The Most Popular Rock Bands of All Time

The raspy-voiced Detroit rocker and unofficial spokesman for the American heartland has recorded 13 platinum albums, seven of them consecutively. The Grammy winner had a big year in 1976 with the release of the albums “Live Bullet” and “Night Moves.” His tours with the Silver Bullet Band and songs about the ruggedness and solitude of the West as well as ballads about small-town America garnered critics’ and fan approval. The durable Seger has had seven Top 10 singles, including the chart-topper “Shakedown” in 1987.

Jethro Tull, led by their impish flutist Ian Anderson, was a hard-to-classify British band — English folk music, prog rock, blues — that was heard frequently on FM radio during the 1970s and 1980s. The group, which took its name from an English inventor/farmer, had little success as a singles group. However, the band had seven Top 10 LPs on Billboard, including the No. 1s “Thick as a Brick” and “A Passion Play.” Their top selling album, “Aqualung,” went platinum three times.

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.

Brooding rockers The Smashing Pumpkins are one of the most distinct-sounding bands in alternative rock, thanks in part to lead singer Billy Corgan’s expressive vocals. While the band peaked in popularity during the 1990s — with releases including four-time platinum “Siamese Dream” and certified diamond “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” — they have continued to play live and release new music.

Lifted by the soulful voice of the charismatic Phil Lynott and guitar work of Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham, the Irish group Thin Lizzy powered its way onto American FM stations in the 1970s, with the song “The Boys Are Back in Town,” an homage to working class lads cutting loose that rose to No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was on the band’s gold album “Jailbreak,” which rose to No. 18 on the Billboard 200.

Jefferson Airplane, fronted by vocalists Grace Slick and Marty Balin, and paced by the often-trippy guitar of Jorma Kaukonen, was the first of the San Francisco-based psychedelic groups to gain nationwide recognition. They were seen as avatars of the counterculture of the 1960s. The band played all of the big outdoor concerts of the era — Monterey, Altamount, and most famously Woodstock. Jefferson Airplane albums “Crown of Creation” and “Surrealistic Pillow” were Top 10 hits on the Billboard 200 and the band had two singles reach the Top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100, “Somebody To Love” and “White Rabbit.”

Once dubbed “The Only Band That Mattered,” the Marxism-espousing British band helped legitimize punk music in the late 1970s. “London Calling,” their breakthrough album in the United States, went to No. 27 on the Billboard 200. The album also went platinum and is considered one of the most influential records in rock history. The Grammy winners’ biggest album was “Combat Rock,” which rose to No. 7 in 1983.

Florence and the Machine is a British group from London formed by Florence Welch and Isabella Summers in 2007 synthesizing pop, English folk, and alternative rock. The six-time Grammy nominees broke through with their single “Dog Days Are Over,” the second single from their 2009 debut album, “Lungs.” The song rose to No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was heard on the TV shows such as “Gossip Girl” and “Glee.” The group has had three Top 10 albums on Billboard, including their lone No. 1 “How Big How Blue How Beautiful” in 2015.

Pop punk band The Offspring have sold nearly 17 million albums in the U.S. alone. Among their releases are eight albums that appeared on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The band’s most popular release in the U.S. is “Smash,” which has been certified six-time platinum. At the time of its release, the record was the top-selling album ever to be released on an independent label.

Heart — fronted by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson — has had an album chart on the Billboard 200 in every decade since the release of their debut album “Dreamboat Annie” in 1976, which peaked at No. 7. The Seattle rock group that had its roots in Vancouver, Canada, whose guitar-heavy hits include “Barracuda” and “Crazy On You,” has sold more than 25 million albums in the U.S. alone and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.