Band Week continues with the Best Bands of All Time ballots of Fred Armisen and Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker. Stay tuned for more survey responses from the over 70 artists we polled for our massive list, like Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan.
“By the way, I’m gonna assume we always take The Beatles off of the top,” Fred Armisen tells Consequence when naming the bands he considers to be the best of all time. “Because that’s like saying ‘Christmas’ or something.”
He’s not wrong. The Beatles received the most votes from the over 70 artists we surveyed for our ranking of the 100 Best Bands of All Time, and it wasn’t particularly close. Truthfully, the Fab Four didn’t need his or Corin Tucker’s support, so they took the opportunity to throw their weight behind some personal favorites.
Catching up with Consequence minutes after their The Return of Jackie and Judy set at Bourbon & Beyond 2026 (and just prior to them racing to the airport), the SNL/Trenchmouth alum and Sleater-Kinney member’s picks expectedly lean punky and artsy. They gush about seminal riot grrrl acts, a certain purple icon, and even a band that’s pretty close to home. (“That’s very kind of you, Fred. You have been a fan for a really long time, and I really appreciate that,” Tucker says in response — hint hint.)
Check out all of their picks below, and watch them tell it themselves above. Then, see who made the final cut and where they ranked on the final list.
Fred Armisen’s Top Bands
Sleater-Kinney (photo by Chris Hornbecker) / The Damned (photo by Raymond Ahner) / Prince and the Revolution (photo by AFP Photo/Pascal George/Getty Images)
Sleater-Kinney
This is going to sound fake. This is real, and I’ve said it many doing interviews and things. My favorite band of all time is Sleater-Kinney. That’s real. You could check me on this. You could double-check.
The Damned
My second favorite band is The Damned. I love them so much. Everything about them. They are a perfect band. I love the lineup of Captain Sensible, Dave Vanian, Paul Gray, and Rat Scabies. I’ve seen them many times. I love them. They are everything I love about music, because they are punk, but they have, like, psychedelic aspects to them. So, I hear their influences as well. Love The Damned.
Prince and The Revolution
I’m gonna go for Prince. I don’t even need to describe why. The place he has in my heart. I’m gonna leave it at that. Prince.
Corin Tucker’s Top Bands
Bikini Kill (photo by Debi Del Grande) / Kate Bush (photo by Trevor Leighton) / The Slits (photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns)
Bikini Kill
Favorite band of all time: Bikini Kill. Saw them when I was very young, changed my life, and they’re still one of my all-time favs.
Kate Bush
I’m gonna go with a second favorite, Kate Bush. I discovered her when I was a teenager, and she’s just such a huge influence. Her songwriting, her singing, the production that she did on her albums. She was just always really, really ahead of her time.
The Slits
For my third, I’m gonna go with The Slits. Such a perfect, interesting, seminal band, and I think they’re a little underrepresented in their place in musical history. Like, they were so punk and so wild. They got kicked off the tour bus with The Clash. They were so punk. They were so crazy and free and wild, and their music reflected that, you know? At a time when that was a really big deal. It was the ’70s. So, anyway, love them.