The Beatles Still Reign Supreme Among Americans

Nearly 40 years after their demise, the Beatles remain the most popular band among Americans. In a generation gap survey by the Pew Research Center, the Fab Four came up tops among 1,815 Americans over the age of 15 who were asked their opinions on 20 popular musical acts, past and present.
A whopping 49% of all who were polled said they like the Beatles -- in scientific terms -- "a lot." Modern acts like Coldplay and Kanye West were considerably less popular than the legendary lads from Liverpool among those aged 16 to 29. Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones, Nirvana and Jimi Hendrix also placed highest among this age group.

In the age 30 to 49 bracket, the Eagles were tops with MJ and the Beatles rounding out the top three. Meanwhile the Beatles, Eagles and Elvis Presley were the most favored in the 50 to 64 age group. For those 65 and older, Frank Sinatra reigned supreme with Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley also extremely well-liked.
Overall, Madonna was named as the most disliked among all surveyed. And lest you think the survey was conducted only in the suburbs, 45 percent of respondents said they hadn't heard of Coldplay.

Ultimately, based on our limited background in research analysis, it seems that people younger than 29 and older than 65 agree on a lot more than the indie-loving hipsters we know.