Top American Bands II - Honorable Mentions

Ever since I posted the Top Ten American Bands Countdown, all I can think about are the bands that could have made the list... There are a lot of great bands out there, and I would be remiss if I didn't do an honorable mention list, and even with adding an extra ten bands, there are still some that were highly considered but didn't make it. Some of my personal favorite American bands (Cake, Weezer, Maroon 5, Counting Crows) still didn't make it onto either list!! Anyway - this is essentially MY list of the top American bands that I'd categorize as being ranked 11-20 on a countdown...

20) The Glen Miller Orchestra
Ok - so it's a Big Band - that still counts, right? Big Band music pervaded American culture for years, and the sound was perhaps best captured by the Glen Miller Orchestra. Most of the classic big band tunes that people know were made popular by this "band," who's sound dominated the airways from the 1930s-50s.

19) Live
They made some great alternative music back in the day - some great rockin' songs, but also some really insightful and soulful hits. Their ability to completely mix it up, earns them a spot on the honorable mentions list.

18) Linkin Park
I don't really like LP, but I'll give them credit for evolving over the years. They went from every song sounding virtually the same, to their last album effort, which was very solid and complex. The fact that their still around weeds them out from a lot of the other crap bands that surfaced around the same time they did.

17) Guns 'N' Roses
At first, this seems like a band more suited for the Top Ten Hair Bands, and while they would make that list too, I think they deserve a spot here as well. While so many of their contemporaries are laughable now, we're still enjoying great songs like November Rain and Sweet Child of Mine. Axel Rose may have been a pain, but the songs still rock.

16) Pearl Jam
One of the first grunge bands, and I personally think, the best. They made several hit albums, and are still together at touring nearly 20 years later.

15) The Doors
I don't get it - I don't particularly like their music, but everyone else does - everyone seems to talk about how ground breaking they were. I think Morrison's antics did more to break ground than their music did, but I'll defer to everyone and at least put them on this second tier list.

14) The Ramones
Their influence on the Punk scene goes without saying.

13) Greenday
They brought punk music into the homes of kids and adults who had never considered listening to punk music before, by adding a solid rock component as well. They opened the door for bands like Blink 182.

12) Nine Inch Nails
So, NIN is really more one guy, than it is a band, but not entirely - so Trent Reznor makes the list for being incredibly innovative, and for making songs that are really good to listen to, but which often have so many layers of sounds that they almost become freaky!

11) Tool
I'm not sure there is a band out there that could consistently top the level of sophistication Tool manages in their songs. Their talent seems to know no bounds. Maynard is such a great singer - sings with passion without screaming, and really has a beautiful voice. The lyrics are always phenomenal, and the best thing, is that so many of their songs completely change right in the middle, without a loss of continuity. The only reason they didn't make the top ten is simply because they are a relatively little known band to mainstream America.