Best Rock album of all time

[RP-29]

Reggae:

• Dancehall; Jamaican pop that strips down Reggae to the most crucial dance vibes necessary, though it added more digital instrumentation and faster rhythms.
  - Leonard Dillon, Toots Hibbert, Wailing Souls, Ebony Steelband, Aswad, Big Mountain
• Dub; mostly instrumental remixes of existing Reggae recordings.
  - Third World, Black Uhuru, Yellowman, Sly & Robbie, Freddie McGregor
• Ragga; primarily electronic Reggae. Slower and more laid back than Dancehall, but more produced and digitized than Roots.
  - Steel Pulse, Trinidad Steel Drum Band, Inner Circle, Desmond Williams, Lasana Bandelé, Joe Higgs
• Roots; spiritual Rastafarian expression of life and experiences. Primal, raw and unmistakably catchy.
  - Bob Marley & The Wailers, Greyhound, Dhaima, Crucial Vibes, Kojak & Liza, Shorty the President

Rock:

• Alternative; not quite squeezed into the "Rock" definition, but not quite squeezed out of it either.
  - Soul Asylum, U2, The Wallflowers, Jesus Jones, Beck, Toad the Wet Sprocket
• Americana; the music about the working class. The hopes and dreams of the free American people. Driving rock that you can hear in bars and stadiums alike.
  - Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams, The Traveling Wilburys, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, John Fogerty
• Art Rock; slightly skewed but still rock. More experimental and "out there". Costumes are common. As is make-up and characterization.
  - David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, David Byrne, Velvet Underground, Radiohead, Incubus, Talking Heads
• Classic Rock; the original rockers. If you haven't heard of these guys you haven't heard of Rock.
  - Led Zeppelin, The Who, Steve Miller Band, Queen, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, The Troggs
• College Rock; rock for the sake of getting laid in college. These guys pandered to the more sensitive female audience, thereby creating the necessity for the male audience to like them as well. Typically pretty stupid and nonsensical sounding names.
  - Vertical Horizon, Iffy, Counting Crows, Hoobastank, Goo Goo Dolls, Fastball, Dishwalla, Hootie & The Blowfish, Matchbox 20, Emmet Swimming
• Dark Wave; slightly more despondent and depressed. More morose and well......dark.
  - The Church, The Cure, Blue October, Depeche Mode, The Stone Roses, Joy Division
• Funk Rock; pretty self-explanatory.
  - Primus, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Spin Doctors, 311, Mother's Finest, Tina & The B-side Movement
• Grunge; these guys killed Glam Metal. But it was already beginning to show signs of weakness. <sigh accompanied by single tear> This music stripped away all image and pretense and left us with guys who were just good enough at their instrument to still allow every high-school boy in America to be able to play along...... to all their pretty songs......and shoot his gun.
  - Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Garbage, L7, Mudhoney, Stone Temple Pilots, Local H, Love Battery, The Melvins
• Hard Rock; not Classic. But not Soft. Or Grungy. Just hard. Though not as hard as Metal. So maybe really hard wood or stone. Yeah that's it. Hard Rock.
  - Velvet Revolver, Audioslave, Midnight Oil, Pat Benatar, Billy Squier, Drivin' 'N' Cryin', Loverboy
• Indie Rock; rock that does it's own thing despite what the industry tells it to do.
  - R.E.M., Florence + The Machine, Monks Of Doom, The Connells, Cake, Juliette & The Licks, They Might Be Giants
• New Wave; more frenetic and impulsive than former rock, disco and punk. More guitar licks and rhythms that didn't just sit you down and leave you there. Somewhat electronic and experimental. Some might say, "new".
  - INXS, The Police, Crowded House, Spandau Ballet, Oingo Boingo, Shiny Toy Guns, Corey Hart
• Post-Grunge; came after grunge, and was slightly more produced than grunge, but still held on to some of that Grunge angst that made it so successful.
  - Stone Sour, Ugly Kid Joe, Hinder, Collective Soul, Nickelback, Flyleaf, Candlebox, Godsmack
• Progressive Rock; the overly talented musicians that only cater to other musicians. Everyone in the crowd is male, plays an instrument, and knows every musical nuance of every song by heart.
  - Bozzio, Levin, Stevens; Rush; Meatloaf; Styx; Frank Zappa; Mullmuzzler; Genesis; Kansas; Umphrey's McGee
• Psychedelic Rock; quirky, drugged out hysterical nonsense rock with a lot of outward expression against normalcy. Fun shows that led to a lot of deaths; by drug and alcohol consumption; and pregnancies......by drug and alcohol consumption.
  - Big Brother & The Holding Company, The Doors, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Moody Blues, Sopwith Camel, Vanilla Fudge, Donovan
• Punk; the rebels who hated society and weren't afraid to let it be known. They'd bleed on stage, rip off their clothes and surf the crowd naked, dump buckets of sweat and other bodily fluids on the crowd while screaming and railing against authority and tradition. Oh and they sometimes held instruments too.
  - Sex Pistols, Bad Religion, Ramones, Iggy & The Stooges, The Clash, American Hi-Fi
• Rockabilly; what some call the original Rock & Roll. A combination of hillbilly and rock containing a western swing and a bouncing party vibe. With elements of piano-based Jump Blues and electric boogie woogie, it made it's mark on the music scene indelibly. Almost everyone's named contained a "Y".
  - Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Tommy Sands, Johnny Rivers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Freddy Cannon, Chubby Checker, Little Richard
• Ska; rock with horns. This provided all those high school kids who chose to play brass in the school band a way to be cool... For about 18 months in the late '90s.
  - No Doubt, Fighting Gravity, Dispatch, Blue Meanies, Toots & The Maytals, Jack Friday
• Soft Rock; the rock you listen to on the radio when driving to your yoga or meditation class.
  - Traffic, Glenn Frey, Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley, Kim Carnes, Gerry Rafferty
• Southern Rock; rock from the south. Lots of twang and rough gravelly vocals mixed with two-step rhythms that keep audiences head-bobbin' and wavin' confederate flags. When "Free Bird" is yelled at one of these shows, it will be played.
  - Lynyrd Skynyrd, 38 Special, Blackfoot, Pride & Glory, Molly Hatchet, The Georgia Satellites

