What follows are seven of the greatest New York City bands (and solo artists) of the past 50 years. Mostly based on my own personal opinion, but I also considered critical and commercial success.

Bob Dylan - No, Dylan wasn't from NYC, but he moved there in January of 1961 and his most famous '60s albums were recorded while Dylan was living there. Dylan, arguably the greatest songwriter of the 20th century, definitely has a strong link to the greatest city in the world.

The Velvet Underground - One of the most critically acclaimed and influential bands ever despite their lack of mass commercial appeal (their peak on the US album chart was #171.) Lou Reed could also arguably be on this list as a solo artist.

Ramones - Like The Velvet Underground, the Ramones had limited commercial appeal (peaking at #44 on the US album chart) but they were extremely influential. They are probably the most influential punk rock band of all time. Their shows at CBGB's in the '70s are legendary. CBGB's was in  Manhattan's Lower East Side. It closed in 2006.

Talking Heads - Another very influential band. That seems to be the mark of great NYC bands: More influence and critical acclaim than album sales. Not that the Talking Heads never sold any albums. In fact, 1985's Little Creatures has sold over two million copies in the US. But they've never charted higher than #15 on the US album charts (1983's Speaking in Tongues.)

Blondie - Four #1 hits in the US from 1979 through 1981: "Heart of Glass," "Call Me," "The Tide is High," and "Rapture."

Sonic Youth - Definitely a part of the "more critical acclaim and influence than album sales" NYC thing. Their highest charting album ever is actually their most recent. 2009's The Eternal hit #18 on the US album charts.

Animal Collective - There are many current NYC based indie bands that I also considered for this list (Dirty Projectors, MGMT, Yeasayer among them) but I decided this list should have a bit of history instead of just being a run down of what's happening right now. I may do a separate list of just current NYC bands. For this list I had to go with Animal Collective as they are arguably the second most critically acclaimed/influential bands of the last 15 or so years (if I need to say it: Radiohead.)

Where's The Rap?

Yes, this is a "Rock" list. I like some hip-hop, don't get me wrong - but when it comes down to it, I'm not as into as I am as this kind of stuff. And I just don't have space to put a bunch of hip hop guys in here too. Ditto for the many other styles of music I ignored.