When Labor Day came and went early last month, it reminded us of the American labor movement and the contributions American workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of the good ol' U.S. of A.
However, since we're Guitar World people, we couldn't help but apply those sentiments to music and the American people who made and make it—bands!
This, in turn, led to thoughts and theories about the greatest American band of all time, which led us to our latest readers' poll—the Best American Rock Band Ever! Yes, the gangs from Guitar World and Sweetwater want to get GW readers—you people!—involved as we attempt to crown the Best American Rock Band Ever!
Although we had thousands of bands to choose from, we decided to narrow things down to 32, which is perfect for a month's worth of intense—and fun (it's supposed to be fun, people!) matchups. All the bands were carefully selected by Guitar World's editorial staff.
Note that this poll includes current bands and bands that disappeared into the woodwork years ago. Also, if you're wondering why the Jimi Hendrix Experience aren't on this list, they weren't an American band. Hendrix was American, but he's not a band. Band of Gypsys were American, but they simply didn't make the cut based on the music released under the "Band of Gypsys" moniker. It's one of many tough sacrifices we had to make along the way. Speaking of which, be sure to read "How the Bracket Was Compiled" at the bottom of this story.
Anyway, here are our 32 American bands, which are presented in alphabetical order. You also can check out the entire 32-band bracket below.
Aerosmith, Alice In Chains, the Allman Brothers Band, the Beach Boys, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Doors, Eagles, Foo Fighters, Grateful Dead, Green Day, Guns N' Roses, Heart, Kiss, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Metallica, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Queens of the Stone Age, Ramones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M., Soundgarden, Steely Dan, Steve Miller Band, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Styx, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Van Halen, the White Stripes and ZZ Top.
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Enjoy our Best American Rock Band Ever Poll, which is sponsored by Sweetwater!
Today's Matchup
Metallica
Black Sabbath invented heavy metal in the Seventies, and Metallica redefined it in the Eighties. Since erupting on the scene with their debut album, Kill ‘Em All, in 1983, Metallica has been a cutting-edge band, the standard by which metal’s vitality and virtuosity are measured. No band has loomed larger, rocked heavier, raged more angrily or pushed the limits further than Metallica.
Heart
Merging the melodies of folk rock with the attitude of hard rock, Heart is one of America’s most endearing, and yet perennially underrated bands. Led by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, Heart has sold more than 35 million records worldwide and 22.5 million in the U.S. alone. Finding their first success in the late Seventies with hits like “Barracuda,” Heart embraced harder rock in the mid-Eighties, to incredible effect. Their self-titled 1985 album spawned four top-10 hits and established the band as a rock mainstay.
Vote Now!
The polls are closed! Metallica have advanced to the next round. Be sure to check out today's matchup at GuitarWorld.com.
Here's how the bracket was—very unscientifically—compiled.
We drew the artists' names out of a hat (It was, in fact, a smelly Quebec Nordiques baseball cap) to help us create our bracket, which is available for your viewing pleasure below. Obviously, none of these of bands are ranked or come from a previously compiled list, so we chose purely random matchups to have as little impact as possible on the final outcome. We're actually pretty pleased with the way the bracket turned out.
Remember that, as with any poll, genre might occasionally clash against genre, so you'll just need to decide which artist has (or has had) the most to offer within his/their genre, perhaps which one has or had more natural talent or technical skill, which one had the biggest influence on other live acts, etc.
As always, you can vote only once per matchup (once per device, that is), and we'll be posting match-ups pretty much every day of the month, sometimes more than once per day, just to give you an early warning.
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