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100 Most Popular Rock Bands of All Time

100 Most Popular Rock Bands of All Time

While types of music such as hip hop and pop have become increasingly fashionable in recent years, rock music remains hugely popular. Since the 1950s, music fans have been drawn to the genre’s energy and rebellious identity, keeping it alive from one generation to the next.

Rock music has always been an innovative genre, with pioneering groups like The Beatles and The Beach Boys setting a precedent with their musical experimentations. This has resulted in seemingly endless subgenres such as heavy metal, power pop, and psychedelic rock. More modern sounds — especially those borrowed from electronic music — have pushed rock music even further into new territory. Today there are rock bands that appeal to fans with all different sorts of preferences.

Music consumption and artist appreciation today are far different than what they used to be. While some rock fans may still listen to vinyl records and hang posters of their favorite bands, most use streaming services like Spotify to listen to their favorite artists and social media to follow them.

Using several different metrics, 24/7 Tempo has identified the 100 most popular rock bands of all time. The selection of these artists was based on measures such as Wikipedia page views, Facebook “likes,” and popularity on the online streaming platform Spotify. While there may be great rock performers born in years past who are better known as solo artists – such as Prince, David Bowie, and Elvis Presley – 24/7 Tempo included only bands for this article.

Some of the most popular bands are newer or at least currently active. These artists utilize social media to build and engage with their fanbase. Yet more classic acts from the 1960s and 1970s are still hugely popular, indicating that the most iconic bands will endure for as long as people listen to rock.

 

To determine the most popular rock bands of all time, 24/7 Tempo generated an index based on the popularity of a band’s Wikipedia page, popularity on Spotify, popularity on Facebook, and Ranker user votes. Each component of the index was given equal weight except for Ranker user votes, which was weighted twice as heavily because of the significant nature of fan opinion.

Wikipedia page views were calculated for the past two years, from March 4, 2017 to March 4, 2019. Popularity on Spotify was based on the number of followers on Spotify. User votes came from a list on crowdsourced ranking platform Ranker that ranked the best rock bands of all time. To be included on our list, a band had to appear on this Ranker list.

A band’s best-selling album is based on Recording Industry Association of America data for U.S. album sales. In cases where a band had multiple albums that sold the same number of copies, the album that performed best on the Billboard 200 chart was selected.

Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

100. Rise Against
> Spotify followers: 1.8 million
> Facebook likes: 4.1 million
> Best selling album: Appeal to Reason

Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

99. Shinedown
> Spotify followers: 1.9 million
> Facebook likes: 2.8 million
> Best selling album: The Sound of Madness

Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images

98. The Clash
> Spotify followers: 1.5 million
> Facebook likes: 4.0 million
> Best selling album: Combat Rock

Source: Jo Hale / Getty Images

97. The Smiths
> Spotify followers: 1.7 million
> Facebook likes: 3.9 million
> Best selling album: Strangeways, Here We Come

Source: Kobby Dagan / Shutterstock.com

96. Weezer
> Spotify followers: 1.6 million
> Facebook likes: 3.3 million
> Best selling album: Weezer

Source: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images

95. Stone Temple Pilots
> Spotify followers: 1.5 million
> Facebook likes: 2.4 million
> Best selling album: Core

Source: Al Bello / Getty Images

94. 3 Doors Down
> Spotify followers: 2.1 million
> Facebook likes: 6.0 million
> Best selling album: The Better Life

Source: Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images

93. Queens of the Stone Age
> Spotify followers: 1.8 million
> Facebook likes: 3.0 million
> Best selling album: …Like Clockwork

Source: Santiago Felipe / Getty Images

92. Steely Dan
> Spotify followers: 0.5 million
> Facebook likes: 1.0 million
> Best selling album: Aja

Source: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

91. Mötley Crüe
> Spotify followers: 1.7 million
> Facebook likes: 4.1 million
> Best selling album: Dr. Feelgood

Source: Duane Prokop / Getty Images

90. Sum 41
> Spotify followers: 2.0 million
> Facebook likes: 4.2 million
> Best selling album: All Killer No Filler

Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

89. Judas Priest
> Spotify followers: 1.5 million
> Facebook likes: 4.5 million
> Best selling album: Screaming for Vengeance

