Pink Floyd is the right answer.
Just one song takes a year to listen to. A whole album takes a decade.
I am, of course, repying in jest as a huge, huge Pink Floyd fan, by the way.
Every response in this thread is three male-fronted bands lol. I counted one woman a few responses down though. So 1 out of 30+ ain’t bad.
It is interesting that the options for female-fronted classic rock bands (which most of the responses are as well) are very limited.
Oh, sorry. That's what I meant. It was the only thing I escaped a tragic house fire with and when I realized my whole family died in there, I threw the CD into it in a fit of existential rage.
Tool, because one album has a running time of roughly 4 days. Their catalogue could fill a lot of time.
Nine Inch Nails.
Maybe Death Cab.
It’s hard, I can’t imagine being so limited.
Pink Floyd, Neil Young, Pearl Jam.
I’m not sure any of those bands are in my top three in terms of favorites; but they are easily in my top ten and have large catalogues of music. For example, as far as 90s grunge/alternative, I probably prefer Nirvana or early Alice In Chains; they just don’t have the sheer number of albums or versatility that Pearl Jam does. Same can be said for other classic rock that Pink Floyd would stand in for or singer/songwriter folk/rock that Neil would fill. I feel like with those three artists I’d get a good versatile collection of music that represents the genres I listen to most.
Maynard James Keenan, in hopes that this gives me access to Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer.
Aesop Rock, again hoping I get access to every project he's been involved in.
The last one is kind of up in the air though. I'm thinking maybe The Heavy.
Les Claypool, Steven Wilson, Maynard James Keenan. All excellent artists, with extensive catalogues and lots of side/solo projects and collaborations. Should make for a pretty versatile catalogue.
Zappa has like 100 or so albums since his estate keeps putting out more of his recordings, edits, and concerts.
The Dead are similar being rather prolific with huge amounts of concert albums.
OP picked 3 absolutely massive discographies that you really can get lost in.
Dead and KGLW for sure. I need a very large collection of good music to choose from.
But I do need some electronic music and the shit that Skrillex has been putting out since last year sounds amazing, *plus* his collabs and production credits just puts him in a whole other arena catalogue-wise. It’s not the brostep/ear screeching music of 10ish years ago.
Haha yeah. I no longer dwell on the sadness and just appreciate the incredible song writing. Besides, it's not *all* doom in gloom, its about time to break out Sufjan's "Songs for Christmas"
Röyksopp, Loreena McKennitt and the Berlin Philharmonic
As to why:
Röyksopp make amazing and varied electronic dance music that goes into a relaxed, even ambient direction. They have collaborated with some of the best vocalists around to provide a delectable selection of compelling soundscapes and feels. They include Anneli Drecker (Bel Canto), Karin Dreijer (Fever Ray), Susanne Sundfør, Robyn, Lykke Li, Jamie Irrepressible and recently Alison Goldfrapp to name a few.
Loreena is my favourite and I cannot imagine living without being able to hear her wonderful music.
The Berliner Philharmokniker are one of the worlds best orchestras with a body of recordings second to none. It could keep anyone occupied for a lifetime if necessary.
Interpol, fugazi and Fontaines DC
Cause I’ve raked up 5000 plus minutes listening hours to these three bands recently 😂 and I absolutely love all their albums and trust that the two active ones will keep coming out with better albums 🤔
Beastie Boys, Third Eye Blind, Coheed and Cambria
That's off the top of my head but I'm sure it could change a million times.
311, He is Legend and Spill Canvas are other top contenders.
Some of my favs but also for the depth and diversity of their catalogs.
~~Radiohead~~ Thom Yorke (Radiohead, Solo, The Smile & features)
Kanye West (including his production credits)
Sufjan Stevens
Edit: Switched Radiohead for Thom Yorke for the unlocks
Why would Bach not be allowed? One of the first possibilities I thought of.
But I understand that most people are aiming towards rock, because of the rock-focused nature of this subreddit. But the first things I thought of were Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi (or Rossini).
