I can't stand STING (and he doesn't care much for me either), but there's no denying the success of The Police.

They got off to a rocky start with their fake punk debut single (Fall Out/Nothing Achieving), but - influenced by the CLASH - their fake reggae was a winner.

Good but I still don't think they are at the top of the list.

Sting, yes.

The pinnacle of rock music (for me, anyway). Broke my heart when they disbanded, but they went out on top. Innovative, fun, and never disappointing. Sumner's ego got the better of him, but that was AFTER the split. That's the beauty of CDs: the good stuff'll always be around to cherish.

The Police are one of those relatively short-lived bands that burned fiercely for a brief moment (1978-83), gained lots of critical and popular acclaim as moths to a raging flame, and then burst into nothingness through self-destruction leaving everyone wondering what happened. In many ways, the continuous popularity of the band is primarily due to its dying young, as the Police never lingered long enough to release any sub-par efforts (similar to James Dean in the acting world). Nevertheless, it was quite a run and fun while it lasted. The group started out as a punk/new wave band but with style, maturity and more focused energy (similar to the Pretenders in this regard). This sound is easily recognized on their 1978 début Outlandos d'Amour which has a flatter, lower production, yet reggae influenced feel (eg So Lonely, Roxanne, and Can't Stand Losing You); however, each subsequent release had an increasingly fuller sound as the band experimented more with other musical influences as immediately evidenced by their sophomore release Reggatta de Blanc (1979) (with Message In A Bottle and Walking On The Moon). Nevertheless, notwithstanding the excellence of the band's last two releases, it was their third, Zenyatta Mondatta (1980), that had the group at its peak with all the parts and sounds in place but before they got too soft (eg Don't Stand So Close To Me, Driven To Tears, When the World Is Running Down..., Canary In A Coalmine, and Man In A Suitcase). This slight falling off and going softer can be seen on both Ghost In The Machine (1981) (eg Spirits In The Material World, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, and Invisible Sun) and a slight but not complete return to form on Synchronicity (1983) (eg Every Breath You Take, King Of Pain, and Wrapped Around Your Finger). While the Police was a great singles band (as all new wave artists are), with only five original studio efforts, there is no compelling monetary reason to chance missing the deep cuts that one would want. For that reason, the literally all-encompassing compilation Message In A Box: The Complete Recordings (1983) is the way to go.

I love how they were a fake punk band. The Police arrived under the guise that they were another punk band from Britain, and in the late seventies, the boats were filled with them coming in droves to the shores of the U.S. These guys turned out to be something completely different however. Their songwriting and music was much deeper. Their progression from their first album to the final and fantastic Synchronicity is marvelous. Most of Sting's best work was done right here with Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland.

Scarletfeather is right. Sting was awesome with the Police... now he's a big bore.

The Police were probably one of the best New Wave bands;their music was catchy and smart. I prefer Sting's work with the Police to the middle of the road stuff he does now.

For a band that was around a short period of time, they churned out a lot of great music. Every album was full of hits and great.