Has your list of fav bands/artists changed over the years?

AboutAGirl

oh, be nice
Joined
Apr 21, 2005
Posts
2,693
Reaction score
11
Fun thread. This is actually something I think quite a bit about, so I can diagram it pretty clearly.

Every couple of years I get into something new that expands my scope. Fun fact, in 2001 when I only owned about 6 or 7 CDs, I was really into that 'Wheel in the Sky' song and I listed my favorite bands as:

1. Led Zeppelin
2. Pink Floyd
3. The Doors
4. Journey!
5. The Who

I then explored the wide world of classic rock. Some lesser fascinations include Yes, and Ten Years After. By 2004 I had a much better grasp on music and my list looked like this:

1. Led Zeppelin
2. Pink Floyd
3. The Doors
4. Neil Young
5. Bob Dylan

In '05, Alice in Chains and Nirvana were added to the menagerie, as I explored grunge during the height of my depression. Then came Tom Petty, who I had been listening to since 2001 but who only became one of my favorite artists after I heard his folkier 1990s albums like Wildflowers and Echoes.

During my romantic period in '06 I also became very fond of some great indie artists, namely Neutral Milk Hotel and Regina Spektor.

In 2007 I was experiencing quite a bit of turmoil in my life and as a result I went through a massive metal phase where Pantera and Metallica entered the "pantheon." These first ten bolded artists are what I consider my classic ten, the groups that will always have a special significance because I really grew up with them. I'll always invariably have the largest cache and most poignant memories about listening to those bands as I came of age. The list cuts off right about when I left uni and became an adult.

But a lot of those bands, which completely rocked my world, and did it for years, haven't necessarily all carried over to today. They'll always have their rightful and fully deserved place in the pantheon, but I don't necessarily listen to them that much. For Zepp, Floyd, and Bob Dylan, I've overplayed them so thoroughly in the last 13 years that I mainly enjoy them in small doses now. For Nirvana, Alice In Chains & Pantera, they simply don't have enough material to inspire a living, breathing interest in me over 5, 10 years. I need new material to explore, artists with 15, 20, 30 albums. I wish that these bands could still be around and putting out new material but sadly they aren't. (I'm not that fond of the new AIC.)

'Phase Two'

Okay, so back to 2008 & 2009. After college I was feeling pretty burned out on music and I started to explore more obscure things. Recreational intoxicants may have also play a certain role. My taste became more eclectic as well. I became very enamored with the hypnotic, fearsome metal of Burzum, and the submersive groove of The Breeders. I also had a big rap phase with Immortal Technique and Eminem. For a while I very much thought The Pixies would be a lasting favorite of mine but my interest in them ultimately didn't hold, sadly. GG Allin was also really good, but mainly just for his acoustic/country material.

My music listening stagnated again until in the last couple months of 2009 I picked up a couple Neil Young remasters, which rekindled my love for Neil and Tom Petty, as well as inspired a bunch of 90s alt-rock listening and basically I was re-oriented from my metal, rap, and indie era back to the rock n roll stylings of my youth. This rekindled love for rock is what prepared me, believe it or not, for my transition to pop. Because there aren't any pop songs that are good in the same way a Burzum, Immortal Technique, or Pixies song is good. But a 4 minute Tom Petty or Neil Young love song? Yeah, you can see the connection.

'Phase Three'

At work they had installed this corporate radio device so I was listening to 40+ hours of their choice material a week. What's really amazing, though, is that for a while it had an enormous, truly enormous catalog of material and it was extremely, insanely diverse. So I discovered countless great songs through this system and that's how I first heard Taylor Swift, Kesha, and Katy Perry. Miranda Cosgrove also won me over, her style kept erratically changing, which was great for a variety-junkie like me (sadly she doesn't make music anymore). This was new music for a new age, I was finally over my depression and I had also decided to curtail recreational intoxication and so this happy, sober, clear-cut music was perfect for me.

After 2010 & 2011, my life has really settled down, and it's done something really cool to my taste in music (as well as TV and film). For the rest of my life I have always been a complete phase jumper, going from one extreme to the next. But now that my life has steadied, for the last few years I've really been able to enjoy all of my favorite things simultaneously, for the first time ever. I don't have one particular mode, phase, fancy, or orientation, I just like it all at the same time. On any given day I might listen to a 20 minute Burzum noisefest, followed by T-Swift single, a misogynistic Dr. Dre rap and then a political treatise from Ani.

Throughout all of it, the primary constants have been NEIL YOUNG and TOM PETTY. While I wouldn't have thought it was possible in 2004 or 2006, I sincerely enjoy them much, much more today than I even did in my youth. Their immense catalog, perpetual variety, and their dedication to continuously release exciting new material today has made them invaluable for me. Sometimes I feel like, they're my only real favorite bands, since as much as I love other groups, you could add the next 20 best acts together and they still wouldn't match Neil or Tom alone.

