100 Most Popular Rock Bands of All Time

Soundgarden were one of the leaders of the 1990s grunge sound. The Seattle-based band released four albums that were certified at least platinum, including the 5x multiplatinum “Superunknown.” The band was working on new music as recently as 2017, though efforts were interrupted when lead singer Chris Cornell committed suicide on May 17, 2017.

Few bands were bigger in the 1970s than the Los Angeles pop-rockers, who took their name from an Australian expression that describes how cold a night is by how many dogs one would need to sleep with. Buoyed by the songwriting talent of Harry Nilsson, Laura Nyro, Randy Newman, and Hoyt Axton, the well-blended voices of band members Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells produced 11 Top 10 hits such as “One”, “Eli’s Coming,” and “Mama Told Me (Not to Come).”

Take the goth-theme from Black Sabbath and the soaring guitar riffs of Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin and you get Judas Priest, a heavy metal act from Birmingham, England, that developed an almost cult-like following on either side of the Atlantic. Their 1982 album “Screaming for Vengeance” was their most successful in America, rising to No. 17 on the Billboard 200, and it went double platinum. Five of the band’s albums have been certified platinum.

The trailblazing British prog rockers — Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, and Bill Bruford — gained critical claim and a strong following on American shores in 1971 with their album “Fragile.” The band had best-selling albums “Close to the Edge,” “Tales From Topographic Oceans,” and “Going For The One.” The Grammy winners has had just one Top 10 hit, the No. 1 “Owner Of A Lonely Heart,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 and was on constant rotation on MTV and FM radio.

Boston was a major arena rock act in the 1970s and 1980s and their songs “More Than a Feeling” and “Don’t Look Back” both cracked the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and continue to be frequently played today on classic rock radio. Boston albums “Third Stage” and “Don’t Look Back” both reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Their self-titled debut album is one of the biggest sellers of all time and has gone platinum 17 times. “Boston” had been the best-selling pop debut album before it was topped by singer Whitney Houston’s first record in 1986.

Led by original Metallica member Dave Mustaine, LA rockers Megadeth are a pivotal thrash metal band. The group began forming their brand of fast and technical guitar-driven rock in the early 1980s and released their debut album “Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good!” in 1985. They’ve released five albums that have been certified at least platinum and are still active today.

Blondie, which mixes such music styles as ska, reggae, pop, and punk, came out of the New York punk scene in the late 1970s to post four No.1 hits over a two-year period. The chart-toppers included “Heart Of Glass” in 1979 and “Rapture,” the first mainstream rap hit, in 1981. Four of Blondie’s albums have gone platinum. The group, fronted by Debbie Harry, continues to tour today.

Steve Miller started out as a blues-rocker before shifting to a more mainstream rock performer and churning out catchy tunes such as the whimsical “The Joker” and the synthesizer-infused psychedelic song “Fly Like an Eagle.” Both songs which can still be heard on classic rock radio today. Five of Steve Miller Band’s albums have gone platinum, and the greatest hits collection went platinum 14 times.

The bluesy-country rockers from San Francisco, Grateful Dead members included Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and Bill Kreutzmann. The band became one of the counterculture’s poster groups with their legendary jamming sessions during their prolific concert tour schedule and their association with drug use. Their songs “Uncle John’s Band,” “Casey Jones,” “Sugar Magnolia,” and “Truckin’ ” continue to receive airplay on classic rock radio stations. Six albums of the Grateful Dead went platinum.

The venerable southern blues-rockers, whose members included Gregg and Duane Allman and Dickey Betts, got their start in the early 1970s. They withstood tragedy and division among their members and continue to perform today. The Grammy winners’ biggest album, “Brothers & Sisters,” went to No. 1 in 1973, one of four platinum album recordings, and produced the enduring FM standard “Ramblin’ Man” that reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.