Good post, Sampson. I do think Talking Heads have a significant lead in Musical Impact, though. Obviously, the VH1 and Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Artists lists are far from perfect, but they were voted by rock artists. A range of twenty places or so isn't something to draw conclusions from, but Talking Heads are #64 on the 2011 VH1 list and #66 on the 1998 VH1 list. Blondie is on neither list. Neither artist is on the Rolling Stone list.

Nothing is "universally regarded," but I wasn't saying anything about them being universally regarded as the best American rock band.

Only in a particular circle, whether those are with critics who value white-oriented guitar bands or the fans themselves.



Who is this public at large? They were not all that popular with the public in the 1980s compared to other artists. Yes, the Talking Heads' stature has risen over the decades, but not where it gives them the title to "America's best rock band" for any particular period. Maybe in New Wave circles, but not on the general rock landscape. So with that being said, the title doesn't mean much.



To which I haven't denied. They don't do as well in popularity and cultural impact as many of the artists ahead of them and behind them.



Agreed.

You make a good point.

Is an absolute fucking disgrace.

100 Alicia Keys
99 Hall & Oates
98 Depeche Mode
97 Pretenders
96 Journey
95 OutKast
94 Mariah Carey
93 Pearl Jam
92 LL Cool J
91 Green Day
90 Elvis Costello
89 Beastie Boys
88 Bee Gees
87 George Michael
86 N.W.A.
85 The Band
84 Curtis Mayfield
83 Earth, Wind and Fire
82 Steely Dan
81 ABBA
80 Mary J. Blige
79 Eminem
78 Judas Priest
77 Lynyrd Skynyrd
76 Run-D.M.C.
75 Rush
74 The Cure
73 Van Morrison
72 Janis Joplin
71 R.E.M.
70 Def Leppard
69 Tupac Shakur
68 Otis Redding
67 Coldplay
66 Justin Timberlake
65 The Doors
64 Talking Heads
63 Notorious B.I.G.
62 Genesis
61 Cream
60 Whitney Houston
59 Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
58 Cheap Trick
57 Iggy & The Stooges
56 KISS
55 Peter Gabriel
54 Public Enemy
53 Little Richard
52 Beyoncé
51 Billy Joel
50 Sade
49 Parliament-Funkadelic
48 Rage Against The Machine
47 Jay-Z
46 Ramones
45 Al Green
44 Joni Mitchell
43 Ray Charles
42 Metallica
41 Van Halen
40 The Police
39 The Kinks
38 Sly & The Family Stone
37 Fleetwood Mac
36 Paul McCartney
35 Johnny Cash
34 Tina Turner
33 Guns N’ Roses
32 Black Sabbath
31 John Lennon
30 Aerosmith
29 Radiohead
28 Elton John
27 Aretha Franklin
26 Neil Young
25 Chuck Berry
24 The Velvet Underground
23 AC/DC
22 The Clash
21 Bruce Springsteen
20 Marvin Gaye
19 U2
18 Pink Floyd
17 Queen
16 Madonna
15 The Beach Boys
14 Nirvana
13 The Who
12 David Bowie
11 Bob Marley
10 Stevie Wonder
09 James Brown
08 Elvis Presley
07 Prince
06 Jimi Hendrix
05 Bob Dylan
04 Rolling Stones
03 Led Zeppelin
02 Michael Jackson
01 The Beatles

Please don't throw the "white guys with guitars" epithet at Talking Heads. They aren't Motley Crue. Their songs are almost never about killer guitar solos.



Rolling Stone put them on the cover as exactly that in 1987.

Of course it is, but it's also a snapshot in time of musical impact. At least for that body of voters.

I guess you're still pissed about this ranking:



Don't sob uncontrollably into your pillow under your autographed Wham! poster like the last time you brought this up. Remember, it's only a list.

Actually, in a recent update, The Talking Heads are at #100.

Only I didn't say anything about "white guys with guitars." I said white guitar-driven band. That doesn't mean they have to have killer guitar solos.

For the record, I like the Talking Heads' funky, quirky style.



They've put a lot of artists on their covers in the 1980s.

Sweet.

Of course. But only one with the blurb "America's Best Rock Band."

We need to recognize that all lists are subjective, I mean we don´t hold the absolute truth. I think this list is very good because is backed by solid research and criteria, but at the end is only our opinion.

For example, by now I can tell who is responsible for almost every place on this list (gminer = Deep Purple, Clash = The Who, Sampson and Bruce = Fats Domino, Pave = Pearl Jam, etc.) and I don´t see it as something wrong. I have always believed that DDD is more than anything a community, and as such, this list should reflect the general opinion of our community (obviously always using facts as part of the discussion / decision process).

Sigh.

The Who was #7 on this list when I first discovered this website. They subsequently switched places with #8 Led Zeppelin. I helped reverse that decision. That's all.

I also doubt that Pearl Jam's placement would be any different if not for pave. And I thought Fats Domino was too low when I took over the list, and moved him up to 13 without Sampson or Bruce saying anything about it.

In Chicago's case, since there is some reason to consider Chicago's '80s music rock, or at least some of it, it's probably best to count it if in doubt.

Another question with Chicago is whether they do well enough in the rest of the criteria as a whole to justify a spot. I would say that of the artists currently on the list, Chicago, Billy Joel, and Eric Clapton are the 3 whose place on the list is most dependent on popularity. That is, I'd say they are the 3 who do the worst in the other 3 criteria. If so, then maybe one of these 3 should be dropped. But I wanted to raise the question first to make sure I wasn't missing anything on them.

I would say Chicago is the only one of the 3 that has any influence to speak of. Not all that much, but more than the other 2. I don't see much cultural impact from any of them. Clapton probably has the most musical impact of the 3, primarily for the Layla album, but maybe also a little for 461 Ocean Boulevard, Slowhand, and Unplugged. Joel seems to be liked more by non-rock artists than by rock artists. I haven't seen much interest in Chicago by other artists.

Jimi Hendrix?