Top 10: Jersey Bands Ever

So far this week I've been skewing very Jersey-centric with a review of Screaming Females brand new record Power Move and my Blast from the Past coming from Yo La Tengo, so I thought we should keep the theme going by counting down the ten best bands ever to come from the Garden State! We're gonna keep it strictly to bands and not solo artists, so you won't see folks like Frank Sinatra or Whitney Houston on the list, but you will find bands from a wide array of genres and eras. As always I ask you to feel free to chime in with who you think rocks the state of New Jersey!

10. Naughty By Nature; Known mostly for their two biggest hits, "O.P.P." and "Hip Hop Hooray", these East Orange rappers have sold a shit ton of records with two platinum discs and a couple of gold to add to it. But they weren't just about sales, they perfected rhymes about growing up in poverty and trying to better themselves through the music they were making. It could be rough at times, but more often then not there was a message behind what they were rapping about.
Naughty By Nature - "O.P.P."

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9. The Rascals; A few of you may think I'm referring to some band from England right now, but I'm not. Instead I'm talking about the soul/rock quartet that hailed from Jersey back in the '60's, long before those other Rascals were even born. This group is responsible for three #1 hits; "Good Lovin'", "Groovin'", and "People Got to Be Free", and even more tunes that hit the Billboard 100 over their time. Their music was part rock, part soul, and all greatness. If you've never heard them before, pickup their greatest hits album, you'll wind up thanking me in the long run.
The Rascals - "Come On Up"

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8. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists; I'm pretty sure most of the fans of this site will agree that Ted Leo & the Pharmacists definitely belong on this list. With five solid records to their name the band have crafted a solid reputation for giving us some outstanding rock albums, but we all know this band truly built their reputation with some terrific live shows. Those shows have won them countless fans and have built them up as one of those bands that you have to see live to fully get what they're doing.
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - "Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone"

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7. The Feelies; The Feelies spent most of the 1980's being adored by local crowds, but never quite getting noticed by at the national or international levels. They were often referred to as, "the New York area's best-loved underground rockers since the late 1970's", by New York Times' music critic John Pareles, and came out of the woodwork to release just four albums from 1980 till when they disbanded in 1992. Since then the band have surfaced here and there playing random holiday gigs mostly at Hoboken's famed Maxwell's. Even though the band never quite got the loving from the rest of the country their reputation allowed their music to become a major influence on the indie bands of today's music world. That alone makes them vital to Jersey's musical history, but they were also a tremendous band and are once again making a splash with a return to the stage and possibly some new recordings.
The Feelies - "Away"

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6. The Shirelles; There are probably a lot of people out there that would rank The Shirelles as one of the great girl groups of all-time. The quartet were the first girl group with a #1 hit on Billboard's Hot 100 with their tune "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", but only hit number one one other time with their 1962 release "Soldier Boy". Though they only had the two #1's, every single they released from 1958 - 1965 reached the charts at some level and all but three of those reached into the top 100. That's a damn impressive run for any artist.
The Shirelles - "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"

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5. The Misfits; Hailing from Lodi, New Jersey, The Misfits are one of the greatest hardcore bands of all-time, if not the greatest. Their brand of horror film punk captured the imaginations of punks across the world throughout the 80's, and still get fists pumping whenever their tunes are played in a bar or at a show. Sure, things haven't quite been the same since Danzig left the band but let's remember all the good years we got of them howling about zombies and the countless bands who they've had a hand in shaping over the years.
The Misfits - "Die, Die My Darling"

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4. The Four Seasons; As the British invasion struck America and while Motown Records smooth soul was dominating the charts, The Four Seasons served as an acceptable "rock" alternative for parents to force feed their kids across the nation. That may not sound all the appealing, but it's hard to deny The Four Seasons were a fantastic band. They produced huge hits in record numbers and songs like "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Sherry" are still in heavy rotation on oldies stations all over the place. In the 70's the band managed to somehow reinvent itself with their biggest selling hit "December, 1963 (Oh What A Night)", but as soon as disco died so did The Four Seasons ability to sell records. For two decades the band were one of the biggest selling acts in America and their music remains today as some great, soft rock classics.
The Four Seasons - "Walk Like a Man"

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3. The Fugees; The reign of The Fugees did not last very long. They blew up and disappeared faster then any band as critically accepted as they were ever have. But you cannot ignore the fact that they released one of the best albums in the last 20-years of music, a record that is time and time again ranked with the greatest of all-time. The Score is a landmark with which there is no real comparison. It is built on a few hit singles, a couple of cover songs, and a sound that is still incomparable. That alone makes The Fugees important and they remain so thanks to the timeless nature of their one big record.
The Fugees - "Killing Me Softly With His Song"

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2. Yo La Tengo; Formed in 1984, Yo La Tengo have been making indie music since the term was invented. They have recorded 15-albums ranging from the absolute classics like Painful and I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One to the almost unlistenable, but have done so by sticking to their own rules and building a fervently loyal following. As indie rock has gotten more and more popular the band has often been overlooked, getting passed up for whatever the flavor of the month happens to be, while they have remained steady and consistent throughout their career. If you were starting a band today and you wanted to know what type of formula to follow I'd tell you to copy Yo La Tengo and you'd have a pretty good life of making records and touring non-stop ahead of you.
Yo La Tengo - "Autumn Sweater"

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1. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band; This may just be the most obvious #1 on any of my top 10 lists, but it that way for a reason. When you think of New Jersey one of the first things that comes to mind if Bruce Springsteen. His music sounds like the state of New Jersey and the state sounds like Bruce's music. Over the course of his legendary career he has chronicled every avenue of regular life in New Jersey, from the working class union man to the streets of his hometown and everything else you can possibly think of. New Jersey is the only state in the U.S. without a State Song (according to Wikipedia) but I'm sure if they had to choose one it would be a Bruce Springsteen song.
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out"

Supplemental Top 5 New(ish) New Jersey Bands:
5. The Static Jacks; They may be writing songs about escaping where they live, but deep down they haven't left Jersey because they truly love it. These tunes are straight, garage infused rock anthems, that have led to countless Strokes comparisons.
The Static Jacks - "Stay A Lover"

4. The Measure (SA); Okay, so they've been around since 2004 so they're not really new but not that many people know about these guys. That should change as their pop-punk tunes are the perfect answer to all the shitty Warped Tour bands giving punk a bad name.
The Measure (SA) - "Hello Bastards"

3. The Gaslight Anthem; Everyone from Rolling Stone to Pitchfork have raved about these guys and their soulful anthems. I have to say the tunes are pretty straight up, but they are solid in that. These would sound great pumping from your shitty car stereo or from stage as the band rips through them. Isn't that the true test of music?
The Gaslight Anthem - "The '59 Sound"

2. Screaming Females; I told you about their new record on Tuesday, but in case you didn't get the message this band if fucking awesome!
Screaming Females - "Bell"

1. Titus Andronicus; Flat out one of my favorite bands right now. Their debut full length is full of crazed, anthemic punk rock that borders between sloppy and brilliant! Live they're even better!
Titus Andronicus - "Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ"