Yes, theyre dead....for now...but rest assure..the bastards never stay down....

They are dead. And I'll shoot them my self if they try to come back to live.

Actually I hate to go against popular opinion but I think that if the music that boy bands make is what people like to listen to then I think they should stick around, even if it is lowest common denominator. Personally I like some pop songs because they are fun and catchy, I think Justin Timberlake's album is great and I would rather see people listen to commercial popular music than no music at all. I also think it's rather pretentious to look down on people just because they listen to commercial music.

I dunno if boy bands are dead but I sure do hope so!

exactly... and like or not... boy bands and commercial pop were here long before most of us were... justin timberlake / britney / christina just happen to be the faces for this generations version of it...

Weren't The Beatles a ****in boy band?

I suppose they made better music so my argument is kind of weak but hey there was a point in there somewhere, I think... oh... I wish I was in bed asleep. My head hurts.

No, not by a long shot. They were musicians and songwriters. Even when they first became famous, they were considered to be shockingly rebellious and hardcore compared to what was popular at the time. However, they were undeniably gifted at writing memorable and intelligent melodies. Then they went on to consistently innovate and re-shape music as we know it. They were always ahead of the curve and came up with some of the most long-lasting, beloved songs of all time. No "boy band" ever has or ever will come close to the talent or making the impact of the Beatles.

By the way, it makes me feel good to see that I'm not the only one here who has had enough of teeny pop groups, boring angst rock, rap and r&b.

The Beatles weren't a boy band in today's fabricated sense, but they indeed started out as a boy band. You can't tell me, with all the teenage girls screaming and crying in the front row of their concerts, that they weren't a boy band. Of course I give them their due for being excellent musicians, but you can't deny it, especially in the beginning.

Well, Epstein certainly marketed the Beatles in much the same manner as "boy bands" of recent years have been marketed...but there the similarity pretty much ends. As has already been pointed out, you don't find much instrumental musicianship or songwriting talent among today's boy bands. The Beatles had that in spades from the beginning.