10 Rock Bands That Never Sold Out

Over decades of music, rock and roll has definitely gone through its fair share of journeys. Though there have been some bands that have stayed true to the classics, the newer rock and roll acts tend to be filtered through something a bit more interesting, like Nirvana's interest in grunge or Radiohead going in the more electronic direction. Ever since he took his first breath though, Tom Petty always seemed to have pure rock and roll running through his veins.

While originally lumped in with the sounds of new wave and punk that was coming out of college radio, Petty was always cut from the same cloth as the golden age of rock and rollers, having more in common with people like the Byrds and the Beatles than someone like the Sex Pistols. As time has gone on though, Tom's sound always was twisted into something that felt more down to Earth than his reputation would imply.

Instead of settling on writing a thousand more American Girls, the back half of his career is filled with down and dirty blues rock and folksy ballads that will go down as some of the most beautiful music the rock world has ever seen. Since the man has been around since the '70s, it's saying something when his best work happens in the '90s. The sport of stardom might look like a sprint, but Petty found out that the long distance career is a lot more fun.