bailey, while I agree that a lot of Beatles covers are cringe-worthy & it wasn't a good choice for Idol, as these are difficult songs to sing, I do think there are a lot more good covers out there than people sometimes realize. While I like the Stevie Wonder, how about Joe Cocker's With A Little Help From My Friends (probably my personal fav Beatles cover)? The Carpenters version of Ticket To Ride (close second), Siouxsie's version of Dear Prudence, Earth, Wind & Fire's Got to Get You Into My Life. There's an amazing version of Hey Jude by Wilson Pickett out there too and a very good Tina Turner version of Come Together (& loads more, Elton's Lucy anyone? I have a soft spot for Fiona Apple's Across the Universe on the Pleasantville soundtrack; and while I didn't care for it, Lennon thought Anne Murray's cover of "You Won't See Me" the best cover of his work he heard). Great band criteria, I'd say three listenable albums for me - one says you're a one hit wonder, two says you're good & maybe lucky to get a follow up out, three says you've got a shot at being great & have some decent longevity. I forgot Squeeze, too, but not with Paul Carrick. Argybargy.

Nobody likes the Eagles? What about Santana, or is that too much of a guy with some musicians? I would go for REM. And I love Style Council and the Jam, and say it proudly. Nothing to be ashamed of. (Duran Duran: Save a prayer, I can't explain why but I love it)

Nobody likes the Eagles? *raises hand*Eagles fan here! I find their music extremely relaxing. And their come-back album was really good IMO. When I first read the question the first band that came to mind was Genesis. But they're British. Plus my liking them is entirely my father's doing;he's been brainwashing me about Saint Peter since I was five. If I have to pick just one band, I'd go for The Doors. Because I think it's remarkable how a band that only lasted,what,6 years managed to have that much of an influence (albeit admittedly not only good) on the world. And yes, most of the credit goes to Jim Morrison, but personally, I never got this whole Morrison hysteria. I think they were great as a group. And I've found that their songs can suit various of my moods. how about Joe Cocker's With A Little Help From My Friends(probably my personal fav Beatles cover)? Word.With an extra slice of double word.

For guilty pleasures ... I'm not sure how guilty this is, but when I was clicking around at some point, I found a site (don't ask me where, I don't know) that had sound clips from HL and SF's "Jeeves and Wooster." I didn't realize it until I'd later loaded my iPod and had it on shuffle that the clips had automatically loaded into my iTunes. So every time I hear "Goodnight Vienna" come through my earbuds, I smile.

This discussion is great! I love all the bands people are mentioning! Keep up the chatter, it's not like we have new House to talk about. So far it looks like REM is winning with the most votes. But the battle continues! One could argue that Big Star was one of the most important bands-and thus great-of the 20th century. I'm not a huge fan or anything-I have (or have had) #1 Record, Sister Lovers, and Columbia (somewhere...on cassette), but without Alex Chilton we wouldn't have (the oft-mentioned and much loved) REM, The Replacements ("we will rape and pillage in the village of his choice..."), Counting Crows (Live versions of Mr. Jones featured the line: "I wanna be Alex Chilton"), Pavement, Kurt Cobain, The Bangles (admit it-you like them!) etc. etc. Now, I would personally choose the Replacements as the Great American Rock Band. Please to Meet Me and Let it Be are very good stuff. Tim is a truly great rock album. It's rock, it's punk, it's almost sensitive and it's so damn honest. If you can listen to "Here Comes a Regular" and not feel your heart break--well, then you probably haven't met the dawn in the clothes you wore the night before as many times as I have. The drawback to this hypothesis is that sometimes they were also the Worst Band Ever in Any Country Any Time. YouTube has ample proof of this. As for guilty pleasure music: Cher might qualify but I love her and feel no guilt in saying that, people try to make me feel guilty for liking Jimmy Buffett-but they stop that when I play them "He Went to Paris." Ahh! Here we go: Another Side of John Barrowman that's pretty bad.

Neville brothers, Doobie brothers, Righteous "brothers" and even Everly brothers....., I seem to like "brothers". But these are not really "bands" I believe.

Nobody likes the Eagles? What about Santana, or is that too much of a guy with some musicians? Santana I enjoy in small doses, but for some weird reason I always forget them (don't exactly think of them as a rock band, no idea why). Eagles, sort of bore me. I never got into them or many of their contemporaries (& I never want to hear Breakfast in America again, got sick of that in college); probably has a lot to do with growing up with parents who loved & listened to Motown rather than rock.

sound clips from JL and SF's "Jeeves and Wooster." Excellent chance you stumbled on the "Hat Sharpening Shop" website which has lots of great info on j&W plus sound clips from the series and from the era. I've got lots of Hugh clips on my iPod and I just adore it when one comes on. Only complaint, too short and not enough! More singing, Hugh!

If I have to pick just one band, I'd go for The Doors. I could never get into the Doors. I find a good bit of their music just too trippy for my tastes.

I also love American Music Club. They've languished in obscurity since the eighties. I have several of their albums. Both Mercury and Everclear are on my list of favorites. Also, how do we define great? Are talented musicians and good songwriting enough? Or should a band have changed music in some way in order to qualify as "great"? Take Aerosmith, for instance. I don't own any of their records, but I don't deny the fact that they're excellent musicians who know how to rock. But I've always thought of them as Boston's version of the Rolling Stones. Did Aerosmith bring anything new to music? BTW, I'm asking this question out of curiosity, not as a dig.

I'm not fond of Aerosmith so its tough for me to answer that, but for what its worth Toys in the Attic & Rocks are considered two pretty seminal/classic hard rock albums (Toys is the one which had the original version of Walk This Way on it - which dates back to the mid 70s, so its clearly held up pretty well).

Aerosmith has never been a favorite of mine. It would be an error in judgment to say that they fail at rocking, but they don't speak to me. They are an excellent band, tho. Their records sell. Their tours are moneymakers. They're consistent musically--too consistent, IMO. Every Aerosmith hit could have been a single from any Aerosmith album. I'm open for argument about that last point, however. Any fans want to show me the error of my ways I'd appreciate being schooled.

Bon Jovi, Guns 'n Roses, Aerosmith, ZZ Top, it all sounds the same to me, but I'm sure millions think I'm crazy.