The Ben Maynard Program

EP. 114 BILLBOARD'S 50 "BEST" BANDS....WHAT A JOKE!

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Rock deserves better than vague labels and fuzzy math. So we pulled up Billboard’s “50 Best Rock Bands” and put it under a bright stage light, testing every pick against a simple, honest standard: influence, longevity, catalog depth, cultural impact, and rock radio airplay. When “rock” balloons to include pop, funk, and industrial, the rankings break. We call out the genre creep, make the case for the true architects, and then rebuild the canon with a cleaner set of rules.

We move briskly through Billboard’s 50–1, pointing out the head-scratchers and the slam-dunks. Def Leppard buried below ska-pop? The Eagles in the 30s? Van Halen outside the top 20? Meanwhile, we recognize where they nearly nail it with Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles. Along the way, we explain why influence matters more than hype, why radio presence across decades is a real signal of staying power, and how a band’s catalog—not just one album—cements a legacy. Think Sabbath’s blueprint for metal, Van Halen’s guitar revolution, Metallica’s thrash made global, and The Beach Boys’ harmonies that still shape modern rock.

Then we present our objective top 10. It’s not a favorites list; it’s a criteria-driven canon that respects the builders and the innovators. We also spotlight the glaring omissions that any serious rock list must wrestle with—Hendrix, Deep Purple, Bowie, Elton, Chuck Berry—and show how their DNA runs through nearly every great act that followed. If you care about what makes a band truly great, you’ll find a fairer framework here and a better map for exploring rock’s past and present.

If this breakdown hits a nerve, good—rock should spark debate. Drop your top 10 in the comments, tell us who we overranked or missed, and make sure to subscribe, rate, and share so more people can jump into the fray. Your list next. Let’s hear it.

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I also welcome your comments. email: pl8blocker@aol.com

SPEAKER_00:

Hey there. Welcome into the Ben Maynor program. Thanks for being here. Before we get started, it's just you and me today. Um, but let's get into some housekeeping first, all right? And um I'll just remind you guys that this program is available wherever you stream your podcasts. Just search the Ben Maynard program. Boom, it's right there. Go with it. But subscribe to it, no matter what platform you're using. Subscribe to it. That way, when new episodes drop, uh you'll get a notification. All right. Um, however, like most of the time, if you just can't stop with this right here, you can't resist it, and you're watching on YouTube, then first and foremost, thank you very much. Uh, but you got to do something for me. One, subscribe to the channel. Again, you get notified as new episodes are published. Then you got to give me a thumbs up and leave a comment. You know that I dig your comments and I reply to them. And you have to tell a thousand of your family and friends, too. You guys are really lacking in that area. So you guys step it up, all right? Uh, let's see. And then next, uh, you can follow me on Instagram, simply Ben Maynard program, all one word, or on the TikTok, and that is the Ben Maynard program. So there are plenty of ways to take in this show for your dancing and listening pleasure. And before we get into the topic today, which I've been saving for a little bit, um, I just want to remind everybody about the last couple of episodes. Um, there was the the one with the with country artist Olivia Harms Dynamite episode. It really is. Look, if you guys haven't heard it, you don't have to watch it because if you watch and you got to see this thing right here, some of you can't resist, but some of you don't need that. But man, I'm telling you, dynamite, so good. And what a what a just a sweet young lady. Um, I've just become uh uh just quickly become a big fan of hers. And so you guys really need to check that out. I'm not gonna get into it too much, but but really check that episode out. And then uh last Saturday, um, I had another country artist and another dynamite young lady. I don't know how I'm getting lucky with this, but it's so good, so good. Ashley Felton. And again, just like Olivia, I'm quickly becoming a big fan of hers as well. Just um very talented, um uh great voice, great voice, and um just uh just a sweet young young lady. And it was just a pleasure having her in the studio here. Um and again, becoming a real big fan of both of these artists, and I'm gonna definitely be out there supporting them wherever and whenever I can. Uh, so go out, uh you know, go back and and listen to these two episodes because they're fabulous. They really, really are. Yeah, I guess I'm gonna pat myself on the back. Not because anything that I did, it's just because of what they did. So then um let me let you guys in on this uh coming Saturday, Christmas show 2025. All right, that's coming Saturday. So strap in, be ready for that one, and um it's gonna be fun. It's gonna be fun. All right, that's all I'm gonna say. I'm not gonna get into it. You guys have to wait till Saturday. You will have to watch, listen, whatever it is you do, however, you take in this uh this program. All right. So uh that's it for uh programming, and let's get into what I want to get into. And like I said, I've been sitting on this one for a little bit. Um I guess I don't know if I want to say waiting for the right time, but who says when the right time is? Let me make sure my ringer's off. And it is. Okay, good. Um, some of you may or may not be aware, so now you're going to be, but Billboard magazine put out a list, uh, I guess probably about three weeks ago or so. And their list was the um the 50 best rock bands. Okay. Now we talk a lot about I talk a lot about Billboard on this uh on this show because I talk a lot about the charts, the top 40, the top 200, with hot 100, whatever it is. Okay. Well, Billboard magazine is like the the the the biggest trade publication in in music, you know. Uh so they put this list out, like I said, it was about three weeks ago, and um it's yeah, I'm laughing. I'm laughing because it's I don't want to even say kind of a joke. I take like kind of out of that sentence because it makes me sound wishy-washy. It is a joke, it really is. So, what I was gonna do is go down that list of 50 and uh kind of give you my commentary a little bit, and then I put together my top 10 list, my my 10 best or greatest rock bands of all time. And honestly, the criteria for that, well, here's what I'm gonna do. I'll get into my criteria when I when I give you my my top 10. But I want to read, and I'm gonna try to do this carefully because uh I'm on my iPad here, and because I don't subscribe to it, the it just I get pop-ups and all that kind of