[Oregonian]

Pink Floyd/Rush in a virtual tie depending on mood

 

[MacedonianHero]

Pink Floyd/Rush in a virtual tie depending on mood

 

[Gnomeplay]

 

 

Pink Floyd/Rush in a virtual tie depending on mood

 

 

[warth0g]

Wow.. interesting thread. Really fascinating to see the musical biases of all of you audiophiles. I don't think I ever would have predicted Rush's popularity 

 Not surprised however to see the Beatles and Queen perform so strongly, but I just can't stand either band - so bear that in mind when you look at my list
 
5. David Sylvian - Not really a band I guess, although he's been in bands, right? Including Japan in the early days, and then played with all sorts of maestros later on as he matured. His voice is love it or hate it, but his style and musical integrity are deeply moving and he's been a favourite of mine since college days.
 
4. Rolling Stones - They may well be the best band ever, just not my absolute personal favourite. Love their musicality and their versatility though, so they have to be right up there. Amazing.
 
3. Talk Talk - Mark Hollis moved their sound from great '90s synth-pop to pseudo-classical masterpieces, with little expectation of or interest in commercial success. Spirit of Eden is one of the most profoundly moving albums ever.
 
2. The Police - Regatta de Blanc was the first album I ever bought, and I still love them. They also have the best drummer of all time
 
1. Radiohead - for years and years they were my undisputed favourite band. The last couple of releases underwhelmed a little however. And Thom's solo stuff and Atoms for Peace, while really good, still don't reach the standards set by OK Computer and Kid A. Don't think I've got a suitable replacement, so they remain at number one.
 
Honourable mentions: Arcade Fire, The National, The Stooges, Patti Smith, Bjork, Sigur Ros

 

[Armotekma]

Hybrid is my favorite of all time. Morning Sci-Fi is also my favorite album of all time.
 
 

 
The Birthday Massacre are on the same level; Violet is my 2nd favorite album of all time.
 
From what I read in this thread, it's interesting that people said they'd have a certain favorite band, but a different favorite album.

 

[magiccabbage]

1. Queen  -  The Band that got me into music in the first place. Really diverse from album to album and i love their mastery in the studio no one can disagree that they had some of the best sounding albums. 
 
2. Parliament/Funkadelic -  Amazing session players. Amazing vocalists with unbelievable range. Very creative in the studio and most importantly they bridged the gap from prog to soul, funk and fusion. As close to the perfect band as it gets for me.
 
3. The Meters - Soul, Funk, Motown they had it all. One of  the best rhythm sections that there ever was and they played on the best Dr John records too!! I love the guitar tone and the tightness of the drums. Amazing bass lines. just happy happy music! 
 
4. King crimson -  The best of all the prog bands in my opinion. From larks tongues to discipline just perfect prog. 
 
5. Pink Floyd - Some times when i sit down and listen to Pink Floyds The Wall its hard to beleive that an album can be that perfect. 
 
6. Led Zeppelin - They don't have a bad album, they don't have a bad song either. They are definitely the most consistent band in terms of output. Everything they ever did was good. Physical graffiti is in my opinion the best rock album ever made. 
 
7.  Tool  - I was obsessed with Lateralus and Aenima from the age of 16 - 19. Lateralus is the album that i discovered headphones on and what a headphone album. They brought back prog for me. Lateralus is one of the very few modern albums that i would consider - proper prog. I also seen them when they toured with King Crimson. What a tour!! 
 
8. Van Halen - I am a guitar player and Eddie Van Halen made me want to play guitar. The first 5 Van Halen albums have some of the best guitar playing ive ever heard on them. 
 
9. Bela Fleck and the Flectones  -  My favorite instrumental group. A super group of session players. One of the best if not the best live groups i have seen. I fell in love with them straight away. 
 