 

[blindbaby]

 

[Roy Munson]

The only album I know of where The Rock sings:

 

[mrwallace2ku]

 

[SJ76]

Pearl Jam 10

 

[mrwallace2ku]

sliding off the grid for a college band i use see a lot live…

enjoy.

 

[YankeeRebel]

Actually I liked the early Beatles much better than their later stuff.

Oyy so you like the Archies too

 

[Chewbaccer]

 

[Chewbaccer]

Here's a pretty good breakdown and explanation of genres and sub-genres. Many bands & musicians cross genres and sub-genres, so this is not the be-all end-all, but it's a reasonable representation.

I highlighted The Beatles and The Beach Boys citations red. The author of these descriptions categorized them, not me.

Blues:

• Blues Rock; Similar to Electric Blues, but sometimes acoustic. Blues Rock can be played without having the power turned on. And it rocks.
  - Stoneground, Tommy Castro Band, Tom Waits, Jeff Healey, Chris Whitley, Paul Butterfield Blues Band
• Chicago Blues; Sort of an urban blues using more piano and saxophone. These guys are quite often named Willie or "Big" something if not some kind of dog. Popular in Louisiana, strangely enough.
  - Willie Clarke, Willie Dixon, Willie Kent, Willie Murphy, Willie Nix, Big Bill Broonzy, Big Joe Turner, Big John Wrencher, Big Moose, Golden "Big" Wheeler, Eddie Shaw & The Wolf Gang, Hound Dog Taylor, Howlin' Wolf
• Delta Blues; One of the earliest blues styles. The roots of the African-American styles honed in the Delta plains of the US in the midst of harsh mistreatment and soulful survival. Mostly acoustic guitar and harmonica. Best if played on the porch of an old, broken down shack.
  - Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Keb 'Mo', Memphis Jug Band, Johnny Shines, Tommy Johnson, Frank Stokes
• Electric Blues; Blues that's plugged in and louder. Primarily guitar-based. When the power goes out it typically becomes Blues Rock.
  - B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Magic Slim, Taj Mahal, John Lee Hooker, John Mayall, Charlie Musselwhite
• Jump Blues; Up-tempo with more swing. upright bass, piano, horns. One might jump if the mood strikes.
  - Magic Sam, Ruth Brown, Sugar Blue, Hal Singer, Amos Milburn, Ray Charles, Roy Brown
• New Orleans Blues; More jazz and island influence. various drums and keyboard instruments. Popular in Texas, strangely enough.
  - Art Neville, Lloyd Price, Guitar Slim, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, T-Bone Burnett, Rockin' Sidney, Louisiana Red
• St. Louis Blues; more piano based. similar to ragtime. Popular in Illinois, strangely enough.
  - Big Maybelle, Big Walter Horton, Roy Milton, Willie Mabon, Roosevelt Sykes, Yank Rachell, "Ma" Rainey, Percy Mayfield
• Swamp Blues; incorporates some Zydeco and more aggressive styles. Best when heard from the banks of a swamp and followed to an old, broken down shack.
  - Sonny Terry, Smiley Lewis, Luther Allison, Irma Thomas, Clifton Chenier, Doctor Ross, Bobby Marchan
• Texas Blues; more swing than Electric Blues, but more guitar than Jump Blues. Popular in Missouri, strangely enough.
  - Albert King, Lightnin' Hopkins, Tutu Jones, T-Bone Walker, Smokin' Joe Kubek, Grady Gains, Lafayette Leake
• Zydeco; more Creole influence. Accordion and alternative percussion instruments. You can't understand a word these guys are saying.