crap. So it it might take me a bit. But I'm just gonna read what Billboard, how they started the uh the article or their list, and uh let's go. See, it just jumps. Come on here. Right, just as we start recording, now it wants to start acting bananas. Let's go do this. Come on, come on, seriously? All right, we'll start this thing over again. There we go. All right, it says the 50 best rock bands, staff picks. All right, well, that's the first problem. It says one thing is for sure, every year around the time of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, there's going to be talk about bands. Of course, there's which bands are getting in this year, and who from those bands is showing up or performing, which bands from the earlier or later history have gone unfairly uh have gone unfairly unrecognized. That didn't make sense, but okay. But on anyways, and then inevitably there's discussion to which bands have yet to get in and which are the most overlooked, and which seem destined to forever be on the outside. And then finally, which previously ineligible bands will soon be up for voting for the first time. And do any of them have a real chance of getting in? What does this have to do with the best, the 50 best bands? Okay, with this year's rock and uh rock hall uh induction finally happening, we think it's a good time to look back on rock's history from the very beginning until this century and figure out which bands we at Billboard think still serve as the benchmarks for greatness? Which of the established canon of rock greats do we still think merit their spots in the genre's inner circle? Which newer artists do we think belong in there with them? Which artists from regrettably oft-excluded sub-genres or nationalities do we think additional room should be uh should now be made for? And it's jumping. And who do we think is still the absolute best of the best? Over the past three weeks, we've been counting down our picks for the 50 greatest rock bands of all time, finishing uh this Wednesday with the top 10. We tried to keep the focus on true bands, so we didn't include vocal groups who don't play the majority of their own instruments. Okay, that's whatever. Uh, or bands who mostly fell in back of their top build front person, but we weren't overly fussy in defining rock from there. That is a problem. That is just like right in your face. So you know this is you know, right here, that tells you everything you need to know that this is gonna be a joke. Read our choices over the next few weeks. No, we're gonna read them right now. Let us know your own picks and long live rock and its many exemplary practitioners. Long live rock. Yes, okay. So let's get into it. I now I'm done with the website and it's jumping around. So I just I I went and jotted them all down so I don't have to worry about the pop-ups and all that craziness. So look. For some reason, and and we'll get into the rock and roll hall of fame a little bit. But for some reason, the rock and roll hall of fame has has really bastardized that term, rock and roll. And all of a sudden, in the last probably 20 years, it's just become all inclusive. And if you record music, boy, that you're you're rock and roll. And I and I I know I've talked about it on the podcast before when we have our rock and roll hall of fame discussions, but what a it just no rock and roll is a genre unto itself. Now, there are sub-genres within rock and roll, but to say that an artist, and I'm just throwing this one out there, I'm not even saying it's on the list, I'm just throwing it out there. But to say an artist like Madonna is rock and roll is an absolute joke. All right. She is from the pop world, 100% from the pop world. Okay. That would be like saying, okay, well, Dolly Parton, a couple years ago, Dolly Parton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I don't want to say begrudgingly, but she told the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame herself. She sent them a letter saying, please do not induct me into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I am not a rock and roll artist. Save that spot for somebody who deserves it. Well, of course, they did listen to her and they inducted her. Um, but good on Dolly for for recognizing that. Now, Dolly Parton is in the country music hall of fame, but what about a band like, I don't know, Deep Purple, who is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but but shouldn't they be eligible for the Country Music Hall of Fame? Well, no, of course not. Because they're not country music. Just like Dolly Parton's not rock and roll, you're not gonna find a rock and roll artist in the hip-hop hall of fame or the RB Hall of Fame or the Pop Music Hall of Fame. So why does a hip hop artist belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Why does a pop artist belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? I know it's their it's it's it's their thing, it's it's the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's deal, but they like they change they change the criteria along the way. And it's just it's absolutely ridiculous. I don't want to go on too much of a rant on this, but you will see the jokes in here, all right. And and not only that, but to say the oh well, we we didn't include vocal bands. Okay, well, a vocal band is not a band. That's a that's a vocal group, but we didn't we didn't include bands that basically uh uh you had the front man with the band. So you would say take uh Prince and the Revolution, okay? I'm not even saying that's rock and roll, but just uh take that for instance, um something like that, okay? Buddy Holly and the crickets, that kind of thing, all right? Utterly insane. It's so stupid. It's just so stupid. All right. So let's get into this, and you guys can be, you know, you guys can shake your heads along with me. All right. So let's start at and look, and I believe that longevity uh plays a part in this too. I this is when we get down to my list, you're gonna see exactly where I'm coming from. All right. So at number 50 starts off with the red hot chili peppers. Okay. Um yeah, are they a popular band now? Yeah, and they uh certainly they've been around since the uh early to mid-80s. Um never my thing at all. Like one or two songs that I that I like. They do they do fit the criteria for rock and roll, which honestly, you hear their music on rock radio. That should be the criteria right there. Not first and foremost, but certainly very important in the equation. The artist, the band needs to be played on rock radio. All right. So at number 50, red hot chili peppers. Eh, whatever. Um, I honestly I wouldn't even put them in the top 50 myself, okay? At number 49, the cure. Right out of the gate. Not a rock and roll band. It's kind of a new wave, post punk, emo type thing. Okay, it's not rock and roll. It doesn't matter how influential the the