Today I've calmed the jets and I mostly stick with exploring my pre-existing favorites more richly deeply. My only major acquisition in the last couple years has been Ani Difranco, who really knocked my socks off with her hard-edged acoustic rock and nearly Dylan-level mastery of the lyrical persuasion.

So there you have all my favorite bands over the years. The ones that stuck, a few that didn't... The bolded ones are the big favorites and the italicized ones are my secondary favorites.
 

rocknrollpestcontroll

Jammin On The Drums
Joined
Aug 4, 2013
Posts
877
Reaction score
4
Location
Right Here!
not really, I'm not as big of a Bon Jovi fan as I used to be, nor Tom Petty,
I used to not like Rush so much but they grew on me:D before I started listening to the good music (classic rock) I was basicly listening to what ever my brother and sister listened to wich was: "Billy Talent" "Simple Plan" "Green Day" stuff like yech.... "Eminem"..... before I matured enough to see where the real music was:D
 

architect

Supine In The Sunshine
Joined
Mar 21, 2010
Posts
3,475
Reaction score
18
I've always loved music, even since I was a little kid. My grandmother and I used to dance to Tony Orlando's Knock Three Times On the Ceiling If You Want Me and Ukulele Man. I still have that record...

With my parents listening to oldies and folk rock, my brother listening to metal and hard rock, and my sister who likes pop and dance music along with classic rock like Fleetwood Mac, I was influenced from all angles with music.

There was a record player in the basement and a stack of records, mainly classical and Herb Alpert, but there were a few that stuck out and I listened to them regularly. I would go down stairs turn down the sound on my Nintendo and put on a record. I still have all the vinyl and I can name them all now: Foreigner- 4, Pink Floyd -The Wall, Journey-Escape, Asia- s/t, Michael Jackson-- Off The Wall, AC/DC-- Let There Be Rock, Fleetwood Mac- Rumours and Jimi Hendrix -Smash Hits.

I was a child of the 80's so MTV greatly influenced my tastes also. We got MTV when I was 8 years old, so I think that was 1984. I knew right away that I liked the rock and metal over the pop and dance music.

I didn't seriously get into specific bands until I was about 14. That's when I really discovered Pink Floyd. They will always be my favorite band. That will never change.

I had a really big Led Zeppelin phase when I was in high school, but I kinda got burned out on them as well as bands like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and AC/DC. While I like them I'm not going to run out and get their whole discography. But once I have a cd or album I never get rid of it. I learned my lesson on that the hard way. You never know what you'll want to dip back into later in life.

My metal phase began in my late teens with Black Sabbath, Metallica, Megadeth, DIO and then eventually, Slayer and Type O Negative.

In my early twenties a friend of a friend of my brother's introduced me to a techno/acid house/hardcore band called Lords of Acid.

Later on one of my young co-workers and now good friends introduced me to Ween.

I don't really lose bands or artists from my whole scope of music, except for country which I cannot stand. I dated a guy in high school who tried and failed to get me to like country music. I thought I liked it for a while but I was wrong. The only thing I came out of that with was a love for Alison Krauss and Union Station. But country was quickly dropped from my repertoire forever.

In the last five or so years I have become more of a prog-head and I have discovered Jazz fusion, which I absolutely love to death. I discovered bands like Iceberg, Kraan, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Camel, Passport, Caravan, Gong, Kevin Ayers, Jean Luc Ponty, Billy Cobham, Secret Oyster, Isotope, Babe Ruth.


I know that was a long winded answer, but for the most part my tastes have expanded rather than changed. And I can still appreciate that Tony Orlando and Dawn record my grandmother and I used to dance to when I was five years old, even though when I was sixteen I thought it was crap.
 

Aktivator

aka Hightea
Joined
Mar 20, 2006
Posts
2,034
Reaction score
11
Location
Nyc
My list of fav bands/artists is like an unfinished book that keeps growing and changing. Growing up I never really put bands into a favorite list or stated "X" is my favorite band. I was too busy discovering new bands to turn and look back at who my favorite bands were. Looking back I would say I grew up with my favorite bands being all British bands ( The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd), the west coast bands (Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Santana, CSN&Y, The Byrds) and the early prog bands (Yes, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, ELP, Genesis, ELO).

In 76 I started to see concerts and the live experience molded my tastes. I quickly discover my distaste for hard rock so out was one of my favorite bands Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and in was prog(although that term didn't exist at least for me)-Pink Floyd, Nektar, Gentle Giant, Mahavishnu Orch and John McLaughlin, Yes, ELP. Also I had moved across town and met a friend that introduced me to the Strawbs, Renaissance and Gong plus live grateful dead tapes.

