Greatest American Band?

[Amazing Larry]

N'Sync > One Direction

NKOTB > N'Sync

[Ray McKigney]

Greatest American Bands?

To me that means bands that had the greatest influence on others or invented something we take for granted now.

Top of the list is The Funk Brothers.

Others:

The Beach Boys

The Grateful Dead

The Band

The Flaming Lips

Double Trouble

ETA: Although not technically a band, possibly the single most influential group of the past 30 years (if not ever) was NWA. Can any other group in American history claim to have influenced an entire culture the way they can?

 

The Band is one of my Top 5 favorite groups of all-time, but other than Levon Helm (who was from Arkansas), they were all Canadian. 

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Elvis, Beach Boys, CCR and Springsteen.  Huge commercial success, lasting popularity, and loads of impact on others.  If you were putting together a top 10 (for me), Dylan doesn't make it.  I could see Michael Jackson on a list like this.  And I think we can all agree that if we project forward 10-15 years, we'd likely include the Biebs in the discussion.

[Brandon]

Huey Lewis and The News

[Brandon]

Beiber isn't a critically acclaimed act, he's like MC Hammer or Vanilla Ice as a generation popular act.

[Amazing Larry]

Huey Lewis and The News

Huey's a little too black sounding for me.

[Ray McKigney]

Huey's a little too black sounding for me.

 

Their early work was a little too new wave for my taste.  But, when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own commercially and artistically. 

[tdawg87]

Ace of Base

[Brandon]

The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor.

[Brandon]

Ace of Base

They're not American

[mtangelsfan]

Boston?

[katie]

NKOTB > N'Sync

Die.

[katie]

Jk

[eaterfan]

Elvis, Beach Boys, CCR and Springsteen.  Huge commercial success, lasting popularity, and loads of impact on others.  If you were putting together a top 10 (for me), Dylan doesn't make it.  I could see Michael Jackson on a list like this.  And I think we can all agree that if we project forward 10-15 years, we'd likely include the Biebs in the discussion.

 

Luckily the Biebs is Canadian.

[tdawg87]

They're not American

Close enough

[Brandon]

I'll give you that. A lot of Libs in Sweden as well.

[mrwicked]

don't touch the watch.

[Ray McKigney]

Ace of Base

 

ABBA wannabes.

[VariousCrap]

As far as bands go, I think the top American bands have been mentioned in this thread.  I'd agree with the following:

 

Pearl Jam

Metallica

Van Halen

KISS

Aerosmith
Guns n Roses

The Eagles

The Doors

The Beach Boys

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

The Ramones

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

 

 

Depending on the criteria, I think you can make arguments for ZZ Top, E.L.O., TOOL and Motley Crue.

 

 

As far as solo artists go, nobody is bigger than Michael Jackson, Prince and of course Elvis.

[Angel Oracle]

Huey Lewis did one thing not done by many: a perfect SAT score in Math.

[Angel Oracle]

Prolly Tom Petty or Cinderella 

A woman I dated in the 1980s was a huge Cinderella and Poison fan.

[tdawg87]

Jimmy Buffett

[Ray McKigney]

Jimmy Buffett

 

...& The Coral Reefer Band

[Tank]

no list is complete without the flying burrito brothers.

[Ray McKigney]

This isn't a best of all time, but for a best of a genre, early 90's pop/r&b I would like to nominate P.M. Dawn.

And for 90's to present gimmick free punk: Lagwagon.

All-time US band needs to be clarified by things like influence, longevity, popularity.