Your three favorite bands...

The Clientele (earlier stuff)
The Lilys (earlier stuff)
Sun Kil Moon (earlier stuff)

Can, Cocteau Twins, Mercyful Fate

awesome seeing some dillinger four love on here, was my first concert B)

Impossible question really as this changes throughout life

Broadcast
Stereolab
Cocteau twins

Honorary omissions: chromatics, tori amos, peej

yes, led zeppelin, the beatles

elvis costello & the attractions
dinosaur jr
steely dan

also sleater-kinney. and the stones. and parliament-funkadelic. and roxy music. and i can keep going.

it'll have to be 4

steely dan
the fall
pavement
sonic youth

New Order
Black Sabbath
Wu-Tang Clan

i guess it'd be

pavement
grateful dead
VU

if we're going for all-time, most consistent over time/most impact. daily, things ebb and flow. idk. i'm boring

if we're talking BANDS:

talking heads
the beach boys
the boo Radleys

global t -- that's a good trio (by yr own criteria)

talking heads ousting autechre in 2018 but no real change. actually I think I prefer Autechre to the Beach Boys these days

Something like this

Pet Shop Boys
Saint Etienne
Broadcast

Van der Graaf Generator
Tindersticks
Shearwater

Vaselines
The Fall
Fleetwood Mac, preferably including Lindsey B

pumpkins
ac
beatles

Beatles
Hawkwind
Yellow Magic Orchestra

grateful dead
mazzy star
some version of one of the electric bands miles davis had in the early 70s - al foster, michael henderson, james mtume, pete cosey, reggie lucas, dave liebman

Beach House
Fleetwood Mac
Pet Shop Boys

The Clientele
Talking Heads
Low

The Clientele
Joni Mitchell's Hejira band
Destroyer's Kaputt band

New Order
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Belle & Sebastian

Ignoring Philip Glass etc., lastfm says:

Radiohead
The Rolling Stones
Amadou & Mariam

The Black Angels are #19 and climbing...

Beatles, Fall, Saint Etienne

funk bros
tcb band
chic org

Revision # 7:
Zep
Sabbath
VH

The Cure

Steely Dan
Spoon

and then The Boo Radleys

followed by New Order

Brighouse and Rastrick Brass
Goombay Dance
Black Velvet

The Fall
Prefab Sprout
Velvet Underground

Really though it's more fluid and not so set in stone. But all three of those above are bands whose work i know back to front. And whose entire catalog of l.p's i can and do sing along with. In and out of the shower.

Revision C:
2814
Telepath
HKE

Rolling Stones '63 - '72
Sonic You t h
PRINCE

Jane’s just shot to #1!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dpxn3T4XUAAkr_I.jpg

all time: the Boo Radleys, the Beach Boys, Talking Heads although I don't listen to any of them that much any more

Echo & the Bunnymen
Joseph Arthur
David Sylvian (sort of sharing and alternating 3rd/4rd spot with Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry solo, but Sylvian ultimately wins because of Gone To Earth).

going for a "Joseph Arthur" was used in a non-musical context in my childhood!