My vote goes for Rush, they have 17 consecutive gold albums which ranks them with the Rolling Stones and Kiss. (And everybody is waaaay behind the Beatles) They have inspired countless numbers of bands including:

Metallica
Stone Temple Pilots
Soundgarden
Tool
Godsmack
Primus
Pearl Jam
Third Eye Blind
Rage against the Machine
Marilyn Manson
Nine Inch Nails

Etc...

I can't think of any other bass player that has had more influence than Geddy Lee and I can't think of any other drummer that has had more influence than Neil Peart. Not to mention Alex Lifesonn is not too shabby on the guitar either.

A 26 year career with over 37 million albums sold worldwide all this and they don't even make the R+R hall of fame ballot????

I like this thread, its more feel good than flame-bait in the overrated thread.

And I don't think I listen to any underrated bands. If I like listening to their music, I suppose they aren't underrated (at least in my mind).

Lateralus - with 17 consecutive gold records how can Rush be considered underrated. Obviously a lot of people like them.

My most underrated band is Poster Children.

King's X

oops my math was wrong they have 22 gold albums.

As for being underrated, I'm specifically talking about being snubbed by the R+R hall of fame and critics not the general public.

I mean come on:

Brenda Lee
Talking Heads
Lovin' Spoonful
The Moonglows
The Mamas and the Papas

all have been inducted and no Rush..
?????????

There are a ton of great bands out there that don't get the recognition they deserve. I can think of so many bands that are much better then their mainstream or overrated counterparts.

Hmmm, I was a crazy little Rush fan in the late 70's. Loved "Farewell to Kings" "Hemispheres" and "Permanent Waves"... oh, and of course "Moving Pictures". STOP. That's it. The end. To me, they were an okay band that was enjoyable as a teenager. Nothing more.

Dream Theater

These guys could put 90% of the bands out their today to shame!

I agree with this and King's X. I also think Faith No More didn't get any respect either.

Jethro Tull also doesn't get any respect.

they did get a grammy right.

Critically underrated...oh my god yeah...

Underrated by the people who buy the records and the tickets...hell no...Rush has the one of the most loyal and quite frankly fanatical fan bases out there.

Until the black album I would say that Metallica was very critically underrated because they didn't produce 5 minute tracks for radio.

Now you hear them on the radio, but most fans say their post black album, or post And Justice for All stuff is sub par...

Honestly, as much as I love Rush they are not the most friendly towards their fans, I respect Neil, but he is as close to a hermit as you can get.

howbout creed, am i the only person who likes them.

I'm expected lots of hate mail on this one (mainly because this board is very rock heavy), but I would say Madonna.

Her catalog is loaded with hits, she's a consistent seller (sans the Erotica period), and just about the only star (especially in pop) that actually still maintains a career out of the 80's.

However, only recently has she received even a bit of critical acclaim, yet numerous artists, across all genres, cite her as a major influence.

She's been around for 20 consecutive years and has maintained a popularity level nearly unrivaled in music.

I am expected some "yes, she's popular, but the quality is not there" responses. However, to say that she's maintained a career on image alone (for 20 years) is inaccurate.

- Matt

Y&T or Talas

Both owe far more to the likes of Depeche Mode and Skinny Puppy than Rush.

-matt

So many bands owe a lot to Depeche Mode.

- Matt

Madonna is not underrated because tons of critics and people like her. She epitomizes not being underrated. What are you talking about?

The Guess Who

So many great songs from this band.

Had they been American or British instead of Canadian, they would've been put on the same list as the other great rock bands at the time.

Pre-Ray of Light she was generally considered talentless and "image over content" by much of the media.

Her first Gammy (with the exception of a video Grammy for Blonde Ambition) was for Ray of Light.

- Matt

King's X

OK, you know I had to chime in here with, who else, Gary Numan . Despite his early worldwide success (when he was 21 years old) of '79/'80 ("Cars"), he was then written off by the music press in a big way. Like Rush, his fans (possibly the most loyal of any artist, ever, aka "Numanoids") never left his side and followed him wherever he lead. He is one of the most prolific solo musical artists, currently working on his 20th studio album, with an almost endless list of live albums and compilations. He has actual talent: he writes all of his own songs, plays keyboards, guitar, produces, mixes and engineers his albums in his own home studio. He has been cited as an influence and/or been covered by such diverse acts as Marilyn Manson, Smashing Pumpkins, Hole, Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails, Beck, Prodigy, Beastie Boys, Fear Factory, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Blur, Christian Death, Republica, The Rentals, and the list goes on. He has recently been sampled extensively by Basement Jaxx ("Where's Your Head At?"), Armand Von Heldon ("Koochy"), and had a U.K. number one in The Sugababes' "Freak Like Me" which lifts all its music from a 1979 Numan hit "Are 'Friends' Electric?". Thanks to the above artists casting praise in his direction, his reputation has greatly improved over the last few years, to the point of being labelled the "Godfather of Electronica". Still, he goes largely ignored in the mainstream press, if you're under 30 you probably have never heard of him, and I'll give you cash money if you ever hear him on the radio (aside from "Cars").

The Guess Who is a good call. I like that choice very much.

I would select the Flaming Groovies. Yeah, they started off as a Stones tribute act (essentially), but Teenage Head would arguably rank among the Stones' best albums should a different name reside on the cover. And their comeback album, Shake Some Action, is among the greatest pop albums ever recorded. Too bad it's out of print in the US... If a rerelease ever happens, expect to see a myriad of articles (rightly) proclaiming this to be the case.

While I agree that Gary Numan is a tremendous talent and an influence to countless bands and music acts - if he is the "Godfather of Electronica", just where does that leave Kraftwerk in the grand scheme of things?

-matt

Psychedelic Furs!