your top ten greatest american bands of the last 25 years?
 

Keeping in mind that only material from 1981 on can count and this should take into account more than just our personal favorites.

1. Sonic Youth
2. Pixies
3. Minutemen
4. Dead Milkmen
5. Beastie Boys
6. Pavement
7. Bad Brains
8. Neurosis
9. Husker Du
10. Nirvana

In no particular order:

Shellac
Helmet
Fugazi
Nirvana
The Blood Brothers
Waxwing
Tool
Kyuss
Incubus
Quicksand

Due to the term bands, I left out singer songwriters such as, Jeff Buckley, Ani Difranco etc etc, even though they did/do have bands.

And 10 was not nearly enough.

Sonic Youth
R.E.M.
Camper Van Beethoven
Pavement
Pylon
Prince and the Revolution
Mudhoney
Brad Mehldau Trio
Nirvana
oops
The Replacements




Laurie Anderson is not "a band," so she wasn't included.
Even though they became known in the '80s primarily, Talking Heads, The Cars, Devo, & Kate Bush (edit: oops...not American nor "a band") were first recorded in the late seventies before 1981, so I guess they are not eligible, and Richard Hell & the Voidoids were a few years even earlier even though they became known, to most people, in the '80s as well. Tom Waits' Heart Attack & Vine was released in 1980.

I'm fairly sure I'm making an unintentional gross omission or two.

Some will surely name Husker Du, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, The Replacements, Fugazi, Pixies, The Melvins, Dinosaur, Jr., DNA, Mars, Bad Brains, Black Flag, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Beck, Smashing Pumpkins, Sebadoh, Dinosaur, Jr., Afghan Whigs, Mission of Burma, Beck, Butthole Surfers, Violent Femmes, Cat Power, & Jane's Addiction and whatever others that I'm forgetting which I also like a great deal, but the question asked for a true top ten.

This is for American bands so keep yer hands of Kate Bush, Radiohead, Jesus and Mary Chain and part of Talking Heads!

In no particular order (and ask me again tomorrow and it may change):

Sonic Youth
Minutemen
Meat Puppets
God Is My Co-pilot
Steve Albini (Big Black, Rapeman, Shellac)
Butthole Surfers
Pere Ubu
Arthur Russell (various bands & solo)
Bikini Kill
The Gun Club
Predictable I know, but honest.

Black Flag, Husker Du, and many others didn't make it because, although they made some of the best music of the last 25 years, they made some very bad music also.

hey, David Byrne was from Britain, but he's American. haha.

That would be Teenage Jesus + The Jerks you mean... they were defunct by 1981.
Radiohead, Public Image Ltd + The Jesus + Mary Chain are all from the UK so therefore not eligible...

Mine would be:

Sonic Youth
Pussy Galore
Swans
Butthole Surfers
Big Black
Brainiac
Charalambides
Black Flag
Royal Trux
Minor Threat

Phish
Medeski, Martin and Wood
Naked City
Sonic Youth
Pearl Jam
Beastie Boys
2 Live Crew
REM
Dave Matthews Band
Prince and the Revolution

my opinion:

Sonic Youth
Yo La Tengo
Pavement
Sebadoh
Shellac
Girls Against Boys
Fugazi
Shipping News
Low
American Music Club
Cat Power
Ida

so i guess yamatsuka eye was the only non-resident in the band?

yeah its really tough keeping them out and actually i think i'm gonna have to find a way to work them in but i'm not sure how yet.

i do think popularity in sheer numbers of people and commercial success cant just be ignored but its hard to find that balance with creative success.

Bardo Pond
Kinski
TVBC
Sonic Youth
Chrome
Stone Breath
Meat Puppets
Swans
Bongwater
Funseekers

Honorable mentions to:
Dream Syndicate
Rain Parade
Pentagram (1st LP not issued until early 80s, but in reality this band is far too old to qualify for this time frame)
Feelies
Saint Vitus
Butthole Surfers

Very hard list, off the top of my head (and they are just personal favourites)....