Source: Gaye Gerard / Getty Images

88. Motörhead
> Spotify followers: 1.7 million
> Facebook likes: 2.7 million
> Best selling album: Ace of Spades

Source: Jonathan Leibson / Getty Images

87. The Strokes
> Spotify followers: 2.6 million
> Facebook likes: 4.2 million
> Best selling album: Is This It

Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

86. Slayer
> Spotify followers: 1.6 million
> Facebook likes: 4.8 million
> Best selling album: Divine Intervention

Source: Alexandra Beier / Getty Images

85. Scorpions
> Spotify followers: 2.2 million
> Facebook likes: 6.8 million
> Best selling album: Love at First Sting

Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images

84. Rush
> Spotify followers: 1.0 million
> Facebook likes: 2.9 million
> Best selling album: Moving Pictures

Source: Jo Hale / Getty Images

83. Slipknot
> Spotify followers: 0.3 million
> Facebook likes: 17.6 million
> Best selling album: Slipknot

Source: Watson / Getty Images

82. The Kinks
> Spotify followers: 1.1 million
> Facebook likes: 1.3 million
> Best selling album: Low Budget

Source: Paul Hawthorne / Getty Images

81. Breaking Benjamin
> Spotify followers: 2.3 million
> Facebook likes: 5.7 million
> Best selling album: Phobia

Source: Jo Hale / Getty Images

80. Bullet for My Valentine
> Spotify followers: 1.6 million
> Facebook likes: 8.3 million
> Best selling album: The Poison

Source: Emma McIntyre / Getty Images

79. 30 Seconds to Mars
> Spotify followers: 2.2 million
> Facebook likes: 9.9 million
> Best selling album: A Beautiful Lie

Source: Matt Becker / Wikimedia Commons

78. Journey
> Spotify followers: 2.0 million
> Facebook likes: 5.8 million
> Best selling album: Escape

Source: Mat Hayward / Shutterstock.com

77. Foster the People
> Spotify followers: 2.5 million
> Facebook likes: 4.4 million
> Best selling album: Torches

Source: Keystone / Getty Images

76. Ramones
> Spotify followers: 1.4 million
> Facebook likes: 5.6 million
> Best selling album: The Ramones

Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images

75. Simon and Garfunkel
> Spotify followers: 1.8 million
> Facebook likes: 3.2 million
> Best selling album: Bridge Over Troubled Water

Source: mrmin123 / Flickr

74. The Smashing Pumpkins
> Spotify followers: 2.0 million
> Facebook likes: 4.0 million
> Best selling album: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images

73. Electric Light Orchestra
> Spotify followers: 1.4 million
> Facebook likes: 1.6 million
> Best selling album: Discovery

Source: wonker / Wikimedia Commons

72. The Offspring
> Spotify followers: 2.8 million
> Facebook likes: 6.0 million
> Best selling album: Smash

Source: Jeff Schear / Getty Images

71. Disturbed
> Spotify followers: 2.8 million
> Facebook likes: 10.9 million
> Best selling album: The Sickness

Source: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

70. Megadeth
> Spotify followers: 2.0 million
> Facebook likes: 7.9 million
> Best selling album: Countdown to Extinction

Source: Theo Wargo / Getty Images

69. The Cure
> Spotify followers: 1.9 million
> Facebook likes: 6.4 million
> Best selling album: Disintegration

Source: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images

68. Limp Bizkit
> Spotify followers: 2.5 million
> Facebook likes: 4.8 million
> Best selling album: Significant Other

Source: Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images

67. Heart
> Spotify followers: 0.9 million
> Facebook likes: 2.2 million
> Best selling album: Heart

Source: George De Sota / Getty Images

66. Pantera
> Spotify followers: 2.0 million
> Facebook likes: 8.7 million
> Best selling album: Vulgar Display of Power

Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images

65. The Beach Boys
> Spotify followers: 1.9 million
> Facebook likes: 1.9 million
> Best selling album: Pet Sounds

Source: Martyn Goddard / Getty Images

64. The Police
> Spotify followers: 0.9 million
> Facebook likes: 5.5 million
> Best selling album: Synchronicity

Source: Jim Dyson / Getty Images

63. Soundgarden
> Spotify followers: 1.8 million
> Facebook likes: 2.8 million
> Best selling album: Superunknown

Source: Jerod Harris / Getty Images

62. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
> Spotify followers: 0.9 million
> Facebook likes: 3.3 million
> Best selling album: Full Moon Fever

Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

61. R.E.M.
> Spotify followers: 1.8 million
> Facebook likes: 4.5 million
> Best selling album: Monster

Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

60. Three Days Grace
> Spotify followers: 2.8 million
> Facebook likes: 7.5 million
> Best selling album: One-X

Source: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

59. ZZ Top
> Spotify followers: 1.9 million
> Facebook likes: 4.8 million
> Best selling album: Eliminator

Source: Trixie Textor / Getty Images

58. Rage Against the Machine
> Spotify followers: 2.6 million
> Facebook likes: 4.4 million
> Best selling album: Evil Empire

