Most-charted alternative rock artists
6,398 artists have appeared on at least one countdown in the archive. They are ranked here by their combined results across every list: number of appearances, positions reached and how many different stations charted them. Browse alphabetically or see the listener-voted greatest artists.
| # | Artist | Entries | Lists | Songs | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | U2 | 2,283 | 331 | 139 | 3 | 1981–2026 |
| 2 | R.E.M. | 1,579 | 242 | 97 | 5 | 1983–2026 |
| 3 | Pearl Jam | 1,349 | 268 | 103 | 13 | 1991–2026 |
| 4 | The Cure | 1,236 | 241 | 94 | 9 | 1979–2026 |
| 5 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | 1,126 | 297 | 52 | 14 | 1988–2025 |
| 6 | Depeche Mode | 1,040 | 208 | 71 | 6 | 1981–2026 |
| 7 | Nirvana | 951 | 205 | 45 | 50 | 1990–2026 |
| 8 | The Beatles | 1,061 | 78 | 126 | 1 | 1976–2026 |
| 9 | The Clash | 986 | 124 | 62 | 3 | 1977–2026 |
| 10 | David Bowie | 1,136 | 177 | 81 | 2 | 1977–2026 |
| 11 | Green Day | 885 | 257 | 70 | 14 | 1994–2026 |
| 12 | The Smashing Pumpkins | 819 | 203 | 50 | 1 | 1991–2025 |
| 13 | Foo Fighters | 868 | 304 | 65 | 5 | 1995–2026 |
| 14 | The Rolling Stones | 827 | 108 | 91 | 5 | 1976–2026 |
| 15 | Radiohead | 744 | 230 | 54 | 1 | 1992–2026 |
| 16 | Led Zeppelin | 737 | 92 | 69 | 12 | 1976–2026 |
| 17 | The Smiths | 646 | 154 | 52 | 13 | 1983–2026 |
| 18 | The Police | 727 | 117 | 43 | – | 1980–2026 |
| 19 | Talking Heads | 737 | 129 | 42 | – | 1980–2026 |
| 20 | Beastie Boys | 619 | 157 | 43 | 9 | 1987–2026 |
| 21 | New Order | 574 | 150 | 46 | 7 | 1981–2026 |
| 22 | Nine Inch Nails | 560 | 205 | 46 | 5 | 1990–2025 |
| 23 | INXS | 649 | 128 | 44 | 1 | 1983–2026 |
| 24 | Weezer | 546 | 199 | 50 | 1 | 1994–2025 |
| 25 | Beck | 518 | 214 | 43 | 2 | 1993–2026 |
| 26 | Metallica | 473 | 147 | 61 | 13 | 1990–2026 |
| 27 | Stone Temple Pilots | 529 | 153 | 32 | 2 | 1993–2025 |
| 28 | Bruce Springsteen | 532 | 79 | 86 | 5 | 1978–2026 |
| 29 | The Offspring | 481 | 204 | 37 | 3 | 1994–2025 |
| 30 | Oasis | 520 | 177 | 36 | 7 | 1994–2026 |
| 31 | Coldplay | 486 | 199 | 37 | 5 | 2000–2025 |
| 32 | Pink Floyd | 423 | 81 | 43 | – | 1976–2026 |
| 33 | Peter Gabriel | 535 | 124 | 32 | – | 1980–2026 |
| 34 | The B-52's | 484 | 114 | 34 | 1 | 1980–2026 |
| 35 | Linkin Park | 381 | 149 | 43 | 8 | 2000–2026 |
| 36 | Jane's Addiction | 402 | 132 | 31 | 7 | 1988–2024 |
| 37 | The Ramones | 443 | 114 | 42 | 1 | 1977–2026 |
| 38 | Violent Femmes | 373 | 101 | 21 | 4 | 1988–2026 |
| 39 | The Replacements | 478 | 80 | 39 | – | 1987–2026 |
| 40 | blink-182 | 407 | 191 | 34 | 5 | 1995–2024 |
| 41 | The Pixies | 433 | 132 | 35 | – | 1988–2026 |
| 42 | Bob Marley | 418 | 108 | 24 | – | 1976–2026 |
| 43 | Elvis Costello & the Attractions | 416 | 82 | 55 | – | 1977–2020 |
| 44 | The White Stripes | 361 | 153 | 25 | 13 | 2001–2026 |
| 45 | The Killers | 356 | 161 | 27 | 3 | 2004–2026 |
