big 4

Four of the biggest, most successful and most influential rock bands of the 2000s — and luckily they're all still active today.

The following four artists were not only the biggest metal groups of the 2000s, but also shaped metal in some way and have had a lasting influence.

A lot of different subgenres peaked in popularity during the '90s, so we picked eight bands to represent both rock and metal for the decade.

The four bands that best encapsulate all of '90s rock — Seattle grunge, politically-charged rap-rock, punk and alternative.

They were defined by their tireless work ethic and defiant attitude.

Since there have been so many different eras of heavy metal, we picked four groups to represent the 'Big 4' of '90s metal.

The 'Big 4' of Warped Tour bands are Blink-182, My Chemical Romance, Less Than Jake and Paramore. Each group impacted the tour's legacy in their own way.

To help explain the difference between the grunge and post-grunge subgenres, we chose four groups that best represent each category.

The following four bands are who we consider the 'Big 4' of post-grunge, which was a subgenre that branched off of Seattle grunge.

These four bands are who we consider the 'Big 4' of Gen Z dad rock, as they were popular between the years 2010 and 2025.

The biggest rock artists of 1995 were Green Day, the Smashing Pumpkins, Alanis Morissette and Oasis due to their popularity and success.

Creed, Linkin Park, Knocked Loose and Gojira make up our list of the Big 4 bands of 2024 due to what they accomplished in rock and metal this year.