With the exception of a few hard rock bands like Slayer, Motorhead, and Danzig, there are few bands in hard rock, metal, and progressive I do not like. However, Rush is one of them. I just never could stand Geddy Lee's voice and found many of their songs long and uninspiring.

Everyone loves Rush....Even the people who gave them one star.

Does everyone realize this a 3 man band? There is no other 3 man band in the world that can do what these guys can do. Neil Peart? Not many better. Geddy Lee? Probably has more dimensions than any musician in the world, can do it all. 5 big stars *****!

Pretentious, artsy-fartsy prog rock made for virgins who play D&D and live in their parents basement. The lead singer has an extremely annoying voice too.

  Just bought Snakes and arrows CD today.... one word AWESOME...

I like Rush  better now than I did when I was younger and they were popular.  I remember going to a Rush concert when I was 17 or so and leaving before it had barely gotten started.  I wouldn't do that these days!

Love, love, love RUSH and have for over 20 years

Rush is my favorite band. No one can play like them. Even though progressive rock bands like Yes, and Dream Theatre fall within the same category... well Rush is a step above that.  Especially with their complex pieces... like YYZ or 2112... even  The Camera Eye.  They are just truly amazing and its not just a song.... it's a work of art.

One of the best bands ever to come out of Canada. Tremendous career and a true musician's band. Should be in the Rock Hall of Fame.

A musician's band- but they weren't my taste and I never quite 'got it' - still, can't ignore their talent or longevity.

RUSH!
Absolutely the best musicians ever, they have the deepest lyrics, amazing electric and acoustic guitar, direct from the soul vocals, and the absolute best percussionist in the universe the GOD "Neil".
From their first Album "RUSH" to "Snakes and Arrows", we truly have musicians for the people...they have been here from my puberty to my children's... what can one say but WOW!!
I admire real musical talent, Rush has never been mainstream but they have always been consistent.
No bubblegum one hit wonder B.S. for me, I require REAL musical talent, and Rush has always been there.
Hats off Neil, Alex & Geddy... the day you retire your instruments will be a sad day for the world indeed!!

every CD they do is a lesson in drumming perfection  , SIGNALS is my favorite CD, and Grace Under Pressure... , they may not have been radio friendly, but neither was IRON MAIDEN;; another great band

RUSH : there is no substitute. Nothing out there compares to this band. They can be an acquired taste - some of their music is pretty far off the mainstream beaten path. But once you sample them , they are hard to deny. And their is so MUCH to sample. The same members for over 30 years. Such skill, such beauty to their music. A prog - rockers dream. Simply amazing in concert! Catch them while you still can...

Excelent band!  Their deep philosophical lyrics and amazing talent puts them in the catagory of best Prog-Rock band ever.  The best way to appreciate Rush is to listen to 2112, a tribute to Ayn Rand's Anthem.

Got to be the most underrated and underappreciated band in rock history! Neil Peart's fascinating and thought-provoking lyrics and the music fit together perfectly. They would definitely be in the RRHoF if I had anything to say about it!

Rush are one of the greatest bands of all time. They are far more intelligent and skilled than some of their more popular rock counterparts (for example AC/DC...). They produce magnificent music, combining the skilful drumming of Neil Peart, the versatility of Lifeson's guitar work, the rumbling bass, the shrill vocals and tumbling keyboards of Geddy Lee, also adding on top the intelligent (and sometimes somewhat abstract) lyrics of Peart. Brilliant band!

I was instantly a fan for life ever since listening to Moving Pictures. Their previous albums that I listened to afterwards kept impressing me more and Rush ended up becoming my second favorite group after the Beatles. They are even better live, and they have always been a concert favorite of mine. I've seen a lot of great concerts, such as performances from Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney, but my greatest experience of all was to watch Rush perfom. I've seen Rush perform live more than any other single performer.

Rush would have to be my favourite band.Song writing so thought provoking, that is can listen to any Rush song for any mood I am in and use it to change my mood if I am feeling bad.Some would say that Geddy's voice drives them nuts but I like his voice, it fits for the music they play. I can't see someone else with a lower timbre for a voice singing their music.Like Neil's drumming and Alex's guitars it wouldn't be Rush without it. A true symbiotic relationship. I could go on but I will end with Rush has been a true inspiration to me. I can't wait for the new album to come out.

Wow!

No question about it, they are the best.

Gawd help us. Rush make/made the kind of music that can turn mild mannered librarians into axe wielding serial killers. They're right up, or should I say down, there with bands like ELP, Yes and Peter Gabriel period Genesis etc that made prog rock so deservedly despised. Where to start. Geddy Lee's horrible vocals, the dire pretentious lyrics, the arent-we-clever arrangements. Feck I hate this band.