Source: Marcelafae / Wikimedia Commons

57. Alice in Chains
> Spotify followers: 2.0 million
> Facebook likes: 4.9 million
> Best selling album: Dirt

Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images

56. The Jimi Hendrix Experience
> Spotify followers: 3.1 million
> Facebook likes: 8.5 million
> Best selling album: Are You Experienced

Source: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

55. Def Leppard
> Spotify followers: 1.8 million
> Facebook likes: 5.3 million
> Best selling album: Hysteria

Source: Noam Wind / Shutterstock.com

54. Depeche Mode
> Spotify followers: 2.1 million
> Facebook likes: 7.2 million
> Best selling album: Violator

Source: Wikimedia Commons

53. Boston
> Spotify followers: 1.0 million
> Facebook likes: 2.2 million
> Best selling album: Boston

Source: Dan Callister / Getty Images

52. Oasis
> Spotify followers: 3.8 million
> Facebook likes: 8.8 million
> Best selling album: (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

51. Five Finger Death Punch
> Spotify followers: 3.1 million
> Facebook likes: 4.8 million
> Best selling album: The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1

Source: musicnewsaustralia / Flickr

50. The Cranberries
> Spotify followers: 1.5 million
> Facebook likes: 4.0 million
> Best selling album: No Need to Argue

Source: George Stroud / Getty Images

49. Cream
> Spotify followers: 2.6 million
> Facebook likes: 5.5 million
> Best selling album: Disraeli Gears

Source: Ian Showell / Getty Images

48. Chicago
> Spotify followers: 1.2 million
> Facebook likes: 1.3 million
> Best selling album: Chicago 17

Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

47. Kiss
> Spotify followers: 3.4 million
> Facebook likes: 12.4 million
> Best selling album: Destroyer

Source: Nick Laham / Getty Images

46. Rammstein
> Spotify followers: 2.7 million
> Facebook likes: 8.7 million
> Best selling album: Sehnsucht

Source: JStone / Shutterstock.com

45. Kings of Leon
> Spotify followers: 3.8 million
> Facebook likes: 11.2 million
> Best selling album: Only by the Night

Source: Theo Wargo / Getty Images

44. Dire Straits
> Spotify followers: 2.3 million
> Facebook likes: 3.3 million
> Best selling album: Brothers in Arms

Source: Northfoto / Shutterstock.com

43. Korn
> Spotify followers: 2.9 million
> Facebook likes: 12.6 million
> Best selling album: Follow the Leader

Source: Buda Mendes / Getty Images

42. Nickelback
> Spotify followers: 3.5 million
> Facebook likes: 17.7 million
> Best selling album: All the Right Reasons

Source: John Minihan / Getty Images

41. Deep Purple
> Spotify followers: 2.3 million
> Facebook likes: 1.6 million
> Best selling album: Machine Head

Source: David Becker / Getty Images

40. Van Halen
> Spotify followers: 2.3 million
> Facebook likes: 5.6 million
> Best selling album: 1984

Source: Larry Busacca / Getty Images

39. Eagles
> Spotify followers: 3.0 million
> Facebook likes: 6.5 million
> Best selling album: Hotel California

Source: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

38. Avenged Sevenfold
> Spotify followers: 3.0 million
> Facebook likes: 16.7 million
> Best selling album: City of Evil

Source: Kobby Dagan / Shutterstock.com

37. The Killers
> Spotify followers: 4.4 million
> Facebook likes: 9.3 million
> Best selling album: Hot Fuss

Source: Karl Walter / Getty Images

36. Muse
> Spotify followers: 4.7 million
> Facebook likes: 16.5 million
> Best selling album: The Resistance

Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

35. Evanescence
> Spotify followers: 2.2 million
> Facebook likes: 21.7 million
> Best selling album: Fallen

Source: Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images

34. U2
> Spotify followers: 4.7 million
> Facebook likes: 17.0 million
> Best selling album: The Joshua Tree

33. Blink-182
> Spotify followers: 4.9 million
> Facebook likes: 10.1 million
> Best selling album: Enema of the State

Source: Jack Fordyce / Shutterstock.com

32. Marilyn Manson
> Spotify followers: 2.0 million
> Facebook likes: 6.8 million
> Best selling album: Mechanical Animals

Source: Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images

31. Radiohead
> Spotify followers: 4.1 million
> Facebook likes: 11.5 million
> Best selling album: OK Computer

Source: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com

30. Fall Out Boy
> Spotify followers: 6.3 million
> Facebook likes: 9.1 million
> Best selling album: From Under the Cork Tree

