Best British Rock Bands

I was fortunate to grow up in the '60s and '70s and love approximately 80% of the bands on this list. Our bands pushed boundaries in creativity, entertained big time, and penned thought-provoking songs, giving us a huge legacy of avenues to follow.

Should The Beatles be number 1 on this? Yes (in my personal opinion), but who cares! A massive thanks to all of our bands for your brilliant gift!

Listen. I don't understand how anyone can listen to Eleanor Rigby, Paint It Black, or Black Dog and not completely understand why the Beatles, Stones, and Zeppelin are now and always will be the top three greatest British bands ever. Period. End of topic.

That said, four through ten are seriously up for debate, but number 4 is Queen. 'Enough said. The rest of you can fight over 5...

Queen was always different, no question about that. The fact that they produced songs from so many different genres shows that these guys were geniuses, both musically and in other aspects.

Also, most of their best songs have stood the test of time (and I don't just mean Bohemian Rhapsody), more than can be said for many other bands.

I do think that The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd deserve their fame. I love all these bands and their music (though in my humble opinion, I prefer Queen over Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd).

P.S. Freddie was probably (actually, most likely) the most impressive rock vocalist of all time. This is justified by other lists, other websites, and all viewpoints of people I know (and myself, of course).

One of my three favorite '70s bands, absolute legends! Jimmy Page is my favorite guitarist and Robert Plant is one of my favorite frontmen to ever grace rock. Great lineup (personal favorite album: Physical Graffiti) and nearly unmatched legacy. Salute to Zeppelin!

Best drummer. Page was a mind-blowing master on the guitar, blending blues, classical, bluegrass, and heavy metal. Jones played bass and organ, adding hypnotic psychedelic vibes. And Plant would bring you back to life with his unique and amazingly loud bellows!

The most versatile band besides the Beatles, of which I'm also a huge fan. Stones, Zep, or latter Beatles - you can't go wrong. But Zep was my personal favorite. Listening to them at night on a dark country road with Page's guitar echoing was a major trip.

Should be number 1 or 2 after The Beatles. Totally original, one of a kind, and avant-garde. They paved the way for everything that's followed without ever blatantly stealing from others like Zeppelin, who, in my opinion, shouldn't even be in the top 10!

Not my favorite but still amazing! They are unique, and their guitar solos are amazing!

The absolute best. Better than The Beatles, no matter what any Beatles fan or Beatle says. They are unbeatable.

Please! All you Stones haters who say they're old and dried up, please, for your fathers' sake, read early Stephen King and listen to young Stones. Master King will teach you what it means to be a Stones fan.

Once The Beatles disbanded, they really came into their own. Just great rock'n'roll.

I'm not a massive fan, but they are still great!

Incredible range and pioneers in every sense of the word. Smashing guitars, the craziest drummer ever, and the best bassist of all time. Pete Townshend is an incredible lyricist and composer, producing killer riffs while leading innovation all around.

Oh, and the most iconic scream of rock by one of the most powerful voices ever heard from a band frontman. Between 1969 and 1973, they were the biggest rock band in the world and remained top-notch till '78. After that, they still produced some gems worth listening to, but it was never the real deal again.

Yet another one of my all-time favorite '70s bands, as well as one of (if not my) favorite heavy metal bands of all time. Ozzy's extreme antics and Iommi's amazing guitar playing make for an amazing band.

Paranoid might just be the best heavy metal album ever. At the time of writing this comment, it's just a day until Halloween, and Sabbath has one of the best Halloween line-ups of any band, no matter the genre.

A band consecrated with everlasting "critical acclaim." Nine albums, each different from the last one, yet with outstanding songs and portraying different and versatile landscapes and moods that simply blow your brains off if you let them.

For the respect of music itself, put them at least in the top ten. They're better than Muse and Oasis for starters.

Masters who continue to pioneer and top their past work to this day. Radiohead are unbeatable and the definitive alternative rock legends.

Radiohead's probably the only perfect band in existence. They make phenomenal music that is timeless.

I overrated the Beatles and Stones because I knew there would be a riot in England if I didn't have them in the top 5. I came later, so in my opinion, Motörhead, Judas Priest, Saxon, and especially Iron Maiden are all way better than the Beatles, Stones, Led Zep, and Queen. I couldn't cheat Iron Maiden out of the number one spot. They've earned it.

Best band ever, not even joking. Still brilliant even today. Senjutsu is so surprisingly good. Just great. Please vote.

The bridge between heavy metal and prog metal. Passing the torch to Dream Theater.

The Kinks influenced more bands, and their music will be listened to and studied for generations. No one could pen lyrics like Ray Davies.

One of my favorites. Was "You Really Got Me" one of the first heavy metal sounds? Maybe. Yet, they could be funny as well.

They went from their debut album in '94 to playing two nights to 150,000 people at Knebworth two years later, where about 2.6 million people applied for tickets. In terms of which British band is actually the best, it's obviously The Beatles. But Oasis is my favorite band.

How on earth are Iron Maiden ahead of Oasis? Makes no sense to me. In my opinion, Oasis are the greatest band of all time.

My all-time favorite band. People forget how big they were. All 7 of their albums went to #1 in the UK!

Sure, there may be better bands out there, but hey, if you have Machine Head and In Rock as two of your albums, who really cares? Although I think he's better suited in Whitesnake, Coverdale is still an amazing frontman, even if Ian is easily the best Deep Purple frontman.

Blackmore's guitar playing is iconic and impressive. Sure, you've heard the Smoke on the Water riff a thousand times, but it's timeless. Sure, there are better bands that do the same genre, but in my opinion, Deep Purple is overlooked. Not the best hard rock act to grace the Earth, but it's up there, much higher than most people think.

They should be 9th, behind the elite 8. In their time, they were way better than Oasis, Radiohead, and Muse. Those bands have a dull style of rock.

Longevity, live capability, working-class roots, triumph over adversity. The band that has it all - the British Rock Gods.

How can Def Leppard be 13? Hysteria sold over 25 million copies worldwide and still continues to sell on a daily basis.

As a newer band, I really think they have proved themselves to be one of the best British rock groups, just like the old rock groups I grew up listening to. I know there are different types of rock music, but if you keep rocking, we will keep listening.

They are very creative artists. They put a nice touch towards their songs. Both Clocks and Speed of Sound are among my many favorite singles.

Is there anything more complementary than Strummer's vocals and Jones's riffs? They are more than just a punk band and tried things that no other band had ever done before. I grew up with this band, and they won't get old.

The Clash is an amazing band, and their music has held up very well today!

Best punk band ever, and where are the Pistols?

First of the acid rock bands, then they were gone. Well, not Clapton - he is still rocking. Maybe I just like almost everything Clapton ever did. Cream was really special for the time and a great start for what followed.

Here at 16 is OK, I guess, because most of what followed with Clapton was done in the US with American artists or groups considered American.

Cream were innovators of hard rock. The greatest blues rock band ever. Should be top 5.

Best musician on each instrument at the time, and then some.

Arctic Monkeys, The Cure, and Young Guns are higher than Yes. Welp, I've seen everything.

Today's people don't know what real music is.

They took you into another world.

Innovation between each record, good double guitar, excellent vocalist, big influence on other metal bands.

The Arcana are not only the best British rock band. They are the best rock band, period.

I don't actually think any other British band combines the sheer artistry of The Arcana.

The Clash, Dire Straits, Rolling Stones, and many more bands should definitely be high on the list, but this is my all-time favorite band, and it should definitely be at least in the top 15.

I like other bands here like The Beatles, Queen, and The Kinks more, but I feel like these guys are just too low on this list.