Great talents who are so concerned with getting across their musicianship and "deep thoughts" that their songs are generally tedious to listen to.

what else would you expect from Bytor and the Snowdog

I absolutely love "The Spirit of Radio" but that's about it. I can't say anything more about them.

2112, Spirit of Radio are genius. The musicianship is amazing in this band.

I looked up mosquito in the dictionary and it said "an insect that sounds like Geddy Lee from the band Rush"

One of the most incredible rock bands, period. Mind numbing musicianship, artistic integrity, and cohesiveness (they're great friends as well). Their music is phenomenal. RUSH FOREVER!

Great musicians, there's no denying that. Can be pompous at times, and Geddy Lee's voice can be an acquired taste. When I was a kid, they were considered to be a heavy metal band by many, though they are SORT of the missing link between the heavy metal bands and 70's progressive rock. In other words, their volume could match the metal guys, though their lyrical concerns were closer to say ELP or Yes. Started out on their first album as kind of Zeppelin/ Sabbath clones on tracks like "Working Man," but soon found their niche as a loud, technically very skilled, heavy metal/ progressive hybrid, becoming very popular in the early 80's. Have accrued a huge cult following, guaranteeing big sales whenever they put out a disc, despite having never been seen by hipsters as a "cool" band. I think they're ok overall, though not great: except for their instrumental ability.

Rock band of the millinium!

Enuff said!

Annoying voice on this singer.

Rush is probably the most amazing, most talented, complex, all out greatest band to ever touch a bass, drums, and guitar. Geddy Lee is by far the best bass player ever out of Jocko Pastoriach (I dont't know how to spell his name) or Chris Squire for Yes and his high-pitched vocals are memorable to this day. Hey, im 14 years old I listen to Led Zeppelin, the Doors, The Who, Yes, Journey, The Stones, and I don't think this complexity level is even close to this 3 man group that is so called Rush. Neil Peart is probably the greatest drummer to ever touch drum sticks. Some of my friends say who can be better than John Brohman of Led Zep. and I say you have obviously never heard of the band Rush. You might think differently after you heard some of there stuff. "Whatever man"......they say. Now im not putting down on Alex Lifeson but it is hard to say who is the greatest lead guitarist ever because of so many different styles and so many diverse ways to play the guitar. I would definitly put Lifeson in the top 4 or 5 ever. Lee/Lifeson/Peart, I don't see how this caliper of music can come out of just 3 men. Everything else you listen to after you listen to these 3 lads, the timing is just so easy and simple for pretty much everything else. Those who do not know about Rush and say the most famous, "greatest" band ever is Led Zeppelin, (well Led Zeppelin is the most famous band ever), need to seek elsewhere for more talent than the "greatest" band ever. Now i love Zep. and is excellent, absolutely awesome, off the charts, but Rush has a magic and formula of teamwork that will never be touched by any band. If you want to hear i think the two most talented bands they would Rush and Yes. Check them out and you shall see.

Greatest band ever. :-) They've got a couple weak songs, but that's a couple out of a TON. Their stage shows are amazing. And they're so prolific! They've been together for 31 years now and haven't broken up once. I love you, Geddy! :-)

Musician gods! I have to be in a certain mood to listen to them, but they are fantastic. I can't understand why they are so underrated unless it has to do with not having many radio friendly tracks, but that makes them all the more interesting. Peart writes such thought provoking lyrics..."knows changes aren't permanent...But change is."

Best Canadian musicians ever, this band has single-handedly invented progressive metal. Dream Theater, Primus, Metallica, I Mother Earth, Queensryche, Iron Maiden, and so many more might not exsist without the brilliance of Lee, Lifeson and Peart to show them the way!

I can't think of another three man band who could fill an auditorium with the amount of sound that they did. Genius musicians. Hard to mention Rush without the ubiquitous, Neil Peart is one of the best drummers in rock line....because it's the truth! He's a monster percussionist!

I know they've taken their share of heat for being pretentious, and I've never quite gotten their affection for the pseudo-philosophical musings of Ayn Rand, but their music is often quite effective, and occasionally beautiful. Also, Neil Peart is one of the most talented drummers in rock music.

Im not a huge fan except for Moving Pictures and Vital Signs but there is no denying they are good.

bland and boring w/obnoxiously pretentious lyrics that mean nothing within their structure. i'm sure some folks who like to get stoned dig Rush for Alex Leifson's cool riffs. I prefer Pink Floyd for that. also, Geddy Lee's voice has a tendency to grate on me, not unlike the seizures Mary Hart was accused of giving people when she spoke.

Pretentious,convoluted songs,with vocals that make you want to run out of the room screaming.

