vendredi 13 Aoû 2010, 7h40m

So I've always made my top 10 choices very clear to the general public but I think it's time to discuss the "why" behind the reasons. If I was to make a list of honourable mentions then we would have a top 50 list so I'm not going to name any other band's ranking on my list that is outside of the top 10.

10. Led Zeppelin

Sorry, Makenzie that your favourite (I think) only made it to 10th.

Alright, I stand behind my believe that Led Zeppelin is probably the most influencial band ever. I also believe that Stairway To Heaven is one of the 10 biggest songs ever. There should be a law that if you have no clue who Led Zeppelin is you are imprisoned on the spot until you have heard everything off of Led Zeppelin IV. Ever since Led Zeppelin there has never been a bigger band. Ironically the only band that could dethrone them from that title (beside The Beatles who had already broken up) was Black Sabbath who broke up just before Led Zeppelin did. Led Zeppelin gets 10th spot for the giant impact they made on music: the way they changed it forever…

Top 5 Albums:
5. Led Zeppelin I
4. Physical Graffiti
3. Led Zeppelin II
2. Houses Of The Holy
1. Led Zeppelin IV (sue me, I'm a conformist)

Top 5 Songs:
5. No Quarter
4. Black Dog
3. Dazed And Confused
2. Achilles' Last Stand
1. Stairway To Heaven (sue me, I'm a conformist)

9. Radiohead

I could go into depth about the philosophical undertones of Radiohead and their albums but then we'd be here for a while: Just buy the book Radiohead And Philosophy and put on a copy of Kid A which is undoubtedly one of the strangest records ever. It took me weeks just to get a general opinion of one album by Radiohead and I still haven't finished. Radiohead is one of the few bands out there that has their own style that is distinct enough to stay original. I guess you could say they are the Pink Floyd of the 21st century but Radiohead wouldn't like being compared to another band. Still they have managed to keep making music that takes us to the farthest reaches of the human mind and soul, hence 9th spot.

Top 5 Albums:
5. Amnesiac
4. In Rainbows
3. The Bends
2. Kid A
1. Ok Computer

(I haven't listened to Hail To The Thief yet so it might change my rankings)

Top 5 Songs:
5. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
4. Karma Police
3. Fake Plastic Trees
2. Exit Music (For A Film)
1. Let Down

8. Metallica

Gavin's favourite band only makes it to 8th spot so I hope he doesn't kill me for this because he isn't as understanding as Makenzie is or as Trevor should be prepared to be (hint hint).

Never before has a metal band been so diverse: Thrash metal, progressive metal, hard rock, alternative metal, rock, country, blues, garage metal, grunge metal, and a live performance with a symphony: Epic. Honestly is hard to pick out the bad songs that Metallica has made because everyone of their songs has something good about even if it isn't what most people expect. I honestly can't compare Load to Kill 'Em All because of the difference in styles. One is alternative metal with progressive influences and some of their best lyrics. The other has some of the earliest thrash songs but not much lyric-wise. Metallica is also able to effortlessly express existentialism and Buddahism in their music and lyrics. The one reason Metallica is only at 8th spot is because of these other bands.

Top 5 Albums:

5. Load
4. Death Magnetic
3. Ride The Lightning
2. …And Justice For All
1. Master Of Puppets

Top 5 Songs:
5. The Outlaw Torn
4. Master Of Puppets
3. Disposable Heroes
2. One
1. Battery

7. Rush

When you look at the major bands, few would think of Rush as one. Rush is the biggest, most influencial, non-popular band. Everyone from Dream Theater to Smashing Pumpkins has been influenced by them. Also they are easily one of the top 5 selling bands ever. Now here is why Rush is personally awesome: Because they never repeat themselves so each album has something new to offer: HOW DO YOU DO THAT FOR 40 YEARS!?!? Hard rock, progressive rock, synth rock, alternative rock, and recently they have been moving towards progressive hard rock. Neil Peart may not be my favourite drummer but there is no denying that he is the best. Geddy Lee is also one of the best multi-tasking musicians. He plays bass guitar, keyboards, and sings at the same time!! And he is better than almost every other bass player out there (Well, except for Chris Squire from Yes). Also saying Rush sucks because you don't like their singer's voice was a sad excuse 40 years ago and it's even more pathetic of a complaint now. If that is the only bad thing you can think of to say about Rush then just listen to instrumentals or record you voice over Geddy's or something, I don't know. At least come up with something that is a little more constructive, original, and logical you pillock (YES, that is a shot at you Morgan you strange person.)

Top 5 Albums:
5. Counterparts
4. A Farewell To Kings
3. Hemispheres
2. Power Windows
1. Moving Pictures

Top 5 Songs:
5. Xanadu
4. The Trees
3. Mystic Rythms
2. Limelight
1. 2112

6. Porcupine Tree

The fact that a band as great as Porcupine Tree receives no publicity whatsoever makes me lose my faith in humanity. Their early 90's material is a little too weird for almost anyone. BUT, everything around 2000 and onwards has the perfect potential to become a hit song in rock groups. Also Porcupine Tree has the best lyric writer ever: Steve Wilson. This guy is a god of poetry and words. If you've read my 10 favourite albums list then you'll know that Fear Of A Blank Planet is the best lyrical album ever. I reccomend Porcupine Tree to anyone, they have an album for every kind of music fan (except for you idiots that think *insert crappy overpopularized pile of shit here* is the next musical god.). Just let me know if you want to listen to them so I can get you started a the right point because it's different for everyone.

