What Do You Consider To Be Classic Rock?

In a fascinating article, Walt Hickey did a TON of research, attempting to ask (and answer) what people perceive to be "classic rock."

Hickey notes that classic rock plays peaked in 1973, a giant year for classic rock with releases of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" and Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy."

I have personally had this conversation with people now dozens of times about what they consider "classic rock."  It's an interesting question because now that it's the year 2014, what IS classic?

Zeppelin, Ozzy, and the Beatles seem like easy choices.  But what about Pearl Jam, later Metallica, and Nirvana?  These bands have music that's nearly 25 years old... but is it classic rock?

Maybe it's just a gut feeling. Maybe it's, as my ex father-in-law used to affectionately put it, "classic rock is geezer rock... that's how you decide." Or maybe it's more quantifiable.  There seem to be core bands like those mentioned above, but then there are the many, many fringe bands (if you will) who may or may not make the list depending on who you ask.

One thing is for sure, what people consider classic rock in one part of the country differs GREATLY from other parts of the country. Hickey found that.

Here are most-played classic rock songs by region in the United States, image credit goes to the amazing research done at FiveThirtyEight.com:

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