Agree with it or not, The Beatles are the undisputed greatest band in terms of legacy. But what band holds number two? The Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin? On the one hand, the Stones are still going and have an incredible amount of great music. Led Zeppelin was around 12 years, but outsold the Stones during that time.

Both bands have some of the best rock songs ever written. Both bands propelled a new musical direction: The Stones, hard rock; Led Zeppelin, heavy metal. Both bands were epic, at their peak, live. Both bands have their Dirty Work's and their In Through The Out Door's. So who is it?

I will refrain from my opinion until a couple of you have shared yours. I know this is a Stones board, so of course I'd imagine it'd lean towards the them. I am more interested in why you think either of the two (or another band) has the rightful claim to the spot.

I know these legacy rankings really don't mean anything, but I figured we could have some fun discussing it.

EASY ....Try shaggin' ta Stairway Ta Heaven .....



ROCKMAN

I have often had this battle in my own mind about these two bands but i would bring a 3rd to the fold ' Pink Floyd' Now i have always been a number 1 fan of the Stones but the other two are a close run this. i saw Zepplin in 76 and Floyd in 94, Floyd just blew mw away, i will never forget that night at Earls court. Saw both bands at the same venue.

For me the Stones are still there at the top, the excitement going to a Stones concert can't really be topped but...... If i had the choice to see one of these 3 bands one more time it would be a close run thing.

It's definitely between the Stones, Zep and Floyd. I'm tempted to edge towards the Stones on this one. They're a British institution. Everyone knows 'ol rubber lips, but how many on the street would recognise Dave Gilmour?

I would rank the Stones and THE WHO as the second and third greatest bands of all time.

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Rockman
EASY ....Try shaggin' ta Stairway Ta Heaven .....

LOL, before I am really going to give it a try ... did you ?

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Keep On Rolling

So, the question is which band is "greatest" in terms of legacy ?

Seems simple to me: Stones
The Stones had a short, but great legacy before Zeppelin took flight and continued that legacy (although not as great as before) after the Lead Balloon crashed.

In most other terms it's like comparing apples & oranges, two very different (but great) bands.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-03-06 00:50 by Edith Grove.

did you ?

No Rollin' Hansie it'd be no good .... Ya'd be have more fun with Goin' Home ...



ROCKMAN

There's no doubt in my mind that the Stones' legacy will be much more appreciated after they dissapear.
Right now it's a toss up between Floyd, Zep and, I'd add, Doors for #3.
1 and 2 is Stones, Beatles or Beatles, Stones the order you prefer.
When the Boys cease as a band they'll be the #1 IMO.

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Rockman
Ya'd be have more fun with Goin' Home ...

Thanks

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Keep On Rolling

I have always considered Stones a classic rock band, and Zepp a hard rock band (however a melodic, bluesy hard rock). So I wouldn't compare the two.

The last 30 years of the Stones existence hasn't really helped their legacy. If anything, it's been tarnished a bit.
Starting with Mick's solo career, and recently with Keith's book...the list goes on and on...downward spiral.

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

The reason The Beatles are so idealized is twofold: their Rubber Soul/Revolver thru Let It Be records are all classics (some may argue the White Album had subpar filler) and they never played live during those years except the rooftop gig. To me that's only half a legacy, even though that studio legacy of songwriting and pioneering use of the recording studio deservedly immortalizes them. And like an athlete who retires at their peak (or even too early) after winning the Super Bowl or World Cup, the mind thinks, "wow, the Beatles could have kept cranking out classics for 5-10 more years", never having a Division Bell, ER/DW/SW, ITTOutdoor stain the legacy. And since they never had to play their coolest shit live vs. when Page or Gilmour has food poisoning or technical malfunctions or Jagger has a sore throat on SNL '78, all everyone has heard is the perfect studio creations. Voila, idealized. So I always consider it an unfair contest. The longer lasting bands have an impossible task. The mystique fades, you can be seen as a caricature of your former self, etc. Legacy means what you've left behind for others to judge/enjoy, and artists like The Stones (and Dylan and Elvis and Bowie and..) who have produced a good ammount of imperfect work alongside their classics will always be judged harsher by the public. It doesn't matter that Sticky Fingers, Exile, Dark Side of The Moon and Physical Graffiti all lay waste to Let It Be, Rubber Soul and The White Album.

For those very reasons (fewer years of dreck), a legacy list topped by the Beatles, would probably be followed by Zeppelin. LZ3 and ITTOutdoors are arguably their only weaker albums, Coda is an afterthought, and then there's no crap from 1981-2011, right? Just a few 'reunions'. More idealized, less mediocre work diluting the legend.

