Biggest Rock Bands Per Year (I Think)

  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…

1997-1999: 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…

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)

The Jimi Hendrix Experience (psychedelic rock/ blues)

Pink Floyd (prog rock)

Black Sabbath (heavy metal/ doom metal)

The Ramones (punk rock)

Depeche Mode (new wave)

Metallica (thrash metal)

Pantera (groove metal)

Red Hot Chili Peppers (funk rock/ alt rock)

My Bloody Valentine (shoegaze)

Guns N’ Roses (hard rock)

White Zombie (noise rock/ shock rock)

Nine Inch Nails (industrial rock)

Alice in Chains (grunge)

Tool (prog metal)

Mayhem (black metal)

Oasis (britpop)

Outkast (rap/ hip-hop)

Daft Punk (EDM)

Queens of the Stone Age (desert rock)

Linkin Park (nu-metal)

The White Stripes (garage rock)

Bands That Have No Bad Studio LPs (IMO)

The Beatles

The Jimi Hendrix Experience (non-posthumous)

Red Hot Chili Peppers

White Zombie

My Bloody Valentine

Soundgarden

Nirvana

Mother Love Bone

Temple of the Dog

Outkast

Daft Punk

System of a Down

The Dead Weather

Royal Blood

Artists With Multiple Perfect LPs (IMO)

The Beatles

Jimi Hendrix

Pink Floyd

Led Zeppelin

Black Sabbath

Ozzy Osbourne

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Faith No More

White Zombie

My Bloody Valentine

Soundgarden

Nirvana

Alice in Chains

The Smashing Pumpkins

Oasis

Outkast

Foo Fighters

Daft Punk

Eminem

The White Stripes

Linkin Park

The Dead Weather

Jack White

Run the Jewels

Royal Blood

My Top 15 Bands of All-Time

1.Red Hot Chili Peppers

2.Guns N’ Roses

3.Kiss

4.White Zombie

5.Faith No More

6.Alice in Chains

7.The White Stripes

8.The Smashing Pumpkins

9.Soundgarden

10.Nirvana

11.Foo Fighters

12.Metallica

13.Led Zeppelin

14.The Jimi Hendrix Experience

15.Linkin Park

Peace!

Related: List Repository

The 2020 Rock Comeback That Could Have Been: Top 12 Tours We Lost

  In late 2019, something interesting happened in the world of rock n’ roll…

A bunch of big bands who hadn’t been active in many years started announcing reunion tours and/or co-headlining tours with other big bands. While reunions and co-headlining treks were nothing new by this point, it certainly seemed like an unusually large amount of them were about to happen all at once. For people like me, this was a pretty huge deal! I knew deep down that the reason for it all was just because the world economy was better than ever at the time, and all of these dinosaur-aged, nostalgia-act has-beens wanted to take advantage of that. But I didn’t care! I was just happy that a bunch of bands that I admired were coming back and/or teaming up in new and unique ways.

And then of course, 2020 happened, and I think you know the rest of the story from there…

Some of these would-be rock revival tours have since been canceled, while others have been delayed indefinitely. Maybe they’ll still happen someday, or maybe not. That being said, whatever the future holds, I thought it would be fun to take some time to look at all of those 2020 rock comeback tours that could have been, and also evaluate what the future could hold for all of these different acts, and what they’re all doing in the meantime. Think of this as a sort of “what if” and “what can still be” glimpse, if you will…

Also, for what it’s worth; I know that artists of pretty much all other genres were impacted by the pandemic as well, but I’m not really as passionate about other genres in the way that I am about rock music in particular (and I don’t even listen to much music at all these days, to be fair). I have respect for all of those different styles of music, for sure, but they just don’t really “get me going” in the way that rock does (bar a few exceptions, of course). I used to be a snob about that sorta thing, but these days I try to keep more of an open mind. Who knows? Maybe someday I’ll actually like another genre more than rock n’ roll. But alas, today is not that day…

So, without further ado, here are the Top 12 rock comeback tours of 2020 that never were! Starting with…

12.Kiss Farewell Tour (For Real This Time…?)