Ok, much has been said about this band already, so not much new to say, besides they are one of only a very small handful of bands [Allman Bros., Pink Floyd & Led Zep tribute bands, and Marshall Tucker [how did they get here!?! ;) ] that I will travel miles and hours to see live. Their music is I guess to me a cross between Floyd and Zep, in that it can be heavy like the latter, yet float like Floyd - at least for me it seems that way. These guys can jam like no other! From Working Man to the albums of 2112 [durn, that is great stuff there!] and Farewell to Kings [Xanadu - remember reading the poem in HS and then realizing that had heard it in a song... was a inspiring revelation to a young guy, to read the poem, learn about the myth, and then to hear Rush play a song weaved aroung it... cool] and on to their present material... thanks guys!

Rush is decent for me. Except for that song, The Trees. I don't care for Neil Peart's dime-store Objectivist lyrics. It's not deep, it's just lame. But they sure can play their instruments, huh?

rush are awesome. every piece of music is a journey.

Rush is the best band ever, except for Led Zeppelin. One cannot find more intelligent lyrics, there is no better percussionist out there, Geddy's voice matured over time. The one thing one must remember is that there are only THREE guys in this band! How do they do it?

When reviewing the comments on a band like Rush, one will assuredly peruse through the obligatory tastes great/less filling remarks as music listeners tend to be fanatical about or completely dismissive of the group. An apparently rare breed, I may be one of those true casual fans who has a more objective, and hopefully useful critique of Rush's body of work. To start out, it is probably fair to say that these artists are musicians' musicians as has been claimed; however, music isn't just for musicians, and this forte quickly resulted in the excesses that filled the band's pre Permanent Waves (1980) efforts. In other words, Rush (during this period at least) was a prog rock/jam band power trio which isn't going to appeal to most listeners except for their tighter (and obviously shorter) tracks (eg Lakeside Park, Fly By Night, A Passage To Bangkok, Closer To The Heart, and The Trees). Nevertheless, there is no denying the performing talents of the individual members as has already been noted in other comments. In fact, their performances are so tight that it is often difficult to distinguish the trio's studio efforts from their live recordings absent audience noise. It should come as no surprise that the band's most popular and best full-length efforts were released during the heyday of the power trios: Permanent Waves (1980), Moving Pictures (1981), and Signals (1982). These three releases contain nearly all of the singles (and possibly deeper cuts) that are familiar to most casual listeners (ie The Spirit Of Radio, Freewill, Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, Limelight, Subdivisions, and New World Man). After Signals the band seemed to go into a holding pattern with the possible exception of Presto (1989). The bottom line, is that the excesses of Rush and the band's allegience to prog rock keeps it from receiving a higher rating, and most casual fans will be satisfied with one good compilation release (eg Chronicles (1990) or The Spirit Of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974-1987 (2003), supplemented with Moving Pictures.

overrated crap

You know, I never really liked the lead's voice, but they are magical musicians. If you like music...I mean, REALLY like music...the notes, the breaks, the combinations, then listen to Rush. Their talent for composing is unbelievable!

I think deep down everybody likes Rush, or at least they would if it weren't for Geddy Lee's really annoying voice. But the instrumental side is amazing.

Rush got me interested in rock as a listener and as a player back in '82. They're also the reason I gave up music, because it was obvious that the music business and most listeners will neer understand or appreciate great, intricate, progressive music again. If you think No Doubt, Coldplay, Creed, and all these other new "bands" are so great, you need to take a music history class. From 2112 - Signals, Rush were THE baddest rock trio on the planet. The later stuff was more technical than musical, so my rating only pertains to 1976-1982. Other than a few cult bands, show me a group today that can last 2 years, let alone 6. Moving Pictures IS one of the all-time greatest rock albums, without a doubt. I defy anyone to play, produce, write, etc. with the power of this album. Jimmy Page is a big fan of the group, and he was their biggest influence when they started. I'll tell you something else - love him or hate him, just try to hit the notes Geddy hit in his day. If many of music's finest can't do it, you certainly ain't gonna do it. If you dig Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, the Beatles, Hendrix, Cream, Zeppelin, Yes, old Genesis, the Police, Tool, Smashing Pumpkins, etc., then you'll love Rush. I'm not kidding.

As everyone before me has already said, Rush is just plain awesome. But this comment isn't about Rush, it's about bashing on axlrod2003. This poor mislead soul called Rush's lyrics "non-sensical" before saying they would rather listen to Yes. I happen to be a Yes fan myself, and one of their more famous attributes are Jon Anderson's distinctively NON-SENSICAL LYRICS. Obviously, he has no idea what he's talking about. Just more proof that people who don't like Rush are crazy, misinformed, guys just looking to put down this amazingly skilled band for no particular reason.