I recently stumbled upon a Reddit thread that challenged people to name all the rock bands (bands specifically, and rock specifically) that, at one point or another, could truly call themselves “the biggest band in the world.” I figured I’d take my own stab at it here, with explanations for each of my choices… Welp, here you go:
1964-1970: The Beatles
I don’t think this one needs any major explanation. I’m starting at 1964 because that’s when The Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, an event commonly referred to as “the birth of rock n’ roll” (even though guys like Elvis and Chuck Berry existed beforehand, but whatever).
1970-1971: The Rolling Stones
Throughout the 1960’s, The Stones were always eclipsed just ever-so-slightly by The Beatles. But then 1970 rolled around, and “the fab four” dissolved, and for a brief amount of time, The Stones truly held the claim of being #1.
1971-1973: Led Zeppelin
I’m well aware that Zep already existed for a few years before this, but I think most people agree that it was the release of 1971’s Led Zeppelin IV, and particularly the song “Stairway to Heaven,” that truly immortalized these guys as rock gods.
1973-1975: Pink Floyd
1973 saw the release of Dark Side of the Moon, and then Wish You Were Here followed in 1975. Two albums that are often regarded as some of the best ever made by anyone. Need I say more?
1975: Kiss
Say what you want about these guys and their gimmicks, but Alive is considered by many to be the most important live album ever made, and the live version of “Rock and Roll All Nite” is still regarded as one of the biggest rock anthems ever.
1975-1976: The Eagles
Many people probably forget this now, but for a long time, Their Greatest Hits from 1975 was the best-selling album of all time (eclipsed now by Michael Jackson’s Thriller). Nevertheless, Their Greatest Hits is still the fastest-selling album of the 20th century, and the first to reach platinum status (i.e. one million copies sold in the US). The band then followed this achievement up with the Hotel California album in 1976, complete with further hits such as the title track and “Life in the Fast Lane.” Again, need I say more?
1976-1977: Aerosmith
Even though no one album in particular from this band ever reached the heights of the aforementioned Thriller or Their Greatest Hits, all collective album sales from Aerosmith have allowed them to become the highest-selling American rock band ever (seriously, look it up). That said, if I had to pick their most important record, it would without a doubt be 1976’s Rocks, an album which is often sited as the main inspiration for future classics along the lines of GnR’s Appetite for Destruction, Nirvana’s Nevermind, and so on.
1977-1978: Queen
While the 1975 tune “Bohemian Rhapsody” is looked back on these days as an absolute classic, it actually wasn’t all that well-received upon it’s debut. That said, the 1977 back-to-back tracks “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” instantly became anthems. If Queen wasn’t top dog before, they certainly were now.
1978-1979: Van Halen
This band’s 1978 self-titled debut album basically went on to inspire an entire decade of guitar-driven music. An importance that cannot be overstated…
1979-1980: Pink Floyd again
1979 saw the release of The Wall, still referred to by many to this day as both the best concept album and best double album of all time. Sadly, Floyd never really reached these same heights again, but at least for a little bit, they were the biggest band in the world (again).
1980-1981: AC/DC
What do you do when your singer dies? You get another guy that’s just as good, and make one of the best albums of all time. At least that’s what the band also known as “Acca Dacca” did in 1980 with Back in Black, an album that still somehow does crazy numbers, over 40 years later…
1981-1983: Journey
These arena-rock pioneers released not one, but two of the biggest albums ever, back-to-back: Escape (1981) and Frontiers (1983). The song “Don’t Stop Believin’” has been so overplayed to the point where I hope I never hear it again, but that’s besides the point…
1983-1984: Def Leppard
The 1983 album Pyromania is often regarded as one of the most important releases in the era of hair metal/ glam metal/ whatever you wanna call it. The long-awaited 1987 sequel Hysteria is equally as important. That said, by the time 1987 rolled around, there were other “essential” groups to focus on, for other reasons…
1984-1986: Van Halen again
1984 saw the release of, well, 1984, and with it, timeless classics like “Jump,” “Panama,” and so on. Just when the band is at its peak, things between singer David Lee Roth and the rest of the group break down. So, just like AC/DC a few years prior, Van Halen proves they can exist without him, by recruiting Sammy Hagar for 1986’s 5150. Sadly, none of their other releases afterwards were able to reach the same level of success, regardless of who was singing (though I’m personally partial to 1991’s For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge).
