TOP CLASSIC ROCK ACTS RANKED
Ranking the Top 30 Classic Rock acts of all time.
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I decided to rank the best classic rock bands in order.
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I do this based on :
Listening to the radio the past 50 years
Going to concerts the past 36 years
Buying albums, cassests, and CD’s the past 45 years
Recently studying in depth at least 4 Top 1000 classic rock song lists, and from that making a list of 347 acts, 307 from the 4 lists combined and I added 40 acts from my own knowledge.
Considering all 347 acts I came up with the Top 30 list.
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There are 2 schools of thought in making this list.
One school of thought is Led Zeppelin is the greatest band ever and must be ranked number one.
The other school of thought is there are a lot more factors to consider than just being a great band.
I went with the second school of thought.
Here are the criteria
1 - Great players or singers
2 - Number of great songs for music
3 - Number of great songs for lyrics
4 - Number of thoughtful or meaningful songs
5 - Songs the listener can sing along with and enjoy
6 - Songs that invoke powerful emotions
7 - Songs that rock
8 - Concert availability over the decades
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Right off the bat I can tell you I cheated by combining some acts together.
The hardest act to rank was Springsteen. I have no idea where he should go. I do not want him on the list at all, but I do not know how to leave him off.
Here is the list
The Beatles and all solo
Rolling Stones
The Who
Pink Floyd
Led Zeppelin
Eric Clapton and all his bands combined
The Doors
Jimi Hendrix
CSNY and CSN and Young solo combined
Eagles and all solo combined
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Bob Dylan
Elton John
Billy Joel
Aerosmith
Jethro Tull
Grateful Dead
Deep Purple and Rainbow combined
Allman Brothers
Van Halen
Bruce Springsteen
Tom Petty
Fleetwood Mac
Black Sabbath and Ozzy combined
Rush
AC/DC
David Bowie
The Kinks
Santana
Bad Company
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List of all 347 acts
List made from taking all the Bands and Solo acts from the web page below of the Top 1043 classic rock songs.
http://forum2.org/mellon/lj/Top%201000%20Rock%20Songs%20(and%2043%20Honorable%20Mentions).txt
Plus additional acts
From 3 additional sources
https://www.rocknrollamerica.net/Top1000.html
http://www.angelfire.com/fl4/moneychords/classicrock1000.html
Plus rock acts who do not appear on any of the 4 links above I added based of my own knowledge of rock music.
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I believe any attempt to make a Classic Rock songs list must contain all 347 acts I have listed.
The 4 lists I examined had some different acts compared to each other.
Additionally, the 40 acts I added who did not appear on any of the 4 lists deserve to be on all the lists.
242
The Beatles
John Lennon
Paul McCartney
George Harrison
Ringo Starr
Led Zeppelin
Robert Plant
The Firm
Rolling Stones
Eric Clapton
Derek & The Dominos
Cream
Blind Faith
Yardbirds
The Who
Pete Townshend
Pink Floyd
Bruce Springsteen
The Doors
Eagles
Joe Walsh
Don Henley
James Gang
Jimi Hendrix
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Bob Dylan
Aerosmith
Elton John
Jethro Tull
Rush
CSNY
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Neil Young
Stephen Stills
Buffalo Springfield
Grateful Dead
Billy Joel
Van Halen
Sammy Hagar
Allman Brothers Band
Greg Allman
Tom Petty
Fleetwood Mac
Stevie Nicks
CCR
John Fogerty
David Bowie
Queen
Moody Blues
AC/DC
Boston
Black Sabbath
Ozzy Osbourne
Guns ‘n’ Roses
Genesis
Phil Collins
Peter Gabriel
Yes
U2
Police
Sting