band is, um it's not influential in the rock space. Okay, so you're already you're already making a laughing uh stock of yourselves, Billboard. And of course, this is from their staff. This is staff picks. I don't know how old their staff is. Probably most of them are younger than I am. I can't say for sure, but that would be my guess. All right, at number 48, Slater Kinney. Does anyone in my audience even know who Slater Kinney is? I never even heard that name before the list, before seeing it on this list here. Have no clue. I I can't go through and read the commentary that Billboard had on each one of these artists. We would be here till tomorrow. It's not gonna happen. So I'm gonna give you my own commentary. But I can tell you this not rock. All right, at 47, Death Leopard. Definitely a rock and roll band, hard rock band, a um an influential band hit the scene in around 1980, part of that um that new wave of British heavy metal, even though they're not really a heavy metal band. But uh a great band, a very popular band, and I think all that stuff counts too. Um, are they influential? To some in some regards, yes. In some regards, they are, especially when you listen to their music and you listen to the layered vocals in their choruses and that type of stuff. Great, great harmonies, great layer in the vocals, great production. And for crying out loud, they have two albums, not one, but two, that have both sold more than 10 million copies, two Diamond Records. Okay, so yeah, I definitely consider Def Leopard in the top 50. Um, I think 47 is a little bit low. All right, a little bit low for Def Leppard. At number 46, Oasis. Look, I know Oasis is coming off this year, the the biggest tour worldwide, um, and the immensely popular. Um, yeah, their stuff leans rock. I mean, you hear their music on rock radio, yes, like three two or three songs. I don't think that they have the long history that that makes them eligible to be in a top 50. I just don't see it. I don't see it at all. All right, at number 45, the Stooges. So Iggy Pop Stooges, uh like really like one of the first, if not the first, punk band uh to hit the scene. Uh certainly influential in the punk world. Um not a lot of history there, as far as the the the the length of history, certainly not overly popular as far as generating record sales, that type of stuff. So I I'm just I gotta pass. I gotta pass on them. At uh number 44, Cafe Tak Vaba. I don't know. I don't know how I'm pronouncing it. I think it's a Latin band. It's T-A-C-V-B-A. So pardon me, okay? Uh yeah, sorry, you're out. Uh number 43. This is this is good stuff. Number 43, no doubt. Okay. Um certainly kind of a pop punk jazzy ska. Band, uh, certainly popular in the mid to late 90s. Yeah, very much so. Uh, probably got a little bit of radio play or you know, uh on on like alternative rock. You didn't hear him on a classic rock station uh or an album-oriented rock station, just wasn't happening, um but like in the 50 best bands of all time, really? Especially wait, ahead of Death Leopard? Really? Yeah, uh no, sorry, it's not happening. Number 42, Earth, Wind, and Fire. Now, if you guys have listened to this program long enough, and you've heard my episodes when I break down top 40s and that type of stuff, you know that I love Earth, Wind, and Fire. They're fantastic. Love their music. They are not rock and roll. Okay, fabulous musicianship, great songwriting, great um uh uh presentation on their on their stuff. Just just they're they're wonderful. No, they are an R B band. Maybe even a little funk. Not probably less on the funk, but they are an RB band. They are not a rock band. They so they don't belong on the list of the 50 greatest or 50 best rock bands. If this was a list of the 50 best RB slash funk bands, these guys would be top five. No doubt. Uh no doubt. Ha ha ha ha. All right. Number 41, the band, which uh many of you may not be aware. They're uh all Canadian artists except for um Libon Helm. Yeah, I think that was his name, something like that. Uh I I know Robbie Robertson, the rest of the I said they were Canadian, yes, I already said that, but they were Bob Dylan's uh backing band, Air Go. They're called the Band when he had gone electric. I think they did a like one or two-year tour with him. That was about it. But um yeah, staying power, no staying power with these guys. Uh, I wouldn't even say so much that they were an influence. They certainly rocked, yes, certainly in the rock space. If I was going to include them in this list, it would definitely be probably 50, no higher than 50. So that's yeah, anyway. Um, number 40, Blondie. Now, Blondie came out of the the punk scene in in New York in the mid to late 70s. Then Blondie also did some pop leanings, disco leanings, sort of, a little bit with uh Heart of Glass or um the theme song from what was it, uh American Gigolo, Call Me. Um a little bit of um reggae, dance, that kind of stuff. But Blondie was an artist she did hear on rock radio. Um as far as the best in the top 50. Yeah, I think Blondie, I think that's a little bit high. Um, yeah, I I think it's a little high for me. Maybe on the list, I don't know, maybe on the list, maybe 49. I don't know. Um, but yeah, I think I honestly I just think 40 is a little too uh a little too high. All right, 39 Green Day. I I I know like two songs from the band. I know they're immensely popular. Punk band, pop punk, that kind of stuff. Um best just because you're popular doesn't make you the best. Just because you've sold some records doesn't make you the best. Um I just I don't I don't I don't see like the influence from them. I don't see where there's so many other bands getting influence from Green Day and and and and and breaking on the scene. I I've just I haven't seen it in the last 30 years. Um so yeah, see, I I exclude Green Day, scratch them off. At number 38, Santana. And not only that, even if Green Day were on the list, I you're gonna put Green Day ahead of Def Leopard? Go climb a rock. Okay, at number 38, I said Santana. Santana, great band, revolving door when it comes to lead singers, um, great material, great musicianship. Carlos Santana to this day is still out there doing it. I think he has a like longtime residency in in Las Vegas. Uh okay. I could put Santana in the top 50. Uh, and maybe, I mean, maybe around, maybe around there. That might be a good spot for Santana. Okay. I'm okay with that. At 37, Thin Lizzie. Um, certainly an influence on a lot of a lot of bands, a lot of American bands as well. Never ever reached the uh the status in America that they did in Europe. They're huge, huge overseas. Huge. They had probably a dozen to 15 hits over there, and here in America, people know them primarily for like two, two songs, like Jailbreak and The Boys Are Back in Town. So, um, but great. I mean, they had like a triple guitar thread at one time, you know. Uh and and and Phil Lynett, uh, great frontman, songwriter, great singer. Unfortunately, he passed away way too soon. I think in 1986, he was like 36 years old. But um, yeah, okay. I I could go with Thin Lizzie. I could I could definitely go with Thin Lizzie, and I would leave him right there at 37. I mean, maybe a few spots lower, but I'm I'm comfortable there. I'm okay. I'm okay. At number 36, the Ramones punk, punk band came out of New York in the mid to late 70s. Uh, certainly a cult following, big cult following, not a lot of staying power. They weren't together. Like uh, they don't have a great history and great big catalog of music and great album sales, that that type of stuff. Were they influential? Uh yeah, to a certain extent, I would say, sure. Sure. Uh is 36 a good spot for them? No. They should be down further on the list. Definitely not ahead of I you can't. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You can't put a band like the Ramones ahead of a band like Def Leopard. It just, I'm sorry. It just doesn't work. Okay. Does not work. And at 35, this is a joke. This is this is just a joke. The Eagles. Really? Really? Okay. Come on, the Eagles. One of the greatest selling bands of all time, um, which goes to popularity. They influenced the whole like West Coast sound, California sound. Uh yeah, and and great musicianship over the over the their career. Certainly great songs, otherwise, they wouldn't be one of the greatest selling artists of all time. Uh, and so yeah, they belong on the list. 35. That is an absolute joke. That's an outrage. That is an outrage. All right, at 34, and this is part of why it's an outrage. Seriously. Sorry about that. Excuse me. Nine inch nails. More like industrial. Um I guess sort of influential in that way. Yes, and of course, nine inch nails. I know they went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Uh but yeah. Um that's wow. Yeah, that's just I know it's it's not my thing, and I'm not trying to hold that against the band. But uh not top 50. Not top 50. Maybe just outside, maybe 51. If the list was 51, then maybe they'd be 51, but not top 50. No. And again, here at number 33, the white stripes. Really? Where's okay, where where's the influence? Where's the big giant record sales? Um, I mean, the white stripes are not even together anymore. It's just Jack White on his own. So where is that? I know that on Thanksgiving, Jack White played the halftime show at the the Lions game, and okay, good. And it was good that it was a rock act and not some uh track fest by a pop artist or something like that. But uh best? Really? I mean, they're like one song, and I barely even know the title. It's like Seven Nation Army or something like that. Really? No. Not and honestly, where nine inch nails, I would say maybe 51. Yeah, white stripes, maybe 60. Not even close. Sorry. Sorry, it's just not cutting it. Especially when you see what's at 32, Aerosmith. Really? One of the great American bands of all time, Aerosmith. Come on. They were like, they were like they wanted to be America's version of the Rolling Stones. And especially early on in their career, especially the whole that whole 70s era. Very much, very much so in that vein. Uh a little harder edge, certainly, than the stones, but yeah, very much like that. And uh at 30, what let me put my glasses back at 32, really? Seriously? That's that's a joke. That is a joke. It should be way higher on the list than this. At 31, Paramore? When's the last time I heard a Paramore song on rock radio? Really? I like they what they've influenced artists like Olivia Rodrigo? When's the last time I heard her on rock radio? Seriously? They don't even belong on the list, they don't even belong in the top 100. They don't belong anywhere near this list. Okay. At number 30, Pearl Jam. Okay. I could probably accept them in the top 50. Yeah, I mean, I do like some of their stuff. I do, especially like from their first two albums. I don't go real deep into uh into Pearl Jam, but I do know that a lot of their stuff over the last 20 years or so has changed in sound than where it was uh in the early 90s when they broke. Uh but uh just on the strength of like their first two albums, yeah, I could see it. They did have some influence, big records, big sales, great popularity, still popular to this day. Um I can see him in the top 50. I I 30, I think maybe a little bit high, but I could I okay, I could see him on the list. And they definitely don't need to be in front of Aerosmith. Absolutely no way, no how. At number 29, REM, a band that hasn't been around for like, I don't know, a good 20 years, something like that. All of a sudden, I'm getting nasally. Wow, that's bananas. But uh, yeah. Started in the early 80s. Uh wow, I just don't know. I mean, there's so many bands out there. I just I'm not I I know they had a big run in the late 80s, early 90s. Uh big songs. I j no, I just don't see it. I don't I don't see them in this top 50. Just don't see it. Uh okay. At number 28, the Almond Brothers. Okay. I can see it. A lot of influence over Southern Rock, jam bands, that type of thing. Uh great band, not a great long history, um, but certainly a lot of a lot of influence, popularity, great musicianship, uh, great songs as well. And and a great band early on. Um so I could see them in the top 50. I mean at 28 might be a little bit high. I could see them maybe in outside the outside the number 30 slot, somewhere around there, maybe. At number 27, again, doesn't belong anywhere near this list. Parliament uh Funkadelic. Why? Well, it's right in the name, Funkadelic. Okay, it's an RB funk band. George Clinton immensely influential in uh in that genre, but not in the rock space. Okay, so that's a disqualifier right there. I'm sorry. I actually'm sorry, not sorry, but you know where I'm going with it. Doesn't belong there. Number 26, the pretenders. Uh great band. Um kind of sort of I don't want to say punk because it was never really, really never really sounded like that at all. Never really sounded like punk, but it was uh not really new wavy, but it was a good rock sound though, and you hear pretenders on the radio still to this day. Okay, and they have a great uh probably eight to ten songs uh that you all know. Um I could see that a lot of influence too, especially on their uh um on their look. I could see uh I I could see them in the top 50. I think I think at 20, I think at 26 might be a little bit too high, especially when you're putting the pretenders ahead of Aerosmith, ahead of the Eagles, ahead of Def Leopard. I mean, come on, just those bands right there, those ones stand out as the they should be nowhere in the the the bottom half of this list, not at all. Uh number 25, a band that's gotten a lot of run in the last year. And primarily, honestly, unless you're from unless you're uh, you know, uh of like of Latin heritage or you're from a Latin