S Tier

Fleetwood Mac – Metallica – Black Sabbath – Foo Fighters – Tool – Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Soundgarden – Alice in Chains – Stone Temple Pilots – Tame Impala – Audioslave

Best Albums: Rumors, Master of Puppets, Paranoid, Foo Fighters, Lateralus, Blood Sugar Sex Magic, Superunknown, Dirt, Purple, Lonerism, Audioslave

Why? These bands have produced some of the best music of all time. Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Stone Temple Pilots pioneered a whole new generation of grunge music and changed the soundscape of rock forever.

A Tier

Nirvana – Pink Floyd – Iron Maiden – Radiohead – Pearl Jam – Jimi Hendrix Experience – Rage Against the Machine – The Smashing Pumpkins – Arctic Monkeys

Best Albums: In Utero; Dark Side of the Moon; Number of the Beast; Ok Computer; Ten; Electric Ladyland; Rage Against the Machine; Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness; Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

Why? Although not in S tier, they are still widely regarded as some of the best rock bands ever. These bands are very influential: Jimi Hendrix revolutionized guitar playing, Rage Against the Machine led the rock-rap movement, and Nirvana and Pearl Jam helped start the Seattle grunge scene.

B Tier

The Beatles – Led Zepplin – Van Halen – Lynyrd Skynyrd – Rush – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – The Offspring – Gorillaz – System of a Down – Slipknot – Sublime – Pantera 

Best Albums: Abbey Road, Led Zeppelin IV, 1984, (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd), Singals, Full Moon Fever, Smash, Demon Days, Toxicity, Slipknot, 40 Oz. To Freedom, Cowboys From Hell

Why? Many of these bands are highly influential within their specific genres, but they may not have the same widespread or genre-shifting impact as the top-tier icons in rock history. B-tier bands might be considered hugely important to certain movements but don’t always reach the massive, cross-genre influence that places others in the S-tier.

C Tier

Aerosmith – The Rolling Stones – Guns ‘n Roses – Green Day – Weezer – Deftones – Korn – Limp Bizkit – The Melvins – Filter – The Strokes

Best albums: Aerosmith, Some Girls, Use Your Illusion I, Insomniac, Weezer (blue album), Around the Fur, Korn, Significant Fther, Houdini, Short Bus, Is This It

Why?  Ranking in C-tier does not imply that these bands are “bad” by any means; it just means that, compared to the legends in A- or S-tier, they might not have had the same profound influence or sustained relevance across the broader music landscape.

D Tier

The Eagles – Def Leppard – Cage The Elephant – The White Stripes

Best albums: Eagles, Pyromania, Melophobia, Elephant

Why? While all these bands are undeniably successful, influential within certain circles, and beloved by many fans, the D-tier designation reflects the view that they haven’t had the same long-lasting, broad-reaching influence as other genre-defining acts.

E Tier

Queen – AC/DC – Bon Jovi – Mötley Crüe – Judas Priest – Steely Dan

Best albums: Queen II, Back in Black, Slippery When Wet, Dr. Feelgood, British Steel, Aja
Why? Putting these bands in E tier is highly controversial. However, compared to the other G.O.A.T bands on this tier list, they are mediocre. Mötley Crüe has been found using backing tracks during their concerts. This just shows they are untruthful. 

F Tier

Kiss – U2

Best albums: Creatures of the Night, The Joshua Tree

Why? Kiss’s vocal performance is very bad, the instrumentation is alright but their singing brings them down. U2 is straight trash music.