that still feels like a bit of a stretch of jumps, early rock directly into ska, then ska to Reggae? I may need to do some more historical research but I thought Ska came from Reggae, or if not, Reggae and ska had little connection except the tone and beat. Also, ska has been a huge part of punk recently, and I wonder if the sub-genre ska punk exists, or if punk is a subgenre of ska, or vice versa. Genre's adopt other genre's, doesn't always mean there's a direct connection. I definitely see rap and reggae connected though.

ska came before reggae, and reggae music is actually newer than some might think, not developing until the mid-60's. In fact, The Wailers were originally a ska group.

The mixture of ska into punk music comes directly from late-70's British groups like The Specials, The Selector and Madness. These bands were popular in Southern California, which is why some years later the third-wave ska revival (which is indeed also known as "ska punk") happened. Ska and punk aren't particularly related, its just an unrelated genre which mixes (or to borrow a term from another genre, "fuses") in with punk music very well.

What are some early ska groups? I don't know anything about them.

The Skatalites were the most well known, and you can find quite a few videos of them on Youtube. Prince Buster is another one, and he was an influence on the band Madness, who covered his "One Step Beyond" (which alot of people do not know is a cover). You might also be able to find some clips (I wasn't as lucky) of early reggae artists back when they were ska groups, like The Wailers or Jimmy Cliff.

Ever heard of this guy? Also interesting is the cute little sidebar to the right of DDD's Greatest Reggae Songs list (you'll have to scroll down a little).

can't say I have. Will check it out, I still have much to learn about music history, and that's why I love this site.

Maybe because it has the best intro of all time? One of Stones' best songs?

My suggestion for the top 10:

1. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
2. A Day in the Life - The Beatles or Johhny B. Goode - Chuck Berry
3. Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan
4. Respect - Aretha Franklin
5. Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
6. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
7. Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
8. Good Vibrations - Beach Boys
9. What'd I Say - Ray Charles
10. Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who, Papa's Got A Brand New Bag - James Brown or All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix

I never got "Bohemian Rhapsody"'s the Top 10 placement. I agree it should be rather high, probably Top 30 but Top 10? Also "A Day in the Life" should not be the highest song for The Beatles. Any other opinions on what should be #1 if Stairway loses that spot? I think "Satisfaction" would not be a wrong decision at all.

I don't understand what factors we are supposed to judge these songs on. Is it just the same old Influence, Popularity, Musical Impact, and Cultural Imapct?

Like a Rolling Stone should be #1. That was one thing that Rolling Stone Magazine got right.

I'm 99% sure that they placed it on #1 because their names match.

Though most of their lists are arbitrary, there's no way thats the reason Like A Rolling Stone is number one.

Paul,
Why dont you think A Day In The Life should be the Beatles' highest?

I don't expect a lot of agreement, but in my heart of hearts I'm leaning to "What'd I Say" as my choice for #1. It doesn't quite have the popularity of most of the other top choices, but its influence is incredible. It's the cornerstone of all soul music, really, and it was also a big influence on garage rock and the British invasion. It's even something of a forerunner to the jam and prog type stuff.

"Satisfaction" is more popular but wasn't quite as transformative. There's certainly a case to be made for it, but I'd personally put it behind "What'd I Say", and quite possibly "Johnny B. Goode" and "Stairway" as well.

I agree about ADITL not being the top Beatles song. I think the Beatles were about hit singles, so one of those hits should be on top. It's a tough call, though; there are so many Beatles song which are so great that it's hard to pick one. See the discussion of their list in the "Top 10 Songs by Rock Artists" thread.