bdp24,
I've seen from your posts in the past that you seem to place a lot of weight on the musical opinions of other famous musicians. To me, no matter who they are, it is still just another person with their personal preference. There is no 'BEST" band, only our personal favorites who make the music that resonates with us most profoundly and gives us joy or makes us feel.
That said, this is America, and in the USA, everything must be a contest, and there MUST be a number 1, a winner. That's probably one of the most unattractive things about American culture, even though I think that overall it's pretty great.
When Tom Petty first came on the scene with Damn the Torpedoes, I really liked him. As his style matured, I started to like him less and I lost interest, although I have a lot of respect for the way Mike Campbell plays guitar. Overall, to me they were a good band, certainly musically competent, with some memorable songs, but I wouldn't personally consider them to be "great".
