Most Influential People/Artists in Music to You (And You Alone)

[timmay9]

This is opinions. Who do you think has influence music the most? Is it a band that inspired an entire genre, inspired a few bands who became huge, or just inspired you. It can also be a composer (ex. Beethoven) who made a influence that can be felt hundreds of years later. It can also be someone outside of music, such as a journalist or a deejay, even a songwriter or producer. Maybe even record label executives.

This is all based on opinion, but I thought I'd make a list on mine:

Bands
The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
The Kinks
The Velvet Underground
The Smiths
My Bloody Valentine
R.E.M.
Kraftwerk
Pixies
Funkadelic/Parliament
Sly & the Family Stone
The Who

Solo Artists
Chuck Berry
Elvis Presley
Bob Dylan
James Brown
Otis Redding

Composers
John Cage
Bach
Mozart
Wagner
Vivaldi
Frank Zappa

Non-Performers
Berry Gordy
Norman Whitfield/Barret Strong
Jan Werner
Lester Bangs
Les Paul
Leo Fender

[Lolicat]

John Cage is the only composer there I could enjoy.

[Soror_YZBL]

John Cage is the only composer there I could enjoy.

He's one of my "ugh" from the list, alongside Bach. Of course, my list would have phil glass which makes me a total dork.

[Lolicat]

I'm not so hot on classical music, other than Rossini and Schumann.

[Soror_YZBL]

I'm not so hot on classical music, other than Rossini and Schumann.

neither of whom are classical composers. :) they're from the romantic period.

[Lolicat]

neither of whom are classical composers. :) they're from the romantic period.

I was refering to classical as any sort of composer there in the way that most people do, yo.

Strange though, I ****ing detest Romanticism as a literary movement.

[Runesmith]

Just to me and me alone? Sounds like fun.

Bands
Depeche Mode
Devo
Beatles
Nirvana
Black Sabbath
They Might Be Giants
David Bowie (includes The Spiders)
The Cure
The Smiths
The Jam
Joy Division
Blondie
Roxy Music

Solo Artists
Elvis
Little Rich
Peter Gabriel
Bob Dylan
Bryan Ferry
Prince

Composers
Chopin
Schoenberg
Danny Elfman

Non-Performers
Alan Freed
Flood
Berry Gordy
George Martin (as a producer)
Phil Spector
Steve Huey
John Peel
Robert Christgau
Stephen Thomas Erlewine

[warthogdb]

I along with thousands of other bands got my license to practice punk rock from the school of the Ramones.

[Soror_YZBL]

I was refering to classical as any sort of composer there in the way that most people do, yo.

Strange though, I ****ing detest Romanticism as a literary movement.

LOL I *love* being an orchestral music snob. I split hairs on operas vs operettas vs light operas vs musical theatre, too. I had a ***** for a music professor in college.

[afterstasis]

bands

the mountain goats
simon & garfunkel
the beach boys
nirvana
sonic youth
husker du
amebix
catharsis
moss icon
black sabbath
darkthrone
burzum
lurker of chalice
alcest
wolf eyes
lightning bolt
sebadoh
OMD
my bloody valentine
slowdive
DNA
suicide
amon duul II
brainticket

individual artists not in previously mentioned bands

elvis presley
andrew wk
david bowie
neil young
keith fullerton whitman
prurient
knifestorm

composers

john cage
steve reich
phillip glass
terry riley
glenn branca
rhys chatham
arvo part
iannis xenakis

non-performers

joe meek
phil spector
raymond scott

[Alright_Computer]

Mily Cyris :)

[Insane3]

I'm not so hot on classical music, other than Rossini and Schumann.

Pff. Vivaldi wins. And Puccini.
@ Soror_YZBL: what is Vivaldi? Romantic?

[Insane3]

Strange though, I ****ing detest Romanticism as a literary movement.

Can't go as bad as Classicism.

[Bub]

Radiohead. They've influenced a lot of modern rock including bands like Coldplay and Muse. They deserve a lot of credit.