10. Talking heads  -  I remember the first time i seen "stop making sense" it was at the Galway film festival in an outdoor cinema. One of my best memories from college. It started an obsession with the band and paved a way into the world of electronic music for me

 

[MacedonianHero]

My top 10:
 
Pink Floyd
Led Zeppelin
Rush
The Rolling Stones
The Beatles
AC/DC
Queen
The Who
The Eagles
Radiohead

 

[7S Cameron]

I get a lot of hate for it, but my favorite band is Avenged Sevenfold. I've been listening to them since I was 10 years old starting with their second album: Waking the Fallen. To me it is the best album ever created, it is put together perfectly, has a ton of passion, and the lyrics are fantastic. This is the song that got me started:
 

 
For my number 2 I'd have to go with Sylosis. I only got into them within the last year, but they are amazing. Their guitars remind me of a modern and heavier version of Metallica. And again, the lyrics are what really pull me in. Anyway, this is the song that got me in to them:
 

 
I don't really expect much of you to like either of these bands because of the screaming, it turns a lot of people off. The amount of talent these guys possess blows my mind, if you're into metal give them a listen.

 

[Spyro]

1970"s:  Rush, The Who and Genesis
 
1980"s:  Rush, The Who and U2, 
 
1990's:  None.....I was lost
 
2000's:  transitioned over to jazz but since 2000 forward The Pat Metheny Group would certainly be my #1 choice.  Phennomenal stuff, phennomenal players.  
 
Now?     No favorite...love is shared by many......my tastes are simply too diverse to possibly zero in on 1 or 2 bands.....I would probably buy anything Pat Metheny or Dave Weckl or Antonio Sanchez releases.  I suppose that's a good guide for love of a musician.

 

[TJ Elite]

If we stick strictly to the wording in the thread's title, I don't have an answer because I have no idea what my favorite band would be. If a more liberal interpretation is allowed and we substitute the word "band" with "artist", the answer becomes very easy: John Coltrane. He is my absolute favorite musician of all time and no one comes even close to challenging that position. What I admire most about Trane is how he continued to pursue musical growth throughout his career without ever stopping to stand still even for a second of his life. Even more astonishing is the speed at which he progressed and how he never ceased exploring new forms of musical expression and pushing the limits of what is physically possible to play on the saxophone. After developing his famous "sheets of sound" improvisation style and the substitution cycle named after him as the Coltrane changes, in the year 1960 he had already expanded to recording playing a soprano saxophone in addition to the tenor saxophone he was more accustomed to. As if this wasn't enough, he was almost obsessed with the concept of playing chords with a saxophone (yes, chords!), and felt frustrated and constricted with the traditional changes used in jazz even after trying to push the envelope with his own expansions to jazz harmony. Not making the same kind of music for more than a couple of years at most, his music naturally evolved from bop to modal jazz, becoming gradually more and more avant-garde until finally delving deep into the world of free jazz and collective improvisation. But he didn't even stop there, and right up till his untimely death in 1967 at the age of 40 he continued to reach for a higher and higher level of musical expression, his very latest recorded studio and live performances having ascended to a plain that is barely within the realm of human comprehension. There is no sign that he had any intention of stopping at the level where he was at, so I can only conjecture as to how his music could have developed beyond the point it was at around the time of his death. Part of me kind of feels any music like that would not even be meant for us mortals, and perhaps that is the reason he had to die – because in order to continued his pursuit of even greater form of musical expression he was required to physically transfer to a different plane of existence.

 

I highly recommend picking maybe a dozen or so of Coltrane's most notable recordings in a fashion that covers the majority of his career from the early sessions to final days, and listening to them in chronological order. It is truly an exciting trip to pay witness to the different stages in his career, not to mention he was part of a lot of the greatest music mankind has ever committed to tape. Recordings like Kind of Blue and A Love Supreme are just the tip of the iceberg.

 

[magiccabbage]

 