In 1996, the original Kiss line-up reunited. Then in 2000, they embarked on a farewell tour (“The Last Kiss” Tour), saying that they “wanted to go out on a high.” Pretty much as soon as the tour was over, founding members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons replaced guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss with hired hands, even giving them the same makeup designs and everything! Further touring and recording resumed not too long after that, and this infamous new line-up of Kiss still continues to this very day. I suppose the 2000 tour was still a “farewell” to the original line-up, at least. Nevertheless, if Paul and Gene’s goal was to “go out on a high,” they certainly failed (and that’s coming from someone who actually likes 2012’s Monster album). The group kicked off a new farewell tour in 2019 (dubbed “The End of the Road”), and were caught lip syncing at pretty much every single show right up until the pandemic shut everything down. Currently, the Europe leg has been rescheduled to early summer, which means it’ll probably be delayed by yet another year (they’re already confirmed for Download Fest 2022 in the UK anyways). Same can probably be said for the South America leg in the fall. The late summer North America leg and the winter Oceania leg might still happen though, if I had to guess. I suppose if you’re a diehard fan and don’t mind lip syncing then it’s worth going to see the band while you still can. For the rest of us, though? Hard pass…

11.Motley Crue Reunion Tour (w/ Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts)

When Motley Crue completed their 35th anniversary tour in 2015, they claimed that all four members had signed a contract promising that they would never perform live under the Motley Crue name ever again. Then their 40th anniversary came around in 2020, and it was announced that they’d be embarking on a massive trek of stadiums (simply titled “The Stadium Tour”), alongside three other household names. In short, they admitted that the whole contract thing was bullshit (but we all knew that anyway). On one hand, I think it’s shitty that they didn’t stick to their word, despite the fact that everyone saw it coming from a mile away. On the other hand, this tour intrigues me just because of it’s rather unique nature alone. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a non-festival rock tour of this magnitude. Four massive bands from the annals of rock history, touring gargantuan football stadiums across America. If you’re just looking for nothing but a good time (pun intended) and want to pretend like you’re back in 1989, I’d say it’s worth checking out. I’m probably gonna pass though, as I feel that Crue has aged rather poorly. All of the summer 2020 dates have been rescheduled to 2021, from June to September to be exact. My guess is that at least the first five or six shows might still get canceled and/or delayed again though, while the post-Fourth of July shows probably have a better chance of happening still…

10.Guns N’ Roses “Next Chapter” Tour (w/ The Smashing Pumpkins and Gary Clark Jr.)

After 23 years of estrangement (pun intended), Axl Rose and Slash buried the hatchet and embarked on their big reunion tour from early 2016 all the way until late 2019. No new music came during this time, apart from a handful of old demos that the band dusted off in mid 2018 for the 30th anniversary of Appetite for Destruction. It seemed like 2020 would finally bring about a new era for the band though, as the upcoming tour was being labeled as “the next chapter,” with slogans such as “the next chapter is about to begin” scattered all over the marketing. The band actually did the first show of the tour in Mexico, in mid March, right when the coronavirus was officially declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. Needless to say, the rest of the tour was postponed indefinitely and the band flew home right after that. Interestingly enough though, during the soundcheck right before the Mexico gig, the band rehearsed a new song called Hard School (the demo of which leaked a few months prior, along with many other unreleased songs). Even Axl took part in that rehearsal (which he rarely does). Who knows? Maybe they really were finally on the verge of something new…

As of now, the South America leg of the tour is canceled entirely, while the Europe leg is delayed to summer 2022 (after having already been delayed from summer 2020 to summer 2021). The North America and Oceania legs are still scheduled for the fall/winter of this year (after also suffering a year-long delay). Those will probably still happen. Not sure about new music, though. Wouldn’t be surprised if the band has just given up at this point, knowing them. And if that’s the case, I don’t really care anymore. If they wanna just be a nostalgia act from now on, fine by me. I got to see them when the reunion started in 2016, so I don’t really need to see them again (unless new music really does happen, or even just another boxset of old demos for the Use Your Illusion 30th anniversary). I actually had tickets to see them in 2020, but that’s only because The Smashing Pumpkins were gonna be the opening act, and I thought it’d be cool to see both bands together (even though I already saw The Pumpkins in 2018 as well). That being said, The Pumpkins have since dropped out of the tour entirely (to focus on their upcoming 33-song double album, a “sequel” to Mellon Collie and Machina), so I refunded my tickets. Not a major loss for me, so it’s whatever.

