Spin – 50 Greatest Bands of All Time

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Like so many “all time” lists, American music magazine Spin makes a ludicrious claim to creating a list that celebrates the greatest bands of “all time” when the description already betrays their real intent of looking at 50 great bands from the 1960s forward. Spin’s editors determined the groups had to have “a roof-changing, history-changing, sound, presence or hairstyle,” had to “cearly influence today’s music,” and “they had to be bands that spawned a special emotional attachment to their fans.” 1. The Beatles
2. Ramones
3. Led Zeppelin
4. Bob Marley & The Wailers
5. Nirvana
6. Parliament/Funkadelic
7. The Clash
8. Public Enemy
9. The Rolling Stones
10. Beastie Boys

11. The Velvet Underground
12. Sly & the Family Stone
13. U2
14. Run-D.M.C.
15. Radiohead
16. The Jimi Hendrix Experience
17. Sonic Youth
18. AC/DC
19. The Stooges
20. Metallica

21. The Smiths
22. Patti Smith Group
23. N.W.A.
24. Kraftwerk
25. The Sex Pistols
26. Pearl Jam
27. Grateful Dead
28. R.E.M.
29. Black Sabbath
30. Pavement

31. Fugazi
32. Kiss
33. Pretenders
34. Rage Against The Machine
35. Fela Kuti & Afrika 70/Egypt 80
36. David Bowie And The Spiders From Mars
37. Blondie
38. Bad Brains
39. The Who
40. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five

41. New Order
42. Husker Du
43. Guns N' Roses
44. Outkast
45. The Beach Boys
46. Massive Attack
47. Lynyrd Skynyrd
48. Korn
49. Pink Floyd
50. Red Hot Chili Peppers

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Resources:

• prnewswire.com: The Beatles Top ‘Spin’ Magazine’s List of the 50 Greatest Bands of All Time
• Rocklistmusic.co.uk: 50 Greatest Bands of All Time (list with classic albums for each act)

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