Bands that transcend eras

ACDC fits your criteria quite well...

Anything blues based and heart felt will always be popular

I'm definitely going to introduce my kids to Jimi Hendrix at birth.
And a few others:
Metallica
Slayer
System of a down
Between the buried and me
And for mellow days some Jack Johnson

The Stone Roses
Radiohead

reply to post by opethPA


Devo! Devo is the only "old" band that my kids actually love. They love their old stuff and their newer stuff. Go figure.

reply to post by opethPA


Digging your list...

Well, except for the Cure. I like their music but they lack some of the *epicness* to transcend like the others on your list...

Based on the criteria you set out & that it seems to only consider a mostly classic rock genre, I'd also include many more that have been mentioned in this thread, plus:

-Eric Clapton from group work w/Creme & Derek & the Dominoes to his solo & other combined ventures...
-Sting & his individual work as well as The Police...
There are other genres where I could list about 20 or more other epic artists...

I'd say just about everything from before music became lifeless contemporary product and musicians/bands stopped striving to make epic, relevant art... and record companies stopped wanting to sell it.

Joy Division -> newOrder

The Beatles ... goes without sayin'.
Pink Floyd, of course.
Led Zeppelin, YES.
David Bowie (Glam God), Black Sabbath (Metal Maestro's), The Kinks, Nick Drake, King Crimson & The Rolling Stones.
There seems to be an overwhelming domination by British bands so far, for the classic rock (pre 80's) genre anyway. Those American artists that deserve an honourable mention during this era would have to include:
Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, The Doors, The Velvet Underground & Neil Young (I know... Canadian).

How about the pre-Rock era hmmm. The only ones that rate a mention are all Jazz ... and all American,
Miles Davis, John Coltrane & Charles Mingus.

Now for the more contemporary, the 80's and later. I will rate them in a very rough order from the most Transcendent.
Radiohead,
Joy Division,
Pixies,
Nirvana,
The Smiths,
Tom Waits,
Metallica,
Godspeed You Black Emperor!,
Talking Heads,
and... Talk Talk.
Honourable mentions to those that created at least one transcendent piece of art album (in no particular order):
My Bloody Valentine (Loveless), Television (Marquee Moon), Arcade Fire (Funeral),
Neutral Milk Hotel (In the Aeroplane Over the Sea), Sonic Youth (Daydream Nation), Sigur Rós (Ágætis byrjun),
Portishead (Dummy), Slint (Spiderland), Van Morrison (Astral Weeks), Love (Forever Changes), Nas (Illmatic),
Genius/GZA (Liquid Swords), The Zombies ( Odessey and Oracle), Yes (Close to the Edge), Can (Tago Mago),
and ... I think that is about it ... OH WAIT! The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Are You Experienced).

Wow, some great replies everyone. Thank you!

While not in anyway putting down any of the bands anyone has mentioned I can't believe I forgot The Animals.
To me their version of House of the Rising Sun is along the lines of All Along the Watchtower. You could hear House of the Rising Sun when they first released it, in the 80s, in 2014 and in 2050 when it will still have that feeling and create an atmosphere.

reply to post by opethPA


Surprised I didn't see Bob Seegar and the Silver Bullet Band mentioned. imo Bob is one of the altime great R&R songwriters.

"Against the Wind" is classic as are many of his tunes.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Pantera
Michael Jackson

www.youtube.com...

Wow! Can't believe nobody has mentioned the man in black yet! Honored to do so here. Ladies and gentleman, Johnny Cash:

They don't exactly fit the rock theme going, but I have to include Duran Duran and Depeche Mode. People Are People, Strangelove, Personal Jesus, Girls On Film, Hungry Like The Wolf, Rio, etc are iconic songs. Granted, they have a very 80's sound, but they're classic tunes still played in abundance.

reply to post by olaru12


Zappa! I was just thinking that and surprised He had not been mentioned. Was double checking before posting and there you are. lol

Imho, this man was a huge trend setter. Still have no clue why Jazz from Hell was censored/banned or whatever

Although I am not a HipHop fan. there is one group, Outkast whom has an original sound/style and some mainstream hits also. After going through a Zappa relapse a few years ago, I discovered Outkast's secret. They were sampling Zappa! That is there secret ingredient!
Most hip hop/rap music is from the motown/r&b samples from decades past. Outkast must have wanted to think outside the box. Too bad they give no credit where it is due. Like most hiphop/rap performers, they think the music is their original creation.

and also Procol Harum

Ozzy

hard to find a more complete song than this. timeless. should be a requirement to any road trip playlist. Played it many time when coming home on leave, driving through the night.