1986-1987: Bon Jovi
I hate these guys, but nobody can deny the impact of 1986’s Slippery When Wet.
1987-1988: U2
Without a doubt, U2 was already big before this, but 1987’s The Joshua Tree took them to another level.
1988-1991: Guns N’ Roses
While Appetite for Destruction came out in the summer of 1987, it didn’t start to gain traction until the “Welcome to the Jungle” music video dropped on MTV at the end of the year, at 4am EST, somehow managing to get enough call-in requests for replay to the point where it literally melted phone lines. The “Sweet Child o’ Mine” music video followed in the summer of 1988, and not too long after, Appetite finally made it to the top of the charts. The band maintained their momentum all the way up to the release of the long-awaited followup, Use Your Illusion, in 1991. While the double album sold well, it failed to capture the universal acclaim of Appetite.
1991-1992: Metallica
Around the same time that Use Your Illusion finally came out, 80’s thrashers Metallica had their own new statement to make with their fifth, self-titled LP, often referred to as The Black Album. Much like the similarly-titled Back in Black, up until very recently, this record was still selling the streaming equivalent of five-thousand copies a week (somehow). Many ‘tallica die-hards consider this to be the point where the band “sold out,” and to an extent, I agree, but I still like it (now excuse me as I duck for cover).
1992-1994: Nirvana
While “Smells Like Teen Spirit” dropped in late 1991, it wasn’t actually until early 1992 when the album Nevermind knocked Michael Jackson’s Dangerous off the top of the charts. From that point onward, Nirvana ruled the world, all the way up until frontman Kurt Cobain’s tragic suicide in mid 1994.
1994-1995: Green Day
Starting around 1992 or so, every major record label went on a search for “the next Nirvana,” and Warner Bros. found them in Green Day, and their 1994 album Dookie. Similarly to Metallica’s Black, many consider this to be a “sellout album,” and again, maybe they’re right, but with all due respect, who really cares?
1995-1997: Oasis
While this band’s 1994 debut Definitely Maybe was certainly a strong start, their worldwide success didn’t come until 1995’s followup What’s the Story (Morning Glory)?, and particularly “Wonderwall,” a song that guys still learn to play on guitar to this day solely in the hopes that they’ll get lucky (if you catch my drift). Sadly, 1997’s Be Here Now basically flopped, and the band never really recovered after that, ultimately imploding in 2009 (I still like some of their later-period songs, though). Rumors of a reunion are starting to seem more realistic, so it’s possible that these guys might finally become top dog again, purely based on nostalgia. We’ll see…
1997-1998: Radiohead
Once again, this band already had momentum in the years leading up to 1997, but the album OK Computer is what truly solidified them as indie pioneers, and pretty much all of their other records since have maintained similar critical acclaim, surprisingly enough. Competition from other genres heated up after the late 90’s, though…
1998-1999: The Offspring
A lot of you reading this right now are probably thinking “What the fuck?” But hear me out! 1994’s Smash is the highest-selling independent release by any rock band ever, and 1998’s major-label release Americana sold even more than that. These guys definitely had a presence, even if they aren’t looked back on as fondly now…
1999-2001: Red Hot Chili Peppers
A lot of people forget just how long the Chili Peppers have been around (their first record dropped in 1984). The band was always moderately successful, at least, but they had a bit of a dip in popularity when the 1995 album One Hot Minute failed to match the success of 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Notably absent from Minute was guitarist John Frusciante, who returned to the group for the 1999 album Californication, which solidified them as stadium-level titans for decades to come…
2001-2002: Linkin Park
I’m old enough to remember when “In the End” was released as a single in early 2001, and let me tell you, that song was everywhere. You couldn’t escape it!
2002-2003: Coldplay
Similarly to Linkin, I recall when the album A Rush of Blood to the Head came out in 2002, and songs like “Clocks” and “The Scientist” basically took over the entire radio industry… On second thought, Maroon 5 fits here too.
