The Best... Rock!

[Elliot Kane]

You guys & gals know the drill by now, so go for it!

Rock is, of course, pretty hard to classify, sneaking quite close to Pop at one edge and Metal at the other. Some artists (And perhaps many) are sometimes Rock, sometimes other genres.

Avril Lavigne's signature song, for example, Sk8er Boi is pretty solidly Rock - and one of very few genuine Rock songs she has, so she probably belongs under Pop. Elsewhere, Bon Jovi are sometimes Rock, sometimes Metal and sometimes Country but probably predominantly Rock. Maybe.

Either way - take your best stab at it.

I'll start with a few, then add more later:

Queen are arguably the greatest Rockers of all time. Freddie certainly has one of the finest voices ever to grace music in any genre.

Status Quo - it's often been said that Quo only have one song, but what a song to have lasted them over forty years and such a vast number of albums!

Bon Jovi - after a brilliant first three albums, visited sucksville for a long time before finally rediscovering their sound. Greats - providing you ignore their middle period.

Ugly Kid Joe - one of a tiny number of good Rock bands to come out of the 90s, Ugly Kid Joe are really good. Or were, before they split.

Vixen - Bit of a toss up whether they are Rock or Metal, but I tend to think of them more as Rock, overall.

Miss B Haven are awesome. Also hard to find.

The Gaslight Anthem - one of the best of the new breed.

Asia - one of the worst groups ever to try to google...

Billy Idol - Rock has few really good solo singers, interestingly. Most seem to be groups, but Billy bucks the trend.

Fefe Dobson - one of a number of exciting new talents emerging from Canada. This girl is really good.

Lillix - it's not true to say that all young Canadian Rockers are girls. Just the good ones...

Dire Straits - Total legends. You know them, of course.

Alexz Johnson - before she went Folk, Alexz was a very promising young Rocker. Canadian, but you guessed, right?

The Sounds - couldn't leave out Sweden's finest. Darn good they are, too.

The Vincent Black Shadow - young, new and Canadian... But some of them are boys! No, really! Just Cassandra who isn't...

Skye Sweetnam - at her best, as here, Skye is a Rock Chick with a great voice and awesome potential. Don't ask about the worst. Really. Canadian, of course.

Miley Cyrus - in her Hannah Montana persona, she does mainly pop. As Miley, she's definitely more of a Rocker. Two careers in one. Quite clever, really. A young female singer who is NOT Canadian! Scary! ;D

The Halo Friendlies are one of the best Rock bands you've probably never heard of.

I'll probably add more later. And before anyone asks, no I didn't leave U2 out by accident...

[Elliot Kane]

And after about four hours of wading through covers:

Bryan Adams!

His best song, of course - and seemingly covered by every fraggin' guitarist in the world!

[Flix]

I've got two main categories of Rock I love: 90's grunge/alternative (when I was younger) and 70's classic rock (more recently).

Classic Rock:

The Beatles - Probably the greatest band on this list. They didn't reach their creative stride until mid-period (Rubber Soul), but once they did...

King Crimson is a forgotten treasure of 70's progressive rock.

Blue Oyster Cult great songwriting

Deep Purple - Forget Smoke on the Water. Well, don't forget it, but these guys have an amazing catalogue of great and better songs

Jethro Tull - weird, kinda grungy at times, love their folkier moments and Ian's flute playing

Rush - More prog bliss - Frontman Geddy Lee wails on vocals and bass

Queen - I'm with EK on this one. Legendary super-talented group.

And now for the 90's stuff:

Nirvana - more or less sums up grunge music.

Bush - kings of alternative rock in the late 90's.

The Smashing Pumpkins - fantastic music, great dynamics across their albums ranging from delicate lullabys to caustic rage

The Offspring - started as punk/alternative and eventually became basically pop music. But their first 4 albums are classics.

311 - fuses grunge rock with reggae, spaced out psychadelic stuff, and a bit of hip-hop at times. Rises well above the other 90's bands on this list. Plus, they're still going strong and making great music.