| 46 | Rage Against the Machine | 371 | 180 | 23 | – | 1993–2026 |
| 47 | AC/DC | 384 | 92 | 52 | 1 | 1980–2026 |
| 48 | The Pretenders | 470 | 105 | 35 | – | 1980–2026 |
| 49 | Alice In Chains | 376 | 122 | 27 | – | 1990–2026 |
| 50 | Sublime | 293 | 95 | 18 | 4 | 1995–2026 |
| 51 | Social Distortion | 349 | 123 | 26 | – | 1988–2024 |
| 52 | Dave Matthews Band | 367 | 119 | 28 | – | 1994–2026 |
| 53 | Muse | 335 | 153 | 37 | 5 | 1999–2025 |
| 54 | XTC | 395 | 99 | 35 | 1 | 1980–2024 |
| 55 | Bush | 376 | 152 | 17 | 1 | 1994–2025 |
| 56 | Incubus | 306 | 150 | 25 | 4 | 1999–2024 |
| 57 | Echo and the Bunnymen | 341 | 102 | 25 | – | 1981–2026 |
| 58 | 311 | 355 | 179 | 25 | 2 | 1993–2024 |
| 59 | Queen | 285 | 83 | 26 | 1 | 1980–2026 |
| 60 | Soundgarden | 321 | 109 | 21 | – | 1991–2026 |
| 61 | Lenny Kravitz | 360 | 141 | 26 | – | 1989–2026 |
| 62 | Live | 336 | 127 | 21 | 4 | 1992–2026 |
| 63 | Blondie | 352 | 91 | 30 | – | 1988–2026 |
| 64 | Tears for Fears | 334 | 104 | 18 | – | 1982–2026 |
| 65 | Squeeze | 366 | 93 | 27 | – | 1980–2026 |
| 66 | The Psychedelic Furs | 323 | 90 | 24 | – | 1982–2026 |
| 67 | Tool | 301 | 163 | 20 | 2 | 1993–2026 |
| 68 | Siouxsie and the Banshees | 333 | 107 | 40 | 1 | 1978–2026 |
| 69 | The Who | 292 | 37 | 38 | 1 | 1976–2026 |
| 70 | Elvis Costello | 323 | 118 | 34 | – | 1978–2026 |
| 71 | Morrissey | 319 | 118 | 39 | – | 1988–2023 |
| 72 | The Doors | 300 | 70 | 31 | – | 1976–2026 |
| 73 | Devo | 292 | 91 | 31 | 1 | 1977–2026 |
| 74 | Duran Duran | 338 | 119 | 34 | 1 | 1981–2026 |
| 75 | Bob Dylan | 302 | 58 | 62 | – | 1976–2026 |
| 76 | They Might Be Giants | 335 | 82 | 34 | – | 1987–2026 |
| 77 | Cake | 337 | 136 | 24 | 1 | 1995–2026 |
| 78 | Neil Young | 335 | 82 | 37 | – | 1976–2026 |
| 79 | The Cult | 271 | 106 | 25 | – | 1984–2024 |
| 80 | Garbage | 324 | 121 | 22 | – | 1995–2026 |
| 81 | The Strokes | 287 | 144 | 25 | 2 | 2001–2026 |
| 82 | System of a Down | 254 | 124 | 19 | 5 | 1999–2026 |
| 83 | Sinéad O'Connor | 257 | 119 | 20 | 1 | 1987–2025 |
| 84 | Midnight Oil | 314 | 103 | 29 | – | 1983–2025 |
| 85 | Oingo Boingo | 247 | 86 | 36 | 1 | 1980–2023 |
| 86 | The Cranberries | 274 | 116 | 13 | 1 | 1993–2026 |
| 87 | No Doubt | 263 | 123 | 21 | – | 1995–2024 |
| 88 | Korn | 279 | 148 | 34 | 2 | 1995–2026 |
| 89 | Tori Amos | 288 | 96 | 18 | – | 1992–2026 |
| 90 | Joy Division | 222 | 126 | 19 | 5 | 1980–2026 |
| 91 | Prince | 264 | 97 | 47 | 1 | 1984–2026 |
| 92 | Counting Crows | 270 | 97 | 21 | – | 1994–2026 |
| 93 | The Sex Pistols | 232 | 104 | 15 | 5 | 1977–2025 |
| 94 | 10,000 Maniacs | 250 | 65 | 20 | – | 1983–2023 |
| 95 | Matthew Sweet | 242 | 57 | 20 | – | 1991–2026 |
| 96 | The Eagles | 229 | 67 | 20 | – | 1987–2026 |
| 97 | Eurythmics | 248 | 84 | 27 | – | 1983–2026 |
| 98 | Billy Idol | 291 | 100 | 23 | – | 1981–2026 |
| 99 | The Grateful Dead | 243 | 33 | 41 | – | 1976–2026 |
| 100 | Blur | 266 | 141 | 25 | 1 | 1991–2026 |