2003-2004: Linkin Park again
How do you top a genre-defining album like 2000’s Hybrid Theory? Simple! You make a 2003 album called Meteora that’s just as good. After this, the band tried dabbling into other genres, and none of their other records were able to sell as much as these first two. That being said, I think they still made the right choice. Nu-metal was basically dead after 2005…
2004-2005: Green Day again
After Dookie, these punks got too comfortable and basically started making the same album over and over again. They were about to do that again in 2003, with a record called Cigarettes & Valentines, but then all the master tapes were stolen, just as the album was finished. The group had backup copies of everything, but they took this theft as a sign that it was time to change, so they convinced Warner Bros. to give them an extra year of studio time. With it, they crafted the political rock opera masterpiece American Idiot, and just like how their club fans turned on them with Dookie, their Dookie-era fans turned on them with this release. The band has basically had an identity crisis ever since, but they’re also millionaires now, so they probably don’t care…
2005-2006: Coldplay again
Chris Martin and his band of no-names followed up Blood to the Head with X&Y. And just like “Clocks” and “The Scientist” before it, “The Speed of Sound” was everywhere…
2006-2008: Muse
What was that song called again? “Supermassive Blackhole” or something? Well, anyway, everyone on reddit told me to put these guys on the list, so here you go…
2008-2009: Coldplay again again
Remember when Joe Satriani claimed that 2008’s mega-hit “Viva la Vida” was a ripoff of one of his songs? Yeah, me neither…
2009-2010: Muse again
Okay, now this song I remember being everywhere. The one that rips off “Call Me” by Blondie. “Uprising,” I think it was called? Clearly this band isn’t my jam, but they were definitely huge…
2010-2011: U2 again
Yes, I know the 2009 album No Line on the Horizon is often regarded as the point where U2 lost whatever magic they might’ve had, but nobody can deny the impact of the two-year tour that followed. A tour that remained the highest-selling of any rock act until Guns N’ Roses reunited.
2011-2012: Coldplay again again again
I’m getting tired of mentioning these guys, but again, the album Mylo Xyloto, and particularly the song “Paradise,” was something of a cultural phenomenon, and this band was selling out stadiums all over the world at the time.
2012-2013: Imagine Dragons
I hate this band more than Bon Jovi, but even I can’t deny how massive the song “Radioactive” was…
2013-2014: Arctic Monkeys
By this point, rock was pretty much dead from a mainstream perspective, and Arctic Monkeys in particular had already enjoyed moderate success for some years prior, but then their 2013 album AM ended up becoming something of a game-changer. This is honestly the last major rock “shake up” that I can remember from a newer artist, personally. Sure, we’ve had other good bands since like Royal Blood and Greta Van Fleet, but I doubt either of them will ever have a song that makes as big of a splash as “Do I Wanna Know?”…
2014-2015: Coldplay again again again again
I promise this is the last time these guys are on the list! 2014’s Ghost Stories continued a long string of successes for the band, but then 2015’s A Head Full of Dreams was a bit of a head-scratcher (no pun intended), especially thanks to that animated music video with the monkeys… Anyway, none of their records since have made much of an impact, and Chris Martin keeps saying the band is going to retire after every new release, for some weird reason…
2015-2017: Guns N’ Roses again
By 2015, Axl Rose was in bad shape. His long-awaited 2008 album Chinese Democracy, released under the Guns N’ Roses name, was a massive bomb (I like it, though, and it seems others do now too). Furthermore, his revolving-door of musicians he had been performing with ever since the “real” Guns N’ Roses fell apart in the mid-to-late 90’s became broken beyond repair (too many people had suddenly quit all at once). He knew he was out of options, so he finally did what he once said he’d rather die than do: He called Slash. By the end of the year, it was confirmed that the two were back together, and a tour followed that ended up becoming the biggest for any rock artist (that is unless you count Ed Sheeran or Taylor Swift or Beyonce as rock, I guess).
2017-2019: Imagine Dragons again
Just when I thought I had finally ridden these guys from my life, they had to release the song “Believer.”