country, nobody ever heard of this band before last year, and that's Mana. They got some run because somebody nominated them and they got on the uh they got on the ballot for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Okay. I've heard some of their stuff, it's not rock, it's kind of like it's it's it's it's very pop ish uh or poppy, however you want to say that. Uh but no, are you kidding me? Nobody ever heard of them. How could it be the one I know they've been around since like the early to mid-80s? I know that. But nobody ever heard of them. Seriously, and not because someone got a, you know, I don't know, a rock in their shoe or whatever, and they ended up on a on a on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot. You know, now they're one of the 50 best bands, especially again, ahead of Def Leppard, ahead of the Eagles, ahead of uh uh Aerosmith. No way. No way. Okay, number 24, the Velvet Underground. I'm just automatically gonna say, no way. It's just not there. You know, just because Lou Reed was drugged out half the time, you know, when they were performing and all that, and they were just known for that, that doesn't put them in the top 50 bands. It just no, no way. I don't care, just doesn't even belong. Number 23, Guns N' Roses. A very small catalog, like four albums, four and a half albums, really. I think they have an EP. Maybe five, five albums when you count you got to count Chinese democracy. Um tremendous band, tremendous history, really, 40-year history, and uh one of the biggest bands. They've been, you know, since since the uh since Duff McKagan and and and Slash came back together with uh with Axel, you've got three-fifths of the original lineup, and they've been together for 10 years now, going on 10 years, I think. And they've just been killing it year after year. It's just it's insane. Uh, one of the best-selling albums of all time, Appetite for Destruction. So, yeah, I would say Guns belongs on this list, and uh, I think that's a pretty good spot for them at 23. I think that's a pretty good spot. Okay, at number 22, Rage Against the Machine. I don't think they belong in this list at all. I know they made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I don't think they're worthy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame either. It's, you know, I mean, it's like rock, punk, rap, stuff like that. Okay, that's fine. And you will hear their music on rock radio. Not necessarily, uh, you yeah, you start you starting to hear it on some classic rock. Um, it was always primarily like alternative, but uh or modern. But uh yeah, it's it's not my thing. I don't think there's been a huge, I don't think they've been tremendously influential. I don't think they're it's just not there. It's not there. I know they tried to come together a couple times, a couple, three times, broke up, all this kind of stuff, whatever. Dysfunction. I don't care. None of that matters to me. It's about the songs, it's about the music, it's about the greatness of it, that type of stuff. And I don't hear it. I don't hear it at all. So that's me. Um Halen at number 21. Really? Really? Seriously? So let me see. Uh that that's that's funny. That is actually funny. I mean, at least they got Van Halen on the list, but at 21? Are you serious? I mean, Eddie Van Halen, like completely changed guitar playing technique. I mean, are you serious? You know, the popularity of this band doesn't matter what version of the band, whether it was David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar, huge songs, huge albums, huge popularity all over rock radio, all over top 40 radio as well. So, yes, they belong on this list, and and at least they got it right. Billboard got something right, but at 21, that's a joke. That is a joke. Especially when you look at who's at number 20, Radiohead. Oh, wow, tremendous! What a tremendously influential band. Oh, so good. Please. Please. I hope you can hear the sarcasm just dripping off the microphone. Uh no, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible. Don't even belong in the top 50. Sorry. I don't go deep into Radiohead, but I can tell you one song and everyone knows it. It's creep. Okay, fine. But give me something else. Give me some tremendous record sales. Give me some tremendous staying power. Give me this great history. It's not there. Give me some influence. Who did they influence? Did they influence the next great generation of rock bands? I don't hear anybody saying, oh, yeah, so influenced by Radiohead. Oh my gosh, they were so good. And then that band went off to do great things as well. Yeah, I don't think so. At number 19, the Beach Boys. Yeah, definitely. They got it right. The Beach Boys, I think it's a little low for the Beach Boys. I really do. I honestly think that's low. But come on, tremendous influence. Another California sound. The the like the the beach sound. It's right there, it's right there in the band name. Master songwriter in Brian Wilson. Uh great influence. And at the time the Beach Boys were huge in the 60s. It was like it was like this competition between the Beach Boys and the Beatles to see who was doing what. And uh why? Because they were in they were influencing and competing against one another. That's how good they were. Now the Beach Boys, yes, they still go out and do shows. I don't even honestly, I don't even know who's in the Beach Boys anymore from the original band. I have no idea. Uh but when you go look at the first 20 years, 25 years, forget about it. They had some tremendous stuff. Tremendous stuff, tremendous influence, tremendous popularity, tremendous uh musicianship. Yeah. Great songs. Historic songs, staying power. Okay, at number 18, the clash. Uh, out of that punk scene. Uh okay, I could see him on the list. I could, I could see him on the list. Uh not a long history, not not great staying power, um, but popular, good songs. Uh a bit on the influential side as well. Uh that's a little high. 18's way too high. 18 is too high. I could see him in the top 50, but 18's too high. Especially again, Van Halen, Aerosmith, the Eagles, Def Leopard, and I'm gonna even throw the Beach Boys in there. At number 17, Hart. Uh Wow. Okay, Hart. Certainly a great band in the 70s when they broke. Um you know, kind of a one-of-a-kind of its band with two women, two front women, or uh I don't want to say front women, but two women leading the band. Um, but great songs, a great band behind the Wilson sisters as well. Uh, turned the decade into the 80s. They were they were they were losing some steam in as as far as popularity, but still put out good stuff, still put out good product. I I mean, I enjoyed it. And then, of course, they hit huge with their biggest album in the catalog in 1985 with the self-titled album, where they kind of just remade themselves, sort of. Um but uh I could see them, I could see them on