  - Al Rapone, Zydeco Boneshakers, Wayne Toups, Dr. John, The Mavericks, Buckwheat Zydeco
• Gospel: somewhere between Blues and Country. Dominantly Christian in lyrical form.
  - The Staple Singers, Shirley Caesar, Mahalia Jackson, Ira Tucker & The Dixie Hummingbirds, The Golden Gate Quartet, Fisk Jubilee Singers, The Blind Boys of Alabama

Country:

• Bluegrass; up-tempo roots country using fiddle, banjo, jug, washtub bass. Should wear one-strap overalls and/or chew on a wheat stalk whilst playing.
  - Bill Monroe, Doc Watson, Laurie Lewis, The Del McCoury Band, The Cox Family, Don Reno, Carl Story, New Grass Revival
• Country Pop; pop-oriented country without the believable sadness. Mostly fifth and sixth generation Country for the sake of making money.
  - Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Lonestar, Pam Tillis, Juice Newton, Dixie Chicks, Martina McBride
• Honky Tonk; up-tempo like Bluegrass, but more party-oriented and public. Drunken out-of-tune pianos and bar fights abound. Mostly second generation Country.
  - Rex Griffin, Lefty Frizzell, Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb, Jim Edward Brown, Red Foley
• Mountain; vocal harmonies, fast-pickin', nostalgia, and "ya gotta have a fiddle in the band". Judging by their names, they're usually related to someone if not each other.
  - Alabama, Oak Ridge Boys, Roy Acuff, The Forester Sisters, The Louvin Brothers, The Stanley Brothers, The Burch Sisters, The Cook Family Singers
• Neotraditional; the sort of "we wish we'd been alive before country was cool" artists. True to their form, but still "new". Mostly fifth generation Country.
  - Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Mark Chesnutt
• Outlaw; the real deal. These guys invented the country themes; heartache, loss, being broke, depressed, lonely and/or in jail. Third and Fourth generation Country with no fancy band or artist names; just straight-forward actual names with lots of "N"s and "L"s.
  - Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams Jr., Charlie Daniels, David Allan Coe, Rodney Crowell, Leon Russell
• Traditional; the realer deal. Country for the sake of true mountain/southern expression. Hard workin' white trash sadness and hard times with an occasionally poppy feel later in the genre. Third and Fourth generation Country with lots of steel guitar twang, dobro, wailing fiddle and soft yet straight-forward 4/4 back beats that keep audiences clappin' on 1 and 3.
  - Loretta Lynn, Emmylou Harris, Porter Wagoner, Kenny Rogers, George Jones, Tanya Tucker, Ronnie Milsap, Dolly Parton
• Western; Out on the range/prairie. Cowboy music of the American Frontier Mostly campfire sing-alongs with little to no percussion. Bouncy rhythms reminiscent of horse galloping. Mostly second generation Country and frequently named a group belonging to an individual.
  - Jean Shepard, Kitty Wells, Gene Autry, Tex Ritter, Skeets McDonald, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, Curly Williams and His Georgia Peach Pickers, Hank Penny and His Rodeo Cowboys, Leon McAuliffe and His Western Swing Band, Noel Boggs and His Day Sleepers, Tex Williams and His Western Caravan, Jack Guthrie and His Oklahomans, Milton Brown and His Brownies, Johnnie Lee Willis and His Boys