2019-2020: Rage Against the Machine
This probably seems like a strange choice, but once again, hear me out! Up until this point, Rage hadn’t done a full tour since 2000 (unless you count the handful of gigs from 2007-2011). When this comeback tour was finally announced in late 2019, I remember it being all that anyone could talk about. Sadly, a certain pandemic lead to these shows being delayed all the way to 2022, and then halfway through, frontman Zack de la Rocha broke his achilles tenant, and the rest of the shows had to be scrapped. To make matters even worse, the band has since broken up once again. Like I said before, though, back when this ill-fated trek was first announced, it really seemed like RATM was on top, briefly…
2020-2021: AC/DC again
The 2010’s were a rough decade for this band. First, founding member and rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young was forced to leave after being diagnosed with dementia in 2013. Then in late 2014, on-and-off-again drummer Phil Rudd was busted for illegal possession of drugs and firearms, and possibly also putting a hit out on his wife (!). To this day, he’s still not allowed back in the USA. If that wasn’t enough, in early 2016, frontman Brian Johnson suffered an injury to both of his ear drums that, at the time, seemed permanent (Axl Rose ended up replacing him for the rest of that tour). Then in 2020, the world became even more depressing when Covid came around. But by the end of the year, a glimmer of hope came in the rock world when AC/DC’s classic lineup (apart from Malcolm, sadly) regrouped and released the album Power Up. Like RATM the year prior, for a brief amount of time, it seemed that this was all any rock fan could talk about.
2021-2023: Red Hot Chili Peppers again
Another big “rock shock” came in late 2019, when the Peppers announced that Frusciante was coming back to their group once more (he had left again a decade prior). A festival tour was set for 2020, but the entire thing was scrapped thanks to Covid. Then in late 2021, the group confirmed their own stadium tour for the following year. The excitement was palpable, and said tour ended up being a massive success, coupled with the twin release of the chart-topping, critically-acclaimed albums Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen.
2023-Present: The Rolling Stones again
For the last time, hear me out! In 2023, The Stones announced the release of Hackney Diamonds, their first album of original material since 2005, and with it, they dropped the song “Angry,” followed shortly after by the Lady Gaga collaboration “Sweet Sounds of Heaven.” Both tracks have since become modern-day classics, and quite frankly, I haven’t heard about any other rock band being talked about as much recently. The group is now about to embark on a highly-anticipated tour in 2024 (probably their last ever). Is it sad that the current biggest rock band is the oldest one? Yes. Does that say it all regarding how dead rock is now from a mainstream perspective? Yes. But, at this point, who cares? All things must pass…
And there you have it! Funny enough, some of my favorite bands are actually missing from the above list (Black Sabbath, Fleetwood Mac, Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins, The White Stripes, etc.). All are bands that I feel almost became the biggest in the world, at one point or another, but missed the mark just by a hair…
That said, just for fun, here’s some extra band-related lists:
Favorite Band Per Subgenre
The Beatles (pop rock)
Jimi Hendrix Experience (psychedelic rock/ blues)
Pink Floyd (prog rock)
Black Sabbath/ Ozzy Osbourne (traditional metal)
Kiss (hard rock)
Metallica (thrash)
Pantera (groove metal)
Red Hot Chili Peppers (funk rock/ alt rock)
My Bloody Valentine (shoegaze)
White Zombie (noise rock/ whatever else they are)
Alice in Chains (grunge)
Tool (stoner rock)
Mayhem (black metal)
Outkast (hip-hop)
Queens of the Stone Age (desert rock)
Slipknot (nu-metal)
The White Stripes (garage rock)
Douglas Levison (sucka!)
My Top 10 Bands of All-Time
1.Red Hot Chili Peppers (funk rock/ alt rock)
2.Kiss (hard rock)
3.Guns N’ Roses (hard rock)
4.Faith No More (funk rock/ alt rock)
5.The Smashing Pumpkins (alt rock)
6.The White Stripes (garage rock)
7.Alice in Chains (grunge)
8.Nirvana (grunge)
9.White Zombie (noise rock/ whatever else they are)
10.Slipknot (nu metal)
Honorable Mention: Linkin Park (nu metal)
Peace!
Related: List Repository
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