DTF's Top 50 Bands/Artists Countdown Thread! (the final list)

[HOF]

I like the vocals on Sempiternal Beings. I don't recall disliking them on The Endless Knot either. What's the complaint?

He's just got one of those voices that some people like and some people don't.  Like Geddy Lee, or James LaBrie, or even Billy Corgan.

I really like the D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings project, but even there when Ross has a lead I wince a little. Just something unusual and off putting about the sound of his voice.

[jingle.boy]

I like the vocals on Sempiternal Beings. I don't recall disliking them on The Endless Knot either. What's the complaint?

He's just got one of those voices that some people like and some people don't.  Like Geddy Lee, or James LaBrie, or even Billy Corgan.

I really like the D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings project, but even there when Ross has a lead I wince a little. Just something unusual and off putting about the sound of his voice.

Yes!  Exactly.  I usually smash the skip button on the songs his fronts.

[nick_z]

Haken were NR for me, but they were very close to making the top 25. Certainly very high in my list of favorite bands that released their debut 2010 or later.

Affinity is my favorite album of theirs - a delicious slab of prog metal that's both modern and unafraid of showing their 80s influences. Fantastic melodies all around.

Looking at what's likely to come in the top 10...I have 8 names that I'm basically sure will show up (five of which are in my list). Then one I'm thinking as very likely. For the remaining slot - I guess there is another classic name that'll make it. If that's indeed the case, though, I can't say I would've predicted a top 10 for it.

[Indiscipline]

I have high hopes that my #1 will be in the Top 10, they're such a huge and massively influential band not to be - even here on DTF.

I think I see what you did there, but time will tell.

I'd rest easy.  I have no doubt they'll make the final cut.

Hope so. I could change my mind on the turning away.

[SomeoneLikeHim]

25. Between the Buried and Me
20. Avenged Sevenfold
17. Spocks Beard
15. Opeth
14. Ayreon
13. Haken
12. Marillion
11. Steven Wilson
9. The Dear Hunter
8. Big Big Train
6. Pain of Salvation
4. Neal Morse
3. Transatlantic

Haken and SW both made my list in the same places as the collective list, but reversed!

I don't perfectly gel with everything Steven puts out but when he hits he hits hard. Raven and HCE are both among my favorite records ever, huge respect for the man as a songwriter.

Haken places this highly mainly on the strength of their early stuff for me, I'm a big Aquarius fan. I like all their albums though, they are very consistent even if their peaks are not as high these days imo.

I'm very happy that it looks like my #1 will reach top 10, good job DTF! Unless they are snubbed of course, but I'm not ready to believe that yet.

As for the remaining 10 I would say I have 8 locks and a guess for the remaining 2. That doesn't include DP though which I totally forgot until it was discussed here so we'll see how it goes. 

[Puppies_On_Acid]

Haken came in at number 434567653466 on my list.

That high? You must be going soft.

[wolfking]

Haken came in at number 434567653466 on my list.

That high? You must be going soft.

You called me what now?.......

Seriously though.....maybe I did leave off a few 0's. 

[ReaperKK]

I need some coolin' heading into the Top 10

10. Led Zeppelin
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Monthly Spotify Streams: 17,623,697
Highest Finish: 1 (jingle.boy)
Number of top 10 finishes: 6
Number of Lists appeared on: 14 (coz, DragonAttack, DTwwbwMP, jingle.boy, pg1067, Stadler, TAC, twosuitsluke, devieira73, Dave_Manchester, jammindude, Setlist Scotty, WilliamMunny, Zoom E)

One of my other favorite threads on this form is jingle's Led Zeppelin discography thread. Growing up Led Zeppelin was always kind of there and because I heard the same round of hits on classic rock radio I never felt compelled to explore deeper. Within the past year I stumbled upon some pretty amazing Heart covers of LZ's music which gave me the itch to take a true deep dive in their catalog. Following Jingle's thread I went through and listened through the discography. I enjoyed it, a lot more than I thought I would've. LZ personally placed 26 on my list, I really struggled with their placing because I do find some of their stuff inconsistent, but regardless a mounmental band.

[Zydar]

I really should love this band considering my main genre is classic rock from the 60s and 70s. I enjoy many tracks scattered around their discography, but not quite enough to put them on my Top 25.

