Rock The Best Rock Bands of All Time  

Ranker Community
Originally by Ranker Community
2.2M votes 149.7k voters 2.6M views 2 348 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
39 730 16 852
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
35 114 22 352
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
24 405 16 519
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
30 386 15 548
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
32 953 13 110
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
18 128 13 328
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
22 668 14 157
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
19 275 10 904
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
15 993 12 857
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
19 813 16 535
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
14 997 12 624
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
16 439 14 500
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
14 423 12 504
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
13 727 9 495
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

15
14 661 10 424
Black Sabbath is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Black Sabbath Paranoid, Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell - See  The Best Black Sabbath Songs

16
17 307 12 413
Guns N' Roses is listed (or ranked) 16 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

17
12 139 14 402
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
12 373 9 170
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
9 571 10 302
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
11 116 9 543
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
8 639 7 376
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

22
10 812 7 301
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
12 867 10 105
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
11 713 8 018
Elvis Presley is listed (or ranked) 24 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

25
11 035 9 024
Rush is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Rush Moving Pictures, 2112, Hemispheres - See  The Best Rush Songs

26
10 386 7 512
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
9 475 6 702
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
8 561 7 507
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

29
7 726 6 568
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
9 112 6 721
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
7 819 6 196
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
7 061 7 444
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
6 531 6 977
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
7 014 6 662
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
9 029 7 123
Pearl Jam is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Pearl Jam Ten, Vs., Vitalogy - See  The Best Pearl Jam Songs

36
8 426 8 492
Radiohead is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Radiohead Kid A, OK Computer, The Bends - See  The Best Radiohead Songs

37
6 833 5 557
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
6 585 5 247
Chuck Berry is listed (or ranked) 38 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

39
6 918 6 590
Journey is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Journey Escape, Frontiers, Evolution - See  The Best Journey Albums

40
6 593 4 979
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
6 442 6 707
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
8 155 6 047
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

43
8 358 6 834
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
8 619 8 209
Green Day is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list The Best Rock Bands of All Time
Green Day American Idiot, Dookie, 21st Century Breakdown - See  The Best Green Day Songs

45
6 061 5 785
R.E.M. is listed (or ranked) 45 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

46
6 643 5 166
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
6 788 5 387
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
4 997 4 921
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
6 223 5 273
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
4 951 5 106
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