When my older brother had moved back from college and was deep into the punk scene which I wasn't a fan of. I started digging into jazz(Parker, McCoy Tyner, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Oscar Peterson) and classical. However, my brother blasting Patti Smith somehow got me into her. Which lead to the Talking Heads and Elvis Costello. Although my favorite bands were still in the prog and west coast band scenes but it was nice to listen to something else.
Also around this time I fell hard for Frank Zappa and floored by his live Halloween show. Also Peter Gabriel's solo albums were a staple which lead me to Kate Bush.

In late 81 I saw u2 and quickly became a fan. College introduced me to REM, Violent Femmes, Joy Division, The P Furs, New Order, The Police, XTC, Tears for Fears, The B52's. Then later on The Smiths and the Cure.

After College I really was listening to the radio and modern alternative rock along with making mixed tapes from the radio-Stone Roses,Depeche Mode, The Sugarcubes, Hüsker Dü, Pixies, Lemonheads, Sarah McLachlan. I was still listening to my favorites and started making lists. I would think my top 10(1989) would have been Beatles, Pink Floyd, Gong, u2, REM, Talking Heads, Grateful Dead, David Bowie, The Who and Zappa.

By the early 90's I started turning into four types of music:
The jam bands - Dave Matthews band and Blues Traveler later on Govt Mule
The girls-Kate Bush, Jewel,Sarah, Fiona Apple, Bjork, Tori Amos, Pj Harvey, S Crow
The new British bands - Oasis, The Verve, Pulp
The Seattle Bands-Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Screaming Trees

During this time Pearl Jam, Tori Amos and Blues traveler would be in my top 10 to 15. Add Radiohead by 97-98.


By the late 90's I had my hands on my brothers 60's and 70's 2000 album collection. It led me to become a big Bob Dylan and Neil Young even though I was a fan of both plus introduced to lots of psychedelic obscure bands. Also was seeing Govt Mule several times and was a big fan.

Then in 2000 my life changed as I met a new group of friends and started going to lower east side, NYC local bands. Interpol, The Strokes, WHite Stripes, Stellastarr*, The National, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and several others. Also these friends kept giving me lists of british bands I never knew about-Suede, Doves, The Charlatans, Starsailor, Elbow, Super Furry Animals, Sigur Ros etc.

Also starting in 2001 I started going to a festival called NEARfest something I did for the next 10 years. This festival reintroduced me to prog and a whole world of new music-porcupine Tree, IQ, Marillion, several Italian Prog bands, Magma and so much more. By 2002 I was seeing 100 concerts a year and became friends with several people in the music industry from bands to promoters to writers. If a new indie band hit the scene I most likely saw their first New York show. By the time the smoke cleared The Decemberists, Interpol, Arcade Fire, The Wite Stripes, Doves, Elbow all were favorite bands of mine.

Today my list of top bands would cover all the years of my music listening career:
1. Gong
2. The Beatles
3. Pink Floyd
4. Bob Dylan
5. Tori Amos
6. King Crimson
7. Genesis
8. Grateful Dead
9. Neil Young
10. David Bowie
11. Radiohead
12. U2
13. Frank Zappa
14. The Strawbs
15. Peter Gabriel
16. The Decemberists
17. Elbow
18. Pearl Jam
19. Sigur Ros
20. REM
 

Magic

Woman of the World
Staff member
Administrator
Joined
Apr 20, 2009
Posts
24,780
Reaction score
4,519
Location
Ohio, USA
My essentials are locked but the list is expanded A LOT! The biggest change in my musical artist was when Aerosmith was dethroned by the Smashing Pumpkins. BTW, I still love Aerosmith! They just dropped a bit! :D

:eek:

:box:


I didn't know Aerosmith was one of your favorites! I knew the Pumpkins was your fave, but I didn't know they dethroned Aerosmith.




Aerosmith has been my favorite band ever since I first heard Dream On and they still are my fave.

I have gone through a lot of musical phases in my life......the skating rink phase (early 70's) with bands like Gap Band, Dazz Band, and Funkadelic. This led to the clubs and Disco (late 70's into early 80's). I absolutely LOVE disco....this was my "coming of age" party phase which has a lot of fun memories attached to the music.

The early 80's found me living in the south and I found a fondness for southern rock.......a fondness which I still hold dear to my heart. I also was introduced to country music in the 80's. Country isn't my fave genre, but I do have some country artists I really enjoy like Rascal Flatts. My fave phase of the 80's would most definitely be Glam Metal.......and this love for guitars, spandex, and big hair has carried over into the present day...

The 90's! Grunge! Alice in Chains.


To be totally honest, grunge was the last movement in music that actually caught my ears. And NO I'm not a Nirvana fan.
 

Soot and Stars

I AM SOOT!
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
16,434
Reaction score
123
Location
Small Town NH, USA
:eek:

:box:


I didn't know Aerosmith was one of your favorites! I knew the Pumpkins was your fave, but I didn't know they dethroned Aerosmith.




