I haven’t seen them live, but from the youtube videos I’ve watched, I dislike U2′s overblown theatrics in what they call a concert these days. They would not have been my number one pick.

Arcade Fire gets my respect for being high up on a list. Any band that can perform a decent sounding encore in a crowded room by their merch table with those instruments deserves to be that high.

Drove through a blizzard to see the RHCP and it was not worth the drive. Band worth the drive, Radiohead. They should have hands down been ahead of RHCP on this list.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs-it is pretty entertaining to see Karen O bite the microphone and yell.

My Morning Jacket-I will be seeing them this month, but if they are anything like Jim James’ solo set, then they deserve to be on the list.

Against Me!-I don’t know if they would have made my cut, but they were passionate live.

AFI-Again, I don’t know if they would have made my list, but they put on a decent show.

I would have to think more about my own personal list. Off the top of my head, one band I’m surprised didn’t make this list is Muse. I normally always see them on these live show lists and it is deservedly so.

I haven’t seen any of these bands live, except for My Morning Jacket, who I saw open for Bright Eyes back in…..2003 if I’m recalling correctly. And I don’t really remember them cause I was fifteen and too busy creaming myself over anticipation for Conor Oberst.

However, I would kill anyone to see Arcade Fire or Yeah Yeah Yeahs or The Flaming Lips and seriously maim anyone to see most others on the list. I’d like to have seen a little something else with this list though. I can’t quite put my finger on it though. I’ll comment more later.

However, if there was one person in this world that needed his ego inflated anymore I can guarantee you it’s not Bono. Between his ridiculously obnoxious appearances in the Charles Bukowski and Leonard Cohen documentaries in the last couple years and that shadyass Red campaign he backed, I’m done with him. I could literally go the rest of my life and never hear another generic ass U2 song or see Bono’s face again and that would be too soon. I’ve seen bits and pieces of their live show and it’s just a bunch of smoke and mirrors to cover up the fact that their songs all sound the same and aren’t even that good. I dunno, I have major beef with U2 and Bono if you couldn’t tell and I’m gonna end that rant there.

How the hell could they leave out Modest Mouse? Isaac destroys every night. The Helio Sequence should be on a top 100 if there was one. Benjamin Weikel destroys his kit like nobody you’ve ever seen.

Green Day? Really? Are they even still relevant?

This is like a who’s who list of bands you need to ass kiss just to seem like you’re still up on pop music. Get a clue, SPIN

Arcade Fire is the most overrated band of all time, they’re like Bruce Springsteen for hipsters. I can’t understand how they left the NIN off the list. The Roots at 17 makes me wonder if they’ve ever seen a Roots show. Anthony Kiedis can’t even sing on pitch for more than a verse so RHCP doesn’t make sense to me. Putting the Stooges at #2 makes me think they had one guy making the list and he put his favorite band up there. Putting U2 at #1 is suspect, my mom could put a better list together. Listing arena bands requires no creativity at all. Now I have another publication to dislike more than RS.

In my opinion the Roots are the best band in music period. I think they fly over people’s heads because of their own misconceptions or lack of understanding. No list is complete without Man Man! Any Philly people remember Need New Body? Foo Fighters deserve a slot although I prefer the original four piece, the current incarnation is way too bloated for me. The Dub Trio is pretty awesome to see live, being instrumental their sound may not work for some people but they’re onto something. I’ve only seen Mute Math once and they blew me away, it was a ampitheatre but they reacted with the crowd like a club show. I’m disappointed that they left Maroon 5 and Dave Matthews Band off there, the nerve of them!

Ajay,

I have to agree AND disagree with you about Foo Fighters. I just saw them on Saturday night and I was blown the hell out of my seat. Do they have a crazy number of guitars? Yes, they do. However, Dave Grohl knows how to put on a damn show. They should have had a slot no matter what incarnation…

I’m a Prince fan but I’m surprised he’s still considered relevant on this list.

Ajay, we’re gonna be gooood friends! Your love for both the Roots and Man Man assures that

Zen — Good to see you again!

I fear that the “meh” to the Flaming Lips was because I saw them at a festival and wasn’t really paying attention to them in favor of someone else. May not have even been the Flaming Lips. Ha!

It perplexes how someone can comment on Josh Homme’s stage demeanor when they haven’t seen a show. I’ve seen them three times and they floored me at each performance. Based on sheer musicianship they blow every rock band out of the water. Aside from Joseph Arthur and Dave Grohl I’ve never seen anyone entertain a crowd like Homme. In some languages Sleater Kinney means we make noise because we can’t write songs.

So I’ve thought about it a little more and I’m gonna say, I really think they missed out on some of what would be considered “emo.” I’ve seen Saves the Day, Motion City Soundtrack, Dashboard Confessional, Taking Back Sunday (on the Tell All Your Friends tour ya’ll, recognize) and many others and every single one of them has put their absolute ALL into their performances. Regardless of whether it’s cool or not anymore to like these bands, I think at least one of them deserves a nod.

Also, I’m kind of perplexed that they’d leave Ani DiFranco out of the list. I’ve seen her twice and once again, she might not be the coolest in many circles but godammit she can put on a show like no other artist, and she switches it up stylistically EVERY tour. There’s no other artist I know that can say that. Looking over this list a little more, I think it’s also pretty safe to say it was made by a bunch of dudes, so I can’t say her exclusion (if that’s a word at all) surprises me.

And how could you include fucking uBoring2 and RHCP and NOT Ben Folds? When I saw Ben Folds he improvised a 15 minute song about a cliff that he climbed in Pittsburgh that had the whole audience singing along, and then did a duet with Rufus Wainwright who he was double headlining with at the time of Careless Whisper by George Michael. The day Bono does anything remotely as cool I will drop out of college and move to a farm somewhere.

Anyway. That’s the rest of my rant. I was going to make my own list but I am far, far too indecisive to do so, at least at this moment.

WOW…I hate U2 soo much. I think they are the most over rated band ever. The fact that My Chemical Romance is even on the list is horrible along with Red Hot Chili Peppers. Green Day gets this huge rep and I was really stoked to see them and I have never been so disappointed.

White Stripes-best concerts I have ever been to.
The Roots- words cannot describe how awesome (they covered Dylan’s masters of war…unbelievable)
Beck!!
Wilco!!
NICK CAVE!!! The band has so much energy and they all have such larger than life personalities that is so much fun to experience…the energy from the fans and the band is intense
Man Man
Gogol Bordello
The Kills-I loved them live, but I know some people definitely don’t, it’s a very different experience.
Avett Brothers–wow I think they broke a string every song they play really hard live

so many other bands than a majority of the ones they have listed. I think…but really, everyone has a different style.