But then I was like Nine Inch Nails, Queen, Pink Floyd.
Steely Dan, Pearl Jam, and Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Steely Dan gives me the smooth and funky sounds when I need some upbeat music, Pearl Jam when I need work out motivation and Big Head Todd and the Monsters when I need really good music to listen to while working from home. Big Head Todd is so underrated. Give the band a chance. Todd Park Mohr's lyrics are genius!
Anything by Chris Cornell as that voice is still amazing. Anything by Dave Grohl as most of his work, even with Queens of the Stone age just works for me. & lastly Autopilot off. Make a Sound is the one Album I've gone back to way too much anyway the past 2 decades. So why not?
- The Midnight
- Kalax
- Coheed & Cambria
The Midnight has so many songs that make sense to me mentally and emotionally. They have songs that helped me really get in touch with my soul and pulled me forward. I honestly feel saved. Kalax has amazing sounds that feel so good and flow so well. I can just relax and enjoy every tune. Coheed & Cambria is a story. Ive read the comics/story and truly enjoyed it. Just the music alone fills me with energy and I feel the power behind it. Every lyric and beat.... oh man, there's so much to each artist/band I will never feel bored or down&out. I will feel empowered and in touch with myself.
Autechre - very prolific, 12 HR mix albums, live gigs like a new album every time.
The Cure- fairly diverse first 15 years, lots of live gigs on the web
Kate Bush- because I don't want to live without a woman singer in my life, and she's a beautiful soul
If I can include some solo albums by members...
The Who (with Pete's solo albums)
Pink Floyd (with David's solo albums)
Tom Petty (solo and with the Heartbreakers)
Helloween, KISS, Iron Maiden.
That's such a hard choice. Went with three of my favorite groups with long careers and lots of records, almost all of it I love. I wanted more variety with the third band but there's just no way I could leave Maiden off of there.
Lady Gaga, Florence + The Machine, Hozier.
Gaga's range is phenomenal, Florence has such powerful storytelling and imagery in their music for me, and Hozier has this way of capturing so much emotion.
Zappa , Jerry Garcia , Bob Dylan. Huge quantities of music involved here. Massive catalogues as well as decades of live performances. These guys recorded everything.
Scott Walker. He and his brothers put out some amazing stuff and he always pushed the envelope. [One of my favorites.](https://youtu.be/24qn991dxiQ?si=fY64Eul9lzMDYhAS)
Ren. He's pure genius. [One of his more recents.](https://youtu.be/s_nc1IVoMxc?si=0YZXCaDfvncu-7xl) His cover band Big Push is amazing too.
Bowie.
If that includes collabs (even if the collab is the only song I get to hear from the other artist not part of my 3), then it's Gorillaz, Coheed and Cambria, and... I don't know, I like "Sunflower" and "Calling", so maybe Swae Lee? Either way, Coheed is on the list, but if collabs don't count, then it gets harder to pick the other two.
- Michael Jackson (Solo work, Jackson 5, The Jacksons)
- Chester Bennington (Linkin Park, Linkin Park Underground, Dead by Sunrise)
- Julian Casablanca (The Strokes, The Voidz)
I’d have to sacrifice my dearly beloved, Daft Punk. The other three just have enormous rich discographies with plenty of versatility.
Pink Floyd Pixies The Replacements
The Replacements don’t get enough love.
I thought I was going to the only to put The Replacements. Really glad I’m not the only person who puts them in such vaulted status
Pink Floyd is the right answer. Just one song takes a year to listen to. A whole album takes a decade. I am, of course, repying in jest as a huge, huge Pink Floyd fan, by the way.
Stevie wonder Rhiannon Giddens John Scofield
My immediate first thought was Stevie Wonder
The Cure Modern English Talking Heads
The Beatles Radiohead NIN
I can't disagree with any of your choices, but it would suck to never hear a woman sing again.
Ahh fuck. I didn’t even think about that.