Source: Jo Hale / Getty Images

29. The Who
> Spotify followers: 2.4 million
> Facebook likes: 5.7 million
> Best selling album: Who’s Next

Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

28. System of a Down
> Spotify followers: 4.9 million
> Facebook likes: 19.4 million
> Best selling album: Toxicity

Source: Evening Standard / Getty Images

27. Creedence Clearwater Revival
> Spotify followers: 2.5 million
> Facebook likes: 4.5 million
> Best selling album: Cosmo’s Factory

Source: Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images

26. Arctic Monkeys
> Spotify followers: 7.7 million
> Facebook likes: 7.2 million
> Best selling album: AM

Source: Christian Bertrand / Shutterstock.com

25. Gorillaz
> Spotify followers: 4.2 million
> Facebook likes: 9.8 million
> Best selling album: Demon Days

Source: Rob Loud / Getty Images

24. Pearl Jam
> Spotify followers: 4.5 million
> Facebook likes: 10.4 million
> Best selling album: Ten

Source: Randy Miramontez / Shutterstock.com

23. Lynyrd Skynyrd
> Spotify followers: 1.9 million
> Facebook likes: 5.6 million
> Best selling album: Street Survivors

Source: Karl Walter / Getty Images

22. Iron Maiden
> Spotify followers: 4.1 million
> Facebook likes: 13.5 million
> Best selling album: Somewhere in Time

Source: yakub88 / Shutterstock.com

21. Paramore
> Spotify followers: 4.1 million
> Facebook likes: 25.3 million
> Best selling album: Riot!

Source: Len Trievnor / Getty Images

20. The Doors
> Spotify followers: 3.8 million
> Facebook likes: 16.4 million
> Best selling album: The Doors

Source: Noam Galai / Getty Images

19. Fleetwood Mac
> Spotify followers: 3.1 million
> Facebook likes: 4.8 million
> Best selling album: Rumours

Source: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images

18. Foo Fighters
> Spotify followers: 6.1 million
> Facebook likes: 11.8 million
> Best selling album: Wasting Light

Source: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

17. Black Sabbath
> Spotify followers: 3.4 million
> Facebook likes: 11.8 million
> Best selling album: Paranoid

Source: Larry Busacca / Getty Images

16. Aerosmith
> Spotify followers: 6.3 million
> Facebook likes: 16.1 million
> Best selling album: Toys in the Attic

Source: Robert Cianflone / Getty Images

15. Bon Jovi
> Spotify followers: 5.4 million
> Facebook likes: 25.2 million
> Best selling album: Slippery When Wet

Source: Jo Hale / Getty Images

14. Green Day
> Spotify followers: 8.6 million
> Facebook likes: 30.5 million
> Best selling album: Dookie

Source: Mike Lawrie / Getty Images

13. Nirvana
> Spotify followers: 8.5 million
> Facebook likes: 26.8 million
> Best selling album: Nevermind

Source: Morne de Klerk / Getty Images

12. The Rolling Stones
> Spotify followers: 6.5 million
> Facebook likes: 19.4 million
> Best selling album: Hot Rocks

Source: Aija Lehtonen / Shutterstock.com

11. Red Hot Chili Peppers
> Spotify followers: 10.2 million
> Facebook likes: 27.3 million
> Best selling album: Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

10. Metallica
> Spotify followers: 10.1 million
> Facebook likes: 36.4 million
> Best selling album: Metallica

Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

9. Coldplay
> Spotify followers: 19.0 million
> Facebook likes: 38.4 million
> Best selling album: A Rush of Blood to the Head

Source: Jason Kempin / Getty Images

8. Maroon 5
> Spotify followers: 17.4 million
> Facebook likes: 37.8 million
> Best selling album: Songs About Jane

Source: yakub88 / Shutterstock.com

7. Guns N’ Roses
> Spotify followers: 11.6 million
> Facebook likes: 29.8 million
> Best selling album: Appetite for Destruction

Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty Images

6. AC/DC
> Spotify followers: 10.8 million
> Facebook likes: 29.3 million
> Best selling album: Back in Black

Source: Junko Kimura / Getty Images

5. Linkin Park
> Spotify followers: 12.1 million
> Facebook likes: 60.5 million
> Best selling album: Hybrid Theory

Source: MJ Kim / Getty Images

4. Pink Floyd
> Spotify followers: 8.9 million
> Facebook likes: 28.3 million
> Best selling album: The Wall

Source: Evening Standard / Getty Images

3. Led Zeppelin
> Spotify followers: 6.9 million
> Facebook likes: 13.4 million
> Best selling album: Led Zeppelin IV

Source: John Pratt / Getty Images

2. The Beatles
> Spotify followers: 11.6 million
> Facebook likes: 40.5 million
> Best selling album: The Beatles

Source: Fox Photos / Getty Images

1. Queen
> Spotify followers: 15.0 million
> Facebook likes: 28.7 million
> Best selling album: The Game

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