Top 10 Most Influential Rock Bands

Having created several musical genres not normally associated with the Beatles, most notably Heavy Metal, and introducing music videos and the use of an album as a collective unit rather than songs added to promote the single, I can't truly say how great their impact was as I was not alive when the Beatles exploded.

But from what I can tell, they changed not only the world of music but the world in general.

Immensely talented in the art of wordcraft as well as brilliant melodies and harmonies. As I recall, on an awards show, the emcee stated that "their music is instantly recognizable and immediately unforgettable."

The best proof of their stature is that after 50+ years since their debut on the Ed Sullivan Show, they are still the benchmark by which every subsequent talent is compared!

Two bands are head and shoulders above everybody. Along with being revered as the most influential bands, most people still maintain that rock music reached its pinnacle with either or both of these titans: Led Zeppelin and The Beatles.

I consider Led Zeppelin to be the superior outfit and 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 was (and is) 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, and the unique magic and mystique will never again be truly understood. The people who experienced it will be gone, and all will be reduced to subjective interpretation. They call that history, and beyond cold unchanging facts and figures, most of what actually existed and occurred is grossly distorted or lost.

Just how in the hell are Sabbath below AC/DC, Bon Jovi, and Nirvana if Sabbath not only influenced these 3 bands but many more?

Sabbath influenced every band after them: hard rock, heavy metal, punk, then glam metal and thrash metal, then grunge, alternative rock, and other subgenres of metal like death, black, and groove.

Black Sabbath created the genre of Metal, simply put. There isn't a metal band that hasn't been influenced by Sabbath in some way or form. They're especially influential to Doom Metal and Stoner Metal.

Black Sabbath are the Led Zeppelin of Metal.

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 N' Roses would lose the title of the 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!

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 in the 15-20th range, but even there, only because Slippery When Wet really opened a lot of doors for hard and heavy music and changed people's perspectives (especially those who were outside the genre).

So many metalheads I know got 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, is rather limited.

Most influential rock band of all time. This band was way ahead of their time and definitely sits higher than 7 on this list. They popularized rock music with doses of funk and disco. They are rock music and have set the bar for bands after them to follow.

No one can do what Queen has done.

Is there anyone who has not listened to Queen? They influenced so many because their music is imprinted in DNA now, and they played in more genres than any other by miles.

Their musical is successfully played in many countries for many years. They started the video era. And on and on.

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 groundwork 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. Music benefited greatly as a result.

They took their music to a level that transcended what we consider as music, and as a result, 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 is more influential than Pink Floyd is a truly demoralizing thought.

Punk took influence by vocal surf, so no punk without early Beach Boys. And don't get me started on late Beach Boys.

They first catalyzed the Progressive movement with Pet Sounds, attempted to push Experimental into the mainstream with SMiLE, and then released a trilogy of albums that would be the first recorded Lo-Fi music.

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 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 - number one all the way!

Largest rock group of all time! And the best!

The man was a godsend to all future metal singers!

For me, influential is different from popular. Influential is when a band influences the next generations of musicians. Very often, the most influential bands are not the most popular bands.

Deep Purple gets my vote because they were the most influential in the music genres I like the most: heavy metal and hard rock.

The best band in the world that influenced the bands that are higher on this list. In addition to the general sound, they influenced on an individual level and brought many innovations that became the basis for subsequent groups in the rock genre.

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

These guys literally shaped the image of rock throughout the '80s and '90s. The fact that they still kick ass to this day, while everyone else mentioned on this list... Well, you know.

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

This is the most influential band of all time. You can disagree all you want, but they shaped punk rock the most, predicted the way for industrial, experimental rock, and avant-garde rock, and greatly influenced glam rock and art rock.

The most influential rock band of all time. They had a greater impact on music than the Beatles. Sorry for bad English.

These guys did modern rock before anyone else did it. Absolutely as influential and essential to the rock canon.

Enduring and yet remaining the same, they really took blues to the masses.

How is The Who not in the top 10? The fact that Journey, KISS, Queen, and the Scorpions are in front of them is laughable. I understand this is all subjective, but really?

Half the bands that came after these guys copied some element of them, and countless guitarists credit Townshend as why they play guitar. These guys were the first great "live" band.

Moon was arguably the best drummer ever, Entwistle was the real bass player, and Townshend is a great innovator (keyboards on "Baba O'Riley," "Won't Get Fooled Again"). He essentially invented the rock opera. "My Generation" was what Punk Rock was all about. Daltrey is one of the better frontmen as well.

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 60s, 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.

Way ahead of their time. All of the modern Indie, Blues Rock, and Alt-rock bands would not have crafted trippy or psychedelic vibes if it wasn't for Hendrix.

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

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

Best rock ballads for every age and taste, and great hard songs for every rocker!

Absolutely unbelievable sound! Powered by the greatest drummer the planet has ever known and one of the most unique voices to flow through a mic, the music of Rush is unmistakably Rush! Absolutely awesome!

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

Geezus, people! No group can match the musicianship these three have. Masters they are. Very hard to imitate! Everyone else is pretty easy to copy. The true rock peers and musicians know!

Guns N' Roses' arena and hard rock usually inspired tons of thrash and alt-rock bands to do the same stuff they were doing.

35-40 years of spectacular music, distinctive timeless guitar sound, meaningful lyrics, and a powerful lead singer. The fact that they influenced many rock bands from the 90s onward speaks volumes.

When some new indie rock bands say, "we want to be like U2," you know that's saying something.

Bon Jovi, Evanescence, Def Leppard, and Three Days Grace above U2! What a joke! U2 is one of the most influential bands of all time and the band of a generation. Top 10 easily!

Very unique sound. And every Christian band guitarist on the planet now sounds like The Edge! That's got to be worth a boost on this chart.

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

One of the most influential and best groups of all time. They are awesome.

Motörhead inspired Lars Ulrich, a founding member of Metallica, as well as other groups such as Venom. No Motörhead - no Metallica. No Metallica, no thrash metal. No Venom, no black/extreme metal.

Motörhead should therefore be ranked ahead of both Metallica and Celtic Frost on this list.