Origin:

Decades:

Combining a love for British guitar pop songcraft with crunching power chords and a flair for the absurd, Cheap Trick provided the necessary links between '60s pop, heavy metal, and punk. Led by guitarist Rick Nielsen, the band's early albums were filled with highly melodic, well-written songs that drew equally from the crafted pop of the Beatles, the sonic assault of the Who, and the tongue-in-cheek musical eclecticism and humor of the Move. Their sound provided a blueprint for both power pop and arena roc... Read More

Big Star, John Lennon, Led Zeppelin, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, T. Rex, The Velvet Underground, The Who, The Kinks, Paul McCartney, The Move, The Nazz and The Yardbirds

Ben Folds Five, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Guns N' Roses, Jeff Buckley, Mötley Crüe, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, The Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, Material Issue, Guided by Voices, Jellyfish, Pavement, Phantom Planet, Hole, Poison, Pixies, Placebo, Supergrass, Veruca Salt, Fountains of Wayne, Goo Goo Dolls, Shudder to Think, The Kicks, Extreme, Frank Black, Terrorvision, The Posies, The Swingin' Neckbreakers, The Weirdos, Urge Overkill and Melvins