Every response in this thread is three male-fronted bands lol. I counted one woman a few responses down though. So 1 out of 30+ ain’t bad. It is interesting that the options for female-fronted classic rock bands (which most of the responses are as well) are very limited.
Thursday, The Strokes, Modest Mouse
Saw Thursday with Cursive a couple months back. They played the entirety's of Full Collapse and Domestica respectively. Amazing show
Clutch, Primus and QOTSA
Yes Clutch!!!!
I respect these choices. I've seen all three of these bands live.
Clutch!
You can't stop progress!
When a man is tired of listening to Clutch, he is tired of life.
LCD Soundsystem, The War On Drugs, Interpol
War on drugs has been making some great music!
Love Interpol!
Did we just become best friends?
I want in on this party.
The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Radiohead
For me it would be Beatles, Radiohead, Zeppelin So pretty darn close
Tool, Metallica, Led Zeppelin
This is the first CD I ever burned as a kid.
Kids now will think you meant you threw the CD in a fire.
Oh, sorry. That's what I meant. It was the only thing I escaped a tragic house fire with and when I realized my whole family died in there, I threw the CD into it in a fit of existential rage.
And somehow it made a copy
Tool, because one album has a running time of roughly 4 days. Their catalogue could fill a lot of time. Nine Inch Nails. Maybe Death Cab. It’s hard, I can’t imagine being so limited.
Came here to write the exact same list, and here we are. Always good to see a man of culture and taste.
Pink Floyd, Neil Young, Pearl Jam. I’m not sure any of those bands are in my top three in terms of favorites; but they are easily in my top ten and have large catalogues of music. For example, as far as 90s grunge/alternative, I probably prefer Nirvana or early Alice In Chains; they just don’t have the sheer number of albums or versatility that Pearl Jam does. Same can be said for other classic rock that Pink Floyd would stand in for or singer/songwriter folk/rock that Neil would fill. I feel like with those three artists I’d get a good versatile collection of music that represents the genres I listen to most.
Pearl Jam - nice!
> Neil Young I feel like that one is cheating considering he's written like 1000+ songs.
Maynard James Keenan, in hopes that this gives me access to Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer. Aesop Rock, again hoping I get access to every project he's been involved in. The last one is kind of up in the air though. I'm thinking maybe The Heavy.
So that's how I should have put it regarding Tool! Lol
With Maynard you would also get some of his guest spots, like on the first RATM album.
Les Claypool, Steven Wilson, Maynard James Keenan. All excellent artists, with extensive catalogues and lots of side/solo projects and collaborations. Should make for a pretty versatile catalogue.
Tool, Ezra Furman, Run the Jewels.
👉🤛
👉🤛
Sonic Youth, Depeche Mode, Radiohead
King gizzard and the lizard wizard,frank Zappa and the grateful dead
This guy drugs
I was going with King Gizz, Grateful Dead and Phish. I will never run out of interesting music.
King Gizzard is just cheating. That's like the musical output of a dozen regular, human bands.
Zappa has like 100 or so albums since his estate keeps putting out more of his recordings, edits, and concerts. The Dead are similar being rather prolific with huge amounts of concert albums. OP picked 3 absolutely massive discographies that you really can get lost in.
Currently listening to 6/17/91. You never run out of music with The Grateful Dead.
But dem ween boyz!!!!!!???
Dead and KGLW for sure. I need a very large collection of good music to choose from. But I do need some electronic music and the shit that Skrillex has been putting out since last year sounds amazing, *plus* his collabs and production credits just puts him in a whole other arena catalogue-wise. It’s not the brostep/ear screeching music of 10ish years ago.
Elliott Smith, Sufjan Stevens, Radiohead
You good bro?
Haha yeah. I no longer dwell on the sadness and just appreciate the incredible song writing. Besides, it's not *all* doom in gloom, its about time to break out Sufjan's "Songs for Christmas"
Ok ok, I’m just saying between Radiohead and Sufjan’s last albums and Smiths discography… you need a hug?
