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 Beatles126 charting songs
100		 1 #1 1
2 Bob Dylan62 charting songs
100		 1 #2 –
3 The Rolling Stones91 charting songs
100		 1 #3 –
4 Bruce Springsteen86 charting songs
100		 1 #4 –
5 U2139 charting songs
100		 1 #5 –
6 Led Zeppelin69 charting songs
99		 1 #6 –
7 The Grateful Dead41 charting songs
99		 1 #7 –
8 Neil Young37 charting songs
99		 1 #8 –
9 Pink Floyd43 charting songs
99		 1 #9 –
10 Joni Mitchell29 charting songs
99		 1 #10 –
11 The Who38 charting songs
99		 1 #12 –
12 Van Morrison31 charting songs
99		 1 #13 –
13 Bob Marley24 charting songs
99		 1 #14 –
14 Eric Clapton25 charting songs
98		 1 #15 –
15 David Bowie81 charting songs
98		 1 #16 –
16 R.E.M.97 charting songs
98		 1 #17 –
17 Johnny Cash21 charting songs
98		 1 #18 –
18 Elvis Presley13 charting songs
98		 1 #19 –
19 Paul Simon19 charting songs
98		 1 #20 –
20 Stevie Wonder26 charting songs
98		 1 #22 –
21 Elvis Costello34 charting songs
98		 1 #23 –
22 The Clash62 charting songs
97		 1 #24 –
23 Allman Brothers Band16 charting songs
97		 1 #25 –
24 Miles Davis7 charting songs
97		 1 #26 –
25 Steely Dan25 charting songs
97		 1 #27 –
26 Dave Matthews Band28 charting songs
97		 1 #28 –
27 Bonnie Raitt17 charting songs
97		 1 #29 –
28 The Doors31 charting songs
97		 1 #30 –
29 Talking Heads42 charting songs
97		 1 #31 –
30 John Lennon21 charting songs
97		 1 #32 –
31 Elton John34 charting songs
96		 1 #33 –
32 Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young14 charting songs
96		 1 #34 –
33 James Taylor7 charting songs
96		 1 #35 –
34 The Band15 charting songs
96		 1 #36 –
35 Jackson Browne18 charting songs
96		 1 #37 –
36 Pearl Jam103 charting songs
96		 1 #38 –
37 Prince47 charting songs
96		 1 #39 –
38 Yes20 charting songs
96		 1 #40 –
39 Peter Gabriel32 charting songs
95		 1 #42 –
40 Richard Thompson11 charting songs
95		 1 #43 –
41 Frank Zappa4 charting songs
95		 1 #44 –
42 Tom Petty31 charting songs
95		 1 #45 –
43 Nirvana45 charting songs
95		 1 #46 –
44 Ray Charles5 charting songs
95		 1 #47 –
45 Billy Joel35 charting songs
95		 1 #48 –
46 John Coltrane6 charting songs
95		 1 #49 –
47 Sting26 charting songs
94		 1 #50 –
48 Simon and Garfunkel15 charting songs
94		 1 #51 –
49 The Kinks22 charting songs
94		 1 #52 –
50 The Beach Boys25 charting songs
94		 1 #53 –
51 Phish20 charting songs
94		 1 #54 –
52 Genesis29 charting songs
94		 1 #55 –
53 Santana13 charting songs
94		 1 #56 –
54 Frank Sinatra12 charting songs
94		 1 #57 –
55 Janis Joplin10 charting songs
94		 1 #58 –
56 Wilco51 charting songs
93		 1 #59 –
57 Stevie Ray Vaughan15 charting songs
93		 1 #60 –
58 Coldplay37 charting songs
93		 1 #61 –
59 Beck43 charting songs
93		 1 #62 –
60 Aretha Franklin14 charting songs
93		 1 #63 –
61 Dire Straits17 charting songs
93		 1 #64 –
62 The Cure94 charting songs
93		 1 #65 –
63 Lucinda Williams21 charting songs
93		 1 #66 –
64 Counting Crows21 charting songs
93		 1 #67 –
65 Queen26 charting songs
92		 1 #68 –
66 The Indigo Girls20 charting songs
92		 1 #69 –
67 The Eagles20 charting songs
92		 1 #70 –
68 The Police43 charting songs
92		 1 #71 –
69 The Smiths52 charting songs
92		 1 #72 –
70 Jeff Buckley8 charting songs
92		 1 #73 –
71 Ella Fitzgerald1 charting song
92		 1 #74 –
72 Marvin Gaye10 charting songs
92		 1 #75 –
73 Jerry Garcia4 charting songs
92		 1 #76 –
74 B.B. King1 charting song
91		 1 #77 –
75 Ben Folds13 charting songs
91		 1 #78 –
76 Red Hot Chili Peppers52 charting songs
91		 1 #79 –
77 Ani DiFranco16 charting songs
91		 1 #80 –
78 Tori Amos18 charting songs
91		 1 #81 –
79 Leonard Cohen16 charting songs
91		 1 #82 –
80 Willie Nelson14 charting songs
91		 1 #83 –
81 Fleetwood Mac24 charting songs
91		 1 #84 –
82 The Velvet Underground14 charting songs
91		 1 #85 –
83 The Ramones42 charting songs
90		 1 #86 –
84 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart0 charting songs
90		 1 #87 –
85 The Moody Blues12 charting songs
90		 1 #88 –
86 Lyle Lovett6 charting songs
90		 1 #89 –
87 Ryan Adams15 charting songs
90		 1 #90 –
88 Paul McCartney11 charting songs
90		 1 #91 –
89 Louis Armstrong3 charting songs
90		 1 #92 –
90 Carole King10 charting songs
90		 1 #93 –
91 John Hiatt11 charting songs
89		 1 #94 –
92 John Prine19 charting songs
89		 1 #95 –
93 The Pixies35 charting songs
89		 1 #96 –
94 Ludwig Van Beethoven0 charting songs
89		 1 #97 –
95 Patty Griffin13 charting songs
89		 1 #98 –
96 Warren Zevon12 charting songs
89		 1 #99 –
97 Jethro Tull8 charting songs
89		 1 #100 –
98 Sarah McLachlan15 charting songs
89		 1 #101 –
99 Traffic9 charting songs
89		 1 #102 –
100 Crosby, Stills, and Nash8 charting songs
88		 1 #103 –

The artist countdowns