Where does The Who rank all-time?

[charlie and algernon]

[Cant trust em]

1. A great band, but not as as good as

The Stones
Zeppelin
Bowie
Hendrix
or of course, The Beatles.

Probably greater than:
The Doors
Pink Floyd
CCR

[charlie and algernon]

3. i think i'd put them above bowie

or at least equal to Bowie. I'd give Bowie a slight advantage in terms of song-writing ability, but The Who have the advantage in terms of popularity and energy, if that makes any sense at all.

[Cant trust em]

They're pretty close, at least from a historical perspective

The Who are cool since you can trace them back to the mid sixties mod garage rock scene through classic rock.

I prefer Bowie because he has so many more shades to his career. Early folky/Dylanish sounding stuff. Hunky Dory pop. Ziggy space glam rock. Young Americans plastic soul. Heroes era Berlin/Eno sound. His styles jump so much from album to album I have to put him at the top of creativity.

[charlie and algernon]

6. I'll give you that

The Who meanwhile found their niche in concept albums and metal and ran with it. Pete Townshed was particuarily interested in operas and dabbled briefly there before evolving into actual rock operas like Tommy and Quadraphena (sp?)

[Cant trust em]

7. Bowie has concept albums

Ziggy is a concept album and so is Diamond Dogs. I think Tommy is great, but I'm not into Quadrophenia. I think I sold my copy. My favorite Who albums are Who's Next and A Quick One.

[Tikki]

2. Really high up there....

When you think about all the bands that have followed 'who' have listed The Who
as a major influence...



Rock & Rolls Lives! on and on and on.....


Tikki

[billyskank]

4. What I want to know is

Who does The Where rank all-time?

[TZ]

5. I LOVE the Who

They rank right up near the top in my book with the Stones, Queen etc.
Anybody who picks them as "sucky" is dead to me!:P

[Orsino]

8. Unevenly.

But when they were on, they were the greatest ever.

[kwassa]

9. I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth

Substitute

You think we look pretty good together
You think my shoes are made of leather

But I'm a substitute for another guy
I look pretty tall but my heels are high
The simple things you see are all complicated
I look pretty young, but I'm just back-dated, yeah

Substitute your lies for fact
I can see right through your plastic mac
I look all white, but my dad was black
My fine looking suit is really made out of sack

I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth
The north side of my town faced east, and the east was facing south
And now you dare to look me in the eye
Those crocodile tears are what you cry
It's a genuine problem, you won't try
To work it out at all you just pass it by, pass it by

Substitute me for him
Substitute my coke for gin
Substitute you for my mum
At least I'll get my washing done

[IntravenousDemilo]

10. The who? n/m

[Bennyboy]

11. One of the five best bands I ever saw........

At one time. Of course they have done everything within their power to diminish that legacy, but in the 70's and 80's they were amazing....

And three of their albums are still on my regular playlist (tommy, Who's Next,< Quadrophenia)

[MrSlayer]

12. Second tier band.

The first tier are giants such as Zeppelin, Beatles and Stones. The Who are second level with the Kinks and the Doors. Very good bands but not top of the line.

[Westegg]

13. Townshend is one of the very best...

...that rock has ever had to offer. Hendrix, Page, Dylan, Lennon... Pete will always be in my top half-dozen. The Who may not be my favorite band (that'd be Zeppelin) but there are times, like recently, when I get caught up in a Who whirlwind and have them on heavy rotation for months at a time. Even today, in 2008, I can enjoy Tommy, or The Who Sell Out, or Quadrophenia, or Who's Next as much as I did when I first heard this stuff 30 years ago. Not to diminish Daltrey, Moon or the Ox, but that's really down to Pete's genius as a musician and lyricist. His stuff is/was timeless.

[charlie and algernon]

16. one of my favorite DVDs is a 1989 live performance of Tommy

They got Dave Wynnwood, Billy Idol, Phil Collins, Patti Labelle, and Elton John to do cameos. Elton John sung Pinball wizard, Idol played the bully, and Phil Collins was Uncle Ernie. It's one of the great concerts and they are all in awe of Daltry and Townshend.

[conscious evolution]

21. Townsend inspired Hendrix

I saw an interview with Hendrix and he said he thought Pete was the better guitarist and that his best performances came when he was sharing a stage with the Who.Woosstock and Monterey were two of his best shows and the Who played before him at both shows.

The Who is definitely in my top ten list.

[LisaM]

14. Roger Daltrey has one of the greatest rock voices ever

Townshend's music is unusual, and not very many people could have sung it right. I always loved them, though sometimes I think the lyrics lose their path.

[charlie and algernon]

15. he's got incredible pipes

I love watching him sing

[Book Lover]

17. Since they screwed over Delta bluesmen less so than the Stones or Led Zep

most here will say that they are second-tier; but the fact that they are more original than either of those two overblown always-at-the-top-of-most-rockers'-lists makes me like them more. Besides, who else could have given the world "Tommy"?

[Miss Carly]

18. Roger Daltrey is hot

and their music is good too!
Carly

[SteppingRazor]

19. Extremely important band in the history of dance rock...

they were doing things with synthesizers before there WERE synthesizers.

[woofless]

20. My personal faves for more than 40 years.

Not the "Greatest" perhaps but Pete has always spoken to me. Plus they fuckin' ROCK!