6 Best Rock Bands of All Time

Last updated on November 17th, 2022 at 02:09 am

Rock and roll enthusiasts know that the group that suggests that the genre has lost its relevance has lost good taste. When you listen to some of the best rock bands of all time, it becomes clear that rock music is sure to ace the test of time and will live as long as the people who rock live on the planet.

In this article, we will look at some of the best rock bands that rocked the face of the earth with their rock n roll music and talent. Let’s roll, shall we?

Pretenders

The world of rock n roll benefited hugely by the birth of the anglophile Chrissie Hynde in the US who founded the rock band ‘Pretenders.’

Hynde is as smart a songwriter as rock can get, and combined with the abilities of the band, they produced their platinum-selling debut album in 1980.

Soon after they launched their second album, the band’s bassist, as well as its guitarist, tragically died, but Hynde’s single-mindedness did not let her put a stop to her rock n roll journey.

Learning To Crawl and Last Of The Independents are two of the best of the rock band’s many albums.

The founder, writer, and vocalist of the band, Chrissie Hynde, is one of the true originals of rock who swiftly outshined her male counterparts.

If you want to get the top taste of the music the band produced, give a listen to the Tattooed Love Boys. And just FYI, pretenders are back with their 2020 album Hate For Sale.

Grateful Dead

One of the most successful touring bands and one of the best rock bands in the history of music, Grateful Dead, was the incarnation of psychedelic tracks.

The underground rock band became popular as counterculture figureheads and were fans of The Beach Boys and The Beatles.

The level of popularity of the band can be ascertained from their US arena tours of 1993, in which Sting performed as their opening act.

How many rock bands do you know to have played more than 2000 live shows? They did 2300 before Garcia died in 1995.

The legendary band from California are widely referred to as godfathers of acid rock and are synonymous with the hippie movement of the 60s and LSD.

Listen to Box Of Rain to get an idea of what the band could do.

Motorhead

Ian Lemmy famously portrayed Motorhead’s mission statement as “(We would) concentrate on very basic music: loud, fast, city, raucous, arrogant, paranoid, speedfreak rock’n’roll… it will be so loud that if we move in next door to you, your lawn will die”.

We can safely say that the rock band succeeded in its mission.

It is not uncommon, even today, for people to lump in the legendary band among the heavy metal genre, but the band members often clarified that they were purely a rock n roll band.

Motorhead has a thunderous catalog that includes some unsurpassable albums like Ace of The Spades and No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith.

Neil Young And Crazy Horse

Neil Young has some hit and huge-selling songs that he did not record with Crazy Horse, but the stellar Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere of 1969 makes their union one of the best rock partnerships.

Their greatness is depicted in their albums, including Weld (1991) and Rust Never Sleeps (1979).

The intensity of the music the rock band produced and the passion that sparkled in it were ferocious. Give Cinnamon Girl a listen to get an idea of what is being talked about.

Queen

The dawn of the 70s in the rock n roll world was marked by Freddie Mercury’s band, who broke through the stage with their unique style, Queen.

They went supernova with Bohemian Rhapsody and were soon hovering way up on the billboard charts.

The Game, News of the World, and A Night at the Opera are some of the band’s super-hit albums while they did not stay back with their around-the-world infamous singles, like A Kind of Magic, Don’t Stop me Now, and We Will Rock You.

Queen is inarguably one of the best rock bands in the history of music that made forays into other genres as well but without compromising on their true identity.

The band’s Live Aid set of 1985 is considered as one of the best live performances in history.

After Mercury died in 1991, the other band members were soon to reinvent themselves with Paul Rodgers as their new vocalist. 

Van Halen

Highly impressive and tight, Van Halen was a musical group that, along with their idolizing music, gained popularity through the charisma of their frontman David Lee Roth.

However, Eddie Van Halen, with his amazing guitar skills, was the star of the show. His widely regarded tapping solo technique is still popular today among guitarists, and he was honored at the Billboard Music Awards of 2020 following his death.

Van Halen’s music had a wide-reaching appeal, and they were unstoppable in the 70s and early 80s.

Their multi-platinum albums that changed the face of the rock world include Fair Warning, Van Halen II, and Van Halen. Give their song, ‘Jump,’ a listen if you do not mind falling in love with the band.

Some other behemoths that paved the way for rock n roll into our minds and our top picks for their songs include:

• Ramones – Blitzkrieg Bop
• AC/DC – You Shook me All Night Long
• The Doors – Roadhouse Blues
• The Who – Won’t Get Fooled Again
• Fleetwood Mac – Dreams
• Metallica – Master of Puppets
• Deep Purple – Black Night
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
• Pink Floyd – Money
• Guns ‘N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine
• The Rolling Stones – Sympathy For The Devil
• Black Sabbath – War Pigs
• The Beatles – A Day in The Life
• Led Zeppelin – Whole Lotta Love

The indelible impression that the best rock bands have stamped on our minds and lives with their rock n roll endeavors is something we will cherish as long as we find ourselves breathing.