Other great rock:

Porcupine Tree - Progressive rock group with absolutely stellar songwriting and lyrics

Coheed and Cambria - group with a modern rock sound that owes a lot to Rush and 70's prog

Dave Matthews Band - more along the lines of "jam band" rock. Great songwriting and live performances.

Primus - This band should really be its own genre. Quirky and weird, sometimes heavy, sometimes goofy, always great. No one song sums up this band.

[killerzzz]

*Wild Thread Has Appeared*

"Go Windows Media Player!"

Alright, tell me if I stray at all, but here's some rock for ya.

And if any of this counts as Heavy Metal (I have no idea what does), let me know and I'll put it in that thread. ;D

I think some of the bands are considered "punk", but I chose songs that I feel are 'rock'. Thus some of the music videos are gonna be weird. I'm also gonna probably list some "alternative rock", but oh well.

Also note: I'm listing mostly songs, rather than bands. I usually have one or two songs from a band that I resonate with and listen to, and I ignore the rest even if they're alright.

30 Seconds To Mars : listen to From Yesterday, very powerful song.

Alkaline Trio: Burn is another powerful song.

Bad Religion: Fast and catchy is the song Beyond Electric Dreams

Blue October: Is this rock? Soft rock? Here's a song I really like, Into The Ocean. Listen to the lyrics: it's a story about a man drowning, and it's easy to feel the experience yourself.

Death Cab For Cutie: Another soft rock one. Soul Meets Body

Disturbed: Okay, this time I'm saying the whole band. I love Disturbed. ;D Some heavy rock to pump you up, and often having an almost chant-like feel that's part of its uniqueness (to me). Try Down With The Sickness. Got some swearing.

Don McLean: A good oldie! I'll be honest, I only know American Pie to be his, but its one of my favorite songs. ;D

Drowning Pool: Another whole band I enjoy. Try some Step Up to pump you up. You might also be familiar with "Tear Away" and "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor". Moar swears.

Tal Bachman: Another great song is She's So High. Soft-ish rock, but has some movement in it.

Fall Out Boy: I enjoy a few of theirs. Like "Sugar, We're Going Down Swinging" or This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race (the censor the "God" in "goddamn", ps ).

Finger Eleven: Another great band. Canadian. Paralyzer (holy crap, what just happened in that video? o.o )

Goo Goo Dolls: All soft. I actually like a few of their songs. Like Iris, which you've probably heard at some point or another.

Guns N Roses: Sweet Child O Mine FTW.

The Hush Sound: I like a few songs from this band too. Their stuff has a jumpy beat, really catchy. Try Wine Red. Oh, female lead, unlike most of my stuff. ;D

Jason Mraz: One of those Hawaiian singers, doin that soft rock. Take a look at Wordplay. Actually, don't look. Just give it a listen; the video is messed up.

Jimi Hendrix: Your not cool if you haven't heard him yet, so get at it! Another good oldie. Purple Haze. You must have at least heard a part of his music in a commercial or something somewhere.

Limp Bizkit: Heavy rock. Another whole band thing for me. Uh, a crapload of swearing. ;D Take care where you listen to Break Stuff.

Linkin Park: Probably altern, but still rock. I chose a good song that had both singers, and a badass sci-fi music video. Pts. Of. Athrty. a remix of Points of Authority.

Marilyn Manson: Yes hes the creepiest dude around, but darn it, I like some if his stuff! The Beautiful People. Listen to the song and literally HIDE from the music video. Swearing.

Maximum The Hormone: You like screamo? I usually don't, but somehow this one was acceptable (well two songs were). Zetsubou Billy and What's Up People. Probably just because I love Death Note so much. So, lots of screaming, Japanese, and the eff word.

Monoral: Take note - I only liked one of their songs. The rest I didn't. Just getting that out there. However, the one I did like was beyond awesome, and thus I share it. Another Japanese band... except they speak English. Kiri. Used in the intro to Ergo Proxy (which is cropped into that fan made music video along with clips from the episodes).

In a hurry now, gettin late.

Muse: Trippy rock? ;D Shrinking Universe - 28 Weeks Later version.

