Best/most important American rock band

I'd say Paul McCartney's done well as a solo after The Beatles and Wings.

 

Probably not as well as John Lennon...

 

They haven't been poisoned by country music

 

Just about all the early British rock bands were heavily influenced by country music. The Beatles wrote and covered a bunch of country songs. Same for the The Stones and Clapton. Skiffle was huge over there.

 

The most influential American rock bands are Buddy Holly & the Crickets and The Ramones. There's probably an argument for Parliament-Funkadelic.

The best American rock bands, not necessarily in order:

REM
The Ramones
The Beach Boys*
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band**
The Four Tops
The Isley Brothers
Van Halen***
Sly & the Family Stone

* Only when Brian is involved.
** The cut-off is 1987. Nothing after "Tunnel of Love" exists.
*** The band ceased to exist after David Lee Roth left.

Also receiving votes: Aerosmith, The Replacements, P-Funk, Social Distortion, Cheap Trick, Love, Wilco.

Best American solo artists, off the top of my head:

Chuck Berry
Bob Dylan
James Brown
Jimi Hendrix *
Prince
Stevie Wonder
Aretha Franklin
Little Richard
Michael Jackson
Elvis
Otis Redding

* Is Hendrix a solo artist? I think he is for the sake of this discussion.

English bands are better than American bands. American solo artists are better than English solo artists.

 

Amended.

 

Talking Heads has to be in here somewhere.

 

Rod Stewart.

 

5150 is a great album. Most of Roth’s lyrics are juvenile nonsense.

 

It's rock and roll, man. "Juvenile nonsense" isn't really a criticism.

(And worth noting: "5150" gave us the line "Only time will tell is we stand the test of time." Advantage, Roth.)

 

The Allman Brothers left the British blues-rock bands in the dust.

 

Yes. One of the all-time rock singers who sadly wasted the bulk of his career on really bad solo stuff. Early 70s Rod & Faces Rod are as great as any rock singer anywhere.