Steely Dan
The Kinks
Bad Company
Free
Bob Segar
John Cougar Mellencamp
Stevie Rav Vaughan
Steve Miller Band
Doobie Brothers
Van Morrison
Santana
Deep Purple
Rainbow
Rod Stewart
Jeff Beck
Foreigner
Journey
ZZ Top
Traffic
Steve Winwood
Spencer Davis Group
Dave Mason
George Thorogood
Simon & Garfunkel
Paul Simon
Dire Straits
Talking Heads
Blue Oyster Cult
Meatloaf
Kiss
Ace Frehley
Jefferson Airplane
Janis Joplin
Bon Jovi
Steppenwolf
Jackson Browne
Styx
Grand Funk Railroad
Emerson Lake & Palmer
Animals
Kansas
REM
Pat Benatar
Chicago
Supertramp
Warren Zevon
Heart
Pearl Jam
Foghat
ELO
Pretenders
The Ramones
Elvis Costello
Billy Idol
The Band
Nirvana
Bob Marley
Def Leppard
Cheap Trick
Black Crowes
Lou Reed
Mountain
Alice Cooper
The Clash
J. Geils Band
Jimmy Buffett
Squeeze
Eddie Money
The Cars
Todd Rundgren
Ted Nugent
Peter Frampton
Metallica
Joe Cocker
Harry Chapin
Golden Earring
Procol Harum
Beach Boys
James Taylor
38 Special
Elvis Presley
Edgar Winter
Stone Temple Pilots
Nazareth
Guess Who
Bryan Adams
Joe Jackson
America
Badfinger
Lenny Kravitz
Sweet
BTO
Byrds
Judas Priest
Ten Years After
REO Speedwagon
Charlie Daniels Band
Marshall Tucker Band
Molly Hatchet
Outlaws
Motley Crue
Scorpions
Iron Butterfly
Pure Prairie League
Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
Chambers Brothers
Chuck Berry
War
Eric Burdon/War
Don McLean
Rick Derringer
Mott The Hoople
Stealer’s Wheel
Little Feat
Thin Lizzy
Kingsmen
Vanilla Fudge
Robin Trower
Aretha Franklin
Hollies
Joan Jett And The Blackhearts
Blondie
Red Rider
Al Stewart
Big Country
Twisted Sister
Frank Zappa
Gerry Rafferty
Commander Cody
Gary Wright
Patti Smith
Donnie Iris
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Robert Cray
Brewer And Shipley
Toto
Rascals
Small Faces
Dobie Gray
Simple Minds
Joni Mitchell
Melissa Etheridge
King Crimson
Robert Palmer
Queensryche
Whitesnake
Monroes
Tesla
Blues Traveler
Billy Squier
Eric Johnson
Sugarloaf
Collective Soul
Lee Michaels
Stories
Kenny Wayne Shepard
Romantics
Norman Greenbaum
INXS
Wilson Pickett
Youngbloods
Argent
Boz Scaggs
T. Rex
Split Enz
Five Man Electrical Band
Modern English
Georgia Satellites
James Brown
Stray Cats
Humble Pie
Zebra
David Essex
Rare Earth
Knack
Bruce Hornsby
Gary Glitter
Focus
Southside Johnny
Zombies
Dave Edmunds
65
David Gilmour
Glenn Frey
Amboy Dukes
Triumph
Traveling Wilburys
John Mayall
Jefferson Starship
Canned Heat
Alan Parsons Project
Pat Travers
The Fixx
Great White
Blondie
Roxy Music
Thunderclap Newman
Quiet Riot
Midnight Oil
Mike & The Mechanics
Atlanta Rhythm Section
Loverboy
Tom Cochrane
Night Ranger
Ace
Outfield
John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band
Scandal
The Tubes
Loggins and Messina
Ike and Tina Turner
Cat Stevens
Spirit
Faces
Harry Nilsson
Dr. John
Elvin Bishop
Three Dog Night
Strawberry Alarm Clock
Dr. Hook
Ram Jam
Uriah Heep
The Sonics
Them
Long John Baldry
Ozark Mountain Daredevils
It’s A Beautiful Day
Billy Thorpe
Head East
Donovan
Lee Michaels
Raspberries
Troggs
Bobby Fuller Four
Black Oak Arkansas
Leon Russell
Asia
Standells
Mitch Ryder
Brownsville Station
April Wine
Bloomfield, Kooper & Stills
Mungo Jerry
Tommy James
The Babys
Blues Image
Hombres
40
Iron Maiden
Damn Yankees
Jackson Five
Michael Jackson
Fabulous Thunderbirds
Jiimy Vaunghan
Lita Ford
David Lee Roth
Dio
Mamas and Papas
The Monkees
Jim Croce
Billy Preston
The Go Go’s
Motor Head
Johnny Winter
Buddy Holly
Jerry Lee Lewis
Roy Orbinson
Ritchie Valens
Carl Perkins
Johnny Cash
Little Richard
Muddy Waters
The Blues Brothers
Bill Haley and the Comets
Willie Nelson
The Drifters
Sex Pistols
Ingwie Malmsteen
Dokken
Bee Gees
Abba
Arlo Guthrie
Ratt
Hall and Oates
Boomtown Rats
The Hooters
Devo
Huey Lewis and the News
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