and i MEAN only one.
(or else the boogie man will be waiting for you under your bed tonight while you sleep.)

who is your ULTIMATE favorite band or solo artist of ALL-TIME?
and what makes them so?

Does it have to be a band (vs. a solo artist)?

no. it can be a band OR solo artist.

This is the hardest question in the world.
I would say The Beatles, but that is just a given.
So I WON'T say them.
And I can't say The Kinks or Nick Lowe, because I don't own all of their records.

Guess that I gotta go with...
Shrimp Boat!!!
(did that surprise you?)

Shrimp Boat, to me, represents all that is good about music. It's music with no bounderies. No barriers... both in terms of genre and in terms of the sheer joy their music exudes.

So, for today at least, it's Shrimp Boat.

The Beatles.

none can test.

Bob Dylan. Best lyrics, and the music combines all my favorite genres (rock'n'roll, country, folk, and blues)into one unique sound.

yup.

My absolute would be the Velvet Underground.

I know this will come as a shocker:
The Rolling Stones

can't answer it...

boogey man, take me away.

DJ Shadow

Endtroducing... raised the bar for sampling in any and every genre and is still being used as a reference nine years later. Dude puts stuff together that shouldn't work and makes it work maginificently. As a DJ, he can keep an audience's attention for three hours without turnable tricks or dance beats ("High Noon" closes out the show), and his visual effects complement the material perfectly. His association with Solesides and other positive-minded folks shows in his music as well; "Blood on the Motorway" is as wise as it is gorgeous and powerful. His creativity trancends the regular boundaries of hip-hop and electornic music.

The Clash

An absolutely fearless band. So much so that they at times alienated their own fanbase. In succession, each of their albums gained them many fans while losing others...with Sandinista! fuckin' with everybody's head.

Steve

Probably Neil Young, since that gives me lots to choose from.

With me its a three way tie between Dylan, The Beatles and the Stones but the Stones always come out little higher because they have some songs that can honestly make me lose control and do or say just about anything.

Sly Fox

How can you beat "Let's Go All The Way"?

Robert Zimmerman

i'm going to have to pick....
ani difranco
(although the grateful dead was the runner up.)

i choose ani because at some point of our affair ....
i've been able to completely identify with a lot of her lyrics.

( i'm huge on lyrics to songs.)

it's nice to know that someone thinks/feels the same things that you do. (especially when you're not able to articulate them.)

with her large discography....i can always find something to suit my mood. or to alter my mood.

and sometimes listening to her is like hanging out with an old friends who completely understands you. it's comforting. like a big ol hug.

(i'm so cheesy.)

Ok I'm going to go with... damn... um.... hold on hold on..dont rush me...

no I just cant do it.

Euphamism of the week!

Golden Earring

I refuse to do this on the grounds that I know the no matter what band I pick the song that I utterly loathe by them (and there always is one) will come screaming across my headphones as soon as I hit the key, and then i'll want to change it, so no.

Pessimist

Not surprisingly, Dinosaur Jr.

Awesome guitar playing, lyrics I can identify with, unique vocals, song writing mostly has to do with isolation and/or relationships which tend to be my favorite subjects when it comes to songs.

genesis

maybe dylan. maybe the misfits. probably dylan.