Best alternative rock bands (active now)

Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Matt Cameron became the band's full-time drummer in 19...

Stone Temple Pilots (often abbreviated as STP) is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that consists of brothers Robert DeLeo (bass, backing vocals) and Dean DeLeo (guitar), Eric Kretz (drums, percussion), and formerl...

Blur are an English rock band, formed in London in 1988. The group consists of singer/keyboardist Damon Albarn, guitarist/singer Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree.

Red Hot Chili Peppers (also sometimes shortened to "The Chili Peppers" or abbreviated as "RHCP") are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983.

Hollywood Undead is an American rap rock band from Los Angeles, California. They released their debut album, Swan Songs, on September 2, 2008, and their live CD/DVD Desperate Measures, on November 10, 2009. Their second studio alb...

Imagine Dragons is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. Imagine Dragons' lineup consists of lead vocalist Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne "Wing" Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band gained exposur...

Counting Crows is an American rock band from Berkeley, California, formed in 1991. The band consists of Adam Duritz (lead vocals, piano), David Bryson (guitar), Charlie Gillingham (accordion, keyboards), Dan Vickrey (lead guitar),...

Primus is an American experimental rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander. Primus originally formed in 1984...

Nine Inch Nails (abbreviated NIN; stylized as NIИ) is an American industrial rock band, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official...

Pixies are an American rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1986. The group currently consists of founders Black Francis (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), and David Lovering (drums). Co-founder Kim...

Gorillaz are an English virtual band created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. The band consists of four animated members: 2D (lead vocals, keyboard), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, keyboard, and backing vo...

The Melvins are an American band that formed in 1983. They usually perform as a trio, but in recent years have performed as a four piece with two drummers. Since 1984, singer and guitarist Buzz Osborne (also known as King Buzzo) a...

Billy Talent is a Canadian punk rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with Benjamin Kowalewicz as the lead vocalist, Ian D'Sa on guitar, bassist Jon Gallant and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk.

Muse are an English rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of Matthew Bellamy (lead vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards), Christopher Wolstenholme (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Dominic Howard (drums,...

U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin, Ireland. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono (vocals and guitar), the Edge (guitar, keyboards, and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums and percussion)...

Coldplay are a British rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London (UCL). After they formed under the name Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bas...

Garbage is an American-Scottish alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1993. The group consists of Scottish musician Shirley Manson (vocals, keyboards, guitar) and American musicians Duke Erikson (bass, guitar, key...

Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album Hybrid Theory (2000), which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinu...

Bush are a British rock band formed in London in 1992. The band found immediate success with the release of their debut album Sixteen Stone in 1994, which is certified 6× multi-platinum by the RIAA. Bush went on to become one of t...

X Ambassadors (also stylised XA) is an American alternative rock band from Ithaca, New York. The band has had hits such as "Unconsolable", "Jungle" and "Renegades". The band's debut full length album titled VHS was released on Jun...

Cage the Elephant is an American rock band from Bowling Green, Kentucky, that formed in 2006. The group currently consists of vocalist Matthew Shultz, rhythm guitarist Brad Shultz, drummer Jared Champion and bassist Daniel Ticheno...

Foals are an English indie rock band from Oxford, England formed in 2005, consisting of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Yannis Philippakis, drummer and percussionist Jack Bevan, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Smith, bassist Walter Gerver...

Atlas Genius are an alternative rock band formed in Adelaide, South Australia in November 2009. The band's mainstay members are the Jeffery brothers, Keith on lead vocals and lead guitar; Michael on drums; and Darren Sell on keybo...

Queens of the Stone Age are an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1996. The band's line-up includes founder Josh Homme (lead vocals, guitar, piano), alongside longtime members Troy Van Leeuwe...

The Dead Weather is an American rock supergroup, formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009. Composed of Alison Mosshart (of The Kills and Discount), Jack White (formerly of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs), Dean Fertita (of Quee...

Incubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer Jose Pasillas while enrolled in Calabasas High School and later expanded...

Stone Sour is an American rock band formed in Des Moines, Iowa in 1992, performing for five years, before disbanding in 1997. They reunited in 2000 and since 2006, the group has consisted of Corey Taylor (lead vocals), Josh Rand (...

Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario, Canada. The band was formed in 1996 and, as of 2015, consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Deryck Whibley, co-lead guitarists Dave Baksh and Tom Thacker, bassist Cone McC...

Tokyo Police Club is an indie rock band from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. It consists of vocalist and bassist David Monks (born December 22, 1987), keyboardist Graham Wright (born February 16, 1987), guitarist Josh Hook (born May 1...

Bloodhound Gang is an American band which began as a hip hop group but branched out into other genres, including alternative hip hop, rapcore, funk metal and electronic rock, as their career progressed.

Blink-182 is an American rock band formed in Poway, a suburb of San Diego, California in 1992. The band currently consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, drummer Travis Barker, and guitarist and vocalist Matt Skiba...

Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998.

Foo Fighters is an American rock band, formed in Seattle in 1994. It was founded by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the death of Kurt Cobain and the resulting dissolution of his previous band. The group g...

The Cranberries are an Irish rock band who formed in Limerick in 1989. The band consists of vocalist Dolores O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler.

A Perfect Circle is an American rock supergroup formed in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. The original incarnation of the band also included Paz Lenchantin on bass, Troy Van Leeuwen on guit...

The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1988. Formed by frontman Billy Corgan (lead vocals, guitar) and James Iha (guitar), the band included D'arcy Wretzky (bass guitar) and J...

Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1992 consisting of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, lead guitar), Patrick Wilson (drums), Brian Bell (rhythm guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), and Scott Shriner (bass, backing v...

The Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, bassist Greg K., lead gui...

Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1986 by vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt. For much of their career, the band has been a trio with drummer Tré Cool, who replaced former drummer John K...

Collective Soul is an American rock band originally from Stockbridge, Georgia. Now based in Atlanta, the group consists of lead vocalist Ed Roland, rhythm guitarist Dean Roland, bassist Will Turpin, drummer Johnny Rabb and lead gu...

Papa Roach is an American, Sacramento based rock band from Vacaville, California.

No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, that formed in 1986. Since 1994, the group has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, bassist and keyboardist Tony Kanal, guitarist and keyboardist Tom Dumont, and drummer A...

Nickelback is a Canadian rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta. The band is composed of guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Danie...

Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody.

Hoobastank (often stylized as h∞bastank) is an American rock band. They formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California with lead singer Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassist Markku Lappalainen...

Kings of Leon is an American rock band that formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2000. The band is composed of brothers Caleb Followill (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Nathan Followill (drums, percussion, backing vocals) and Jared Fol...

3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi that formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (vocals/drums), Todd Harrell (bass guitar) and Matt Roberts (guitar).They were soon joined by guit...

Live ( often typeset as LĪVE) is an American rock band from York, Pennsylvania, composed of Chad Taylor (lead guitar), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass), Chad Gracey (drums), and Chris Shinn (vocals). Live's original lead singer Ed Kowalc...

Soul Asylum is an American alternative rock band that formed in 1981, and officially in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1983. The band originally formed in 1981 under the name Loud Fast Rules, with the original line-up consisting of Dav...

Blind Melon (Stylized as BLind MeLoN) is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California by two musicians from Mississippi and one from Indiana, active from 1990 to 1999 and 2006 onward.