this list. Yeah, yeah, I give it to them, but it's it's it's a little too high, it's a little too high for me. Again, especially when you're talking about Van Halen, Aerosmith, the Eagles, the Beach Boys, and even Def Leppard. I know Hart predates Def Leppard a little bit, but yeah. Very popular, they the girls are, very popular, but uh, and they've got great record sales, but they don't have two diamond records like Def Leppard does. Uh at 16, The Grateful Dead, never ever my thing. I I I like kind of like maybe two, maybe three songs, but uh I could I could see them on this list. It's not my cup of tea, but I could see them on this list. And and and maybe I don't know. I could see it maybe top 25. I'm not sure at 16. Sorry about that. And they clear my throat. Take a sip of water. Yeah, I think 16 might be a little bit too high for greatest rock bands or best rock bands. But I can see them on the list. Yeah, I could see them on the list, maybe somewhere around 25. Especially when you put a band like this ahead of them, the talking heads. Come on. Come on. I I honestly I like some of the talking head stuff. I really do. But I uh I don't even know if talking heads belongs on on the this top 50 list. I I really don't think they do. And they certainly don't belong on this list ahead of Van Halen, Def Leppard, the Eagles, the Beach Boys, Aerosmith. No way. No way, no how. Somebody is like, you know, puffing the Chiba over there at Billboard. Uh, and if you're just tuning in, uh sorry if you are, uh, we're going over Billboard's uh 50 best bands of like all time, okay? And uh it's a joke. It but don't laugh, okay? It's a joke, but don't laugh. All right. Uh let's see. 14. Credence Clearwater Revival. Boom. Hands down on this list. I think 14 might be a little bit low for CCR. I think CCR, well, I don't know. CCR, I could see him definitely in the top 15. So maybe 14 is a good spot for them. Great band, great songs. John Fogarty rocks. John Fogarty smokes it. He's awesome. Still out there doing it today at like 80 years old, and and and still sounds great. Great band behind him. Just so good. So good. Just timeless songs. Timeless. Talked about it a few weeks back. A few weeks back when I uh talked about the the greatest, greatest hits albums of all time. And CCRs was in there. Just, oh man. Yeah, CCR definitely belongs on the on this list. Uh uh 14, okay. I don't know. Maybe I put around 12, 13, 14. Right. And they slot in pretty good right there. It's not bad. At number 13, huge, huge band. ACDC. Enormous band. Had a good run of shows last year. Selling out stadiums. Huge catalog, huge songs. One of the biggest selling albums of all time in Back and Black, which is tremendous coming off because they had they they were just hitting their stride with Highway to Hell in America. They were just hitting their stride, and Bon Scott dies. So then what happens? They get Brian Johnson, write a new album, boom, hammer at home, biggest album in their catalog, one of the biggest selling albums of all time. I think 13. Wow. I don't know. I think 13 could be a little bit low. I put my own list together. But uh yeah. I think 13 might be a little bit low. At number 12, Metallica, one of the biggest bands in the world to this day, 40 years later, still doing it. Actually, a little uh when they what they break in 83, I think it was. Um, yeah. Uh they also, one of the biggest selling albums of all time in the black album. So uh big catalog, still doing it, great history. Uh great influence, too, and I'll get into that later. Great influence, they definitely belong on this list, definitely, and it number 12 could be a little bit too low. All right, number 11, the who no, I said the who. Yeah, uh, sorry. Ha ha. Anyway, uh, most definitely belongs on this list. I think 10, I mean, I think 11 is is a little low. Hugely popular, hugely influential. That first initial British wave coming over to the states. Tremendously uh, tremendously popular. Uh, great songs, great catalog, great history. Uh yeah. There's there's a lot more I can say, but I don't want to keep this thing going. I want to get through this and give you my list, and then you guys can scream at me, holler at me, and put your list together in the comments as well. Who, the Who, great band. Uh at number 10, Nirvana. I was never, ever, ever a Nirvana fan. I don't know who they influenced. I know that they were they were they were the anti-80s hard rock because they wanted to go to they they did all their shopping at the thrift store. Uh they didn't want to shower and they wanted to look at their shoes and scream and holler. Um, so I don't know, was that influential? I don't know. Uh I know it was a change in direction for the music, uh, for for the for the music industry. Um yeah. Yeah, I don't know. Okay, I guess I could put them in the in the 50 best bands of all time. They are definitely not number ten. Definitely not number ten. In my estimation, I would I would put Pearl Jam ahead of Nirvana. Okay. So anyway, maybe that's just me. At number nine, Black Sabbath definitely belongs on the list. I think number nine could be a little bit low. I don't know. I keep flipping over my page here. Uh but you know, the creators of heavy metal, what we know is heavy metal. They were the the architects of that genre, the fathers of heavy metal, so to speak. Okay. So, enough said, they belong on this list, and I think they do belong in the top ten. All right, at number eight, Sly and the Family Stone. Do you hear them on rock radio? Uh-uh. Good stuff, influential when you're looking at RB, funk, that type of stuff. Yeah. Good stuff, but not rock and roll. Sorry. And the band contained one of the greatest bass players ever, and that was Larry Graham. And I love Larry Graham. You guys know I love Larry Graham. So, uh, but no, they don't belong on this list. They don't, they don't, just they don't belong on the list. I'm sorry. Sorry, not sorry. Okay. At number seven, you two. Huge band, still huge to this day. Uh 45 year. Oh, you know, started in in Ireland, what, in uh the late 70s, 77, 78, somewhere around there. Debut album 1980 with boy. Great album, by the way. Great album. Um, some big albums, long history, big catalog. Uh do they belong in the top 10? They definitely belong. I definitely on this top 50. Definitely on the top 50, not top 10, not top 10. It's too high for U2. Uh, I am not a fan of what U2 has done the last 30 years as far as their music direction. Their stuff in the 80s is like spot on. Love that stuff. Love that stuff. But uh yeah, yeah, that's number seven's way too high. Okay, at number six, Fleetwood Mac. Yes. I think that they they definitely belong on this list. I don't I don't even know where they are. No, but definitely one of the top 50. I think maybe six is a little high for them. But there was like two versions of the band. There was the the version in the 