Aerosmith has been my favorite band ever since I first heard Dream On and they still are my fave.

I have gone through a lot of musical phases in my life......the skating rink phase (early 70's) with bands like Gap Band, Dazz Band, and Funkadelic. This led to the clubs and Disco (late 70's into early 80's). I absolutely LOVE disco....this was my "coming of age" party phase which has a lot of fun memories attached to the music.

The early 80's found me living in the south and I found a fondness for southern rock.......a fondness which I still hold dear to my heart. I also was introduced to country music in the 80's. Country isn't my fave genre, but I do have some country artists I really enjoy like Rascal Flatts. My fave phase of the 80's would most definitely be Glam Metal.......and this love for guitars, spandex, and big hair has carried over into the present day...

The 90's! Grunge! Alice in Chains.


To be totally honest, grunge was the last movement in music that actually caught my ears. And NO I'm not a Nirvana fan.

I loved the Pump album to know end! I wore out that cassette particularly listening to "What It Takes"! :heheh:
 

Magic

Woman of the World
Staff member
Administrator
Joined
Apr 20, 2009
Posts
24,780
Reaction score
4,519
Location
Ohio, USA
I loved the Pump album to know end! I wore out that cassette particularly listening to "What It Takes"! :heheh:


Pump did have a lot of popular songs......I'm real sick of hearing "Janie's got a Gun". :heheh:

I'd have to credit you for a lot of my newer alternative music discoveries.....I actually gave the Pumpkins a listen back in the mid 2000's because of you...Mellon Collie, Siamese Dream, and Gish get listened to in my album rotation about as often as Toad the Wet Sprocket's "Dulcinea" (fantastic album).
 

Zombeels

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2005
Posts
1,717
Reaction score
15
Mine change every year. I will always love the golden oldies of Beatles, Kinks, Zombies, Small Faces, Rolling Stones..etc, but bands like Heartless Bastards, Radical Face, Fanfarlo, Girls In Hawaii have entered my list of favourite bands in the last 2 years.
 

Khor1255

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2011
Posts
2,967
Reaction score
68
I was a fanatic for Kiss at one point. Kissco disco cured me of that. I went for a while with having Rush as a favorite band but while honestly their older stuff probably makes them sill qualify there I'm not into ranking my tastes like I used to be.

Every band I've ever really gotten into are still part of my regular repertoire.

I guess the main thing that has changed is I sit down and listen to stuff I previously panned with extreme prejudice. If someone would have told my younger self I'd be going out of my way to listen to John Denver or Django Reinhardt when I was older I would have hit them with all the reasons why that could never happen.

When it's a matter of taste, never say never I guess.
 

Aero

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Posts
2,734
Reaction score
344
Late 70s
As a child, I borrowed my parent's cassette tapes which included Blondie's "Parallel Lines" and the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack and was hooked. To this day, I still like both records.

Early 80s
Junior high got me into 80s pop and New Wave. "The Hurting" by Tears For Fears was one of my favorite records. Was also introduced to Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast" by a friend and immediately loved it, despite the fact that I listened to no other metal groups at the time. For whatever reason, I would go through the next 20 years without listening to another Iron Madien record.

Mid 80s
While in high school, I loved bands like The Cure, Depeche Mode, and other 80s pop and New Wave.

Late 80s
Became a Goth at school and started listening more to groups like Sisters Of Mercy, The Mission, Christian Death, etc. Still liked all other 80s music too.

Early 90s
Went to college, got out of the Goth phase, and lamented the fact that the 80s were over. Didn't care for any 90s music, even Nirvana, and instead looked into classic rock for my "new music." Got heavily into Zeppelin and The Doors.

Mid - Late 90s
Hated 90s music by this time, except for Nirvana which I started to appreciate. Thought Pearl Jam was okay too.

00s
Was buying shirts in The Gap one day and saw The Killers singing "Mr. Brightside" on MTV. It was like a gift from the 80s gods and New Wave had been reborn in another time. I began to search out similar bands but was disappointed that this 80s revival didn't last as long I had thought it would, nor would any bands be as good as The Killers. Nor would The Killers feel the need to make another "Hot Fuss." In disappointment, I began to look further into classic rock and found some of my now favorite bands like APP, ELO, and and the little known Mark-Almond Band.

2010s
Pop music still sucks and I'm still lamenting the 80s being over. Tastes in music haven't changed much since 2010 but I've discovered that Austrialia had some good bands in the 80s much to my delight. Also discovered other lesser known bands I never heard on the radio before like Tarney Spencer which I've grown to love.

And now, here we are in 2014....
 

Find member

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
30,655
Posts
1,064,718
Members
6,354
Latest member
edmerka

Members online

No members online now.
Top