Basics: Rock Music History and Top 10 Lists
By Tim Grierson, About.com Guide to Rock Music
Here is the perfect place to learn about the basics of rock music, including its history and a description of the different genres. Plus, I have Top 10 lists of all kinds so that you can track down rock's essential artists, albums and songs.
Rock Music History
What is rock music? Who were the bands that pioneered the style, and what groups pushed rock music into adventurous new terrain? We'll examine rock's origins, its evolution into different genres, and its place in the modern musical landscape.
Rock Essentials
There are so many rock bands, rock songs, rock albums -- where do you start? Right here. Take a look at these lists of influential artists and moments in rock history.
Top 10 Lists
Nothing gets a good argument going better than a Top 10 list. Picking the best of anything is completely subjective, but that's all part of the fun ... check out these conversation-starting lists.
- 2009's Best Rock Albums ... So Far
- 2009's Best Rock Songs ... So Far
- Most Anticipated Rock Albums of 2009
- 2008's Best Rock Albums
- 2008's Best Rock Songs
- 2008's Best Political Rock Songs
- 2008's Most Memorable Rock Stories
- 2007's Best Rock Albums
- 2006's Best Rock Albums
- Top 10 Red Hot Chili Peppers Songs
- Top 10 Nine Inch Nails Songs
- Top 10 Wilco Songs
- Top 10 Oasis Songs
- Top 10 Guns N' Roses Songs
- Best Rock Workout Songs
- Best Rock Love Songs
- Best Rock Songs About Dads
- Top 10 Inspirational Rock Songs
- Best Rock Band Cameos on 'The Simpsons'
Concert Photo Galleries
Can't make it out to see your favorite bands in concert? Then enjoy these vivid photo galleries that capture the world's biggest rock stars in their natural environment -- the stage.
- U2: Final U.S. Show of 2009 at the Rose Bowl
- Green Day: Final U.S. '21st Century Breakdown' Show of 2009
- Blink-182: Opening Night - July 23, 2009
- Rage Against the Machine at the 2008 Republican National Convention
- Rage Against the Machine at the 2008 Democratic National Convention
- Foo Fighters Live
Rock Producers
Terrific rock albums need more than great songs and performers -- there are also the people who work behind the scenes in the studio that make the magic happen. Take a look at the music producers shaping the sound of contemporary rock.
