Most Influential Rock band of all time?

The Band of Gypsys (jimi hendrix)
Pink Floyd (probably my favorite classic band or tied with zeppelin)
Led Zepplin
Nirvana
Carlos Santana (not a band but an influential rocker)
The Beetles (Don't really care for them but they were big)
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Megadeth
Metallica
Pantera
The Rolling stones (even though they stole a lot of work and this is known)
Ac/Dc
Type O negative ( a pioneer of goth rock)
Alice In Chains
Foo Fighters
Sound Garden
Behemoth (a pioneer of death metal)
Rage agianst the machine ( pioneer of rap rock)
The beach boys
 
if I were to expand my list, it would include a few more British bands and a couple of American ones and two Australians one as well:

Queen
King Crimson - all incarnations from 1968 onwards
Pink Floyd
Genesis - mostly the Peter Gabriel era, but also post-Gabriel
The Shadows (Hank Marvin, also Cliff Richards backing band/touring band) (guitar band instrumentals)

the various Zappa bands of the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's
Dick Dale and the Del-tones (guitar band instrumentals)
The ventures (guitar band instrumentals)
The Beach Boys
The Band
Grateful Dead
Allman Brothers band (which kinda of bled over into Derek and the Dominoes so Brit-American)
Bachman-turner Overdrive
Kiss - before they decided to do disco, even they took the germanic route with it

AC/DC
The Atlantics (the guitarists in this band pioneered most of Hendrix's showmanship stuff (teeth picking, playing behind the head etc) in the early 1960's) (guitar band instrumentals)
 
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I'm going to stretch this to heavy metal:

"The Big Four" plus Destruction, Kreator and Sepultura for Thrash Metal;

Bathory, Venom, Celtic Frost, Sarcófago plus tons of 90's norwegian bands for Black Metal;

Saxon, Iron Maiden for NWOBHM;

I can keep going if you want! :)
 
Little Richard
Chuck Berry
(American Blues influenced The Stones and Beatles).

Black Sabbath
Queen
The Band
King Crimson
Ramones/Sex Pistols/Clash

And my personal fave guitarist, Jeff Beck.
 
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And to hit some of the later ones..

The Pixies
Nirvana
Radiohead made it cool to use keys again.
The Strokes started a "retro" kinda thing.
 
Zakk Wylde, Rhandy Rhoads, John Petrucci (ok, they're from the 80's, but the bands they played are quite influential to those new ones we have now)
 
For me, it has to be AC/DC. Without them, there would be NO hard rock. Sure, Sabbath pioneered metal, but AC/DC is the DEFINITIVE hard rock band. No AC/DC, no Manson, no Nails, no A7X, no Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Nirvana, back all the way to the Crue, Poison, Skid Row, etc. You can point at Zeppelin all you want, but they were way too, IDK, raw? Un-cut? AC/DC was so furious and raw and edgy in their polished sound, so pure, as in five guys belting it out, that they brought a sound to rock and roll that has yet to be matched. My post sounds a little contradictory, but I would point to AC/DC over Zeppelin as the most visionary, just because of their pureness, their edge, their soul and heart, that has transcended DECADES and still had only imitators instead of innovators.I sold my soul for Rock and Roll. Have you?
 
Led Zeppelin definitely.
Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Guns & Roses, Stone Temple Pilots, etc.
Yes, they are maybe the most influential. Every decade added a new sounding to the rock music. Jimi hendrinx added the screaming guitar, Pink Floyd are the masters of psy rock, Guns & Roses for hard rock and roll, Rolling Stones for classical Rock & Roll.
Personally I love Whitesnake. And I think they were very influential.
 
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