The question is raise-able.
I was addicted/attached to Rush when I was in High School and at least a year or maybe 2 years after it.
I suppose it really came to when I started listening to some of those bands in 1995 and 1996 that became favorites: Dream Theater, Marillion, King's X, Fates Warning.
Maybe the end came both when I saw the 1996 tour supporting Test for Echo and then the following unfortunate events that happened to Neil Pear which caused them to go on a hiatus around 1998.
The truth is, among every band/artist I enjoy, they have the highest percentage of quality albums compared to all others, considering quantity.
They have 19 studio albums, the 1st 15 I rate 3.5-stars or better (and among those, most of them are 4-5 stars). And their last 4, I still consider good records 3-3.5 stars.
So that's an amazing run of consistency, that really hasn't come close to being matched for me. There are some others who if they have a long enough career, could match or surpass it (The Dear Hunter comes to mind).
So WHY aren't they my favorite band? I guess it comes down to a couple of factors.
1) Some may see this as no reason to consider, but they are and have become even more popular/mainstream etc over the last decade especially. When I 1st became a fan, while they still were popular, I didn't know many others who loved them like me. In other words, THEY FELT LIKE MY BAND. In the time I took them off my favorite band place, it seems more and more casual/fringe fans arose. Even the hipsters grabbed onto them, which not to the fault of them or their music, made it feel less special for them to be my favorite.
2) I was so into them, listened to them so much for 3+ years especially, I kind of burnt out on them to an extent back then. I needed a break and to listen to other music at that point. Other music I needed to discover. After that happened, I kind of felt I didn't need to see them as the greatest band of all-time anymore.
I suppose the fact I have always thought of them as a favorite ever since that time frame after I took them off the top of the mountain, speaks to my all-time love of Rush. And the fact their catalog at this point is more or less unmatched, and may always be in terms of depth + quality.
But will they ever be #1 for me again? I doubt it per it is kind of past the point of no return. I think the underground factor being gone and the fact I discovered other bands who have maintained that special-ness to me, that Rush didn't quite do, hurts that. But, I dunno, it may just come down to mentality.
I seem to be someone whose gone more and more away from having favorite bands and just finding great albums and bands who I never expect to be an all-time favorite, but favorite every year, etc.
I.e. The Music Listening Buffet mentality.
And I hate trying to compete with being the biggest fan/collector with others because there often will always be dozens if not hundreds of other bigger/more attached/dedicated fans than I am.