If we stick strictly to the wording in the thread's title, I don't have an answer because I have no idea what my favorite band would be. If a more liberal interpretation is allowed and we substitute the word "band" with "artist", the answer becomes very easy: John Coltrane. He is my absolute favorite musician of all time and no one comes even close to challenging that position. What I admire most about Trane is how he continued to pursue musical growth throughout his career without ever stopping to stand still even for a second of his life. Even more astonishing is the speed at which he progressed and how he never ceased exploring new forms of musical expression and pushing the limits of what is physically possible to play on the saxophone. After developing his famous "sheets of sound" improvisation style and the substitution cycle named after him as the Coltrane changes, in the year 1960 he had already expanded to recording playing a soprano saxophone in addition to the tenor saxophone he was more accustomed to. As if this wasn't enough, he was almost obsessed with the concept of playing chords with a saxophone (yes, chords!), and felt frustrated and constricted with the traditional changes used in jazz even after trying to push the envelope with his own expansions to jazz harmony. Not making the same kind of music for more than a couple of years at most, his music naturally evolved from bop to modal jazz, becoming gradually more and more avant-garde until finally delving deep into the world of free jazz and collective improvisation. But he didn't even stop there, and right up till his untimely death in 1967 at the age of 40 he continued to reach for a higher and higher level of musical expression, his very latest recorded studio and live performances having ascended to a plain that is barely within the realm of human comprehension. There is no sign that he had any intention of stopping at the level where he was at, so I can only conjecture as to how his music could have developed beyond the point it was at around the time of his death. Part of me kind of feels any music like that would not even be meant for us mortals, and perhaps that is the reason he had to die – because in order to continued his pursuit of even greater form of musical expression he was required to physically transfer to a different plane of existence.

 

I highly recommend picking maybe a dozen or so of Coltrane's most notable recordings in a fashion that covers the majority of his career from the early sessions to final days, and listening to them in chronological order. It is truly an exciting trip to pay witness to the different stages in his career, not to mention he was part of a lot of the greatest music mankind has ever committed to tape. Recordings like Kind of Blue and A Love Supreme are just the tip of the iceberg.

I remember when i heard blue train the first time - it blew me away! That song - "locomotion" the solo's on there are unbelievable. It is still probably my fav jazz album. Have you heard wynton marsalis live at the house of tribes or live at the village vanguard? 

 

[magiccabbage]

  1970"s:  Rush, The Who and Genesis
 
1980"s:  Rush, The Who and U2, 
 
1990's:  None.....I was lost
 
2000's:  transitioned over to jazz but since 2000 forward The Pat Metheny Group would certainly be my #1 choice.  Phennomenal stuff, phennomenal players.  
 
Now?     No favorite...love is shared by many......my tastes are simply too diverse to possibly zero in on 1 or 2 bands.....I would probably buy anything Pat Metheny or Dave Weckl or Antonio Sanchez releases.  I suppose that's a good guide for love of a musician.

Have you hard any of the Mike stern albums from 1990 - present?. You might like them if you like metheny. I really love them. 

 

[applaudio]

I could just tell you my favorite band, and be done with it. But I'm up late on a Saturday night, with no one and nothing but my music to keep me company. So I'm going to make this post special. Here are my (current) ten favorite bands:



10. Nine Inch Nails

The definitive industrial rock band, headed by perfectionist Trent Reznor. I love this band!


9. The National

Baritone Matt Berninger's straightforward delivery might border on monotonous if not for the effortless weight he brings to bear on even the simplest passage. The National is all about stripped-down, unassuming, what-you-see-is-what-you-get musicality.


8. Mumford And Sons

The raw talent of these guys is simply stunning. They are as good a group of musicians as you're likely to find anywhere, and their raw, acoustic-heavy sound gets your toes tapping and your head nodding. I can't imagine anyone I'd rather see live, except perhaps my number one. (Don't peek!)


7. Our Lady Peace

Singer and songwriter Raine Maida's mesmerizing choirboy falsetto is notorious, and so is his gift for smart, layered lyrics. He can be cryptic. And sometimes, it's as if he's daring you to try to divine his intention. But boy, do his songs leave an impression. If the melodies don't get to you, the poetry will.


6. The XX

Subtle. Soulful. Breathtaking. I can't get enough of... whatever this is! The XX is unique. The XX is incredible.


5. Alt-J

It's been a long time since a band so thrilled me with an album, let alone a debut album. Alt-J's An Awesome Wave is chock full of smart, tuneful numbers. The lyrics can be oblique, and there may be a few too many literary, cinematic and historical references in them for the average person to make sense of it all without some research, but these guys straight up know how to write songs. I can't wait for their sophomore album.