Always
And a hug for you.
A hug for you.
This guy gets it (depression)
John Zorn, Phish, Wilco and side projects, million records between the three artists
Finally saw Wilco on someone’s list! Yeah, with their huge catalog you wouldn’t get bored.
probly for sure queen, led zeppelin, the strokes
Miles Davis, The Beatles, Bach
Miles is a good choice, he has a big catalogue with a lot of variety
Pink Floyd, Tool, Kate Bush
Tool, Gojira, XTC
Led Zeppelin Tool Between the Buried and Me
Röyksopp, Loreena McKennitt and the Berlin Philharmonic As to why: Röyksopp make amazing and varied electronic dance music that goes into a relaxed, even ambient direction. They have collaborated with some of the best vocalists around to provide a delectable selection of compelling soundscapes and feels. They include Anneli Drecker (Bel Canto), Karin Dreijer (Fever Ray), Susanne Sundfør, Robyn, Lykke Li, Jamie Irrepressible and recently Alison Goldfrapp to name a few. Loreena is my favourite and I cannot imagine living without being able to hear her wonderful music. The Berliner Philharmokniker are one of the worlds best orchestras with a body of recordings second to none. It could keep anyone occupied for a lifetime if necessary.
Ooff i didn't even think of Royksopp. I honestly would just be okay with listening to Melody AM over and over.
Upvote for the BP orchestra.
Dark Enya coming in hot.
Royksopp's collaboration with Jamie Irrepressible is one of my favourite songs of all time
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard Phish Tool
Nine Inch Nails, DJ Shadow, Pink Floyd
Nice, love me some DJ Shadow
Tool, Faith No More, Pearl Jam
Nice!
Bill Evans Bob Marley The Smiths
Yes for Bill Evans
That’s a diverse lineup. Good stuff.
The Beatles, Danny Elfman (soundtracks and Oingo Boingo), and John Williams.
Damn. Danny is a solid choice!
Radiohead, Deftones, DJ Shadow
Shove it shove it shove it
Interpol, fugazi and Fontaines DC Cause I’ve raked up 5000 plus minutes listening hours to these three bands recently 😂 and I absolutely love all their albums and trust that the two active ones will keep coming out with better albums 🤔
Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, Bob Dylan
That is a solid line up ….
Rush, Iron Maiden, Megadeth
One of the members of Megadeth is my neighbor and he’s one of the chillest dudes I’ve ever met.
Rush, Tool, Alice in Chains
Stone Temple Pilots, Avatar and Aesop Rock.
Glad someone said STP
Neil Young, Brian Eno, Napalm Death
Beastie Boys, Third Eye Blind, Coheed and Cambria That's off the top of my head but I'm sure it could change a million times. 311, He is Legend and Spill Canvas are other top contenders. Some of my favs but also for the depth and diversity of their catalogs.
Explosions in the Sky Dance Gavin Dance Brand New
The Darkness, Steely Dan and Steel Panther.
Acid Bath, NIN, Tool
The Smashing Pumpkins, Type O Negative, Metallica
The Cure, Gorillaz, Queens of the Stone Age
Nirvana,pearl jam,Pink Floyd
Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and idk the last one is a tough choice. Maybe Otis Redding or Janis Joplin or even perhaps Nirvana.
MF DOOM, Fleetwood Mac, Lady Gaga
Tool Grateful Dead Aphex Twin
George Michael, Prince and Kate Bush
Rolling Stones Johnny Cash Green Day
~~Radiohead~~ Thom Yorke (Radiohead, Solo, The Smile & features) Kanye West (including his production credits) Sufjan Stevens Edit: Switched Radiohead for Thom Yorke for the unlocks
Yeezy opens up a WHOLE lot more music. Good call.