I really need to do a deep dive into their albums one day, I owe it to myself.

[Stadler]

NR Frank Zappa
NR Steven Wilson
NR Devin Townsend
NR Tool
NR Symphony X
NR Spock's Beard
NR Riverside
NR Radiohead
NR Pain Of Salvation
NR Opeth
NR Nightwish
NR Megadeth
NR Mastodon
NR Katatonia
NR Judas Priest
NR Helloween
NR Haken
NR Godspeed You! Black Emperor
NR Fates Warning
NR Evergrey
NR The Deer Hunter
NR Miles Davis
NR Coheed And Cambria
NR Big Big Train
NR Between The Buried And Me
NR Ayreon
NR Avenged Sevenfold
NR Anathema
NR Allagoch
53 King Crimson (Red, Larks Tongue In Aspic, ITCOTCK)
47 Peter Gabriel (US, So, Car)
35 Scorpions (Taken By Force, Lovedrive, Animal Magnetism)
34 UFO (Mechanix, SITN, Force It)
30 Transatlantic (The Whirlwind, Bridge Across Forever, The Absolute Universe)
26 Van Halen (Fair Warning, A Different Kind Of Truth, 1984)



25  Sadly, not a shot
24  Sadly, not a shot
23  Given
22  Queen (Queen II; Innuendo; A Kind Of Magic)
21  Given
20  Given. SHOULD BE a Given, but given this crowd - see what I did there - sadly, "Probably not"
19  Probably not; they are a classic, but don't seem to get much love here
18  Sadly, not a shot
17  Sadly, not a shot
16  Given. SHOULD BE a Given, but given this crowd - see what I did there - sadly, "Probably not"
15  Probably not; it's an offshoot of another band here and it won't likely make the grade
14  Sadly, not a shot
13  Sadly, not a shot
12  Neal Morse. (And yes, I lumped.). (Innocence and Danger; The Grand Experiment; TSOAD)
11  Black Sabbath (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage, Heaven and Hell)
10  Sadly, not a shot
9  Given
8  Probably not; his more popular (here) incarnation already appeared
7  Given
6  Marillion (Clutching At Straws, Misplaced Childhood, Brave)
5  Yes (Going For The One, Fragile, Close To The Edge)
4  Led Zeppelin (Physical Graffiti, IV, How The West Was Won)
3. Kiss (Rock And Roll Over; Creatures Of The Night; Hotter Than Hell)
2  Given. SHOULD BE a Given, but given this crowd - see what I did there - sadly, "Probably not"
1  Given. SHOULD BE a Given, but given this crowd - see what I did there - sadly, "Probably not"


I had Zep as a given.  I mean, C'mon.   Except for one other band, no one has influenced the bands we listen to here more. I think the thing I love most about Zeppelin is that they never had a period where... they were lost.  There's no disco records, no grunge records, they just did what they did at the highest levels.   I look back at their catalogue, and while not EVERY song is "Stairway To Heaven", the number of clunkers - even including the rarities/odds and sods record - is literally on one hand.  What's the worst song on II?  IV?  Even Physical Graffiti, a double.  It's hard. 

I've also come to really respect them live.  No, not every night was a winner, but they were looking for something more, and when they found it, when Zep was in full flight, there was no one better.  My single greatest concert experience was Page and Plant in New Jersey, during "The Song Remains The Same"; I've written about it before.  It was literally an out-of-body experience.

Oh, and edited my givens to a more tempered outlook.  Though I'm 1-1 in the top ten.

[The Letter M]

I need some coolin' heading into the Top 10

10. Led Zeppelin
Rate Your Music Profile!
Spotify Profile
Monthly Spotify Streams: 17,623,697
Highest Finish: 1 (jingle.boy)
Number of top 10 finishes: 6
Number of Lists appeared on: 14 (coz, DragonAttack, DTwwbwMP, jingle.boy, pg1067, Stadler, TAC, twosuitsluke, devieira73, Dave_Manchester, jammindude, Setlist Scotty, WilliamMunny, Zoom E)

One of my other favorite threads on this form is jingle's Led Zeppelin discography thread. Growing up Led Zeppelin was always kind of there and because I heard the same round of hits on classic rock radio I never felt compelled to explore deeper. Within the past year I stumbled upon some pretty amazing Heart covers of LZ's music which gave me the itch to take a true deep dive in their catalog. Following Jingle's thread I went through and listened through the discography. I enjoyed it, a lot more than I thought I would've. LZ personally placed 26 on my list, I really struggled with their placing because I do find some of their stuff inconsistent, but regardless a mounmental band.

