Interesting post RFB, I've always thought of The Stone Roses as getting the praise they justly deserve. A great great early ouput with the first album, a host of great b-sides and singles but a bang average bordering on downright crap second album stops them from being mentioned in the same breath as truly great great bands.

I think they're fantastic and the hype over them today shows just how good they were and I can't remember a reunion ever being so talked about, but the hype never extends beyond their output live or on record after 1991, and quite rightly in my opinion.

I also actually think U2 are (unbelievably) underrated. I am in agreement here with Noel Gallagher in saying they are the most underrated band ever!

I've read endless reviews of their albums and from Boy to Zooropa (with exception of Rattle and Hum), there is a long long series of albums that are perfect, and the critical reception towards them is, quite rightly, fantastic. Along with 170 million albums sold worldwide you might think why I would put them as 'underrated'. Well, the reason is because I've never met a U2 fan personally, and mirroring what Noel has said about them, all my friends hate them and I defend them to the death.

I think the problem with todays generation is that they do not realise just how great U2 are. Many go on the basis that they have a couple of mainstream hits in Beautiful Day and Vertigo - all pretty slap bang middle of the road tunes - from the last 10 years and that Bono is a twat. But some people sadly do not know how innovative and forward thinking this band were, and the change in style from Boy to Achtung Baby is as drastic a change in styles as you'll ever see from any band, yet maintaining all brilliance at the same time.

I think if young folk today put aside their misconceptions of the band and stopped jumping on the bandwagon that is so pathetically wheeled out by the likes of rag papers like NME, simply in order to be cool, then people would think differently about them. They're not my favourite band but I have to defend them to the death because I see what is definitely unjustified criticism. They're not nearly my favourite band but due to the amount of criticism they receive, it's up to the likes of me to stand up for them. I think they are brilliant and nothing could convince me otherwise.

He used to be an English teacher, imagine him walking into the classroom like that!

I've personally always thought Led Zeppelin were incredibly overrated. I like them all as band members, and I do think they are good, but I can't see why they are mentioned in the same breath as other truly great great English bands like The Beatles or The Kinks.

I'm kinda shocked about the blur comments, MLIR and Parklife are great records.

Overrated:
Pearl Jam: I just think their music is really boring, and they are easily my least favorite of the big four of grunge.
Aerosmith: They are one of the few bands I can think of where I have no reason to listen to anything but a greatest hits. No need to delve further, and that makes them overrated for me.
AC/DC: Good god, nothing bores me more in this world than this band.
Imagine Dragons: I know they are new, but people my age (19) tells me since I'm into rock I should check them out. I have, and to me Radioactive borders on Fun levels of pretentiousness. Not the good kind, like Oasis' cockiness, but just Lena Dunhamish gen y bleh.

Underrated:
Oasis: In America, but everybody here knows that.
Verve: They have a lot of other great tunes, but not as good as blur or Oasis.
Misfits: Danzig era in particular. I know all the emo kids have the Crimson skull t-shirts, but only a handful of people I've personally met appreciate them.
Weezer: Just Pinkerton, everybody loves the blue album, but Pinkerton is Weezer at their best, with nobody knowing.
Sunny Day Real Estate: TBH just heard about them from South Park, but that first album, Diary, is great and shockingly ahead of its time. The second track, In Circles, is the foundation of late 90s-2000s rock/alternative. Hard to believe it came out the same year as Definitely Maybe.

I know you will find Led Zeppelin well worth the wait. Right kalas? If I had to rank iconic English bands from the 1960s/1970s I'd go:

1. The Beatles
2. Led Zeppelin
3. The Rolling Stones
4. The Kinks
5. Pink Floyd
6. The Who

Beatles should not be in the same sentence with word overrated

One band that comes to my mind is The Soundtrack of our lives and reckon they should have got more recognition while they were playing, there are just a few bands that are good and are not UK/US.

Pete Doherty might be underrated , Beadye Eye, Fleetwood Mac

Overrated are Coldplay, The Strokes and never really undrestood Bee Gees ...but it' s just a matter of taste I guess.

I couldn't agree more with The Soundtrack of Our Lives. They were one of the best live bands I ever saw in person. Both times at the Bowery Ballroom they took no prisoners. Their lead guitarist looked like Russell Hammond from Stillwater.

Just to note, I don't think Second Coming is crap, but the prevailing view amongst many is that it is crap. I think it's a decent album at best, Love Spreads, Breaking Into Heaven and Tears are great great tunes that are worthy of their places in the setlist I think. The weird thing is with The Stone Roses is that I don't think Second Coming and the disastrous live performances that followed undermines the band, because the band were always a product of that great friction between band mates in true rock and roll fashion. And that partly explained their appeal - they were risky, exciting, unconventional, unpolished and real (one massive criticism I will make of the U2 over the 2000s is that they are so so polished and safe) - and it all translated into their music. I think most folk would rather have their bands blow up spectacularly in true rock and roll fashion than rather peter out over a decade, which is kinda what Oasis did. I might be wrong, and it is just my opinion, but that allure (added with great great music) is what is partly appealing about the band.

Overrated:

Guns N' Roses

Radiohead

Coldplay

Green Day

Underrated:

Oasis

Dinosaur Jr

Silversun Pickups

Cast

No doubt about it, Guns N Roses and Green Day are extremely overrated. Guns N Roses haven't been relevant since about 1991. Axel finally releasing Chinese Democracy was a huge mistake. Before that he got tons of press every year about this apocalypse now lost album. Then it was released and sucked.......big time.....but not surprising at all.

On the other hand some might say that wasn' t GnR...just Axel and a few musicians (don' t know their names, but there was one dickhead with some ridiculous bucket on his head ). Axel keeping the name G&R is the same nonsense if Beady Eye kept the name Oasis 2.0 pathetic. The original line up made some great tunes even though they are different sort of music than what I like the most ( still like foe example when welcome to the jungle is being played somewhere in the pub or ... if that song is played @ hockey matches )

I do not live in UK, so I'll give you a french point of view...

Here, Oasis is essentially famous for Wonderwall... I joke, but you know what I mean. Radiohead is more famous, and I think most of french people over-rate Radiohead (and also Muse or Coldplay).

The Stone Roses are an unkown band here. I never heard them on the radio (I stopped to listen the radio more than 10 years ago...). Their first gig in France since their return was not empty (and the crow was 50/50 between french and british people I think ahah). Theyre are fucking underrated...