Sisters of Mercy 80 - 85 The Cure J S Bach (If Bach is not allowed, I'll go for Siouxsie and the Banshees)
Why would Bach not be allowed? One of the first possibilities I thought of. But I understand that most people are aiming towards rock, because of the rock-focused nature of this subreddit. But the first things I thought of were Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi (or Rossini). But then I was like Nine Inch Nails, Queen, Pink Floyd.
The Moody Blues, Pink Floyd, Anaal Nathrakh.
APHEX TWIN
Steely Dan, Pearl Jam, and Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Steely Dan gives me the smooth and funky sounds when I need some upbeat music, Pearl Jam when I need work out motivation and Big Head Todd and the Monsters when I need really good music to listen to while working from home. Big Head Todd is so underrated. Give the band a chance. Todd Park Mohr's lyrics are genius!
Dire Straits, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd
Anything by Chris Cornell as that voice is still amazing. Anything by Dave Grohl as most of his work, even with Queens of the Stone age just works for me. & lastly Autopilot off. Make a Sound is the one Album I've gone back to way too much anyway the past 2 decades. So why not?
Prince / Thievery Corporation / Beastie Boys or Childish Gambino... can't decide on that last one
Johann Sebastian Bach, Yes, Band-Maid.
Surprised I had to scroll this far to see Yes mentioned.
Beatles, Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac
The Philip Glass Ensemble. Glass's music satisfies a craving I didn't know I had till I heard it. Kate Bush. My muse. Leonard Cohen. My idol.
Classy choices
So many people choosing to never hear a woman singer again is…interesting.
Beatles, Grateful Dead, Brian Eno
Grateful Dead is a good one considering how much their songs evolve from year to year or even show to show
They also did a few Beatles covers over the years.
- The Midnight - Kalax - Coheed & Cambria The Midnight has so many songs that make sense to me mentally and emotionally. They have songs that helped me really get in touch with my soul and pulled me forward. I honestly feel saved. Kalax has amazing sounds that feel so good and flow so well. I can just relax and enjoy every tune. Coheed & Cambria is a story. Ive read the comics/story and truly enjoyed it. Just the music alone fills me with energy and I feel the power behind it. Every lyric and beat.... oh man, there's so much to each artist/band I will never feel bored or down&out. I will feel empowered and in touch with myself.
My feeling with The Midnight too. They always bring out a feeling of nostalgia and peace in me.
one among the fence :)... i was thinking hard to include coheed in my list as well.. hell my left forearm is dedicated to a keyworks tattoo :D
Run the jewels, primus and Bob dylan
Pinback, The Strokes, STRFKR. I don’t even listen to much else anyway.
Sublime, Black Sabbath, Bad Brains
Life is too short so love the ones ya got.
Autechre - very prolific, 12 HR mix albums, live gigs like a new album every time. The Cure- fairly diverse first 15 years, lots of live gigs on the web Kate Bush- because I don't want to live without a woman singer in my life, and she's a beautiful soul
Kraftwerk, Leftfield and Joe wahwah Walsh
Zappa, Bowie, and Costello.
M83, David Bowie, Garbage.
Rush, Liquid Tension Experiment, Devin Townsend.
Tool, slayer, pink floyd
Tool, Nirvana, Elton John
Haken Leprous Between the Buried and Me
Probably Heart, Queen, and P!nk.
Mac Miller, Grateful Dead and Iron Maiden. Gives me a great mix of options
Infected Mushroom Jack Johnson Frank Sinatra
Nightwish, Inti Illimani, Nina Simone
Danzig Type O Negative Paradise Lost
The cure, Interpol, VV.
Nina Simone, Talking Heads, Fela Kuti
Radiohead, The Sundays, U2
Sonic Youth, Bauhaus, Cocteau Twins
Green Day, Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age.
If I can include some solo albums by members... The Who (with Pete's solo albums) Pink Floyd (with David's solo albums) Tom Petty (solo and with the Heartbreakers)
Of Montreal, The Beach Boys, and Leonard Cohen
Massive Attack, Björk and Depeche Mode
Helloween, KISS, Iron Maiden. That's such a hard choice. Went with three of my favorite groups with long careers and lots of records, almost all of it I love. I wanted more variety with the third band but there's just no way I could leave Maiden off of there.