60s with Peter Green, and and they there was it was a more bluesy, that type of stuff. And then uh, I don't know the whole history of Fleetwood Mac, so I'm not even gonna try to pretend, but then you flip the script in the mid-70s, and they bring in this couple, Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, and Lindsay's a tremendous guitar player and a great songwriter. He's a great producer as well. He has a vision. And uh man, that was it. It was all over, but the shock after that, one of the biggest albums of all time. I think it's it, and that's rumors, and it fights it's like like the top, the top three or four albums of all time, sales-wise, are like Michael Jackson's Thriller, the Eagles' greatest hits, uh, Fleetwood Mac rumors, and I think Hotel California. And it's like rumors and and and eagles' greatest hits. They they like keep jockeying for position. They keep, you know, one one time this one's two, the next time it's three. So one of the greatest selling albums of all time. They definitely belong in this list. I think six is a little bit high, but they definitely belong. I would even put Fleawood Mac probably top 20. Yeah, definitely. Okay, number five, Queen. I said Queen. I'm getting real nasally. Sorry about that, folks. Uh for me, they definitely belong on this list. I I do think it's a little high for them, and you might scream at me, and I love Queen. I love Queen. And and when I get into my top 10, you'll see where I'm going with it. Okay. But Queen, a tremendous band, tremendous history, tremendous uh catalog, tremendous songs. One of the biggest singles of all time. Another one bites the dust. Serious? Are you kidding me? Um, I mean, they're still huge around the world. They're bigger around the world than they are in the United States. That's crazy to say. And they might, honestly, they might be more popular now than they even were when Freddie Mercury was still alive. I know it's hard to believe. I think maybe the biopic Bohemian. Me and Rhapsody may have had something to do with that. That they're just gaining so much more popularity and steam again. Not sure, but tremendous, tremendous stuff. I I do think it is, I think I do think five is is high. At number four, Pink Floyd definitely belongs on this list. Definitely belongs on this list. They're top, they're I don't think they're top 10. And you'll see why. I don't think they're top 10. I think they could be top 15 for sure. Same thing with Queens. Queen is, I mean, if this lit, if it you'll see. I don't want to get into it right now. You'll see. Uh at number three, you guys, you guys might be able to figure this out already. Okay. At number three, now this is Billboard's list. Okay, I don't agree with all this stuff. You know, I think that these people were high. At number three, Led Zeppelin. Tremendous catalog, tremendous influence, tremendous history. It was a little bit short because of John Bonham's death. Uh, but they put out a lot of product in that short history. They put out a lot of music. Uh, the influence, the songs, again, like I said, the popularity, the album sales. They're one of the biggest selling bands of all time, record uh sales-wise. Uh, so yeah. Uh, I'm I'm comfortable with that. At uh number two, the Rolling Stones. Huge. Still going. I mean, 60 plus years later. Are you kidding me? I mean, Mick and Keith, they're in their 80s, and they're still playing shows. They were doing shows last year, selling out stadiums. Tremendous history, catalog, influence, uh, popularity, all those things. All that stuff. And then uh, in the number one spot on Billboard's 50 best bands, the Beatles. I yeah, I I just I don't I'm just not sure if you can argue that one. Um just not. I just I just don't know if you can. You might be able to flip-flop the Stones and the Beatles. I I would be okay with that. I would be okay with that. But uh yeah, I'm okay with the Beatles at number one. So, all right. Here we go. Let me take another sip of water. I am so stuffed up right now, I can't believe it. I hope you guys can't really tell, but I can't even breathe out of my nose right now. I don't know why I step into the studio and all of a sudden I plug up. This is bananas. Ugh all right. We're gonna power through my top 10. All right. Now, I'm gonna preface this by saying that I don't necessarily like it. Some of the bands in my top 10, it's not that, oh, this is my favorite band or not. I'm trying to be completely objective here and break this down based on the stuff that we talked about the criteria, the influence, the popularity, record sales, history, longevity, all that stuff kind of packaged together. And uh, and that's where I came up with this. So uh you guys um you guys may or may not agree, but it's not my 10, it's not my top 10 favorite bands. If it was, um yeah, like three of these bands would be on the list. So like I said, I'm trying to be very objective here. All right, at number 10, Metallica. Uh, for a lot of the things that I said earlier, Metallica, their longevity, their catalog, album sales, one of the biggest selling albums of all time. But they Metallica really ushered in, created, whatever it is you might, however you it is you want to phrase it, thrash metal. Name another thrash band that predates Metallica. Okay. And uh I mean at the time in like 1982, 83, whatever it was, it we kind of called it speed metal. And you still call it speed metal, that's okay, but but it's through I mean thrash. Just like Black Sabbath is like the the the architects of heavy metal, uh Metallica, like the architects of thrash. So they're at number 10. At number nine, I have the the uh the eagles on here. Okay, for all the things I said before, where wherever they were on the list at like 33 or something like that, way down there, 35. No, that was absolutely insane. The Eagles, I told you, popularity, two of the best-selling albums of all time. Uh great songs, still so popular. Are you kidding me? They're doing weekend shows like every weekend, they're doing two, three shows at the sphere selling it out in Vegas, and you've only got uh three core members of the band still, okay, and they're selling out uh the sphere still more than 50 years later. At number eight, Black Sabbath, again, architects of heavy metal. Um they created a genre and and yeah, they okay. I'll talk about one after I get done with the top my top ten. I'll I'll bring some other stuff into this here. But nobody knew what heavy metal was before Black Sabbath, they just didn't. They were the they were the the that down tuned sound and you know came out of uh what Birmingham, England. So it just yeah, but a tremendous influence without Black Sabbath, you don't have Metallica. There's another band that you don't have Metallica without, also, but I'll talk about that later. Number seven, Van Halen, for the reasons I discussed earlier history, catalog, longevity, popularity, record