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Blues Traveler
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Artist · chart history · #471 in indie & aaa artist polls

Blues Traveler

Band Princeton United States Formed 1987

Blues Traveler formed in 1987 in Princeton, United States. Blues Traveler has 139 chart appearances on 63 radio countdowns from 31 stations on RockLists, spanning 1994–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Run-Around”, which appears on 50 lists with a best position of #5. The station that charted Blues Traveler most often is CD101 (Columbus, OH), with 61 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1995.

139appearances
63countdowns
9songs charted
31stations
0#1 finishes
1994–2026years

Blues Traveler started in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1987, a bar band with a jam band's stamina and a secret weapon: John Popper, who sang and blew harmonica like a man trying to win a race with both. Chan Kinchla played guitar, Brendan Hill drums and Bobby Sheehan bass, and together they could slide one song into the next so smoothly that the crowd never saw the seams. They took that spirit on the road and helped get the H.O.R.D.E. touring festival off the ground.

The debut, Blues Traveler, arrived in 1990 with "But Anyway", followed by Travelers & Thieves and Save His Soul. Then came four in 1994, and the bar band hit the big time: "Run-Around" and "Hook" rode Popper's harp and his wordy, rubbery phrasing, and the album sold more than 6 million copies worldwide.

Sheehan died in 1999, and the band carried on with Tad Kinchla on bass and Ben Wilson on keyboards. A&M dropped them in 2002, but they kept working with independent labels, and lately they have gone back to the roots in the name: Traveler's Blues, a set of blues covers, earned a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album, and Traveler's Soul took on R&B and soul in 2023.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

Songs by Blues Traveler on radio countdowns

#SongStrengthListsBest#1sPeak year
1 Run-Around
2,225		 50 #5 – 1995
2 Hook
1,500		 41 #38 – 1995
3 But Anyway
536		 24 #44 – 1996
4 Conquer Me
337		 7 #1033 – –
5 All In The Groove
301		 7 #1057 – –
6 100 Years
130		 6 #1567 – –
7 Most Precarious
55		 1 #43 – 1997
8 Back in the Day
22		 1 #81 – 2001
9 You and Me and Everything
22		 1 #81 – 2008

Albums with charting songs

Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.

Year-end chart timeline

Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.