NR  Miles Davis
NR  Symphony X
NR  Agalloch
NR  The Deer Hunter
NR  Frank Zappa
NR  Evergrey
NR  UFO
NR  Godspeed You! Black Emperor
NR  Nightwish
NR  Katatonia
NR  Helloween
NR  Between The Buried And Me
NR  Anathema
NR  Radiohead
NR  Peter Gabriel
NR  Megadeth
NR  Pain Of Salvation
NR  Devin Townsend
NR  Coheed And Cambria
NR  Mastodon
NR  Tool
NR  Black Sabbath
NR  Judas Priest
NR  Opeth
NR  Van Halen
NR  Fates Warning
NR  Led Zeppelin
29  King Crimson
28  Marillion
26  Queen
25  ?
.
.
20  Riverside
.
14  Steven Wilson
13  Yes
.
10  Ayreon
09  Haken
.
07  Neal Morse
06  Spock's Beard
.
.
03  Transatlantic
02
01  Big Big Train

I really enjoy LZ but I didn't consider them for my top 30. I'm sure if I made a top 50 that they would make it. Houses Of The Holy remains my favorite of theirs, though the two on either side are really good too.

-Marc.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

i like and respect LZ but they've never been a favorite of mine. the stuff from them i like best is the live material as stadler said. that is really where they shined (IMO)

[KevShmev]

LZ has never been one of my top tier favorites, but I still love them.  They would've made my top 25, but would have been near the bottom.  I suspect I'd probably listen to them more on my own if they hadn't been so overplayed back in the day when I listened to classic rock radio.

[WilliamMunny]

NR Frank Zappa
NR Steven Wilson
NR Devin Townsend
NR Tool
NR Symphony X
NR Spock's Beard
NR Riverside
NR Radiohead
NR Pain Of Salvation
NR Opeth
NR Nightwish
NR Megadeth
NR Mastodon
NR Katatonia
NR Judas Priest
NR Helloween
NR Haken
NR Godspeed You! Black Emperor
NR Fates Warning
NR Evergrey
NR The Deer Hunter
NR Miles Davis
NR Coheed And Cambria
NR Big Big Train
NR Between The Buried And Me
NR Ayreon
NR Avenged Sevenfold
NR Anathema
NR Allagoch
53 King Crimson (Red, Larks Tongue In Aspic, ITCOTCK)
47 Peter Gabriel (US, So, Car)
35 Scorpions (Taken By Force, Lovedrive, Animal Magnetism)
34 UFO (Mechanix, SITN, Force It)
30 Transatlantic (The Whirlwind, Bridge Across Forever, The Absolute Universe)
26 Van Halen (Fair Warning, A Different Kind Of Truth, 1984)



25  Sadly, not a shot
24  Sadly, not a shot
23  Given
22  Queen (Queen II; Innuendo; A Kind Of Magic)
21  Given
20  Given. SHOULD BE a Given, but given this crowd - see what I did there - sadly, "Probably not"
19  Probably not; they are a classic, but don't seem to get much love here
18  Sadly, not a shot
17  Sadly, not a shot
16  Given. SHOULD BE a Given, but given this crowd - see what I did there - sadly, "Probably not"
15  Probably not; it's an offshoot of another band here and it won't likely make the grade
14  Sadly, not a shot
13  Sadly, not a shot
12  Neal Morse. (And yes, I lumped.). (Innocence and Danger; The Grand Experiment; TSOAD)
11  Black Sabbath (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage, Heaven and Hell)
10  Sadly, not a shot
9  Given
8  Probably not; his more popular (here) incarnation already appeared
7  Given
6  Marillion (Clutching At Straws, Misplaced Childhood, Brave)
5  Yes (Going For The One, Fragile, Close To The Edge)
4  Led Zeppelin (Physical Graffiti, IV, How The West Was Won)
3. Kiss (Rock And Roll Over; Creatures Of The Night; Hotter Than Hell)
2  Given. SHOULD BE a Given, but given this crowd - see what I did there - sadly, "Probably not"
1  Given. SHOULD BE a Given, but given this crowd - see what I did there - sadly, "Probably not"