[neckermanncj]

Radiohead. They've influenced a lot of modern rock including bands like Coldplay and Muse. They deserve a lot of credit.

w000

Bands:
*** Shins
Radiohead
*** Cure
*** Smiths
Sigur Rós <--- SOOO MUCH!
Mates Of State
*** Police
Bright Eyes
of Montreal
*** Kooks
*** Veils
Against Me!
Joy Division


Solo Artists:
Andrew Bird
Thom Yorke
Sting

[Soror_YZBL]

Long list

Bands
*** Mission UK
ABBA
Marillion
Negativland
Blondie
This Ascension
*** Go-Gos
My Life with *** Thrill Kill Kult
Genesis
Sonic Youth
*** Bangles
Lush
Hawkwind
Big Brother and *** Holding Company
*** Spice Girls
Chainsaw Kittens
*** Cure
Duran Duran
Black Flag
Concrete Blonde
Joy Division
Human Drama
*** Ramones
Skinny Puppy
Nirvana
Throwing Muses

Solo Artists
Leonard Cohen
Madonna
Tori Amos
Christina Aguilera
Prince
Alanis Morrissette
Conway Twitty
Bob Dylan
John Lennon
Liz Phair
Steve Earle
Tina Turner
Reba McIntyre
J Mascis
Neneh Cherry
David Bowie
Rick James
Mike Watt
Gordon Lightfoot
Joan Jett
Snoop Dogg
Lucinda Williams

Composers
Kander & Ebb
Mozart
Tom Waits
Matraca Berg
Benny & Bjorn (ha snuck them in twice!)
Handel
Barry Manilow
Beethoven

Non Performers
Tony Wilson
Simon Fuller
Martin Hannett
Butch Vig
Suzy Waud
Ivo Watts
Brett Gurewitz
Irene DeCook
Nick Sansano
Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher
Legs McNeil
John Peel

[Soror_YZBL]

Pff. Vivaldi wins. And Puccini.
@ Soror_YZBL: what is Vivaldi? Romantic?

baroque. bach stole his act.

[Im-So-British---Not-Really]

*** FOO FIGHTERS for sure, they're my favorite, gotta love those guys
Nirvana
Sunny Day Real Estate
*** Offspring
Oasis
Bullet For My Valentine
Linkin Park,
*** Ramones
Weezer for sure
and recently, Anberlin

Only one non-performer, My uncle, Jon Smith, *** radio DJ from St. George, Utah, he has put a big influence on music in my life

[WhiffleBallTony]

Well, artists that have influenced me and my guitar playing would be:

Stephen O'Malley
James Hetfield
Dave Murray
David Gilmour
Dylan Carlson
Jimi Hendrix
Alex Lifeson
Chuck Schuldiner

If you're talking about actually influential artists to everyone, Venom takes the cake for me as being the most influential, mainly for essentially creating extreme metal. Motorhead was close, but they didn't get to the same level of extreme and Venom really changed the genre.

[Insane3]

Sigur Rós

I find them to be very interesting. They don't fit to all moods because their music is so slow, but it indeed is an excellent band.

[Insane3]

baroque. bach stole his act.

I don't like bach anyway. I don't like Mozart either. But I'm not a big fan of classical music (in the general sense....)

[Insane3]

Songwriting:
David Bowie
Radiohead
Pink Floyd
Gentle Giant
Jay-Jay Johanson
Beethoven (even though I said I dislike much of classic music)
The Cure

Guitar Playing:
Jimi Hendrix
David Gilmour
Steve Hackett
But I mostly play chords so it's hard to find the influence lol

Others
MGMT (keyboards composition)
Maken Kozapo (keyboards composition)
Yes (bass composition)

[Ominous Insomnia]

A very short list:

Have A Nice Life
****
Butterglory
Primordial
Aarni

[onidragon]

Like, to me? Then:

KISS
Pixies
Beck
Radiohead
Sublime
Beatles(Anyone who says the Beatles never influenced them is lying, but that's stating the obvious.)
David Bowie
Ramones
Bad Religion
Alice In Chains
Jane's Addiction
The Hold Steady
Frank Zappa & The Mothers

Whenever I write lyrics(I can't really write music itself) I always imagine the base beat to be something one of these guys would come up with.

