Most Influential Rock Groups

Besides being by far the top selling musical act in history, The Beatles are also the most important musical artists of the past 200 years.
Other artists changed music, but The Beatles changed the world as a whole.
Before The Beatles, the world was about old people; after The Beatles, the world was about young people.

they are the most influential band for many reasons - they were the most innovative songwriters,they changed the industry and there is so many cover bands out there.There's no band that influenced as many as todays bands than any other band. - idolangelx13

Well all of the bands on here were influenced by the Beatles, but beyond that the Beatles influenced my life and are probably one of the greatest with over 20 #1 hit singles and all of their other songs were above average

I LOVE THE BEATLES SO MUCH I AGREE SO MUCH

#2! Right behind The Beatles and ahead of The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd? What a joke. Bon Jovi is not the most influential at anything in rock music. Uninspired drivel.

Huge Jovi fan here, These Days is one of the best 2-3 albums ever recorded and Sambora is one of the most versatile players that America has ever produced, however, not even I would put Bon Jovi anywhere near the top 10. Maybe somewhere 15-20th but even there, only because Slippery When Wet really opened a lot of doors for hard and heavy music and changed people's perspective (especially people who were outside the genre). So many metalheads I know are into rock/metal because of a Bon Jovi song they heard or because their parents were playing Jovi in their youth... that has to count for something. Direct influence on other bands though...rather limited.

Surely this is a joke. Bon Jovi doesn't belong anywhere on this list

Rip the rev. Rip kurt. Rip John lemon. Rip Jeff the bounty boy. Rip prince. Rip John llant

Two bands are head & shoulders above everybody. Along with being revered as the most influential bands most people still maintain that Rock music reached its pinnacle in either or both of these titans. LED ZEPPELIN & THE BEATLES. I consider Led Zeppelin to be the superior outfit & the zenith of rock music. Nobody before or since has equaled their eerie mystique or commanded their level of power. Though every detail of Zeppelin's superficial qualities were (& are) endlessly studied, copied, emulated etc., there's ultimately only one reason that they are still so revered, because all the other elements will fade with the passage of time, and that is the music! Simply the music. They delivered the goods. A few more decades will pass & the unique magic & mystique will never again be truly understood...the people who experienced it will be gone & all will be reduced to subjective interpretation. They call that history & beyond cold unchanging facts & figures most of what actually existed & ...more

I guess not enough people have voted on this list yet because these results (#2 through #5) are utterly silly. THERE ARE TWO BANDS THAT REMAIN HEAD AND SHOULDER ABOVE ALL THE REST IN TERMS OF INFLUENCE, THEY ARE Led Zeppelin & THE Beatles. IT'S ALSO NO COINCIDENCE THAT THEY HAVE FOR DECADES CONSISTENTLY RANKED AS THE TWO GREATEST BANDS IN ROCK HISTORY. (Bon Jovi? Are you kidding me? Looks like some former 12-year old fangirls have been busy on this list.

Sabbath, zeppelin, & the Beatles are definitely the most influential bands. the Beatles were the ones that created the kind of guitar bands we hear today, zeppelin inspired millions with their INCREDIBLE different song styles, and sabbath was the first metal band. - 678rob754

Voted. Because I hate to break it to you, but the Beatles aren't rock…

riffs and the best and lyrics speak for me to along with cannons and bagpipes and thunder and to the band that saluted me and taught me that there is no place worse then nowhere

My biggest influence in music - gibsonsg

Largest rock group of all time! And the best!

I like it

Bon Jovi #1?!?! Anyone who has any real knowledge of rock (sorry teeny-boppers) knows that two bands made the most impact: Black Sabbath and Zeppelin. - asphaltpilot

what is this bon jovi! Sabbath invented a whole new type of music where are they on the list

black sabbath invented metal! and you guys are telling me that judas priest is more influential than black sabbath, - metfan001

Pioneers of Metal. End of story.

Nirvana changed it all, and they didn't care. They grew up from nothing but divorced families and being picked on in school. Kurt Cobain AKA the Riff Master became the voice of the voiceless, the grunge city saint. Also giving a middle finger to glam rock

I remember hearing teen spirit for the first time, at that moment I knew glam rock was over, and guns and roses would lose title of biggest band on the planet.

Nirvana brought a previously unknown genre, I.E. grunge into the mainstream; and they rocked.
They were truly the "Beatles" of the 90s - yeah, yeah, yeah!