So while I'd take the Stones from 1968's TTPDarkly and BB thru 1978's SG any day against any band's catalog, and would put Stones, Zep and Pink Floyd as the "top rock bands/acts of all time" in the world, the Beatles wouldn't even make the top 10 on that list. Same with the top albums of all time; Sgt P, Abbey Road and Magical Mystery Tour aren't shoo-ins over Sticky, Bleed, Exile, Dark Side, Wish, Animals, Houses of the Holy, Phys Graf, LZ4. But in the terms of an overall legacy, you're right, The Beatles will probably always win.

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Rockman
EASY ....Try shaggin' ta Stairway Ta Heaven .....

Number 2? The Stones are NUMBER 1. You decide about beatles x led zepelin. but the stones are NUMBER 1.

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Kirk

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Rockman
EASY ....Try shaggin' ta Stairway Ta Heaven .....

ya, it's more of a spooning song.

stones its not even an issue IMO, not sure zep is even second to be honest, i also would put the WHO above zep

Zeppelin would probably come out top. They left pretty much at the top. The rot had started to set in of course but it hadnt completely ruined them

I know solo artists may not count but "in terms of legacy", the Stones are only third to Beatles and Dylan.

The Stones paved the way for bands to play electrified rock n roll blues, with an outlaw dangerous image. Zep did it better at times, but the path had been blazed by the Stones.

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Rockman
EASY ....Try shaggin' ta Stairway Ta Heaven .....

As so often happens, Rockman puts it in terms we all can understand.

No contest, The Rolling Stones. Come on, yeah maybe in hype Zep reins, but nothing will top The Stones. One, they are the real deal. Originals, that set the pace for Zep to follow up on. The Stones will always be known as the originals for the rock brit blues infusion. Then you have longevity. Doesn't matter what you think about their later years, the fact still remains, they still lasted the test of time, and that will be another rock n' roll historical benchmark. Then their iconic symbol as a name and marketing, The Stones. They are the grand masters and Zep were followers.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-03-06 08:32 by whitem8.

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melillo
stones its not even an issue IMO, not sure zep is even second to be honest, i also would put the WHO above zep

Absolutely.

And The Beatles legacy is mostly as a POP band: the Stones influenced The Stooges & The New York Dolls while The Beatles influenced The Carpenters & Abba...

It's like saying who was the biggest influence in the 50s. Sure, everyone wanted to look & act like Elvis & it was he who inspired many to pick up a guitar in the first place, but it's undoubtedly Chuck Berry & Little Richard who had the greatest long term musical impact.

yawwwwwn your missing the point so no use in tryin.

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whitem8
yawwwwwn your missing the point so no use in tryin.

Led Zep make me yawwwwwn (just as they've always made Mick & Keith yawn)...

Well said winter. Good thinking. But to me it will still be the Stones. But that's only personal

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Keep On Rolling

I think Led Zepp is more a myth than The Stones. Each of their members individually overcome each of The Stones. Their fan base is larger The Stones one. But in terms of legacy, meet you in a century or so.

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phd
Their fan base is larger The Stones one.

I doubt it very much...

It's impossible to know for sure with a band who haven't toured in over 3 decades, but if they'd also carried on with an inferior line-up & toured as much as the Stones then would they really have continued to attract such big crowds?

As far as bands go...

1. The Beatles
2. Led Zeppelin
3. Pink Floyd
4. The Rolling Stones
5. AC/DC
6. The Who

If the Stones had stopped after Rewind, which would have been a great jumping off point, they might be higher. But they screwed up and kept going. They'll always be lower on that legacy chart because they kept going. Their legacy is less because of it. All those 1960s songs, yeah, but after that it gets real thin - Brown Sugar, Tumbling Dice, Angie, IORR, Miss You, Beast Of Burden and Start Me Up.

That's it. That's nothing compared to what radio plays of Zep and The Beatles. And unfortunately, that's what people remember.

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Hairball
The last 30 years of the Stones existence hasn't really helped their legacy. If anything, it's been tarnished a bit.
Starting with Mick's solo career, and recently with Keith's book...the list goes on and on...downward spiral.

Why do people insist that Mick's solo career has tarnished the Stones' legacy but ignore the horrors of some of The Beatles' solo projects? I don't know about you, but I don't think 'Let's Work' & 'Lucky In Love' have been quite as embarassing as Macca with Rupert & The Frog Chorus.