9.Hella Mega Tour (Green Day, Weezer and Fall Out Boy)

From what I can tell, Green Day is one of the most divisive bands of all time. Some people love them, and some people absolutely loathe them. Personally, I’m somewhere in the middle. I like their popular albums, 1994’s Dookie and 2004’s American Idiot, but don’t really care for anything else, apart from the occasional single here and there. Apparently they made their most recent main album, 2020’s Father of All Motherfuckers, a bad album on purpose, cause it was the last record they were contracted to deliver to a major label. While I admire the “statement” there, I think making bad music on purpose is still a pretty shallow thing to do, but that’s just me. They also recently released the album Money Money 2020 Part II: We Told Ya So!, the sequel to 2003’s Money Money 2020, both under the pseudonym The Network (one of many pseudonyms which they use). 2020 also saw the release of frontman Billie Joe Armstrong’s first ever solo album, No Fun Mondays. Seems like Green Day enjoys escaping the stigma of their own name every now and then, which I can understand, though I still think Father of All was a mistake (I heard parts of it when it first came out, and it was a tough listen). Weezer is another band where I’ve only listened to a few of their records in full. That being said, I admire their persistence. They released an acoustic album earlier this year called OK Human, and are about to release a new electric album in a few weeks from now called Van Weezer (notice the theme?). I never paid attention to Fall Out Boy, so I won’t comment on them one way or the other. As far the dates go; the Asia and Oceania legs have been canceled entirely (the latter of which is surprising, cause Oceania is actually doing okay right now), while the Europe leg has been delayed to early summer 2021 (half of the shows are still missing new dates though) and the North America leg has been delayed to late summer 2021. My prediction is that the Europe shows will get delayed again, if not canceled entirely. The North America shows are probably the only ones that’ll still happen. A world tour downgraded to a domestic tour. Sad, but it is what it is…

8.My Chemical Romance Reunion Tour

I don’t actually know much about this band, other than that they have a pretty big fanbase, so I imagine a ton of people must’ve been pretty thrilled when they announced their reunion after a decade of inactivity. Sadly, they only got around to playing one show before the pandemic kicked into high gear. All of the other shows are delayed to 2022 now (after being delayed to 2021 first, of course). No sign of new music from these guys either, as far as I know, though I imagine that’s because frontman Gerard Way is busy working on the third season of Umbrella Academy, among his other writing projects.

7.The Rolling Stones Tour (Yes, They’re Still Around)

Imagine traveling back in time to 1962, when The Rolling Stones first formed, and telling them “In the year 2020, you guys will have to delay an entire tour leg due to a global plague. And yes, you guys are still around in 2020.” What makes this even more interesting is the fact that the band had already been touring consistently for a few years leading up to the pandemic. As a matter of fact, they only had one leg left to go, in North America. As of now, that leg is still in limbo. No dates have been rescheduled yet, but no cancellations have happened either. If I had to guess though, I think we’ve really seen the last of The Stones on stage this time. At their age, and with the paranoid world we live in now, I really can’t see these guys playing live ever again, apart from maybe a big 60th anniversary show in the UK next year. But as sad as that may be, the fact that they were able to tour for 57 years (with some years off here and there, of course) is nothing to balk at! Plus, they released a new covid-inspired single last year, along with some old demos that never saw a proper release until now. The band also recently hinted at a new album on their social media pages. Assuming that really does come to fruition, it’ll be their first new studio record since 2005’s A Bigger Bang (not counting the 2016 covers collection Blue & Lonesome). So at least there’s that to hopefully still look forward to!

