Best Bands Influenced by the Beatles

The Top Ten
1 Queen Queen are an English rock band formed in London in 1970. The original lineup was Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals), and John Deacon (bass guitar, vocals). Before forming into Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor had played together in a band named Smile. Freddie Mercury was a fan of Smile and encouraged them to experiment with more elaborate stage and recording techniques. He then joined the band in 1970, suggested "Queen" as a new band name, and adopted his familiar stage name. John Deacon was also recruited to complete the line-up. ...read more.
2 Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band formed in July 1967, in London. The band have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time.

Only the "2 Chicks" lineup was really Beatle-like. The earlier lineups with Bob Welch and when they were called Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac were far more "Jazz-Bluesy".

3 Coldplay Coldplay are a British pop rock band formed in 1996. The band consists of Chris Martin (lead vocalist and pianist), Jonny Buckland (lead guitarist), Guy Berryman (bassist) and Will Champion (drummer and backing vocalist). Manager Phil Harvey is often considered an unofficial fifth member. The band renamed themselves "Coldplay" in 1998. Before making their debut album, they recorded and released three EPs: Safety in 1998, Brothers & Sisters as a single in 1999, and The Blue Room in the same year. The Blue Room was their first release on a major label, after signing to Parlophone. ...read more.
4 ABBA ABBA are a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by members Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
5 U2 U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music. Throughout the group's musical pursuits, they have maintained a sound built on melodic instrumentals. Their lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal themes and sociopolitical concerns.
6 Oasis Oasis were an English britpop band formed in Manchester in 1991. Developed from an earlier group, the Rain, the band originally consisted of Liam Gallagher (vocals and tambourine), Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs, Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan, and Tony McCarroll. Noel Gallagher (Liam's Brother) served as the primary songwriter and guitarist for the band. They released a total of 7 albums. Definitely Maybe (1994), (What's The Story) Morning Glory? (1995), Be Here Now (1997), Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (2000), Heathen Chemistry (2002), Don't Believe The Truth (2005), and Dig Out Your Soul (2008). They disbanded in 2009 after Noel refused to attend their final gig. Causing Liam and Noel to have a falling ...read more.
7 Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English progressive rock band formed in 1965 in London, England. They achieved international acclaim with their progressive and psychedelic music. The band consisted of 5 members - David Gilmour (Vocals and Guitar), Syd Barrett (Vocals and Guitar), Nick Mason (Drums), Roger Waters (Vocals and Bass), and Richard Wright (Vocals and Keyboard). Barrett was replaced by Gilmour in 1968. ...read more.
8 The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland. They are most known for their songs "Message In A Bottle", "Don't Stand So Close To Me", "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", "Roxanne", And "Every Breath You Take" .
9 Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin was an English hard rock band formed in London in 1968 as the New Yardbirds. The group consisted of Robert Plant (Vocal), Jimmy Page (Guitar), John Paul Jones (Bass, Keyboard) and John Bonham (Drums) and was very much the child of Jimmy Page who even financed their first tour. He had tasted some previous success with The [original] Yardbirds and was friendly with some big names in rock. Page states it was Keith Moon of The Who that claimed the band could only go down, like a lead balloon -- thus prompting the iconic name of Led Zeppelin. The band's heavy, guitar-driven sound, rooted in blues and psychedelia on their early albums, has earned them recognition as one of the progenitors ...read more.
10 Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was an American-Canadian rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966. Their original lineup included Stephen Stills, Dewey Martin, Bruce Palmer, Richie Furay, and Neil Young.

A truly great band that is not well-known any more, but was one of the mid-late 1960's shining musical gems.
Founding member Neil Young; now of course wiser, sadder, and much older even recently wrote a song "Wish I Was In Buffalo Springfield Again."

The very definition of "Beatlesque".
Melodic pop-rock with fantastic harmonies and great hooks.

The Contenders
11 The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American pop rock band formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine.

It was almost a nuclear arms race between them, although Brian Wilson's mental illness made the wheels fall off the bus.
Wilson was indeed one of the very few rock composers whom Lennon and McCartney considered their peer, and who they felt like they needed to try extra hard against.

12 Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. Ranging from quintet to septet, the band is known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of country, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, rock, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, space rock, for live performances of lengthy instrumental jams, and for their devoted fan base, known as "Deadheads".
13 The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. The first settled line-up consisted of Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica), Ian Stewart (piano), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass) and Charlie Watts (drums). Their best works include songs like Paint it Black, Sympathy for the Devil, Satisfication (Which ranked no. 2 in The Rolling Stones Magazine’s best songs of all time list). The Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2012, the band celebrated its 50th anniversary.
14 Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "the Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band".
15 Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra are an English rock band from Birmingham. They were formed in 1970 by songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne with drummer Bev Bevan.
16 The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band originally active between 1966 and 1971, with reunion albums and tours in the decades that followed.

As close to a copy as Hollywood could get.

17 Badfinger Badfinger was a British rock band that, in their most prolific lineup, consisted of Pete Ham, Mike Gibbins, Tom Evans, Joey Molland and Bob Jackson.

Personal and professional tragedy dogged this group, but they were great.

18 Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were a Heavy Metal band formed in Birmingham, England in 1968 by guitarist and songwriter Tony Iommi, singer John "Ozzy" Osbourne, bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward.

The band became mainstream after improving after their debut album got panned. In 1978, Osbourne was fired and replaced with former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Who went to release 2 albums before leaving in 1983, only for Osbourne to return in 1992. ...read more.

All the original members (Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill) cite The Beatles as one of their main influences.

They're what critics call "The Beatles of Heavy Metal"!

19 Panic! At the Disco Panic! at the Disco was an American pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2004 and featuring the current lineup of vocalist Brendon Urie, accompanied on tour by bassist Dallon Weekes, guitarist Kenneth Harris, and drummer Dan Pawlovich.
20 The Byrds The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member, until the group disbanded in 1973. Although they only managed to attain the huge commercial success of contemporaries like the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Rolling Stones for a short period, the Byrds are today considered by critics to be one of the most influential bands of the 1960s.

Were known as "the American Beatles", and guitarist McGuinn always said he got the 12-string Rickenbacher after hearing George's in "Hard Day's Night".

21 Three Days Grace Three Days Grace is a Canadian post-grunge/alternative rock band formed in Norwood, Ontario in 1992 with a line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer and backing vocalist Neil Sanderson, and bassist Brad Walst. Their original name was Groundswell until they changed it to their current name in 1997. In 2003, the band's current guitarist Barry Stock was recruited to the band. In 2013 Gontier left the band due to creative differences. He was replaced with Brad's brother Matt Walst.
22 One Direction One Direction (commonly abbreviated as 1D) were a British-Irish pop boy band based in London, composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously, Zayn Malik until his departure from the band on 25 March 2015. The group signed with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Records after forming and finishing third in the seventh series of the British televised singing competition The X Factor in 2010. Propelled to international success by social media, One Direction's four albums, Up All Night (2011), Take Me Home, Midnight Memories and Four topped charts in most major markets, and generated hit singles including "What Makes You Beautiful", "Live While We're Young", and ...read more.
23 Gin Blossoms

You can definitely hear the influence.

24 The Lovin' Spoonful The Lovin' Spoonful is a U.S. rock band, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and well known for a number of hit songs in the 1960s including "Summer in the City", "Do You Believe In Magic", "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?", and "Daydream".

John Sebastian often says in interviews that he and the other band members were simply trying their best to be just like the Beatles.

25 The Raspberries
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