sales, the innovation of Eddie Van Halen, the creativity of Eddie Van Halen as a musician. It just can't be it can't be uh overstated. Can't be one of the greatest, if not the greatest guitar player of all time. It just that's it. Facts are facts. At number six, Kiss. And and why would I put Kiss ahead of Van Halen? Uh simply because Kiss did something that nobody else was doing at the time. Yes, Kiss was influenced by a couple of other bands, uh, notably what Alice Cooper was doing, notably what the New York Dolls were doing, but then KISS did it on a different level. And uh it had a tremendous influence on the way bands then presented their live shows after KISS. And uh and Ace Freely. Ace Freely, one of one of the most influential guitar players in rock history, influenced hundreds, thousands of other guitar players, I mean millions around the world, but but as far as you know, guys in rock bands, you know, rock bands that you know. Uh I mean, he used to say that if he knew that he would have so much influence over you know thousands of people, he would have practiced more. I butchered the uh the quote, but I'm paraphrasing it. So, yeah, so Kiss, I put it six. And number five, Elvis Presley, who was nowhere near the top 50. And why did I put Elvis Presley on there? Because without Elvis Presley, you don't even have Led Zeppelin. Without Elvis Presley, you don't have the Beatles. That's where they got their influence from. The song remains the same. I I can't recall the song, but there's a there's a there's a moment in the song where Robert Plant says, one more time for Elvis. Elvis was an influence on Robert Plant. So so yeah, so I put Elvis Presley in there. Um then at number four, the Who, for everything I said before, and maybe then some that British wave coming over to the United States, uh tremendous stuff. At number three, Led Zeppelin for all the things I said, the popularity, the album sales, the musicianship, the influence on other bands that came after them, uh, all that. Just fabulous stuff. At number two, the Rolling Stones, and at number one, the Beatles. And and there were some other artists. If this had been like if I had put together a top 15, that's what makes it hard. I mean, obviously, this is just my opinion, but but I I think I come with some some you know some good arguments for this stuff. But artists that were left off of this list, the top 50, period, were Crosby Stills and Nash, Jimi Hendricks, are you kidding? Not even in the top 50. This is how high these people are at at at Billboard. This is what a joke this is. David Bowie, Elton John, Billy Joel, and again, going back to uh Elvis, going back to the Beatles, you don't okay, without Chuck Berry, you don't have the stones. Okay, I just couldn't put Chuck Berry in the top ten. That's all I just couldn't do it. But without Chuck Berry, you don't have the stones. He was a tremendous influence on Keith Richards. Little Richard. Where were these guys on this top 50? Okay. That was one I held back because I said without Black Sabbath, you don't have Metallica, but without Deep Purple, you don't have Metallica either. Deep Purple is a tremendous influence on Lars Ulrich. It's his favorite band. So where are these bands? Now Deep Purple. Uh yeah, now if if my list was, you know, 15, 16, whatever, these artists that I just mentioned, they're all in it, including Aerosmith. Including Aerosmith. I couldn't fit Aerosmith into the top 10. I wish I could. I wish I could. I would have to take out somebody to fit him in. I love Aerosmith. Uh but Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and another band that's it will never ever come anywhere close to any of these lists. Uriah Heap. They all came up at the same time. And the deep purple sound and the Uriah Heap sound a lot of times is very similar. They both had big keyboards, Hammond organs, uh, synthesizers, that type of stuff later on. Uh and uh great players too, and Ken Hensley and and uh and John Lord. But Deep Purple gained more popularity in the United States where Uriah Heap didn't. So Deep Purple would definitely belong, you know, in that top 15 or something like that. Okay. Where Uriah Heap, in my estimation, yeah, they could be top fifty, they could be on the top 50, but but they didn't have that influence. Uh but you know, just the artists that I mentioned, are you kidding? Seriously, not anywhere near this top 50. That's just insane. So anyway, uh, I hope you enjoyed that. I did. It kind of drove me nuts, and I tried not to uh get too crazy about it. Scream and holler, jump up and down, nothing like that. So uh yeah, there's there's there's my list right there. There it is. Not that you can see it, but it's there. All right, so before I let you go, I want to remind you guys uh to go back and listen to the last couple of episodes with Olivia Harms and Ashley Felton. Uh great, great, great singers, great voices. Listen to it, it's good stuff. It really, really is. And uh yeah. And then oh, uh also uh coming up uh Saturday. Coming up Saturday is the Christmas show. So be looking for that. That's Christmas Show 2025. I will only divulge this to you. I will have my top 10 Christmas songs of all time. Okay, that's all I'm gonna have for you. I'm not gonna get into anything else. You guys are gonna have to listen or watch to find out what else happens on the Christmas show. All right. So, as you know, this program is available wherever you get your podcasts, wherever you stream them, just search the Ben Maynard program. Boom, it's right there. Go with it, subscribe to it, give me a five-star rating because I deserve it. Uh and uh yeah, if you're watching on YouTube, please subscribe to the channel, give me a thumbs up, and leave a comment. Leave your list, leave your top 10, okay? Or scream at me for something that I said wrong, uh, if I made you mad, whatever it is, okay. If I put down Radiohead or Nirvana or somebody like that, I don't know. Give me the business, whatever it is. But uh after you do all that on YouTube, then you got to tell 10,000. No, no, no. Let's let's go back to a thousand. You gotta tell a thousand of your family and friends, okay? Tell a thousand of your family and friends about this cool guy, Ben Maynard, and his uh and his cool podcast. All right. Uh next, you can follow me on Instagram at the uh at Ben Maynard. I gotta come up get them all confused, and then I can't breathe too, so whatever. Uh at uh the Ben Maynard program. Let's just get through it, right? Ben Maynard program, all one word. That is Instagram. Okay, geez Louise. Uh or follow me on the TikTok at the Ben Maynard program. That's where I'm a little more active. Put out some videos, that kind of stuff. Uh so we're done. Thanks for being here. Greatly appreciate it. I'll see you guys on Saturday. Have a good one, all right. This is the Ben Maynard program. Tell a friend.