My Chemical Romance: They look goth, but their music doesn't sound it. Teenagers. Swears.

Nickleback: I like alot of his stuff. My fav is Animals, but that is way too dirty for you kids. So, I'll show you one thats more on line with his most known stuff. Next Contestant.

Our Lady Peace: Again, enjoy some of their stuff. Somewhere Out There is a song I really like though. Soft rock that has some intenseness to it.

Powerman 5000: Some hardcore rock. Stuff gets me pumped up. Known for "Drop the Bomb Shell" and When Worlds Collide.

Rolling Stones: Again, oldie. Sympathy for the Devil supposedly influenced some of those later bands to go all devil-y in their music and stuff... which is silly, since that song is criticizing the devil and man together.

Saliva: Do not drive to this song. You will speed. Click Click Boom.

Senses Fail: Another one-songer, but a good song at that. Another one I'll call powerful. ;D The Priest and the Matador. Its got a swear in it.

Skillet: Everyone I show them to says "lol, there's a band named that?" Well, yes there is, and their stuff is pretty good. Whispers In The Dark is just badass.

Social Code: Damn it all! I can't find a single decent one of their songs on the internet. Very interesting rock band, the singer has a cool voice. Plus they're Canadian! Try Flurry or Gone Away if you can find it. Or download a song just to try them out.

Ugg, have to go.

Steve Miller Band: Fly like an Eagle, The Joker.

Stone Sour: Through Glass.

System of a Down: All of it. Aerials, Chop Suey.

Unwritten Law: Would show again, but can't find any. Seein Red, Celebration Song.

The Used: I Caught Fire (in your eyes), Bird and the Worm

Man, I did too many. But like I said, its because I was going for songs, not bands exactly.

Killerzzz

[Elliot Kane]

Not sure anyone knows exactly where the limits are, Kaz. There's just so much overlap at both ends and no really clear boundaries.

Idea of these threads is to share the stuff you love in a (semi-)structured way. As long as that's working out, it's all good

[Ubereil]

U2 deserves to be mentioned. Not that I'm a huge fan, but they're U2!

As for my personal favorites: Dire Straits and Smashing Pumpkins have already been mentioned. Genesis isn't quite rock, although they've done some quite rocky tracks over their career, especially early on. Apart from that there are two goth bands that might qualify (The Sisters of Mercy and Fields of the Nephilim).

Übereil

[Max]

Well, my picks are all fairly 'mainstream' but nonetheless...

Oasis-they're looked down upon by a lot of music critics, and in the US are really only known for one song (Wonderwall) but if you look deeper, I believe they're one of the best, most interesting and creative bands out there that have stood the test of time where a lot of their peers have faded away. Easily my favourite band who IMO posses one of the best catalogues around.

U2-Big fan of U2. They can do massive stadium anthems or bring it down and create an intimate, personal ballad. They always seem to put huge amounts of passion and emotion into their music and are never scared to re-invent themselves, and are really up there with the true greats of Rock music.

Paul Weller-He's probably more known for his work with 'The Jam', but Weller's solo career is some of the finest songwriting I've heard. "Wild Wood" and "Stanley Road" are two examples of near-perfect Weller albums. A brilliant mix of rock/soul/jazz and masterful songwriting.

The Beatles- Of course they've got to be here. They're the inspirations, the pioneers and the leaders really. The benchmark.

Gomez- This is entirely based on their first two, brilliant albums. A unique blend of rock/blues/country for the mainstream audience. Excellent voices and harmonies and severely underrated IMO.

Arctic Monkeys- Alright, perhaps slightly overhyped in the UK, but still an excellent punk "Jam/Clash" influenced band. Clever lyrics and catchy songs.

The Who - One of the best bands of the 60's and 70's that still sound fresh today. Excellent, excellent 'classic' rock ('classic' isn't meant to be an insult however).

The Verve- they can sometimes be slightly too moody, but that doesn't detract from their genius. Heartfelt lyrics and great atmospheric, trippy rock.

That's all for now! There's obviously more but that sums up the main ones for me.