lifeismusic I agree 100% except I have no clue about RB4. So I’d remove it from my list. I’d also rank them the same exact way based on the actual game from technical stand point. Nah, on second thought, Lego RB was better than RB1 gameplay wise with the auto kick feature and the customizable lounge/studio area. I also liked the long and short song option too.

Well, I was basing them on just their main song lists, but if I could add my feelings on their technical standpoints, I think RB3 AND RB4 Have the best features. RB3 you could order the songs by genre, song name, artist name or even by year. In RB4 they changed the game up (literally & figuratively) & added a search which makes me sad lol I wish RB3 had a search function.

For every feature RB3 added it removed two. RB2 didn’t need an order song by whatever. It automatically did it with community playlists, etc. It was nice. RB2 had score duel but they were too lazy to keep doing it because they wanted to pump out a bunch of crappy DLC for RB3 instead. RB2 wasn’t released broken like RB3 with crashing cut screens and a translucent fretboard. RB2 hit strip is in a normal place while RB3’s is half way up the screen for no reason! It’s the worst of the four I’ve played.

TLDR; Best-to-Least-Best

1. Rock Band 2 (bigger than the already excellent 1)

2. Rock Band 1 (arguably deserving of the top slot)

3. Rock Band 3 (good but keys-centric)

4. LEGO (good but short)

5. Rock Band 4 (good but late)

I still remember the first time I played Rock Band. I had never played Guitar Hero, so it was all new to me. I was on a trip to another city with a friend to meet Team Fortress 2 pals we played with online, and we played Rock Band (the original) at their apartment. That’s when I first heard Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, which was my friend’s favorite song to drum for whatever reason (I don’t drum very well, so I don’t understand the appeal). But we’d always have to play that song any time we got together. Ugh.

Even excluding the covers (which I think are really good!), Rock Band 1’s setlist is incredibly strong. Blue Oyster Cult, Boston, the Clash, Bowie, Foo Fighters, the Killers, the Police, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Weezer, the Who… all these songs are, objectively speaking, Rock Band classics and staples of setlists… at least, before we got so much DLC (and customs) that we began to ignore them.

The bonus songs were cool, too! That’s how I learned about The Mother Hips, which are one of my favorite bands of all time at this point! I’d love to get some customs by them into the database eventually… see the suggestions thread in my signature ” src=”/wp-content/uploads/invision_emoticons/default_SA_wink.gif” />

Unfortunately, because I’m a Wii user, none of these songs would export into Rock Band 2 or 3. I’ve taken steps to remedy that, um, situation in the past year, but it’s still frustrating that we/Wii got the short end of the stick.

And because I’m a Wii user, I got five treats on the Rock Band 1 disc! Dirty Little Secret (guilty pleasure!), Roxanne, Rockaway Beach, Roam, and Don’t Look Back in Anger were bonus songs! Suck it. (but they didn’t export either! )

Rock Band 2’s setlist is arguably better than 1, but I consider it a tie… however, since 2 has way more songs, 2 breaks that tie. Rock Band 1 seemed to go for the huge bands with huge hits that were accessible, whereas Rock Band 2 dove a little bit deeper. Looking at the setlist, very few songs pop out as definite staples, but there are so many that have become my staples. Bad Company, Fleetwood Mac, Foo Fighters (again), Kansas, Steve Miller Band, Modest Mouse (crowd favorite), Nirvana, Pearl Jam, PUSA, RATM, RHCP (again), the Pumpkins (again), Social D, Talking Heads, and the Who (again). I’m not sure which I’d pick if it were a battle between 1 and 2… but I’ve chosen 2 just for the sake of argument. Don’t send me to a deserted island with only one setlist. That’s inhumane.

Then there’s the keys-centric Rock Band 3 setlist, which I like… but it has even less bangers (as the kids say) compared to 1 and 2. But did it need as many? I’d argue no. Focusing on keys was a good idea! And there are still some bangers and many that I’ve grown to love (or love to hate or hate to love). It might not have my favorite songs (and it definitely has a few!), but it’s still very well put together.

LEGO… well, I’m a Wii user. I never got to play it (because I wasn’t going to purchase a game that didn’t export ). But I’ve oogled the setlist many times and there are so many gems I want in my library. Blur, Bryan Adams, Counting Crows, Bowie, Elton John, Foo Fighters, Good Charlotte, Iggy Pop, Kaiser Chiefs, the Police, Spin Doctors, Sum 41, Tom Petty, the Zutons… hell, LEGO has a very strong setlist. The only bad thing about it is the length. Now I’m just bitter…

Rock Band 4 is weird. I haven’t played it, but looking at the list there are so many wants along with don’t cares and already got thats. It just feels like many of the RB4 songs have been done before… because of Guitar Hero or customs. However, man, the songs they did include that I can’t get drive me nuts. Arctic Monkeys, Black Keys, CAKE, Gin Blossoms, Jack White, the Killers, Skynyrd, R.E.M., Spin Doctors, White Denim, the Who… but then there are two U2 songs. Two? Ugh.

For the longest time, I had played Rock Band 2 the most. That’s been replaced by Rock Band 3 now because, well, it’s been many years since 3 came out, 4 was never released for the Wii, and there was a much smaller gap between 2 and 3. So Rock Band 3 is, by default, my favorite game platform/engine, but maybe that’s only because I’ve spent so much time with it. To the point: none of the setlists are bad, but some are definitely better than others. However, they’re all still good!