rock The Best Rock Bands of All Time  

Ranker Community
Originally by Ranker Community
2.1M votes 141.6k voters 2.6M views 2,319 items

List Rules Only rock bands or rock artists with solo careers.

There are thousands of rock bands that have existed throughout the decades ever since the dawn of rock and roll, but only the greatest ones have stood the test of time and continue to be classic and popular bands to listen to with their timeless music. Who are the greatest rock bands of all time?

Anyone can vote on this best rock bands list, which makes these rankings a trustworthy way to find out which great rock artists are truly the best. You can also add your own rankings to this list and see how your taste in music stacks up against everyone else's. Listening to great rock music is fun, but showing off your superior rock and roll taste is even better.

For more rock music, check out this list of the Best Beatles Songs of All Time, or vote on these lists of the Best Rock Vocalists and the Best Female Rock Vocalists of all time.

1
37,544 15,449
Led Zeppelin is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV, Led Zeppelin II - See  The Best Led Zeppelin Songs

2
32,779 21,077
The Beatles is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
The Beatles Abbey Road, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - See  The Best Beatles Songs 

3
23,026 15,362
The Rolling Stones is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
The Rolling Stones Let It Bleed, Exile on Main St., Sticky Fingers - See  The Best Rolling Stones Songs

4
28,571 14,637
Pink Floyd is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Pink Floyd The Wall, The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here - See  The Best Pink Floyd Songs

5
30,789 12,343
Queen is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Queen A Night at the Opera, Queen, Innuendo - See  The Best Queen Songs

6
17,166 12,436
The Who is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
The Who Who's Next, Tommy, Quadrophenia - The Best Who Albums

7
21,377 13,268
AC/DC is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
AC/DC Back in Black, Highway to Hell, Let There Be Rock - See  The Best AC/DC Songs

8
18,153 10,260
Jimi Hendrix is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Jimi Hendrix First Rays of the New Rising Sun, Band of Gypsys, Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection - See  The Best Jimi Hendrix Songs

9
15,165 12,046
The Doors is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
The Doors The Doors, L.A. Woman, Strange Days - See  The Best Doors Albums

10
18,731 15,531
Nirvana is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Nirvana Nevermind, In Utero, MTV Unplugged in New York

11
13,949 11,878
Eagles is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Eagles Hotel California, Eagles Greatest Hits, Volume 2 - See  The Best Eagles Songs

12
15,493 13,667
Metallica is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Metallica Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, Metallica - See  The Best Metallica Songs

13
13,548 11,779
Aerosmith is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Aerosmith Toys in the Attic, Pump, Permanent Vacation - See  The Best Aerosmith Songs

14
12,931 8,930
Creedence Clearwater Revival is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Creedence Clearwater Revival Green River, Cosmo's Factory, Willy and the Poor Boys - See  The Best Creedence Clearwater Revival Albums

Rock Stars Who Have Aged Surprisingly Well

15
16,287 11,695
Guns N' Roses is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Guns N' Roses Appetite for Destruction, G N' R Lies, Use Your Illusion I - See  The Best Guns N' Roses Songs

16
13,842 9,826
Black Sabbath is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Black Sabbath Paranoid, Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell - See  The Best Black Sabbath Songs

17
11,485 13,515
U2 is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
U2 The Joshua Tree, War, Achtung Baby - See  The Best U2 Songs

18
11,610 8,637
David Bowie is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Hunky Dory, Diamond Dogs - See  The Best David Bowie Songs

19
9,015 9,654
The Beach Boys is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
The Beach Boys Pet Sounds, Surfin' USA, Ultimate Christmas - See  The Best Beach Boys Songs

20
10,416 8,992
Van Halen is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Van Halen Van Halen, 1984, Diver Down - See  The Best Van Halen Songs

21
8,027 6,838
Bob Dylan is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
prostoemail97 added Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited, Blood on the Tracks, Blonde on Blonde - See  The Best Bob Dylan Songs

The Greatest Guitarists Of All Time

22
10,213 6,875
Eric Clapton is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Eric Clapton 461 Ocean Boulevard, Crossroads, Pilgrim - See  The Best Eric Clapton Songs

23
12,124 9,489
Red Hot Chili Peppers is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Stadium Arcadium - See  The Best Red Hot Chili Peppers Songs

