Most Influential Rock Bands

I keep reading, and Time and Rolling Stone are always so &^%$ political when they choose the most influential bands. Race and personal taste should have nothing to do with it, it should be based on their actual influence and talent. Thus, I have assembled my own list of the ten most influential rock bands.

1. The Beatles
As much as I loathe them, and think that they suck to the highest heaven, it must be admitted that the Beatles influenced and continue to influence thousands of musicians, from Alice Cooper to Blink-182, and this far reaching influence demands that they receive the first place.

2. The Ramones
I am not going to say that they were talented. I'm outraged that Johnny Ramone was above Angus Young on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time." However, the Ramones pre-punk sound, which not only started the Punk movement, but much of the 80's New Wave and hardcore movements. The Ramones influence is still very much alive today in bands like Green Day, Blink-182, Socratic, in more popular bands like The All American Rejects and Avril Lavigne, and in more surprising bands like Children of Bodom

3. Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne
Basically, Ozbourne started metal as we know it. Though Tony Ioammi certainly deserves a high rating as an excellent and inventive guitarist, it is Osbourne's voice and composing that truly made metal. Everyone from Nightwish to Dragonforce owe Ozzy Osbourne, and "the prince of darkness" is responsible not just for the many varieties of metal, but also a lot of hardocre, post-hardcore, and even emo music.

4. The Rolling Stones
Screw Led Zeppelin. The Stones started Rock, plain and simple. They were there first. Everyone else on this list owes their existence to the influence of the Stones. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards may look like walking corpses, and I personally don't care for a lot of their songs, but if Led Zeppelin are the "godfathers of rock" than The Stones are definitely the daddies.

5. The Sex Pistols
Noone ever remembers them, but these guys made punk what we know it to be today. Yeah, alright, the Ramones started it, but the Pistols gave it attitude. Johnny Rotten's distinctive voice coupled with Steve Jones's catchy guitar riffs set the stage not only for musical political activism beyond "peace is nice," but also injected the harshness and attitude now seen throughout a lot of punk and hardcore worlds. Every 80's punk band draws inspiration from the Sex Pistols, and so do the more modern bands. Spiking your hair? Yeah, you can thank the Pistols for that. And unlike the Clash, the Pistols never lost their attitude or spunk.

6. AC/DC
Again, magazines seemed to have conspired to have stolen the glory from where it belongs. The real hard rock tycoons are famous for their ill-will against the magazine "Rolling Stone," who decided to give the glory to Aerosmith instead. Unlike Steve Tyler's ridiculous stage antics that call to mind homosexual stereotypes, and the band's famous bad attitude, AC/DC is known for it's more professional demeanor, coupled with the wild showmanship. Plus, Angus Young could take on Joe Perry and Brad Whitford with one of his hands behind his back. AC/DC started the Hard Rock revolution that produced such artists as Guns and Roses and Motley Crue, and and they deserve a helluva lot more recognition than anyone ever gives them.

7. Pearl Jam
Another band that was given the short end of the stick. While not completely screwed over, Pearl Jam definitely deserves the place in the sun that was given to Nirvana. They not only had the grunge drive that people loved so much in Cobain, but possessed infinitely more talent and variety, and were just as influential as Nirvana in the Grunge movement. Unfortunately, none of their members committed suicide, so they do not have the advantage of a "dead rock god" such as Nirvana does. Even so, they deserve a place amongst the greatest, and history will hopefully vindicate them.

8. The Cure
It has always puzzled me, even when I was hard into my Goth phase (thank god no pictures exist of me from then) why The Cure is considered the ultimate Goth band. Alright, sure, Robert Smith is a Goth by dress, but The Cure's lyrics are always so happy. That's not to say they don't have their depressing songs, almost the whole album "Bloodflowers" is sad, but generally The Cure are a relatively happy sound, even if that happiness is a thoughtful kind of happiness. A lot of modern Indie and alternative pop draw influence from the Cure, in musical style if not in fashion sense.

9. Blink-182
Credit where credit is due. Blink are the "godfathers" of pop-punk. The funny thing is, they're pretty good. Their distinctive mix of immaturity and potty humor with a little hint of the serious is what has made every one of their albums strong. Everyone from Good Charlotte to the All American Rejects to the Jonas Brothers are tied to Blink-182. That may not be a good legacy, but it still counts for something, and to be fair, its not their fault. For starting a movement that now dominates the music charts and radio, Blink deserves recognition.

10. U2
I don't like them. At all. Oh true, some of their songs are catchy, and I even enjoy "40," "Vertigo," and "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me." However, generally, their lyrics are complete nonsense and Bono's voice makes Axl Rose sound like a baritone. The Edge is an amazing guitarist, but still. However, their influence and greatness cannot be denied, and U2 are still major players in the Rock world, known for their lighter, faster sound and more upbeat feel.

I confess, this list wasn't easy. I wanted to put more artists I love and listen on here, but that would make me as bad as Rolling Stone. Certainly other bands should be recognized, like Queen (who I hate), Aerosmith (eh), Smashing Pumpkins (awesome), Metallica (which true enough is metal, but still...), Social Distortion (best band ever),...the list goes on and on. But that's my top ten.