These Are the Top 3 Mainstream Rock Artists of All-Time According to Billboard
If you’ve listened to Mainstream Rock radio over the last two decades-plus, the artists atop Billboard’s All-Time Mainstream Rock Artists chart should come as no surprise, with Shinedown, the current act with the most No. 1 hits on the chart, leading the way.
For the last few years, it’s been a tight race for the most chart-topping singles with Shinedown recently edging ahead of Three Days Grace with a record-setting 16 No. 1 songs on the chart. Add to this incredible statistic that all 27 songs that Shinedown have released over the years have reached the Top 5 of the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and you’ve got the stats that send the band to the top of the All-Time Mainstream Rock Artists chart.
Singer Brent Smith told Billboard, “I honestly take [that record] extremely seriously, as Zach and Eric and Barry do, as well. The thing about terrestrial radio, for this band specifically, is that we knew early on — right around 2002, 2003 — how important terrestrial radio was going to be for us.”
He continues, “As soon as we hit the road with that first album, we just never looked back. We said yes to everything we could possibly say [‘yes’ to] for rock radio — especially mainstream radio, which some people call active rock, and alternative radio as well. We tried our best to always be honest, and to give radio everything that they needed, and everything that they wanted.”
The singer adds, “In turn, they helped us out so much in the first beginning stages of this band. Now, I look at it 20 years later, and our relationship with rock radio is still very, very strong. Now, granted, you have to understand that the music is what does the talking. The songs are what matter, and the records are what matter. But a huge reason why we have our audience is terrestrial radio, and the mainstream rock chart. They have just been such a huge supporter of ours over the last two decades now. The amount of gratitude I have, I don’t even think I can put it into words.”
The band first appeared on the chart in 2003 with “Fly From the Inside,” hit No. 1 for the first time in 2005 with “Save Me” and secured their 16th chart-topper with last year’s “Atlas Falls.”
Finishing second on the All-Time Mainstream Rock Artists chart are Godsmack. The band has rounded up 26 Top 10 singles on the chart, with 11 of those reaching the No. 1 position. They first debuted on the Mainstream Rock Chart in 1998 with their breakout single “Whatever.” “Awake” became their first chart-topper in 2000 and their most recent No. 1 was “Unstoppable” in 2020.
Three Days Grace, who currently sit second to Shinedown for Mainstream Rock No. 1’s with 15, are third on Billboard’s All-Time Mainstream Rock Artists chart. They have 21 Top 10 Mainstream Rock songs after first arriving on the chart in 2003 with “I Hate Everything About You” off their self-titled debut album. The follow-up single, “Just Like You,” was their first chart-topper in 2004 and they most recently hit No. 1 with “Right Left Wrong” in 2018.
You can also check out Billboard’s Top Mainstream Rock Songs of All-Time here.