I had Zep as a given.  I mean, C'mon.   Except for one other band, no one has influenced the bands we listen to here more. I think the thing I love most about Zeppelin is that they never had a period where... they were lost.  There's no disco records, no grunge records, they just did what they did at the highest levels.   I look back at their catalogue, and while not EVERY song is "Stairway To Heaven", the number of clunkers - even including the rarities/odds and sods record - is literally on one hand.  What's the worst song on II?  IV?  Even Physical Graffiti, a double.  It's hard. 

I've also come to really respect them live.  No, not every night was a winner, but they were looking for something more, and when they found it, when Zep was in full flight, there was no one better.  My single greatest concert experience was Page and Plant in New Jersey, during "The Song Remains The Same"; I've written about it before.  It was literally an out-of-body experience.

Oh, and edited my givens to a more tempered outlook.  Though I'm 1-1 in the top ten.

I'm glad your post drew attention to the live album, How the West Was Won.

For most of my youth, my perception of Zeppelin's live prowess was limited to The Song Remains the Same movie (which I rented and watched over and over).

Admittedly, Zeppelin is 'good,' but not 'great' for much of that show. While I had nothing to compare it to, I often wondered about the 'mighy' Led Zeppelin's live peak that would read about on message boards and in chat rooms (hey, it was the late '90s).

The BBC Sessions (released 1997) gave a good hint, but those performances were the band in their infancy.

Then, one day in early 2003, when I was managing a local record store, a rep came in with mile-wide grin on his face. John was an older guy who'd been repping artists since the mid-'70s. Our bond was over classic rock, and by that point, I was deep into collecting bootlegs.

We often swapped CDr's, and when it came to Zeppelin, I'd heard a few 'great' shows, but the quality was always suspect.

But when John walked in that day, I knew he had something...what I didn't know was that that 'something' would wind up being one of, if not the best live albums I would ever hear.

Long story short...my man handed me a super- 'hush hush' copy of How the West Was Won. I spent the next few months playing the hell out of those three discs. I'll never forget him telling me to cue it up on the store system..."just play a few second...you gotta hear this!"

He wanted me to listen to "Immigrant Song," and more specifically, the big fill Bonham does in the intro.

John was a cool dude...he soon lost his job to a corporate consolidation, and I lost touch, but if he's still alive, I hope he's still hunting for bootlegs.

Anyway...for anyone who might want to widen and deepen their appreciation of Zeppelin, I cannot recommend How the West Was Won more. 

[HOF]

Zeppelin are not on my top 25 and didn't get any consideration, but I do appreciate them for their place in rock music and just for being massively influential.

I think for people of my age who weren't around when the band were still going, you probably grew up being inundated by the band on classic rock radio, and you maybe either love them or hate em. I had sort of the later reaction just in terms of feeling like "what's the big deal?" But I did always think songs like Stairway were cool, and enjoyed a number of other songs as well. Definitely appreciate when they are being more proggy and adventurous as opposed to the bluesy rock stuff which I really don't care for.

I ended up picking up In Through The Out Door (the only LZ album I own) after checking out songs on the recent LZ countdown, and that one is really good. All of My Love has always been a favorite from them (might still be my favorite).

[hefdaddy42]

Led Zeppelin is awesome.  They would have been at the very least Top 5 for me.

[jingle.boy]

Thanks for the shoutout Kay.

Not much else to say that I didn't cover in the discog discussion.  Black Dog was THE seminal song in my music life that quite literally, changed not only my musical life, but my life in general.  Now, it's no longer even a Top 10 LZ song for me, but it was *the* song that mattered most.

To Bill's point about never 'loosing their way', I'd argue that they were about to... if not for Bonham's death.  ITTOD was starting to take them down a path much different than their history up to that point.  I dare say that Bonham's death actually benefited the legacy and lore of Led Zeppelin.  Had he lived on, I could see a situation where the band implodes or breaks up (Page was a control freak, and way fucked up during the ITTOD sessions and shows).  The band was starting to crack, and it's possible they might not have remained as the four of them moving forward into the 80s.  But, who knows.