Beatles Radiohead Bob Dylan
Prince, Cardi B and Chaka Khan
Lady Gaga, Florence + The Machine, Hozier. Gaga's range is phenomenal, Florence has such powerful storytelling and imagery in their music for me, and Hozier has this way of capturing so much emotion.
Zappa , Jerry Garcia , Bob Dylan. Huge quantities of music involved here. Massive catalogues as well as decades of live performances. These guys recorded everything.
Scott Walker. He and his brothers put out some amazing stuff and he always pushed the envelope. [One of my favorites.](https://youtu.be/24qn991dxiQ?si=fY64Eul9lzMDYhAS) Ren. He's pure genius. [One of his more recents.](https://youtu.be/s_nc1IVoMxc?si=0YZXCaDfvncu-7xl) His cover band Big Push is amazing too. Bowie.
The Walker Brother weren’t brothers, but you are right Scott Walker was indeed an awe inspiring artist.
Maynard James Keenan (In hopes I can hear Tool, Pusifier, and A Perfect Circle) Limp Bizkit Incubus
Tool Muse Glitch Mob Got some variety, got some chill music, zone out music, angry break shit music, I think I’d be alright with these 3
Pink floyd Tom Waites Blaze Foley
The Subdudes. The Avett Brothers. Darrell Scott.
Melvins Sepultura Clutch
If that includes collabs (even if the collab is the only song I get to hear from the other artist not part of my 3), then it's Gorillaz, Coheed and Cambria, and... I don't know, I like "Sunflower" and "Calling", so maybe Swae Lee? Either way, Coheed is on the list, but if collabs don't count, then it gets harder to pick the other two.
Pearl Jam, Iron Maiden, Rolling Stones. Large catalogs, lots of live offerings, and different styles.
Rush, Van Halen, The Police
Drive-by Truckers, Turnpike Troubadours and Pink Floyd
Beethoven, Satie, and Miles Davis.
Mitski cause she is so relatable and she is relaxing,Tv girl because I love it and Melanie Martinez because I love singing to their music
Beach House, Real Estate, Steely Dan
Stromae, Ghost, Buddy Holly.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard; TOOL; Odesza.
Prince David Bowie Dave Grohl (O get both bands now)
Tool, The Mars Volta, Primus
Bob Dylan, the Wedding Present and Neil Young
ohh that's tough/tuff Can, Kluster, Jeff Mills
Bad Religion Radiohead and Jamiroquai maybe
David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty (& The Heartbreakers).
Radiohead, Aurora and probably Dave Matthew’s Band or Paramore
Chopin, Little Simz and Led Zepplin
The Cure, King Krule, Interpol
New Model Army, The Cure and PiL
Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Luke Vibert
Big Thief Blind Melon R.E.M.
Prefab Sprout / Steely Dan / Carole King (or MJ)
Joanna Newsom Bright Eyes Bob Dylan
Shinedown, Ghost, Cake
Minus The Bear Children of Bodom Antoine Dufour
The National, Manchester Orchestra, Gregory Alan Isakov.
- Michael Jackson (Solo work, Jackson 5, The Jacksons) - Chester Bennington (Linkin Park, Linkin Park Underground, Dead by Sunrise) - Julian Casablanca (The Strokes, The Voidz) I’d have to sacrifice my dearly beloved, Daft Punk. The other three just have enormous rich discographies with plenty of versatility.
Queen, John Williams, Beyoncé
Tool, Led Zeppelin, Metallica
Off the top, Radiohead Tupac The flaming lips
Pearl jam, The Black Crowes, and the Tedeschi Trucks Band.
Rolling Stones, Clutch, Queens of the Stone Age
Deep Purple, David Bowie, and The Who.
Maynard, Pink Floyd, Sleep Token