6.Aerosmith Vegas Residency, Anniversary Show and Farewell Tour

When the pandemic hit, Aerosmith were in the middle of a series of residency shows in Las Vegas, which itself was part of their supposed farewell tour that’s been going on since 2017, but still has no real end in sight. The band was also scheduled to play a big 50th anniversary show in their hometown of Boston in the fall of 2020, but that show has since been pushed out an entire year, while the remaining Vegas shows are still in limbo, and all other shows have been pushed all the way out to summer 2022. This all happened at an interesting time for the band, as they had just patched things up with original drummer Joey Kramer, whom they had kicked out of the band a year prior after he had been with them nonstop for 49 years (I don’t know the specifics of the drama there). They also were apparently about to start work on a new album, their first since 2012’s Music from Another Dimension, but I’m not sure if that’s still happening or not. As far as touring goes; my guess is that the Vegas residency is toast now, but all of the other dates will probably still happen (though they’ll likely be Aerosmith’s last).

5.Genesis Reunion Tour

At the beginning of 2020, literally right before the world went to shit, Genesis reunited and announced a small run of UK shows for the fall. It would have been their first time touring since 2006-2007 (which itself was their first time touring since 2000). The band has since delayed all of the shows by an entire year (smart move). Frontman Phil Collins recently said that there’s no plans for new music, but added “never say never.” Collins himself hasn’t done a record with the band since 1991’s We Can’t Dance, and the only other record they’ve done without him is 1997’s lackluster Calling All Stations. New music would be interesting, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

4.Faith No More Reunion Tour (w/ Korn)

In 2009, Faith No More reunited and toured for the first time since 1998. Then in 2015, they released the album Sol Invictus (their first record since 1997’s Album of the Year). For awhile, it seemed like the band was really here to stay this time. But then in 2016, after performing a pair of small shows with original vocalist Chuck Mosely, the group faded away once again. Mosely then died in 2017, while primary vocalist Mike Patton moved on to various other projects (like he always does). Then in late 2019, the band shocked their fanbase by announcing yet another reunion tour for 2020, with Korn as their co-headlining act. Interestingly enough, around this same time, Patton also reunited with his other big band, Mr. Bungle, who have since released their first studio album since 1999 (with another album potentially on the way now too). Sadly, things haven’t worked out as well for Faith No More. The tour with Korn has been canceled entirely now (apart from two shows next month), and the string of European festival dates they have booked for this summer are likely to be canceled too (if I have to guess). The Oceania leg of their tour is scheduled for early 2022. My bet is that this is the only leg that’ll still happen (at least for now). No sign of new music either. I could be wrong, but it seems like Patton just sees Faith No More as “the touring band that pays my bills,” while Mr. Bungle serves as his true creative outlet.

3.Red Hot Chili Peppers Classic Line-Up Reunion Tour

In 2007, after the Red Hot Chili Peppers completed the tour for their 2006 double album Stadium Arcadium, classic-era guitarist John Frusciante began to drift away from the group. It wasn’t the first time, as he had already been out of the band once before, from 1992 to 1998. He confirmed his second departure in 2009, and was replaced by Josh Klinghoffer, a longtime friend of Frusciante’s who had already been serving as a touring member since 2007. Apparently Frusciante saw this as a betrayal, and his friendship with Klinghoffer has been strained ever since. The band went on to make two more studio albums, I’m With You (2011) and The Getaway (2016), as well as one b-side album, I’m Beside You (2013). While all of these records were a modest success, none of them were ever able to reach the heights of the Frusciante-era stuff. So it shouldn’t really come as a surprise that when Frusciante expressed interest in returning once more in late 2019, the band relieved Klinghoffer of his duties. Personally, I really liked Josh. He seemed like a nice guy in interviews, and I felt he really came into his own as a guitarist by the time the band got to The Getaway. He was apparently going to tour with Pearl Jam as a solo act, before the pandemic hit (he even collaborated with them a bit). Hopefully that still happens, once the world is back to (mostly) normal. I wish him well.

That being said, John Frusciante is fucking John Frusciante. There’s just no one else like him. He truly is one of the most unique guitarists of all time. So if there’s an opportunity for the band to bring him back so that they can make a true follow-up to Stadium Arcadium, then I say they should go for it! They’re not getting any younger, so it’s now or never! Out of all the potential future rock albums and/or tours, this is easily the one I’m most excited for, by far. The band did actually manage to play a one-off show last year (their first with Frusciante since 2007), but were then forced to cancel the string of Europe and North America festival dates they had on the books. Currently, there are no rescheduled dates on their roster, but it seems like the new album is coming along, so at least we have that to look forward to! Also, for what it’s worth: Yes, I know the Chili Peppers and Faith No More have feuded with each other often in the past. I didn’t mean to put them right next to one another on this list. That was just a coincidence.

