from being larger than life.

4. The Pixies - out of Boston, their influence continues to grow to this day. they have become a modern day velvet underground, exploding a music scene (alternative rock) to the forefront without ever really being part of it, until now. squealing guitars, bizarre lyrics and a female bass player set the standard for the next decade of bands, as has their 'loud-quiet-loud' song style.

5. (tie) R.E.M & The Rolling Stones - bands similar in their overall careers. both have periods where they were the absolute 'Greatest Rock & Roll Band in the World' and produced records that are withour peer. rem (83-87), stones (68-72). both returned years later with another classic album after a decline, rem (Automatic For The People); stones (Some Girls). and now, both bands continue to slog along without founding members who have retired. both bands need to stop now, or in the case of the stones 20 years ago.