After the sex pistols,god send us nirvana to rock.

Best Rock and Roll band out there. Queen should be in top 3; they're one of the most covered bands out there, and they have influenced many of the musicians from the world today!

My nan likes them

Queen must be in top 3! with the beatles and led zepplin

THE LEAD SINGER DIED OF AIDS!

Not even worthy to be on this list. If it wasn't for Dave Mustaine developing their sound on their first 2 albums (check the wiki on ride the lightning if you don't believe me on their 2nd), no one would have even heard of these hacks. This isn't about a popularity contest, it is about the most influential; which these guys are not. Exodus even deserves more credit.

Easily the #1 most influential band in metal and a wide reach outside of metal. The Beatles did more in rock, but everybody else is at most equal in influence.

Their live concerts are unbelievably awesome! Even better than recorded ones and that's amazing. And he really has the sound!

Metallica was the greatest band to ever walk on a stage

The greatest pioneers of hard rock and heavy metal should be in the TOP 3! - Metal_Treasure

Green Day have been a main influence to most, if not all, of the mainstream bands for the past 20 years.

Why even't Green Day is in Top 10?

Bearing in mind this is a list of the most influential rock groups, not necessarily the best, it's pretty shocking that Pink Floyd isn't in the top 5 at least, let alone the top 10. Not only did they lay the ground work for an enormous portion of all music to follow, but they dared to go places that most others wouldn't, and do things that people wouldn't try, and music benefitted greatly, as a result. They took their music to a level that transcended what we consider as 'music', and as a result of this, cemented their position in the history books as one of the forefathers of, not only modern rock, but modern music in general. Maybe they're not one of the best rock groups, personally I believe they are, but they sure as hell are one of the most influential. The idea that some people actually think Green Day are more influential than Pink Floyd is a truly demoralising thought.

When I was a kid. I grew up listening to the Beatles, the doors, the band, the clash, the Ramones, Black Sabbath and many big bands I have learned from my mother. I heard the band Pink Floyd but never really had the chance to listen and be influenced by their music when I was a teenager. Until I've watched "echoes" on YouTube. From that day onwards I was astonished, amazed how great this band is. Wouldn't be able to explain further how I praise them. Love them so much.

Pink Floyd is perhaps the band any musician should listen to and strive to make them as a bench mark. Pink Floyd popularized the methods of joining songs and as for David gilmour his guitar work is off another level. Pink floys have inspired numerous bands such as dream theater. Just listen to the wall or dark side of the moon to understand how timeless this music is ( I'm 17 )

Pink Floyd are awesome.

There are a lot of artists which have been influenced by Scorpions!
It's just impossible to not be influenced by them!
Scorpions rocks!

Best rock ballads, for every ages and tastes and great hard songs for every rocker!

I could think of more than 100 artist inspired by Scorpions. Even Bon Jovi was inspired by Scorpions. And Nirvana? Really? How can anyone even for that garbage?

They will literally "Rock You Like a Hurricane"! Get it?

with their mix of electronic sounds, a deep driving bass, and a really high pitched singer they blazed the way for alt-rock

I have heard many musicians, even from this list, who have stated that Rush was a huge influence on them.

Rush is the ultimate rock band only 3 guys compare to kid rock about 12 guys

Almost every band on this list was influenced by Rush in some way.

I don't think you people understand that this is a list about influential bands. That being said, why are Bon Jovi at number 2? Why are Journey at number 15?!?! So many of these bands on this list did nothing in terms of influence. After the 60's, if you identified as a rock musician and you did not cite Hendrix as an influence, then you were a fraud. Every person that plays the guitar today, acoustic or electric, was influenced by this man and this band.

They are second only to the Beatles when it comes to the influence of rock.

Really I think people don't understand this list because if there was no jimi MOST of the bands here would be non existant

The Beatles and The Beach Boys are #1 and #2. I listened to Pet Sounds off and on for three years before I heard it's magic sounds. There is not a better album.

The Beach Boys for Longevity, Vocal Styling, Originality blow every other group in the world out of the water. The are #1 without dispute.

The Beach Boys not being number one on this list discredits the list and makes it a joke. I mean seriously none of the other bands before them on here are worth a damn. I have a sense of humor like anyone but I don't get it. Summerkat called it, longevity, vocal styling #1 all the way!

Sounds, sounds and more sounds. Made harmony an art form - Summerkat2002

An amazing band with a promising future in the world of rock.