Best/most important American rock band

What say you? Two different questions, which could have two different answers.

Aerosmith?
Bruce and the E Street Band?
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers?
Nirvana?
The Doors?
The Allman Brothers?
The Beach Boys?
The Ramones?

As for me personally, I'm quite partial to the Grateful Dead for best. I understand they are a mostly underground, non-mainstream band, but musically, it doesn't get much better for me. As for most important, it could very well be the same answer. I also could go with Nirvana, which reshaped music.

 

Led Zeppelin
Rush
Van Halen

 

Rush is Canadian.

 

Should have read the title of the thread. My bad. I’ll go with Led Zep and Van Halen.

 

Led Zeppelin is English.

At least there's Van Halen. Pearl Jam?

Because "rock" can be so nebulous ... I'd almost offer Earth, Wind & Fire. Tough to put them in one genre ... R&B, funk, soul ... almost cannot put them in a genre.

 

Can also buy Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band ... if you can accept The Boss as part of a band instead of as one person.

 

For your consideration:
Credence C R
C S N & Y
Lynyrd Skynyrd

Dead
Bruce
Beach Boys

 

The Band is mostly Canadian, so they're out. CSNY: Nash is English and Young Canadian.

I'd throw Buddy Holly and The Crickets in the Founding Fathers division.

In a more or less chronological order:

Buddy Holly and the Crickets
The Beach Boys
Jefferson Airplane
Creedence Clearwater Revival
The Grateful Dead
Aerosmith
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
The Eagles
Van Halen
Prince and the Revolution
Guns N Roses
Nirvana
Green Day

 

Grand Funk saw this thread coming decades ago ...

 

Hard to pinpoint the most influential American band. Most American bands will cite British groups as their influence. And really hard to "hear" much influence from older bands in newer artists. A group like the Eagles might have more influence on country artists today than rock.

 

The US has had some great bands but if we're talking most important you almost have to go individuals rather than group. England had the Stones, Beatles, Zeppelin et al. Our icons are the likes of Elvis (who put on a show like none before him), Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna and Dylan.