24
10,414 8,483
Rush is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Rush Moving Pictures, 2112, Hemispheres - See  The Best Rush Songs

25
10,966 7,660
Elvis Presley is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Elvis Presley Jailhouse Rock, The Sun Sessions, From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential '60s Masters - See  The Best Elvis Presley Songs

26
9,696 7,130
Lynyrd Skynyrd is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd), Second Helping, Gold - See  The Best Lynyrd Skynyrd Songs

27
8,839 6,360
Fleetwood Mac is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Fleetwood Mac Rumours, Fleetwood Mac, Tango in the Night - See  The Best Fleetwood Mac Songs

28
8,053 7,072
The Police is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
The Police Synchronicity, Ghost in the Machine, Zenyattà Mondatta - See  The Best Police Albums

49 Celebrities Kanye West Has Compared Himself To

29
7,322 6,200
Cream is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Cream Disraeli Gears, The Very Best of Cream, Fresh Cream - See  The Best Cream Albums

30
8,693 6,309
Deep Purple is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Deep Purple Machine Head, Live in Japan, Deep Purple in Rock - See  The Best Deep Purple Songs

31
7,286 5,878
Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker... is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers The Last DJ, Damn the Torpedoes, Into the Great Wide Open - See  The Best Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Albums

32
6,687 7,029
The Clash is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
The Clash London Calling, The Clash, Black Market Clash - See  The Best Clash Songs

33
6,124 6,557
Bruce Springsteen is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Bruce Springsteen Born to Run, Born in the U.S.A., The Rising - See  The Best Bruce Springsteen Songs

34
6,649 6,279
ZZ Top is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
ZZ Top Tres Hombres, Eliminator, Rio Grande Mud - See  The Best ZZ Top Songs

35
7,987 7,975
Radiohead is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Radiohead Kid A, OK Computer, The Bends - See  The Best Radiohead Songs

Old Rock Stars You Didn't Realize Are Still Alive

36
8,447 6,745
Pearl Jam is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Pearl Jam Ten, Vs., Vitalogy - See  The Best Pearl Jam Songs

37
6,487 5,242
The Kinks is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
The Kinks The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, Arthur (or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire), The Kink Kronikles - See  The Best Kinks Songs

38
6,468 6,209
Journey is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Journey Escape, Frontiers, Evolution - See  The Best Journey Albums

39
6,230 4,983
Chuck Berry is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Chuck Berry The Great Twenty-Eight, Maybellene, Two Great Guitars - See  The Best Chuck Berry Albums

40
6,239 4,663
Dire Straits is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Dire Straights Brothers in Arms, Dire Straits, Making Movies - See  The Best Dire Straits Albums

41
6,126 6,371
Ramones is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Ramones Ramones, Rocket to Russia, End of the Century - See  The Best Ramones Songs

42
7,717 5,750
John Lennon is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
John Lennon Imagine, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, Double Fantasy - See  The Best John Lennon Songs

The Greatest Guitar Rock Albums of All Time

43
7,825 6,463
Foo Fighters is listed (or ranked) 43 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Foo Fighters Wasting Light, The Colour and the Shape, Foo Fighters - See  The Best Foo Fighters Songs

44
5,725 5,457
R.E.M. is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
R.E.M. Murmur, Green, Automatic for the People - See  The Best R.E.M. Songs

45
8,174 7,737
Green Day is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Green Day American Idiot, Dookie, 21st Century Breakdown - See  The Best Green Day Songs

46
6,273 4,932
Simon and Garfunkel is listed (or ranked) 46 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Simon and Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water, Sounds of Silence, Bookends - See  The Best Simon and Garfunkel Songs

47
6,435 5,037
Iron Maiden is listed (or ranked) 47 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
BaruchLalaev added Iron Maiden The Number of the Beast, Iron Maiden, Powerslave - See  The Best Iron Maiden Songs

48
4,743 4,634
Genesis is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Genesis The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Genesis, Foxtrot - See  The Best Genesis Songs

49
5,880 5,042
Neil Young is listed (or ranked) 49 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Neil Young Harvest, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, After the Gold Rush - See  The Best Neil Young Albums

50
4,667 4,863
The Allman Brothers Band is listed (or ranked) 50 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East, Beginnings, Eat a Peach - See  The Best Allman Brothers Band Albums