[Soror_YZBL]

Beethoven (even though I said I dislike much of classic music)


Beethoven is a pop whore. Which, of course, is why I like him.

[iplayxprtdrums]

Bands
Nirvana
The Ramones
The Misfits
Pearl Jam
Smashing Pumpkins
Alice in Chains
Soundgarden
Primus
Black Sabbath
Led Zeppelin
Motley Crue
Megadeth
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Foo Fighters
Less Than Jake
Madonna( only because she is her own person and has her own style and doesn't care what other people think )
Korn
Limp Bizkit
Marilyn Manson
The Offspring
Ozzy Osbourne
P.O.D.
Rage Against the Machine
Sepultura
Sublime
White Zombie
Sonic Youth
Rush
and so many more i can't think pf right now

[MronoC]

In terms of bands/musicians that are influential to me personally in making music:
Guitarists:
Buzz Osbourne
Dr. Know
Tony Iommi
Brent Hinds
Robert Johnson

Bands:
Sunn O)))
The Dead Brothers
Primus

Song Writers:
John Darnielle
Kurt Weill
John Cage (I've recently been experimenting with rigging a "prepared guitar" with a rubber band and a pencil)
Stephen Sondheim

Of course, Stephen Sondheim's attention to detail and technical brilliance make it impossible for me to emulate him at all, so really I just ask myself "is this even a tenth as genius as something Sondheim would do?"

[JukeBoxHero]

Influences to me and me only.

Bands with major influence
Atheist
Rush
Yes
Belly
The Who
Gentle Giant
King Crimson
Queens of the Stone Age
Screaming Trees
Helloween
Frank Zappa
Black Sabbath
Anthrax

I would say this bands influence my music writing to a degree. I still got quite away to go, but I guess where most of my bass lines tend to go.

Bands with a minor influence
Pere Ubu(I'm quite serious, after listening to Waiting for Mary, one of my bass lines oddly sounds like the vocal melody in the chorus now).
Giles, Giles, and Fripp
Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Uriah Heep
Queen

Lyric Writing
Neil Peart
Jim Morrison
Mark Lanegan
Kerry Livgren
Phil Lynott

(I don't delve into lyrics often, I think my writing is poor to be honest. I have had friends compliment me on them, but I still think they're bit poor).

[ArmsAreLoud]

Soundgarden.

...I kid, I kid. I'd say Elvis, since he was the one who took rock music to the mainstream and helped the white man realize that at the time black music was pretty much the best thing ever.

[WhiffleBallTony]

I forgot Matt Pike and Jus Oborn on my list of guitarists! Doh!

[gmarsh]

ramones
black sabbath
beatles
led zeppelin
elvis presley
the rolling stones

So many influences, but those are the ones that really stick out to me

[Insane3]

Beethoven is a pop whore. Which, of course, is why I like him.

Yeah well I don't think anybody can dislike the moonlight sonata, especially the third movement.

[exittoanywhere]

Nirvana
Saves the Day
Taking Back Sunday
Brand New
Bright Eyes
Minus the Bear
The Blood Brothers/Neon Blonde/Jaguar Love
Silversun Pickups

Progressed in that order.
still love them all.
Saves the Day and Chris Conley(the singer) are still my favorites.

[Soror_YZBL]

Saves the Day and Chris Conley(the singer) are still my favorites.

Revolting cocks chris connelly?

[xX_Sandman_Xx]

NIN
GNR
Nirvana
Led Zeppelin
Black Sabbath
Queen
Rolling Stones
Bob Dylan
Beatles
Metallica
Iron Maiden

[TheClashTheClashTheClash]

The Clash
Ramones
Dead Kennedys
Pixies