RockLists.com

Artist consensus · Indie & Adult Alternative · 1 countdowns from 1 stations

The greatest indie rock artists of all time

Several stations have asked listeners to rank the greatest artists rather than songs. This ranking combines all one of them. For a ranking based on song appearances instead, see the most-charted artists.

#ArtistStrengthListsBest#1s
1 The Beatles177 charting songs
100		 1 #1 1
2 Bob Dylan93 charting songs
100		 1 #2 –
3 The Rolling Stones131 charting songs
100		 1 #3 –
4 Bruce Springsteen119 charting songs
100		 1 #4 –
5 U2172 charting songs
100		 1 #5 –
6 Led Zeppelin96 charting songs
99		 1 #6 –
7 The Grateful Dead48 charting songs
99		 1 #7 –
8 Neil Young69 charting songs
99		 1 #8 –
9 Pink Floyd81 charting songs
99		 1 #9 –
10 Joni Mitchell33 charting songs
99		 1 #10 –
11 The Who61 charting songs
99		 1 #12 –
12 Van Morrison46 charting songs
99		 1 #13 –
13 Bob Marley36 charting songs
99		 1 #14 –
14 Eric Clapton48 charting songs
98		 1 #15 –
15 David Bowie99 charting songs
98		 1 #16 –
16 R.E.M.114 charting songs
98		 1 #17 –
17 Johnny Cash33 charting songs
98		 1 #18 –
18 Elvis Presley27 charting songs
98		 1 #19 –
19 Paul Simon31 charting songs
98		 1 #20 –
20 Stevie Wonder44 charting songs
98		 1 #22 –
21 Elvis Costello50 charting songs
98		 1 #23 –
22 The Clash66 charting songs
97		 1 #24 –
23 Allman Brothers Band30 charting songs
97		 1 #25 –
24 Miles Davis15 charting songs
97		 1 #26 –
25 Steely Dan39 charting songs
97		 1 #27 –
26 Dave Matthews Band50 charting songs
97		 1 #28 –
27 Bonnie Raitt28 charting songs
97		 1 #29 –
28 The Doors41 charting songs
97		 1 #30 –
29 Talking Heads44 charting songs
97		 1 #31 –
30 John Lennon31 charting songs
97		 1 #32 –
31 Elton John48 charting songs
96		 1 #33 –
32 Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young12 charting songs
96		 1 #34 –
33 James Taylor8 charting songs
96		 1 #35 –
34 The Band23 charting songs
96		 1 #36 –
35 Jackson Browne32 charting songs
96		 1 #37 –
36 Pearl Jam122 charting songs
96		 1 #38 –
37 Prince59 charting songs
96		 1 #39 –
38 Yes30 charting songs
96		 1 #40 –
39 Peter Gabriel42 charting songs
95		 1 #42 –
40 Richard Thompson26 charting songs
95		 1 #43 –
41 Frank Zappa5 charting songs
95		 1 #44 –
42 Tom Petty53 charting songs
95		 1 #45 –
43 Nirvana58 charting songs
95		 1 #46 –
44 Ray Charles8 charting songs
95		 1 #47 –
45 Billy Joel44 charting songs
95		 1 #48 –
46 John Coltrane12 charting songs
95		 1 #49 –
47 Sting29 charting songs
94		 1 #50 –
48 Simon and Garfunkel20 charting songs
94		 1 #51 –
49 The Kinks31 charting songs
94		 1 #52 –
50 The Beach Boys28 charting songs
94		 1 #53 –
51 Phish32 charting songs
94		 1 #54 –
52 Genesis37 charting songs
94		 1 #55 –
53 Santana30 charting songs
94		 1 #56 –
54 Frank Sinatra17 charting songs
94		 1 #57 –
55 Janis Joplin12 charting songs
94		 1 #58 –
56 Wilco73 charting songs
93		 1 #59 –
57 Stevie Ray Vaughan26 charting songs
93		 1 #60 –
58 Coldplay56 charting songs
93		 1 #61 –
59 Beck58 charting songs
93		 1 #62 –
60 Aretha Franklin28 charting songs
93		 1 #63 –
61 Dire Straits25 charting songs
93		 1 #64 –
62 The Cure98 charting songs
93		 1 #65 –
63 Lucinda Williams41 charting songs
93		 1 #66 –
64 Counting Crows34 charting songs
93		 1 #67 –
65 Queen45 charting songs
92		 1 #68 –
66 The Indigo Girls28 charting songs
92		 1 #69 –
67 The Eagles31 charting songs
92		 1 #70 –
68 The Police49 charting songs
92		 1 #71 –
69 The Smiths49 charting songs
92		 1 #72 –
70 Jeff Buckley8 charting songs
92		 1 #73 –
71 Ella Fitzgerald6 charting songs
92		 1 #74 –
72 Marvin Gaye15 charting songs
92		 1 #75 –
73 Jerry Garcia5 charting songs
92		 1 #76 –
74 B.B. King6 charting songs
91		 1 #77 –
75 Ben Folds30 charting songs
91		 1 #78 –
76 Red Hot Chili Peppers60 charting songs
91		 1 #79 –
77 Ani DiFranco39 charting songs
91		 1 #80 –
78 Tori Amos37 charting songs
91		 1 #81 –
79 Leonard Cohen20 charting songs
91		 1 #82 –
80 Willie Nelson22 charting songs
91		 1 #83 –
81 Fleetwood Mac45 charting songs
91		 1 #84 –
82 The Velvet Underground17 charting songs
91		 1 #85 –
83 The Ramones46 charting songs
90		 1 #86 –
84 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart0 charting songs
90		 1 #87 –
85 The Moody Blues21 charting songs
90		 1 #88 –
86 Lyle Lovett16 charting songs
90		 1 #89 –
87 Ryan Adams38 charting songs
90		 1 #90 –
88 Paul McCartney32 charting songs
90		 1 #91 –
89 Louis Armstrong8 charting songs
90		 1 #92 –
90 Carole King10 charting songs
90		 1 #93 –
91 John Hiatt24 charting songs
89		 1 #94 –
92 John Prine32 charting songs
89		 1 #95 –
93 The Pixies46 charting songs
89		 1 #96 –
94 Ludwig Van Beethoven1 charting song
89		 1 #97 –
95 Patty Griffin29 charting songs
89		 1 #98 –
96 Warren Zevon22 charting songs
89		 1 #99 –
97 Jethro Tull17 charting songs
89		 1 #100 –
98 Sarah McLachlan22 charting songs
89		 1 #101 –
99 Traffic16 charting songs
89		 1 #102 –
100 Crosby, Stills, and Nash13 charting songs
88		 1 #103 –

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