11. AC/DC
AC/DC’s music is often described as ‘power metal’, ‘heavy metal’, blues rock’, or ‘hard rock’, but the band simply describe their music as ‘rock n’ roll’. The band was formed in 1973 in Sydney, Australia, by two brothers of Scottish origin, Malcom and Angus Young. The band is actually one of the few bands to successfully survive the death of their lead singer and frontman, Bon Scott, who died in 1980. They considered disbanding at first, but luckily they decided against it, bringing on Brian Johnson as a replacement.
AC DC
The band’s name actually stands for ‘alternating current/direct current’, a well-chosen name if you consider their energetic, electrifying performances. AC/DC rank 10th best-selling artist in the United States and 14th highest-selling artist worldwide. They are pretty impressive considering that their first international album, ‘High Voltage’, was released in 1976, yet an album released so many years later, in 2008, ‘Back in Black’, still managed to become the third highest-selling album by any artist worldwide and the highest-selling album by any band. That really is something!
10. Nirvana
Nirvana changed the world with just four chords. Lead vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic, and drummer Dave Grohl, created a sound together which is probably the bridge between rock and new-found grunge, putting the last nail in the coffin of what was becoming increasingly commercialized hair metal of the 1980s.
Nirvana
Nirvana, who only released three studio albums before Cobain’s untimely death in 1994, managed to give a voice to an angry generation and set the world on fire with their music. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is thought to be one of the most genre-breaking singles ever released. Pretty amazing how much of an influence this band had in such a short time.