Sleep
Minutemen
Void (the whole 12 songs recorded in a studio)
Repulsion
Sonic Youth
Black Flag
Melvins
Shellac
Big Black
Husker Du

hmmm goodquestion

sonic youth
dinosaur jr
pavement
REM
butthole surfers
sebadoh
Phish
Unwound
Polvo
nirvana

erm...

harry pussy
sonic youth
gang starr
public enemy
the wu tang
bardo pond
guided by voices
nirvana
the jesus lizard
windy & carl
charalambides
royal trux

Fuck this is tough past like 3 or 4...

Sonic Youth, obviously
Unwound
Yo La Tengo
Mission of Burma
Fugazi
Dinosaur Jr.
Don Caballero
The Jesus Lizard
Polvo
Arab On Radar

I kept trying to put mogwai and MBV on there but dammit, they're not american. And blonde redhead might as well be italian/japanese/french.

edited mine, more accurate, in no order:

-bardo pond
-hüsker dü
-sonic youth
-slint
-neurosis
-butthole surfers
-metallica
-elephant 6 collective (yes, i'm cheating a little here)
-antioch arrow
-minor threat



they all either pioneered something or perfected it and their influence rages on. of course limiting it to ten is ridiculous, 10 are like 1% of all the great stuff that has come out in the past 25 years in the us.

no order:

sonic youth
pavement
tortoise
mission of burma
fugazi
outkast
fuck
calexico
smog
joan of arc?

I'm sorry, but my opinion is that Nirvana should be in all these lists.

sorry but my opinion is that nirvana shouldn't be on any of those lists, they never did anything radical or original with their music and they were the first to admit it.

same goes for mud-fucking-honey.

But their level of songcraft and intricate lyrics and melodies were absolutely fuckin' ace.

As a fan of Nirvana at the time, I have to agree with Everyneurotic. They were just a good band. Their popularity had to do with more than their music, in fact the music was one of the least important aspects of their fame.

I do stress that I'm not a Nirvana hater when I say this.

And also they only made one really good album anyway.

bravo!!!!! you expressed what i was trying to say to the t.

although i don't agree with the album, they were a singles band in an album era, so their best stuff happened on individual songs scattered around their discography.

Actually they compressed the underground American scene from its conception; and even extrapolated its eventual growth; into 5 good albums. They made music that shook the foundations of the youth and made music something to be respected and appreciated again, after the 80s and its greed mostly destoyed it. Their music is good. It's very, very good. Their songwriting and band dynamics are very highly accomplished. Very finely tuned. Their sound is a learned and very encompassing thing, that envelopes most of good rock and blasts it out into short, 3-4 minute bursts of sonic nirvana.

mars, teenage jesus and dna came out before 81.

Don't mean to be argumentative, but some of those phrases don't mean anything (bursts of sonic nirvana?).

I think there are two arguments: Nirvana's importance in the history of rock music and how good you think they are. Obviously the latter is up to the individual.

As to their importance, I think they were incredibly important. The time was right for an "underground" rock band to make it big. But that responsibility could have been handed to any number of (often better) bands who just didn't have the full package: Husker Du, Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth etc.

What Nirvana had was good tunes and more importantly, a good-looking, charasmatic, troubled (yawn) frontman. The world of music needs (or wants) this every now and then. Nirvana were a Doors for the nineties.

Anyway, lots has been written about the band. Probably can add little new.

Have I said I like them?

^ ^ Well said. (You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Pookie again.)

& I like them, too.

Believe me, bursts of sonic nirvana means something. The packaged, polished sheen of the industry band. How many times? How often do we have to put up with that, right? Whatever Nirvana were, they were a beacon for music. One of the greatest American bands of the last 25 years? Yeah, why the hell not?

Husker Du
Sonic youth
Six Organs Of Admittance
Pixies
Black Flag
Galaxie 500
The Mummies
Dream Synadicate
Bedhead
Butthole Surfers

Please,can i make space for Low too?

And Codeine,Slint,Red House Painters,American Music Club too?

Only if I can add Shakin' Pyramids.

Damn it!I forgot Royal Trux!!!!!!

Go on then,they fit.

ok everyone pretty much already put the bands I would mention.

SY
Flying Luttenbachers
Fugazi
Pavement
Xiu Xiu
At The Drive-In
Hella
ummmmmmm Nirvana I suppose.....

Godspeed are Canadian.

Aren't Godspeed You!Black Emperor canadians?

Radiohead?

OUTKAST?! laaaaame