If somebody asked me who my favorite band was, I would still say "Pearl Jam"

who would you say?

Mogwai

pearl jam was an obsession for me from 92 to 98. it felt like a relationship. i also think that from 92 to 94 they were the most important band in the world, as far as bands and importance go. i saw them live once in 95 and twice in 98. nothing they've done since yield has had a lasting impact on me, though i genuinely like binaural, avocado, backspacer, and almost half of riot act. still, i've seen them live 25 times since 2000. i've come to terms with the possibility that they might never make another album that really matters or means much to me, and they have very little chance of doing anything that is relevant to the 18-34 demographic. i also tend to listen to them very rarely outside of the weeks leading up to a show. but they will always be my favorite band. the feeling i get when the lights go down just before they come on stage is something i cannot replicate with another band. i'll be just fine if i never see pearl jam play again, but the main reason i check this website every day is for the hope that i will.

Somehow the combination of this sentence and your avatar is making me giggle. I can really picture Karl Pilkington saying it.

This sums it up pretty nicely for me.
I can go through periods where other bands’ music completely absorbs me, when I’d see phenomenal shows by other bands and when listening to Pearl Jam feels like a waste of time. But at the end of the day, it’s like you say. The feeling when the lights go out and PJ is about to come on stage remains unmatched. And for no other band would I drive to Amsterdam and back two days in a row (4x 300km), having to be at work the day after the shows.

The Grateful Dead. Pearl Jam's a close second.

I still say Pearl Jam too, though I question it sometimes. My Morning Jacket and Built to Spill are two bands that probably share that top spot.

Pearl Jam will always bear that arbitrary distinction of "my favorite band," though in practice they've been and will continue to be temporarily eclipsed by dozens of other artists. But I don't foresee making that same "favorite band" type connection with some other artist now that I'm (almost) in my thirties--those kinds of feelings seem increasingly and appropriately tied to the naive perceptions of limitlessness that accompany childhood and the hypercharged emotionality that accompanies adolescence.

I couldn't word it this way, but I fully agree.

Lucero

You know, after more thought and seeing your post I realized MMJ might have actually overtaken PJ in my book. They're amazing live and they still write good music.

I kinda agree with the sentiment here. But it all depends on your place in life and emotional state. For me, seeing the birth of my three children certainly came with some "hypercharged emotionality." As did some of the running accomplishments that happened in my thirties. These events all took place at a time when PJ had lost its stranglehold on me.

Still Pearl Jam though I hardly ever listen to them anymore. In fact I just listened to them yesterday for the first time in almost two years thanks to the Binaural thread. Songs are still great. I just can't listen to them all the time anymore. I can't listen to anything all the time anymore.

Gun to head must pick one... Pearl Jam

Really though the answer is i don't have a favorite. I have favorites from various points of my life and their musical output.

I think my three favs overall are Pearl Jam, Neil Young, and Wilco..... if arcade fire put out another great album next time ... they would probably muscle their way into that conversation.

The Frames. And Pearl Jam.

And ditto on that feeling when PJ walk onstage. Nothing like it

The Sword or Mogwai. I listen to both constantly.

I dont listen to PJ much anymore, but they are still probably the most important band in my life.

Every band that gets close to PJ for me ends up disappointing me at some point. But current close to PJ is my morning jacket

Pink Floyd.

I don't listen to them a whole lot these days, but every time I do I am reminded of why I still call them my favorite band.

Actually, it's a bit the other way round for me. Contrary to Pearl Jam, Sigur Ros & Arcade Fire have yet to disappoint me. But in the overall scheme of things, they're still nowhere near PJ's status and what they meant over the last 15 years for me.

Tom Waits...he honestly overtook Pearl Jam. Probably at some point in 2010. Pearl Jam will always keep the tag "most important band in my life" but Waits's boundless creativity and utterly brilliant lyrics will keep me finding things to appreciate in his discography for decades to come.

And with his continued brilliance and different styles for several decades in a row the breadth of his work eclipses Pearl Jam's brilliant, but much shorter, run.

When Waits started hitting me I was nearly getting the same exhilarating response as when I was discovering PJ. Except when listening to PJ back then it was like I was only listening with my emotions, and with Waits I was listening much more literately as well as emotionally...if that makes any sense.