Most influential rock bands of all time?

Sophia Wells72 said:The heavy hitters: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Black Sabbath, King Crimson, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, David Bowie, Nirvana, Ramones, The Clash and so on.

Basically, we're talking about the legends and a whole bunch of others, whereas these newer acts—maybe they'll become some of the most influential ever one day, but right now, they can only be potentially influential—on who? I have no clue. I’d love to see some actual examples. Not that I’m allowed to say it out loud, but I'm honestly just wondering 🤷

👍
For sure.
Reading through some of the posts in this thread, I've already started thinking that some people here don't even realize what rock music actually is.

When looking back at the legends... Pink Floyd (absolute kings; I don't think there's a single band out there that isn't shaped by their shadow), David Bowie (the ultimate icon of creativity), Bob Dylan (even if you've never personally listened to his discography, you're still living under his influence 🙂), King Crimson (pure progressive art, time and time again...), and Led Zeppelin (well, that speaks for itself)
Moving toward the more modern era... Tool (it seems like almost every contemporary rock or hard rock group I come across has borrowed something from them), Nine Inch Nails (similar to Tool, though leaning more into that industrial rock space), Faith No More, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam (largely because of that raw, gritty vocal style found on *Badmotorfinger*). I might have said Nirvana, but honestly, I haven't encountered a band influenced by them that wasn't just a pale imitation of the original. Hmm... actually, perhaps Cobain’s specific vocal grit... maybe that counts

Benjamin Thompson66 said:And who exactly did Guns N' Roses influence?.. Bringing them up in the same breath as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, or Queen is just straight-up disrespectful.

Guns N' Roses influenced every little kid obsessed with rock bands led by singers with killer hair.

Taylor Vaughn13 said:Gangs have clearly influenced those kids who are obsessed with rock bands led by singers with gorgeous hair

Elvis Presley... I was honestly already worried that claim had anything to do with music—but yeah, I totally get the whole hormonal-meets-low-IQ influence here.