Top 5 Albums:
5. Stupid Dream
4. Deadwing
3. Lightbulb Sun
2. In Absentia
1. Fear Of A Blank Planet

Top 5 Songs:
5. Trains (The live version is 49 times better)
4. Even Less
3. Russia On Ice
2. Fear Of A Blank Planet
1. Anesthetize

5. Dream Theater

So you guys know that I love Dream Theater: No secret. Easily the best band in terms of playing instruments and skill. Everyone has their own thoughts about Dream Theater. Some people's favourite Dream Theater song is another one's most hated. I think that everything they do is good and just like Metallica I find it hard to find bad songs by them (Excluding their first album which sucks). Sometimes they amaze you with some crazy jam sections in the middle of a song and other times you feel your heart weep as you hear an emotional slow ballad. Bands like this are tough to beat because this is what happens when you cross Metallica and Rush: Technically advanced instrumentation with hard rocking metal.

Top 5 Albums:
5. Images And Words
4. Black Clouds And Silver Linings
3. Awake
2. Train Of Thought
1. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence

Top 5 Songs:
5. Endless Sacrifice
4. Space-Dye Vest
3. In The Presence Of Enemies
2. A Change Of Seasons
1. The Glass Prison

4. Pink Floyd

Ah, Pink Floyd. Musical nirvana at its best. Only Radiohead has come close to matching the sonic textures that envoked Pink Floyd's albums throught the 70's. With 3 of their albums in my top 10 albums list, I shouldn't even have to explain why I love them. Basically you have to sit down, put on a copy of one of their best works, and concentrate hard on what you are listening to. Pink Floyd isn't background music: it demands that you focus. Pink Floyd is the 2nd best lyric band behind Porcupine Tree. You couldn't ask for a more philosophically interesting band, with topics ranging from isolation, greed, vanity, insanity, life, death, and alienation. The existentialist's band is Pink Floyd at 4th spot.

Top 5 Albums:
5. The Division Bell
4. Animals
3. The Dark Side Of The Moon
2. The Wall
1. Wish You Were Here

Top 5 Songs:
5. Us And Them
4. Comfortably Numb
3. Dogs
2. Echoes
1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond

3. Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath invented metal: I will never change my mind about that. I can't get over on how godly their music is. Almost every song and every guitar riff they wrote turned to gold until everyone started copying them to the point of unoriginality. Black Sabbath was the first metal band that I loved. If my dad didn't buy every original Black Sabbath vinyl record then I never would have discover this band until years later. Black Sabbath is the definition of what a metal band is and it shows how 40 years later, no one has been able to rock the way they do. After 40 years no one has made anything as good as Paranoid, the greatest album ever. To have that title is one of the most amazing things a musician can do.

Top 5 Albums:
5. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
4. Black Sabbath
3. Master Of Reality
2. Vol. 4
1. Paranoid

Top 5 Songs:
5. Paranoid
4. Symptom Of The Universe
3. War Pigs
2. Supernaut
1. Iron Man

2. Tool

Well, Trevor here it is…

So take everything good that I said about Metallica, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, and Rush: Now put that all together into one super band: Tool. My favourite drummer (Danny Carey)? Check. One of the best metal singers ever (Maynard James Keenan)? Check. One of the best bass rhythm sections ever (Provided by Justin Chancellor)? Check. The coolest, most original guitarist ever (Adam Jones)? Check. My favourite current song ever (Third Eye)? Check. Well, you get the point. Tool is undoubtedly the best metal band ever and I could go on about my undying love for them and their music (not gay). I honestly believe that no one will ever be able to sound as original they are. They would be number one if not for this next band…

Top 5 Albums:
(Ironically they only have 4, so I'll count their EP)
5. Opiate
4. Undertow
3. 10,000 Days
2. Ænima
1. Lateralus

Top 5 Songs:
5. Lateralus
4. Eulogy
3. The Grudge
2. Wings For Maire / 10,000 Days
1. Third Eye

1. Def Leppard

So, here me out on this one because this probably doesn't make any sense, seeing as this whole time I've been going on about epicness and philosophically meanings behind the reason of life and death and yet my number one band is a mainstream glam metal band that primarily writes above love and the things it involves (sex, break-ups, alcohol, and women). I probably will sound a little hypocritical here:

Top 5 albums:
5. Adrenalize
4. Songs From The Sparkle Lounge
3. High N' Dry
2. Pyromania
1. Hysteria

Top 5 Songs:
5. White Lightning
4. Love Bites
3. Photograph
2. Rocket (Visualize Video Edit)
1. Switch 625

Picture for a moment that one band that got you into music. Picture the first band you ever loved enough to start listening to them all the time. Picture for a moment the reason you listen to music.

Def Leppard is my reason.

Growning up I didn't have any friends that shared my same musical tastes. I only had a few select favourites such as music by Duran Duran or Queen's biggest hits like We Will Rock You. Now one day my dad came home with a music dvd: Def Leppard. I look at the track listing and said, "What's that song called Rocket?" Well, my dad pressed play and…..

GUITAR!!!

DRUMS!!!!!

Holy crap!!!! I couldn't believe how awesome they were!! They rocked hard but didn't go overboard because at the time I never listened to metal!!!

Honestly the whole reason I love Def Leppard is because they can pull off the mainstream act but still play almost metal music. Also they don't need to be all philosophical to get my interests because this is the band I go to when the world is exposed as the steaming pile of shit that life is and I don't want to give a crap about it: I just need something to take the edge off of the events that being a teenager in an ungrateful world brings.

Well, now I'm here and music is my life. All because of Def Leppard. That's why they are the greatest band ever in my mind. Because without them I never would have tried learning to play an instrument or started loving music as much as I do now.

Thanks Def

THERE WILL BE CONTROVERSY: NO BITCHING

Led ZeppelinRadioheadMetallicaRushPorcupine TreeDream TheaterPink FloydBlack SabbathToolDef Leppard