Pearl Jam

Here's a question - is PJ on a level with Zepellin, CCR, etc.? (obviously the Beatles and Stones are on their own plane)

 

My 5... weighted heavily toward the older stuff..

1.  State of Love and Trust
2.  Evenflow
3.  Yellow Ledbetter
4.  Animal
5.  Given to Fly

Although honestly, "Breath," "Alive," "Black," and "Corduroy" could all be on there, too.

 

Led Zepplin -- No
CCR -- Maybe
U2 -- Yes (they may even be ahead of U2)

 

Definitely better than U2. For some reason, critics decided to make U2 the token contemporary band to throw up there.

 

Depends on the context.  I certainly like PJ more than Led Zeppelin, but it's hard to ignore the fact that PJ is following a trail that Led Zeppelin carved out 30 years earlier.

CCR is a tossup.

No way I put them ahead of U2. In terms of the body of work and cultural impact it's U2 in a walkover.

 

Which Muddy Waters carved out 30 years before that.

 

Nothingman
Jeremy
Leash
Rearview Mirror
Release

And I'm a sucker for their version of Baba O'Riley

 

Good Lord,

A revised top 5 after seeing all the non-album songs I had neglected to choose from:

Breath
Long Road (lyrics used on the prayer card at my brother's funeral)
State Of Love And Trust
Corduroy
Alive

Criminal to limit this to five. Ask me again, I'll give you a different five tomorrow.

 

Better than CCR, not as good as Zeppelin, but who really is?

 

Zeppelin, to me, is the gold standard of rock and roll, by which all others are to be judged. The opening riff of Good Times, Bad Times in 1968 changed everything. I don't put the Beatles in the same conference because they were more "music" to me than "RnR." Stones were closer, the Who even closer but Zeppelin nailed it.

PJ is atop the pyramid now but they have a far distance to fly to reach Zeppelin in the rock heavens.

 

I'm with you, Zeppelin is the best ever, IMO...

I'm not saying I would argue with the Beatles or Elvis, but if you look at bands over the last 25 years, so many are Zeppelin influenced that it's not even funny...

Compare Zeppelin's anthology to the Rolling Stones and Zep blows them away...

 

If you're new to PJ, you really should start with their debut album "Ten." Just a flawless album.

That said, off the top of my head:

Black
Evenflow
Hail, Hail
Better Man
Alive

As someone else said ... ask me tomorrow, I'll give five different answers.