Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous tracks a teen-aged reporter as he follows Stillwater, a pitch-perfect composite of '70s rock bands from The Eagles to the Allman Brothers to Led Zeppelin as they embark on an ill-starred nationwide tour. Stillwater — whose members included Billy Crudup and Jason Lee — haven't quite hit it big yet musically, but they had the rock-star part down pat. And with good reason: Crowe based the screenplay on his experiences as a young music writer for Rolling Stone. Stillwater's saga comes complete with groupies, drug binges and a rickety tour bus to ferry them around the country. Unlike most entrants on this list, their tunes weren't bad, either.