95 96 97 01 08

Every countdown appearance

Year#SongCountdown
2026 1027 Hook WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time
2025 576 Run-Around Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025)
2025 336 Run-Around WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s
2025 458 Hook WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s
2025 760 But Anyway The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs
2024 401 Hook WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years
2024 719 Run-Around WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years
2024 997 Run-Around Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024)
2023 190 Hook 105.9 The X July 420 (2023)
2023 224 Run-Around 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time
2023 243 Run-Around 105.9 The X July 420 (2023)
2023 384 But Anyway 105.9 The X July 420 (2023)
2023 574 Run-Around Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023)
2023 944 Hook Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023)
2023 1107 Run-Around WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023
2023 144 Hook The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s
2022 231 Hook 105.9 The X July 420 (2022)
2022 262 Run-Around 105.9 The X July 420 (2022)
2022 418 But Anyway 105.9 The X July 420 (2022)
2022 661 Run-Around Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022)
2022 892 Run-Around WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022
2022 1265 Hook WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022
2022 719 Hook The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s
2021 231 Hook 105.9 The X July 420 (2021)
2021 262 Run-Around 105.9 The X July 420 (2021)
2021 415 But Anyway 105.9 The X July 420 (2021)
2021 979 Run-Around Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021)
2021 361 Hook 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s
2021 690 Run-Around 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s
2020 250 Run-Around 105.9 The X July 420 (2020)
2020 266 Hook 105.9 The X July 420 (2020)
2020 409 But Anyway 105.9 The X July 420 (2020)
2019 716 Run-Around KZOK Top 1025 of 2019
2014 1233 Run-Around CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)
2014 1268 All In The Groove CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)
2014 1446 Hook CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)
2014 1662 But Anyway CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)
2014 963 Run-Around BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014)
2013 1171 Run-Around CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)
2013 1217 All In The Groove CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)
2013 1384 Hook CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)
2013 1601 But Anyway CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)
2011 1116 Run-Around CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)
2011 1161 All In The Groove CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)
2011 1330 Hook CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)
2011 1541 But Anyway CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)
2010 1079 Run-Around CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)
2010 1122 All In The Groove CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)
2010 1278 Hook CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)
2010 1474 But Anyway CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)
2009 1041 Run-Around CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)
2009 1082 All In The Groove CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)
2009 1247 Hook CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)
2009 1444 But Anyway CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)
2008 81 You and Me and Everything 103.1 The River Top 103 of 2008
2008 1012 Run-Around CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)
2008 1057 All In The Groove CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)
2008 1232 Hook CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)
2008 1435 But Anyway CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)
2007 1007 Run-Around CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2007 1131 All In The Groove CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2007 1215 Hook CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2007 1432 But Anyway CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2006 474 Artist ranking WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Artists (2006)
2005 1033 Conquer Me CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2005 1195 Run-Around CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2005 1257 Hook CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2005 830 Hook 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005)
2005 839 Run-Around 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005)
2004 1033 Conquer Me CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2004 1194 Run-Around CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2004 1257 Hook CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2004 1571 100 Years CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2004 1631 But Anyway CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2003 1033 Conquer Me CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)
2003 1194 Run-Around CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)
2003 1265 Hook CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)
2003 1571 100 Years CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)
2003 1631 But Anyway CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)
2002 1048 Conquer Me CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)
2002 1209 Run-Around CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)
2002 1280 Hook CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)
2002 1567 100 Years CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)
2002 1643 But Anyway CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)
2001 81 Back in the Day WEQX Top 102.7 of 2001
2001 404 Run-Around WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001)
2001 1048 Conquer Me CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2001 1210 Run-Around CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2001 1281 Hook CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2001 1572 100 Years CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2001 1651 But Anyway CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2001 171 Run-Around WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001)
2001 399 But Anyway WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001)
2000 402 Run-Around WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000)
2000 1043 Conquer Me CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)
2000 1204 Run-Around CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)
2000 1281 Hook CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)
2000 1572 100 Years CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)
2000 1651 But Anyway CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)
2000 66 Run-Around Y100 Top 300 Songs of the '90s (September 2000)
2000 80 But Anyway Y100 Top 300 Songs of the '90s (September 2000)
2000 63 Run-Around DC101 Top 101 Rock Songs of the 90s
1999 227 Run-Around Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 353 Hook Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 260 Hook The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 991 Run-Around The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 495 Hook WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999)
1999 1043 Conquer Me CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 1203 Run-Around CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 1280 Hook CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 1572 100 Years CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 1651 But Anyway CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 171 Run-Around WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999)
1999 291 Hook WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999)
1997 43 Most Precarious KNRK Top 94 Songs of 1997
1997 32 Run-Around WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997)
1997 237 Hook WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997)
1997 309 But Anyway WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997)
1996 44 But Anyway WBCN Top 104 Songs of 1996
1996 67 Hook WBCN Top 104 Songs of 1996
1996 77 But Anyway Radio & Records Top 96 Songs of 1996
1996 432 Hook WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996)
1996 277 But Anyway WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996)
1996 386 Run-Around WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996)
1995 44 Run-Around KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1995
1995 29 Run-Around 91X Top 91 Songs of 1995
1995 75 Hook 91X Top 91 Songs of 1995
1995 40 Run-Around Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1995
1995 92 Hook Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1995
1995 8 Run-Around WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1995
1995 47 Hook WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1995
1995 13 Run-Around WMRQ Top 104 Songs of 1995
1995 28 Run-Around The Buzz Top 103 Alternative Songs of '95
1995 81 Hook The Buzz Top 103 Alternative Songs of '95
1995 24 Run-Around Radio & Records Top 95 Songs of 1995
1995 56 Hook Radio & Records Top 95 Songs of 1995
1995 5 Run-Around WDRE Top 103.9 Songs of 1995
1995 38 Hook WDRE Top 103.9 Songs of 1995
1994 462 Hook WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994)

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