KS's Definitive Top 75 Rock Bands/Artists of All Time

About the only thing comparable is your picks.

Where is Def Leopard also?

Has Bon Jovi made it yet?

Air Supply?

Poison?

Leta Ford?

Air Supply was sooooooooooooooooo good in the late 70's/early 80's whenever that was. Every Woman in the World was mine and Jane H's song.

Don't forget that Dio was also in Rainbow!

Already listed!

You can most certainly expect to see Judas Priest.

They'll be on there but for some reason he hates on some of the great hair bands like White Lion, Kix, LA Guns, Faster Pussycat, Steelheart, Slaughter, FireHouse, Quiet Riot, Y&T, so many hair bands

Ratt may or may not be on the countdown. Same with Skid Row.

40. Queensryche




Another vastly underrated band. Probably one of the last real rockers that I liked. Huge library but just as they were breaking through to the really big time, the grunge era started.
Operation: Mindcrime & Empire were my favorite albums. Eyes of a Stranger, Jet City Woman, I Don't Believe in Love, Another Rainy Night were all classics but my two favorites were Empire and the mega hit Silent Lucidity.





39. The Doors




Two of my friends were massive Doors fans. I didn't necessarily start out loving the Doors but it ended up that way. And whether we were cruising around in Dale's yellow Gremlin or taking road trips in Bill's orange convertible Thunderbird, everything was better if the Doors were on. Except The End. That song is pretty creepy.
My favorite is probably L.A. Woman but their library is loaded. Take your pick: Love Her Madly, Riders on the Storm, People Are Strange, Light My Fire, Break On Through......and on and on and on.





38. Deep Purple




First off, purple is my favorite color so they were already off to a good start with me. All the usual suspects are great, great songs like Hush, Woman From Tokyo, Highway Star, Perfect Strangers and of course Smoke on the Water.
Butt my very favorite is Knocking at Your Back Door.





37. Bad Company



I want to say that Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy came out when I was like 7th or maybe 8th grade. That song compelled me to take a look back at their stuff as I was still a little too young when they were cranking out songs like Bad Company, Feel Like Makin' Love, Can't Get Enough, Silver, Blue And Gold, Rock Steady etc......
My favorite is Shooting Star.





36. Pat Benatar




As far as solo female acts go, Pat Benatar is pretty much the unquestioned First Lady of Rock 'n' Roll. I do have a favorite from her which is Promises in the Dark but I have several that I like nearly just as much: All Fired Up, Shadows of the Night, We Belong, Fire and Ice, Hell Is for Children, Hit Me with Your Best Shot and Heartbreaker.
And it didn't hurt that she was a looker. Saw her on Crossroads a few years back with Martina McBride and Pat sounded as good as ever. And still wood.

MY GUY!

Not too much smack talk today. It's good to see that we're all in agreement for a change.

ROCK ON!!

35. Iron Maiden




Pretty sure no matter who you are, if you're a metal fan then Maiden pretty much has to be either your favorite or second favorite in that genre. Bruce Dickinson is probably the most underrated frontman in music history. Not sure it's even close. Not to mention dude is a pilot. A pilot! He can fly them to their next gig for crying out loud. And speaking of which, they are STILL going strong as they just released an album like two weeks ago!!!
The problem for me with Maiden is that I'm not terribly familiar with the depths of their catalogue. The songs that I do know, I absolutely love. They have a sound that hasn't been duplicated but has been often imitated. But back in the 80's Maiden wasn't getting airtime whatsoever. I mean we got Run to the Hills but stations weren't touching a song like The Number of the Beast.
Anyways, those two songs along with 2 Minutes to Midnight, Flight of Icarus, The Trooper, Hallowed Be Thy Name and Wasted Years are among my favorites.
Maiden pretty much is metal poetry in motion.





34. Creedence Clearwater Revival




CCR is one of those road trip bands that you listen to. Especially for trips over 100 miles or so. Put the top or the windows down, and crank up CCR.
I've stated before that I'm not really a lyrics guy. So even though CCR were singing a message, sometimes very powerful messages back during that time of war and unrest, it was the actual sound of their music that captivated me. As it is with pretty much all bands/artists I like. They were just a sound that my ears liked. A lot.
You name it, I like them all. Fortunate Son was my favorite and I loved so many others too: Down on the Corner, Susie Q, Born on the Bayou, Proud Mary, Lookin' Out My Back Door, Bad Moon Rising and Lodi among many, many more.





33. Poison




Poison is probably the reason the "Hair Band" term was created. Most "true" metal/rock and roll bands want nothing to do with the term "Hair Band" but I think Poison is very much the exception. There's certainly a "pop" aspect to a lot of their music but they could rock with the best of them. Bret Michaels is a gifted vocalist and the last time I saw him he still sounded like he did in the 80's. They also have a commanding stage presence and put on a fantastic show.....even if the power blows out at the Fond du lac County Fair just as they start the show.
The Fond du lac County Fair is also famous for the day that 40 year old Good 'ol KS outran EVERY SINGLE little whippersnapper there (including scorejr!!!) to get front row general admission seating. Also famous for me kinda stealing Bret Michaels guitar. Sort of.
Anyways, my favorite song is Fallen Angel, and you pretty much know the rest of their library.





32. Dokken




I was flip flopping between who to put ahead of the other, Poison or Dokken. Very different music but pretty much a horse a piece. Either way you're getting your face rocked off.
Dokken is another great county fair type story as scorejr can attest to. We were at the Sheboygan Brat Days or whatever it was called and we saw Dokken. Front row again! First you had to suffer through Boxkar or whoever that shitty band was before them but eventually Dokken took the stage. At some point we figured out that Rey Mysterio was behind us. Well Rey without the mask anyways. I mean it wasn't really Rey but it was. You feel me? Anyways, being the dick I am I kind of called him Rey Rey and he turned and was looking all around. I don't think this is the first time he had ever heard that. I pretty much shut up after that cause dude looked like he was ready to kill.
Anyways, It's Not Love is my favorite song from Dokken but of course I love several others: Just Got Lucky, Alone Again, Into the Fire, Breaking the Chains, In My Dreams and Dream Warriors.





31. Prince




And sometimes The Revolution. Prince is easily one of the most talented, influential artists in the history of music. He plays like 60 some instruments (and plays them better than most people who play them for a living), he's written #1 songs for several other artists, he has an incredible vocal range, he's a master performer, and dude gets the chicks. I'm not sure exactly what genre some of his music falls into but rock has to be one of them because I turn up his music every time I hear it. He put out something like 18 albums in his first 20 years. 18 OF 20!!!!! Holy frick!
I'm not even sure what my favorite Prince song is. Maybe Raspberry Beret. Maybe Little Red Corvette. Maybe 1999. Maybe When Doves Cry. Or maybe Purple Rain. There's so damn many: Let's Go Crazy, I Wanna Be Your Lover, Kiss, U Got the Look and Cream.