The Top 30

I've resisted doing this for years, but here it is. My top 30 favorite rock acts. See next week for my top 30 hip hop artists.

The Beatles
Cheap Trick
The Kinks
Tom Petty
R.E.M.
Robyn Hitchcock
Pink Floyd
Wilco
The Beach Boys
The Rolling Stones
Big Star
The Byrds
Queen
Bob Dylan
The Who
The Monkees
The Velvet Underground
XTC
Neil Young
The Clash
Elvis Costello
Electric Light Orchestra
Jonathan Richman
Elliott Smith
Liz Phair
Guided By Voices
Yo La Tengo
The Replacements
Bruce Springsteen
Nirvana

Interesting, now that I lay it out. You have the seminal 60's artists: Beatles, Kinks, Beach Boys, Stones, Dylan, Byrds, Who, VU and Neil Young. And The Monkees, my first love.

Then the cult 70's power-poppers: Big Star, Cheap Trick, Electric Light Orchestra, XTC

The mainstream heavy-hitters: Pink Floyd, Queen, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen

The palatable punks: The Clash, Elvis Costello

The college rock mainstays: R.E.M., Robyn Hitchcock, The Replacements

The 90's alternatives: Elliott Smith, Liz Phair, Nirvana, Guided By Voices, Yo La Tengo, Wilco

And then whatever Jonathan Richman is, God bless 'im.