Everything up to PG is top shelf material (with the odd clunker); Presence and ITTOD have their charms and reasons to be loved, but definitely the second tier (despite Presence being the only album to hit #1 in the Billboard charts).

I got my 4 symbols tattoo at 18 years old, cementing them as my favorite band of all-time.  The were the most influential band in my listening experience, and will always be my #1.

@William ... good call out on the posthumous live releases.  They were the tits.  I remember hearing the BBC sessions for the first time and all 

@HOF ... you're probably spot on.  There's probably a clear delineation between people who experienced them in the 70s/80s vs 90s and later.  I don't know all 14 users that voted for them, but there's a clear fogey presence - even without King/Hef/lonestar's votes.

[Mladen]

Great choice. 

[lonestar]

Definitely would've made my list, but my favorites has always been there more sublime works, specifically Going to California and Battle of Evermore

[Evermind]

Did not have Zeppelin on my list. I think HOF is spot on. I like some of their songs whenever I listen to them, but they weren't an influence on me in my teenage years.

Definitely expected to see them on this list though.

[jingle.boy]

Definitely would've made my list, but my favorites has always been there more sublime works, specifically Going to California and Battle of Evermore

Battle of Evermore is my fave Zeppelin song, and Top 5 of all-time.

[lonestar]

Definitely would've made my list, but my favorites has always been there more sublime works, specifically Going to California and Battle of Evermore

Battle of Evermore is my fave Zeppelin song, and Top 5 of all-time.

I know I've shared this with you, but for everyone else, easily the best Zeppelin cover ever...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogw15jdM_Yc

[Metro]

Led Zeppelin is great, but didn't make my list. There have been times where I've been obsessed with them, but I haven't felt that way in years.
Rain Song will always be one of my favorite things to play on guitar.

[SwedishGoose]

Still at 9


Led Zeppelin
Never been a fan. I like songs I have heard but not enough to investigate further.


Not rated
Symphony X , Miles Davis, Avenged Sevenfold, Allagoch,
Scorpions, The Dear Hunter, Frank Zappa, Evergrey, UFO, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Nightwish, Katatonia, Halloween, Between the Buried and Me, Anathema, Radiohead, Big Big Train, Megadeath, Riverside, Spock's Beard, Neal Morse, Devin Townsend, Mastodon, Black Sabbath, Marillion, Judas Priest, Van Halen, Fates Warning, Haken, Led Zeppelin

25
24
23
22
21 Transatlatic  (favorite album: The Absolute Universe - Forevermore, favorite song: Duel With the Devil)
20
19 Steven Wilson (favorite album: The Raven That Refused To Sing,  favorite song:  The Raven That Refused To Sing)
18 Queen  (favorite album: Innuendo favorite song: The Show Must  Go On)
17
16
15 Yes   (Favorite album: Close to the Edge, favorite song:Roundabout)
14 Opeth (Favorite album: In Cauda Veneum (swedish), favorite song: Deliverance)
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6 Pain of Salvation  (favorite album: BE, favorite song: Undertow)
5
4 Ayreon (favorite album: The Human Equation, favorite song: Valley of the Queens)
3 Peter Gabriel  (favorite album: US, favorite song: Here Comes The Flood)
2 King Crimson  (favorite album: Red, favorite song: Starless)
1

[Dream Team]

I acknowledge Zep's talent and influence, but they didn't quite make my top 25. Probably top 35. I'm not really a blues-rock guy, and they did an immense amount of plagiarism which turns me off a little.

[HOF]

What I think is kind of funny/ironic is that I think Zeppelin were a huge influence on both the 80s hard rock/hair metal scene (maybe more in terms of the looks, but a lot of those bands borrowed musically from them as well), and the 90s grunge/alt rock scene (maybe from more of a musical standpoint). Those two scenes couldn't have been more opposite otherwise.

[romdrums]

I didn't have Zep ranked. I respect them heavily, and they are, without a doubt, highly influential. My Dad was a big Zep fan. He got to see them in 1968 opening for The Iron Butterfly. I would argue that the secret to their success was not Page and Plant, it was John Paul Jones and Bonham. Those two were perhaps the best bass and drums duo of all time, and that gave Page and Plant the ability to do what they did.