So many miscategorized Country singers.

Garth Brooks is pop, Pam Tillis is neotraditional, and Kenny Rogers was definitely pop. Love Pam Tillis, the other two suck balls.

 

[GeekSportsFan]

Ladies and gentlemen it's a tie.....

 

[GeekSportsFan]

With CCR, I'd also go with.....

 

[BigFin]

• Country Pop; pop-oriented country without the believable sadness. Mostly fifth and sixth generation Country for the sake of making money.
  - Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Lonestar, Pam Tillis, Juice Newton, Dixie Chicks, Martina McBride
• Neotraditional; the sort of "we wish we'd been alive before country was cool" artists. True to their form, but still "new". Mostly fifth generation Country.
  - Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Mark Chesnut

A lot of the early/mid-90's Neotraditional artists turned Country Pop a little later. Lonestar was a great example of Neotraditional until 2002, or so.

 

[jakedog56]

Hard to pinpoint just 1....so here's 10 to consider:

Sticky Fingers
Are You Experienced
Who's Next
Dark Side of the Moon
Born to Run
Disraeli Gears
Sgt. Peppers LHCB
Smokin'
Morrison Hotel
London Calling

Great list.

 

[outofyourmind]

I don't care what they are considered.
I love the Beatles.

 

[mannyz]

Led Zeppelin IV. Case closed.

 

[jakedog56]

I would say the following are at or near the top for me:

Led Zepplin- Physical Graffitti (better than their others because it is a double album!)
The Rolling Stones- Sticky Fingers
Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon
Soundgarden- Superunknown
Tool- Aemina
The Beatles- Abbey Road (Rubber Soul is close though)
Nirvana- Bleach (yeah, I said it! Better than Nevermind IMO)
The Who- Quadrophenia (beats out Who's Next by a whisker because of cohesive theme)
UFO- Strangers in the Night (Best live album of all time? Another subject to discuss I guess).
The Jimi Hendrix Experience- Are You Experienced?
Queens of the Stone Age- Songs for the Deaf


Many, many other great albums out there but too many to list all. Besides, most probably will not agree that Opeth- The Round House Tapes or Melvins- Stoner Witch, etc. etc. are at the same level as the others so I will leave it at that.

 

[YankeeRebel]

Funny how some people refuse to list one album, it's not that hard.

 

[Ricky Roma]

Dark Side Of The Moon. The only other album I'd consider would be Physical Graffiti.

 

[YankeeRebel]

Dark Side Of The Moon. The only other album I'd consider would be Physical Graffiti.

I always like Wish You Were Here more, not sure why either.

 

[jakedog56]

Funny how some people refuse to list one album, it's not that hard.

I completely disagree with that statement. It is extremely hard.

But sorry for not adhering to your rules!