4. Metric

Singer and songwriter Emily Haines is the brains and beauty of this operation. Her synthesizer lends this band an other-worldly sound. Her voice is heartbreaking. And her lyrics are witty, edgy and poetic.


3. Radiohead

Thom Yorke is a god of intelligent songwriting. While every Radiohead album inevitably has weak points, each also contains songs of such perfection and such grace as to make the deity of your choice jealous.


2. Arcade Fire

Gorgeous. What more needs to be said?


1. Sigur Rós

There is no other band that so consistently challenges me, surprises me, and moves me to tears of elation or catharsis. If you haven't heard this treasure of a band, give them a listen. And if you enjoy his haunting falsetto, check out lead singer Jónsi's solo work.


(Edited to include Mumford And Sons. Sorry, Muse.)

 

[warth0g]

I could just tell you my favorite band, and be done with it. But I'm up late on a Saturday night, with no one and nothing but my music to keep me company. So I'm going to make this post special. Here are my (current) ten favorite bands:


10. Muse

Muse, for all their audacity, are a band impossible to take seriously. And maybe they like it that way. This is a band I turn on to have my socks knocked off by good old pop-rock charisma.


9. Nine Inch Nails

The definitive industrial rock band, headed by perfectionist Trent Reznor. I love this band!


8. The National

Baritone Matt Berninger's straightforward delivery might border on monotonous if not for the effortless weight he brings to bear on even the simplest passage. The National is all about stripped-down, unassuming, what-you-see-is-what-you-get musicality.


7. Our Lady Peace

Singer and songwriter Raine Maida's mesmerizing choirboy falsetto is notorious, and so is his gift for smart, layered lyrics. He can be cryptic. And sometimes, it's as if he's daring you to try to divine his intention. But boy, do his songs leave an impression. If the melodies don't get to you, the poetry will.


6. The XX

Subtle. Soulful. Breathtaking. I can't get enough of... whatever this is! The XX is unique. The XX is incredible.


5. Alt-J

It's been a long time since a band so thrilled me with an album, let alone a debut album. Alt-J's An Awesome Wave is chock full of smart, tuneful numbers. The lyrics can be oblique, and there may be a few too many literary, cinematic and historical references in them for the average person to make sense of it all without some research, but these guys straight up know how to write songs. I can't wait for their sophomore album.


4. Metric

Singer and songwriter Emily Haines is the brains and beauty of this operation. Her synthesizer lends this band an other-worldly sound. Her voice is heartbreaking. And her lyrics are witty, edgy and poetic.


3. Radiohead

Thom Yorke is a god of intelligent songwriting. While every Radiohead album inevitably has weak points, each also contains songs of such perfection and such grace as to make the deity of your choice jealous.


2. Arcade Fire

Gorgeous. What more needs to be said?


1. Sigur Rós

There is no other band that so consistently challenges me, surprises me, and moves me to tears of elation or catharsis. If you haven't heard this treasure of a band, give them a listen. And if you enjoy his haunting falsetto, check out lead singer Jónsi's solo work.


And now, if you'll permit me, I think I'll go to bed.

 
Wow - great list.. I'm not hugely keen on Muse but I love most of the others. Now that I've established that we share similar tastes, I'll have to check out the couple on your list that I don't know (metric and Our Lady Peace) - so thanks in advance for that!
 
And, yes, Alt-J - what an absolutely wonderful first album, couldn't agree more. Quite audacious in how good it was. Not quite as good, but still great and not dissimilar - have you tried Autre Ne Veut? Well worth checking out...

 

[applaudio]

I'll have to check out the couple on your list that I don't know (metric and Our Lady Peace) - so thanks in advance for that!

You likely don't know Metric or Our lady Peace because, while big in Canada, they haven't been particularly well exported. For Metric, I would recommend starting by listening to any of their three most recent albums, "Live It Out", "Fantasies", and "Synthetica'. With Our Lady Peace, listen through "Spiritual Machines". If you enjoy that album, you'll love "Clumsy" and "Happiness... Is Not A Fish That You Can Catch". For a more post-grunge Our Lady Peace, try the earlier "Naveed". Also check out Raine Maida's solo work, if you like his songwriting and unique voice.

And I will definitely check out Autre Ne Veut.