Actually, maybe not Frank Zappa. The Beatles and The Velvet Underground probably come before him.

right. that's what makes him prolific. you're also right that the Beatles were around first (VU was the same time).

but what makes someone influential is how the future follows in their footsteps. while it's becoming very popular to name drop Zappa, there still aren't that many groups that draw a clear influence from him. especially not compared to a group like Led Zeppelin or the Who (which just about every other rock band you hear today still owes a major debt to).

drawing influence is not a matter of comparing the band to their contemporaries but comparing them to what came after them. in which case it's folly to deny LZ, at least up until the point when screaming like you had a downstairs zipper accident became the vocal style of choice. speaking of which, who deserves the credit for that influence on the masses? Chino from the Deftones or was there someone doing that style before him?

I meant come before him in a sense of influence, not chronologically. I know the chronology.

Yeah, I understand that there is not much direct influence in rock bands from Zappa - that's why I withdrew his name and replaced it with Velvet Underground or The Beatles.

But, still, in the defense of my first (and probably wrong) claim, people can take indirect influence from artists. It's not all about copying their sounds.

The reason I took back Zappa's name is because he has a style that's not very easy to copy or take from, but the reason I originally put his name there is because he had a lot of good ideas that are still used today.

However, Velvet Underground recreated all kinds of genres, and The Beatles set the stage for pop music that followed.

The Beatles had to be THE most influential, not only for their lyrical prowess but for other reasons. How many producers have talked about their overall sound with George Martin? The Beatles spawned loads of progeny and it still goes on to this day.

There's one black guy on this list?

I voted Bob Dylan...... Bob Dylan Changed the Beatles.... Not to say the Beatles didn't change Bob Dylan but I liked the effect Dylan had on the Beatles so much more then Dylan just picking up a electric guitar.

And nobody from the 50s.

I'd probably say The Beatles, but if it was the most influential band in my life it would be The Doors.

Muddy Waters
 

Yeah, he is a blues artist. But what do you think inspired the wave of British artists in the 60's? When you think of Led Zeppelin, the Stone, Clapton (Cream, Derek..., Yardbirds, etc.,) the Who...The British Invasion was in effect young blues artists selling their music back to their heros. Robert Johnson may have gone a long way toward creating the genre, but Muddy was the face of the blues. He brought it to the masses and exported it across borders. That is the real "influence."

The Beatles influenced a larger pool of people than other less known bands at the time because of their commercial success. Everybody has heard or heard of the Beatles. Of course they were not the only band doing something revolutionary, but they were the most well known and influenced the most people.

Not to mention, I'm sure a lot of people on these forums were Beatles fans at some point and were exposed to more music because of that.