"western" music is what we are looking for. modern "western" that's a good label. i don't won't to refer to it as pop music though. when you say that it makes you think of the partidge family or britney spears. i'm talking about bands or singers who started a revolution in the industry. the way jerry lee lewis did in the fifties. or what the beatles did in the sixties. and how nirvana did in the 90s.

i gotta go back and include sinatra. i also have to include miles davis.

i did consider classical like bach and straus, but that's not our thing and honestly i don't know much about it. i own a few CDs, but not many.

it was hard to leave off van halen. i'm a big fan. but did they really change the face of music? they're success might have opened the door for the hair bands of the 80s. but who want to be known for that?

jimi was great, but changed the face of music ... no.

the ramones almost made the list.

flock of seaguls should probably be on a top 20 list somewhere. for many they are all that was good and bad about 80s music.

garth brooks should be considered. i don't think he changed country music, but he definitely impacted the way it is packaged and marketed .

i'm not really up on anything in the last say 10 years. any big changes since nirvana? dr dre? probably eminem i guess. i refuse to hang a poster of his sorry ass in my house though.

it's all subjective. it's all personal tastes. and it's all humble opinions. thanks for sharing.

 

If we are talking influential vs. popular AND with reference to contemporary music I would pick.....

Beatles(#1)
Kinks
Velvet Underground
Bob Dylan
Jimi Hendrix
Eric Clapton(Cream, Blind Faith, Derek, solo)
John Coltrane
Elvis Presley
Rolling Stones
Robert Johnson

3 bands/artists that unfortunately were not influential enough would be:

The Who
Brian Eno/Roxy Music
Genesis w/ Peter Gabriel/Gabriel solo

Almost made it:
Doors
Pink Floyd
Beach Boys

BTW my favorite site for music review has got to be:

http://starling.rinet.ru/music/index.htm

 

A list like this is never complete without Michael Jackson.

 

"He made Thiller man, Thiller."-Dave Chapelle - You can't leave out the best selling artist in history, Michael Jackson, and his brothers, The Jacksons.

 

I won't do a whole list, but I'll throw out a few...

Beatles- this is a no-brainer

Bob Dylan- had major cultural impact at the time

Nirvana- inspired modern rock bands for the past fifteen years

Tom Petty- three decades of being one of the best songwriters "rock n' roll" artists

Because I think there should be a mid-post 90's band there, I'll throw out a real personal choice and say The Wallflowers. Bringing Down the Horse was one of the centerpieces of the alt-rock scene, and Jakob is arguable the most talented lyricist out there today.

 

Bob Marley, I can't believe he's not listed.

 

Here's mine in no particular order

1) Beatles
2) Nirvana
3) The Eagles
4) Micheal Jackson
5) Jimi Hendrix
6) Elvis
7) RUN DMC
8) Zepplin
9) David Bowie
10) Hoobastank (just kidding)

 

Nirvana, nuff said.

 

Ah I forgot about RUN DMC, great stuff.

 

tupac