2.Rage Against the Machine Reunion Tour (w/ Run the Jewels)

In 2000, Rage Against the Machine frontman Zach de la Rocha quit the group to work on a solo album which, believe it or not, he’s still working on to this very day. In the meantime, the remaining members went on to form Audioslave with Chris Cornell (RIP), and the short-lived, ill-fated Prophets of Rage not too long after that. RATM has actually already reunited once before, from 2007 to 2011, but they only did a handful of shows each of those years. The 2020 tour would’ve been their first “proper” tour in twenty years (hence why it’s so high on this list). Once the pandemic hit, all shows were pushed out to 2021, and now 2022. I’m sure all of the dates will still happen, eventually, as I have a feeling the only reason de la Rocha reunited with the rest of the band in the first place is because he needs the money. I doubt new music will happen though, but I’m sure the shows will still be full of energy.

1.AC/DC Classic Line-Up Reunion Tour

The album-and-touring cycle for AC/DC’s 2014 record Rock or Bust was turbulent, to say the least. First, before work on the album even started, founding member and rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young was forced to leave the band in 2013, after being diagnosed with dementia. His nephew Stevie ended up taking his place (Malcolm, sadly, succumbed to his illness and died in 2017). Then in 2014, just after the album was released, longtime drummer Phil Rudd was charged with possession of illegal drugs and attempted murder (yikes!). He was quickly replaced with Chris Slade, who had already served as the band’s drummer from 1989-1994, when Rudd was out of the group due to other drug-related issues at the time. Then in early 2016, when the Rock or Bust Tour still had two more legs to go, singer Brian Johnson blew out his eardrums after standing too close to racing vehicles without hearing protection. The smart thing for the band to do would’ve been to just cancel the rest of the tour at that point, but as lead guitarist and central member Angus Young put it: “You can’t call the album Rock or Bust, and then bust!” In an interesting turn of events, the band recruited Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose to fill in on vocal duties for the remaining dates, right when the Guns N’ Roses reunion tour had just started as well! For the next few months, Rose alternated back and forth between both bands, until all of the remaining AC/DC shows were complete. Immediately after, longtime bassist Cliff Williams announced his retirement, saying that the band “didn’t feel right” anymore due to all of the sudden line-up changes that had occurred from 2013-2016. 

For awhile, it seemed like the AC/DC story was over. Then in 2017, Johnson was able to get his hearing restored after meeting a doctor who had been developing new hearing technology with a group of scientists. Later that year, he appeared on stage with Muse to prove that he was back to performance-ready shape. Then in 2018, Rudd was cleared of all charges. How? I don’t know! But not too long after that, all four classic surviving members (Brian, Angus, Cliff, Phil) and Stevie were spotted entering a studio in Vancouver. Throughout all of 2019, there were rumblings of a new album on the way. The big rumor was that it would drop in early 2020, around the 40th anniversary of the legendary Back in Black album. Then, of course, the pandemic happened, and it was radio-silence for the next several months after that. Finally, towards the end of the year, the new record, titled Power Up, saw the light of day! The band confirmed shortly thereafter that they had wanted to tour in support of it, but that everything was now up in the air due to the pandemic, and they didn’t want to sit on the new music any longer. Shame about the tour, really. Hopefully they can play at least one or a few shows in their homeland of Australia. They owe it to themselves and their diehards to celebrate at least one last time, especially after such a triumphant return…

    Well, that’s all I got!

Peace!

UPDATE: In a similar vein to this post, it’s funny how a bunch of bands broke up or retired from touring in 2024 (Rage Against the Machine, Hall & Oates, Jeff Lynn’s ELO, Jane’s Addiction, REO Speedwagon, Aerosmith, Sum 41, etc.). Furthermore, it’s also funny how a bunch of bands changed drummers in 2025 (Guns N’ Roses, Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam, Aerosmith, The Who, Kiss, Oasis, Rush, etc.).

Related: List Repository