[Stadler]

Definitely would've made my list, but my favorites has always been there more sublime works, specifically Going to California and Battle of Evermore

Battle of Evermore is my fave Zeppelin song, and Top 5 of all-time.

I know I've shared this with you, but for everyone else, easily the best Zeppelin cover ever...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogw15jdM_Yc

I've never seen that before.  I got shivers.   I don't know if "best", but top three, for sure.

In no order:
- Ann and Nancy with Jason playing "Stairway..." for Robert, Jimmy and John.
- Temple of the Dog playing "Achilles Last Stand" in MSG a few months before Chris died, with Chris saying at the end "Imagine, getting to play THAT song, in THIS building" (Zeppelin played more shows at MSG than any other arena/venue).
- That one.

It's not quite as good as SHEL, but "Get The Led Out", the band, has a KILLER version of Battle... from Red Rocks. It's my understanding that the woman that sang Sandy Dennis' parts died not long after. It's a shame; it's a beautiful performance.

[lonestar]

Yeah, it's near impossible to leave that Kennedy Center performance out of the discussion.

[HOF]

I didn't have Zep ranked. I respect them heavily, and they are, without a doubt, highly influential. My Dad was a big Zep fan. He got to see them in 1968 opening for The Iron Butterfly. I would argue that the secret to their success was not Page and Plant, it was John Paul Jones and Bonham. Those two were perhaps the best bass and drums duo of all time, and that gave Page and Plant the ability to do what they did.

Spoken like a drummer! But it's true they never rose to the same heights individually or with Page & Plant.

[Stadler]

I didn't have Zep ranked. I respect them heavily, and they are, without a doubt, highly influential. My Dad was a big Zep fan. He got to see them in 1968 opening for The Iron Butterfly. I would argue that the secret to their success was not Page and Plant, it was John Paul Jones and Bonham. Those two were perhaps the best bass and drums duo of all time, and that gave Page and Plant the ability to do what they did.

I wouldn't argue this at all.  There's a post in the Zeppelin countdown where I talked about the lack of REALLY good Zeppelin covers... because most drummers couldn't replicate that push and pull of Bonham (and Page, really, not JPJ).  They played with time in a way that not a lot of musicians can, and it's what made that band breath.  You can't put Stairway to a click track, for example.  There's are plenty of examples on HTWWW that show that. It's what made that version of Achilles Last Stand so good; Matt Cameron GOT IT.  That song just FILLED that arena; it was swirling it was driving... I don't really have the words for it.

[HOF]

I didn't have Zep ranked. I respect them heavily, and they are, without a doubt, highly influential. My Dad was a big Zep fan. He got to see them in 1968 opening for The Iron Butterfly. I would argue that the secret to their success was not Page and Plant, it was John Paul Jones and Bonham. Those two were perhaps the best bass and drums duo of all time, and that gave Page and Plant the ability to do what they did.

I wouldn't argue this at all.  There's a post in the Zeppelin countdown where I talked about the lack of REALLY good Zeppelin covers... because most drummers couldn't replicate that push and pull of Bonham (and Page, really, not JPJ).  They played with time in a way that not a lot of musicians can, and it's what made that band breath.  You can't put Stairway to a click track, for example.  There's are plenty of examples on HTWWW that show that. It's what made that version of Achilles Last Stand so good; Matt Cameron GOT IT.  That song just FILLED that arena; it was swirling it was driving... I don't really have the words for it.

If you want a geeky example, this is a fun video by Nick D'Virgilo breaking down/demonstrating two possible ways to play the ending section of Stairway, and even he's not sure how it was actually played on the record.

https://youtu.be/m6uvA8U35mY?si=uuiqEU0H5P216C9T

[romdrums]

Bonham was so unique because he has a swagger and swing to his playing that is really hard to replicate. It's not just about the big loud stuff. With him, he does so many little things that, while subtle, really help keep the grooves percolating.  His sense of time, based on my understanding, comes off as more circulating than being linear and grid-like. Nick alludes to it in the video HOF posted. 

[Sacul]

Yeah definitely a very fogey, USA / European centric list so far

[lonestar]

Yeah definitely a very fogey, USA / European centric list so far

I mean...look at the source bro...