And The Best Band Ever Is...

[Soda Jerk]

I'm still agreeing with daveofficer on Fugazi. No one seems to have picked apart what I said on that one yet.

[Alan Cynic]

while I am a big beatles fan and would certainly say they are up there I don't know if record sales can be used a large part of the formula for determining 'best band ever'. let's not forget that the vast majority of the record buying public are morons with shit taste in music.

in the interests of debate i would like to put forward Fugazi as the best band ever. their output was consistently brilliant throughout their career, sold a shitload of records and easily one of the most influential bands ever. i would bet more people have changed the way they conduct themselves due to fugazi than the beatles, though obviously the beatles have passivly influenced a much much higher amount of people. did the beatles change that many peoples lives or inspire as many people to take control of their own creative output or career in the same way that fugazi have?

I was assuming this was a put-on, as I've never heard anything by Fugazi (or, if I have, it made no impression on me). I like Dave's passion though!!!

[MattJimF]

Surely one of the criteria for best band ever would be universal recognition in that regardless of who the person is or how old they are, when the band is mentioned you get the response "oh i've heard of them".

[Alan Cynic]

I kind of agree with that, although being well-known doesn't always mean something is intrinsically good (Spice Girls?) The Beatles managed to cover all the bases though.

[Le Stu]

I am a patient booy, I'll wait I'll wait I'll wait I'll wait...

is about all I know by Fugazi, but that's a fucking awesome song

[ca_gere]

Nobody's mentioned U2

... Good. Coz they're wack. But, everyone knows who they are, they fill stadiums, sell records and they've been around for ages.

After 14 pages it has to be said there still isn't a convincing argument against the Beatles. If you took all kinds of possible criteria and compared a bunch of possible 'best bands in the world ever' to the Beatles, they'd come out on top every time I reckon. The Fugazi argument falls down as it's a relatively niche genre. No matter how good they are (and I do think they are good, but this thread isn't about taste) if you take 100 random people and play them a record of theirs, more than half will not like it regardless of how brilliant they really are. With the Beatles, you're probably gonna be looking at 70% plus.

[Sam 45]

They slogged for years without any success. Kind of reminds me of Arnold Palmer saying It's a funny thing, the more I practice the luckier I get.

Without checking 14 pages to see if somebody pulled you up on this. It was Gary Player that said that.

[Alkaline]

After 14 pages it has to be said there still isn't a convincing argument against the Beatles

I still haven't seen a convincing arguement for the Beatles.

[ca_gere]

I still haven't seen a convincing arguement for the Beatles.

True. I kinda agree that it's a bit of a non-topic.

[Alkaline]

True. I kinda agree that it's a bit of a non-topic.

I appreciate that they were an influential band to some extent and that they had a few good songs (my opinion of course) but "best band" is a bit OTT. They were rehashing an already formed musical style when they started and disappeared up their own arses experimenting (Pink Floyd were much better at that, lets face it) and released several total stinkers. They were ok, but not spectacular, in my opinion.

I agree about Fugazi though, they were and still are hugely infuential within that particular genre and spanning out to a few others. But obviously on a much smaller scale to the Beatles.

As far as influential/best goes (if we include singers as well) i'd like to include Pink Floyd, Frank Sinatra and Elvis to the discussion if they haven't been already.

But as i've asked already: What is the criteria that we're working with here?

[Le Stu]

Nobody's mentioned U2

... Good. Coz they're wack. But, everyone knows who they are, they fill stadiums, sell records and they've been around for ages..

This is because they're tremendously over-rated and their fans are like The Hun of music.

[Le Stu]

As far as influential/best goes (if we include singers as well) i'd like to include Pink Floyd, Frank Sinatra and Elvis to the discussion if they haven't been already.

But as i've asked already: What is the criteria that we're working with here?

I think being an actual band, not a solo artist, with a consistent lineup throughout their formative years would be good criteria.

[ca_gere]

But as i've asked already: What is the criteria that we're working with here?

That's precisely the problem, there are no concrete criteria apparently so everyone's argument is both valid and invalid at the same time. Pink floyd did some amazing experimental music but some people find prog alienating whereas the Beatles made 'far out' sounds and techniques accessible to the masses, therefore Beatles > Pink Floyd. Then again the Beatles had nowhere near the visionary, multi-sensory live show experience Pink Floyd had so Pink Floyd > The Beatles. I don't particularly like either.

[Alkaline]

I think being an actual band, not a solo artist, with a consistent lineup throughout their formative years would be good criteria.

People were talking about Cliff Richard and I don't agree with the consistent line-up thing at all.

And you haven't even answered my question, you've just skirted around it trying to be funny.

[Alkaline]

Best band ever. The most influential, popular, creative, genre and era defining band that ever walked the earth. The band that, without whom, popular music would be much poorer and perhaps extinct as we know it. The Beatles come closer to fulfilling all those criteria than any other band.

Ok, i've decided who the best band ever are. Radiohead. My opinion.

I agree with some of what you are saying but the Beatles are not the best band ever and they largely weren't responsible for their studio techniques as George Martin was for the most part (none of that "fifth beatle" nonsense please).

