it's funny I've done a lot of personnal research into finding out just who is the best band of all time. - If I did a survey it would always be The Beatles (this is mostly the media's view) but when I asked who where their favourite band Queen would win by a golden mile which is a bit of a paradox. All the people who owned most of the Floyds albums I've met claimed them to be the top act, so this is were exposure comes into it i.e people hearing at least 3 or more of the groups work. The Beatles have been exposed to at least 3 billion people (with their fashionable image and contemporary music) selling 180 million albums. Queen maybe 2 billion tops (with their superstars and movie soundtracks) 60 million records, yet Pink floyd with no radio play because of their lenghty melancholic songs and no t.v appearances because of Roger Waters face have been exposed to probably around 500 million max selling over 100 million albums.......so it's simple Floyd are the greatest!!!!- 1 in 5 people can't be wrong THE BASIC FACT IS SOCIETY AS MOULDED PEOPLES OPINIONS AND THEY ARE AFRAID OF BEING RIDICULED BY STATING THEIR OWN THOUGHTS.

(added 12 dec to back up my claims for guests reading)

Pink Floyd are they the greatest?

First you’ve got to realise well known doesn’t automatically make something great.
Most bands considered amongst the greats of all time have made around 20 classic songs. (Timeless because of excellence) The Beatles maybe 30 and with each song being around 3 minutes long that’s 90 minutes of quality music. – The Sex pistols probably didn’t produce 1 minute of excellent music. (As a guide)

Now let’s try it with Pink Floyd. I’m going to omit certain well known songs that the majority of Floyd fans dislike assuming that the majority of Floyd fans have good taste. (With bias being a factor this is fair)

Songs great lyrically but considerably poor musically and/or melodiously were also left out.

Knowing I had to do this experiment on a level playing field made some of the choices soul destroying, ‘Shine on you crazy diamond’ in particular was an heart breaking decision. All the Floyd fans I’ve come across like it, personally I love it, but the lyrics are totally about one thing and nothing else, those which only the band and fans feel passionately about. Most non Floyd fans I’ve listened to it with didn’t enjoy it.(I’m sure they’d acquire the taste for it if they knew the story of Syd and knew what Floyd were all about.) Usual comments are “too long,” Boring, nothing’s happening” or “it sounds odd.” (Syd himself) Sound wise the song has flaws – large passages of mediocre guitar/keyboard that are a little dreary. The chorus itself sounds too polished, especially knowing that it should represent raw emotion, I’ve heard Waters sing it live recently and the emotion in the chorus was impeccable, it was really fitting and how it should have been originally recorded. The song is near classic though; there are just so many good sequences. Dave’s 4 note arpeggio for instance still sends shivers up my spine every time I hear it.

It’s the same for all bands though; people grow in to the songs. Some people (through peers and copious exposure) develop a taste for excessively loud music like Sepultura, this music to those with a good taste in music is found to be offensive to the hearing. A lot of The Beatles songs appealed to people who don’t take life too seriously and just want to have a bit of light relief, a laugh when the mates are round. In The Beatles case (Yellow Submarine, Octopuses garden etc)

Here are the Classic Floyd tracks: (if you can’t imagine any of them great, picture someone else performing them…. Echoes – Rolling stones / Cymbaline – David Bowie / The narrow way P3 – The Beatles / Marooned – Fleetwood Mack etc.)

See Emily play - 2.53
Matida mother - 3.06
Paintbox - 3.46
Remember a day - 4.33
Set the controls for the heart of the sun - 5.25
See-saw - 4.35
It would be so nice - 3.47
Julia dream - 2.32
Cirrus minor - 5.17
Green is the colour - 2.57
Crying song - 3.31
Cymbaline - 4.48
The narrow way part3 - 5.56
Crumbling land - 3.30est.
Come in number 51, your time is up - 5.30est.
Atom heart mother - 23.42
Careful with that axe Eugene - 5.44
A pillow of winds - 5.09
Echoes - 23.29
Burning Bridges - 3.29
Mud men - 4.16
Breathe - 3.57
Time - 7.05
Great gig in the sky - 4.47
Us and them - 7.48
Any colour you like - 3.25
Welcome to the machine - 7.30
Sheep - 9.44
Another brick in the wall part2 - 3.59
Good bye blue sky - 2.20est.
Hey you - 4.38
Is there anybody out there? - 3.30est.
Comfortably Numb - 6.20
The final cut - 4.41
Embryo - 4.20est.
One slip - 4.40est.
Yet another movie - 5.00est.
Marooned - 5.26
Wearing the inside out - 6.48
Keep talking - 6.09
High hopes - 6.59

41 classic tracks, a touch more than The Beatles, but Floyds total time of quality music 246.01 minutes!!
Christ that’s just over 4 hour. Compared with the Beatles hour and a half it’s overwhelming.

As these two bands are in the main running realistically I bid you farewell……

Take a blue dreamer before replying.

Despite everything that as been said and done there is such thing as good and bad music. People can have good and bad taste....It's obvious...If a band recorded a 4 minute song that just comprised of a hammer hitting a chisel it would be s**t, some folk would like it because of its humour values but that’s not appreciation of music. - a good song is something our senses don't find grating or offensive something everybody can like regardless of taste...lets say Bo rhap by Queen there's something for everybody on it for starters and secondly Freddie vocals are so endearing for the first 3 minutes you can't help but feel drawn in. I suppose it’s about awareness of music and how it moves you...todays music is so image driven it's hard to decipher good from bad because there's so little artistry. - It’s either loud or fleshy.