The 100 Best Band Names of All Time

Published December 14, 2009 @ 16:05 in Lists, Music

MusicThere's a link going around that lists the 100 best band names of all time.

Here's their top 10:

1. Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem (Leave it to The Muppets to come up with the BEST BAND NAME OF ALL TIME.)
2. Guided By Voices (This always seemed like the secret to Robert Pollard’s prolific and bizarre output.)
3. Joy Division (The name came from the 1955 novel House of Dolls in which a Nazi concentration camp had a prostitution arm.)
4. Led Zeppelin
5. A Tribe Called Quest
6. 13th Floor Elevators
7. Godspeed You! Black Emperor (Like Lemmy and the umlaut, we’d have retired random punctuation after these post-rock legends used it best.)
8. Public Enemy
9. Man… or Astro-Man? (After seeing them live, you still wonder.)
10. We Were Promised Jetpacks! (Yes, Scottish frontman Adam Thompson, we sure were.)

I like #3, #4, #5 and #8, but I'm not sure of the others. I don't even think #1 should count.

Without giving it a great deal of thought, here are my ten favourite band names.

  1. Joy Division
  2. Velvet Underground
  3. Soundgarden
  4. A Tribe Called Quest
  5. The Flaming Lips
  6. Revolting Cocks
  7. Rage Against the Machine
  8. Sex Pistols
  9. Sonic Youth
  10. The Psychedelic Furs

12 Responses to "The 100 Best Band Names of All Time"

Pete
December 14, 2009 / 17:29

What!?

No Tragically Hip?
How about Box of Frogs?

--Pete

Down Goes Brown
December 14, 2009 / 17:32

Even though I've never heard the music, one of my all time favorite names is the backup band of singer Al Tuck. They're called "No Action".

LEW
December 14, 2009 / 17:36

I never liked the band, but the name Butthole Surfers always made me giggle. The Dead Kennedy's also stood out.

Buffaloboymike
December 14, 2009 / 21:40

My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult Jam
Ned's Atomic Dustbin
KMFDM
Lowest of the Low
Big Audio Dynamite
Catherine Wheel-gotta love any band named after a torture device

Anonymous
December 14, 2009 / 21:55

I'm partial to "Heartless Bastards". Unfortunately, though, their music isn't nearly as interesting as their name.

Jill
December 14, 2009 / 22:45

How about Porno For Pyros, They Might Be Giants, Fine Young Cannibals, 10,000 Maniacs, Flock Of Seagulls, Panic! At the Disco, Oingo Boingo.

J9
December 15, 2009 / 06:27

Wow - so many good names! I am partial to Audioslave.

Chris in EY
December 15, 2009 / 13:38

Always loved Weezer, Wonder Stuff, P Funk All Stars, The Wailers, Inspiral Carpets, Steely Dan

jason | getyouroj.com
December 15, 2009 / 18:26

I'll just give you a few RANDOM ones that come to mind

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
My Morning Jacket
Smashing Pumpkins
Porno for Pyros
The The

jason | getyouroj.com
December 15, 2009 / 18:27

and of course Rainbow Butt Monkeys. Finger that!

andrew
December 15, 2009 / 20:04

The Dead Kennedys. Not appropriate but imaginative.

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