It's such a subjective topic and i don't feel obliged to agree with anyone on it really.

[Le Stu]

People were talking about Cliff Richard and I don't agree with the consistent line-up thing at all.

And you haven't even answered my question, you've just skirted around it trying to be funny.

I wouldn't accept Cliff Richard either, or any other act where the front man is more prominently billed, like NIN for example even if it isn't Trent Reznor and The Nine Inch Nails (but hold that thought Trent because it would be hilarious). This is just an opinion and if you don't like it then fine but I've hardly skirted the issue.

And I've no idea why the hell you think I'm being funny. Trust me, it's pretty obvious when I'm doing it

[Alkaline]

I wouldn't accept Cliff Richard either, or any other act where the front man is more prominently billed, like NIN for example even if it isn't Trent Reznor and The Nine Inch Nails (but hold that thought Trent because it would be hilarious). This is just an opinion and if you don't like it then fine but I've hardly skirted the issue.

And I've no idea why the hell you think I'm being funny. Trust me, it's pretty obvious when I'm doing it

I know what you're saying but just because an artist is solo doesn't mean that his contribution to music as a whole is null and void. But, as we're talking about "bands", bands it is.

Humour, like this subject, is very subjective. I'll let you know when you're being funny in a "haha" way, trust me

[Le Stu]

I just googled "best band ever" and got this MSNBC article:

The 10 best rock bands ever - MUSIC- msnbc.com

Summary:

1. The Beatles

2. The Rolling Stones

3. U2

4. The Grateful Dead

5. Velvet Underground

6. Led Zeppelin

7. Ramones

8. Pink Floyd

9. Bob Marley and the Wailers

10. Sly and the Family Stone

Which may or not be useful to discussion but there are a couple of obvious omissions from this thread.

[Le Stu]

Now I'm thinking again. What about Cream?

[Le Stu]

The Jimi Hendrix Experience were better. Cream had some good stuff but their songwriting and vocal abilities were limited.

Also, Toad. Drum solos that last longer than Ringo's on "The End" are inexcusable.

I still prefer Cream to Jimi, on the basis of what I would prefer to listen to, given the choice. I just like Cream's songs more.

[Frosty Jack]

As Mr Bigsby said in his first post - critical reception has a lot to do with it. As others have said, whether a band is good or not is always going to be a matter of opinion. To get an answer, you need something that can be measured, and opinion itself can't be. So you have to count the number of opinions, not what those opinions are. The only way to decide who's best, is to judge who has the most people who think they're the best. And if you could ask the whole world, it's a fair bet that more people would say the Beatles than anyone else. So they win.

[Guest Hobo]

The Stranglers.......

Brilliant Lyrics, cool name, catchy melodies, more imaginative creations than most other counterparts, pretty timeless

Then again Hawkwind come pretty close too

[Soda Jerk]

As Mr Bigsby said in his first post - critical reception has a lot to do with it. As others have said, whether a band is good or not is always going to be a matter of opinion. To get an answer, you need something that can be measured, and opinion itself can't be. So you have to count the number of opinions, not what those opinions are. The only way to decide who's best, is to judge who has the most people who think they're the best. And if you could ask the whole world, it's a fair bet that more people would say the Beatles than anyone else. So they win.

If you are to put that viewpoint factually, then sales would suggest The Beatles and Elvis Presley, with Michael Jackson not too far behind. Then you look a little further down the list, and you realise that if you based your opinion on music quality with this method, then something is going to go incredibly wrong, because the music buying public are fucking idiots. Celine Dion? Mariah Carey? The fucking Bee Gees? No. I can't for one second rely on the quantity of opinions as a guide to who is the best, because there are more people in the world who just aren't as bothered about music as the people who really are.

For me, the best band has nothing to do with popularity. It is to do with innovation, and the severity of the affect that band has had on people. It needs to be a band that completely changed the way people perceive music due to those innovations, and how not another band has even remotely come close to matching them. The kind of band that don't have a style, don't have a genre. They are just a band not to be regarded in the same breath as anyone else.

That criteria will equate to a different band for everyone, depending on what music they like. But for me, it's Fugazi.

[kingofdeon]

If you are to put that viewpoint factually, then sales would suggest The Beatles and Elvis Presley, with Michael Jackson not too far behind. Then you look a little further down the list, and you realise that if you based your opinion on music quality with this method, then something is going to go incredibly wrong, because the music buying public are fucking idiots. Celine Dion? Mariah Carey? The fucking Bee Gees? No. I can't for one second rely on the quantity of opinions as a guide to who is the best, because there are more people in the world who just aren't as bothered about music as the people who really are.

For me, the best band has nothing to do with popularity. It is to do with innovation, and the severity of the affect that band has had on people. It needs to be a band that completely changed the way people perceive music due to those innovations, and how not another band has even remotely come close to matching them. The kind of band that don't have a style, don't have a genre. They are just a band not to be regarded in the same breath as anyone else.

That criteria will equate to a different band for everyone, depending on what music they like. But for me, it's Fugazi.

Oasis! Oasis!

[Bigsby]

No one's tried to suggest that Cliff Richard is "the best band ever", although I think somebody said that The Shadows were better than The Beatles.