This list by ExposeUK Info guide highlights the top 20 best rock bands of 2024. These are amongst some of the best bands to release great songs and albums lately. And in 2024 they are certain to rank among the best.
Some of these rock bands have gone on to be nominated and even obtained a Grammy. We’ve also considered a couple of lesser-known rock bands that look promising and have published great music.
Check out our exclusive best picks for Top 20 Best Rock Bands of 2024.
1. Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons is an America based pop-rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of lead vocalist-bassist Ben McKee, Dan Reynolds, lead guitarist Wayne Sermon, and drummer Daniel Platzman.
The rock band first gained exposure with the release of their music single “It’s Time,” followed by their top award-winning debut studio music album Night Visions (2012), which appeared in the chart-topping singles “Radioactive” and “Demons.”
Following the Evolve Tour was created, Imagine Dragons released their fourth studio music album Origins, on November 9, 2018. “Natural” and “Zero” were published as the first singles off the album.
Dan Reynolds cites The Beatles, Paul Simon, Arcade Fire, Nirvana, Muse, Coldplay, Harry Nilsson, Linkin Park, and U2 as some of his and also the band’s top artistic influences.
Imagine Dragons has acquired three American Music Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, one MTV Video Music Award, one Grammy Award, and one World Music Award. The rock band has sold 12 million albums and over 35 million singles worldwide.
2. Greta Van Fleet
Greta Van Fleet is an American based rock band from Frankenmuth, Michigan, established in 2012. It consists of vocalist Josh Kiszka, bassist Sam Kiszka, guitarist Jake Kiszka, and their drummer Danny Wagner.
They were contracted to Lava Records in March of 2017, and a month later the band issued their debut studio EP, Black Smoke Rising. Their first debut single, “Highway Tune,” surpassed the Billboard US Mainstream Rock and Active Rock charts in September of 2017 for four weeks in a row.
Their debut full-length studio album named, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, was officially released on October 19, 2018, and then topped the Billboard Rock Album charts in just the first week after its release.
The album’s very first single, “When the Curtain Falls,“ that was released ahead of it in July of 2018, eventually becoming this band’s third number one US single on the Billboard Mainstream top Rock charts.
Anthem of the Peaceful Army further launched atop the Billboard Hard Rock charts and attained the number one place on the Billboard Top Album Sales charts in just the first week after its release.
In December of 2018, the band was drafted for four Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Song for “Black Smoke Rising,” Best New Artist, Best Rock Performance for “Highway Tune,” and the Best Rock Album for From the Fires.
3. Panic! At The Disco
Panic! At the Disco is also an American rock band that comes from Las Vegas, Nevada, established in 2004 by childhood friends Spencer Smith, Brendon Urie, Ryan Ross, and Brent Wilson.
The band recorded and published its debut studio album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out (in 2005). Popularized by the single rock, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,“ the album was confirmed double platinum in the US.
On March 21, of 2018, the band released two completely new songs “Say Amen (Saturday Night)” and “(Fuck A) Silver Lining.” simultaneously, the band additionally announced a new album named Pray for the Wicked. As of 2019, Brendon Urie is only the prevailing member.
The band has gained one American Music Awards, nominated for a Grammy Award and also an MTV Europe Music Awards.
4. PVRIS
PVRIS is an American based rock band from Lowell, Massachusetts created by members Lynn Gunn, Brian MacDonald, and Alex Babinski.
They published their debut album, White Noise, in November of 2014, and the deluxe version of White Noise on April 22, in 2016.
During their time used on Warped Tour, The Huffington Post published a second article listing the band as one of “18 Artists You Need To Know Halfway Through 2014”.
“Lynn Gunn is a force that can’t be denied, redolently moving in both her most excitable and serene vocalizations. The very first female-led signing of Rise Records, a label that has essentially implausibly made metalcore music equally available and desirable, the label may have just made its smartest acquisition yet.”
On August 25 of 2017, PVRIS released their second music album named All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell.
The rock band has won one Rock Sound Award, one Kerrang! Award, one Alternative Press Music Award, and two Boston Music Awards.
5. Twenty-One Pilots
Twenty-One Pilots is an American vocal duo from Columbus, Ohio. The band was established in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with friends Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who left in late 2011. The present line-up is Joseph and drummer Josh Dun.
The duo reached a breakthrough success with their fourth album, Blurry face (in 2015), which produced the unbeaten singles “Stressed Out” and “Ride.“
“Heathens,“ recorded for the soundtrack of the movie Suicide Squad, made the group the first alternative musician to have two concurrent top ten singles in the entire United States.
On July 11 of 2018, the band released two new tunes, “Jumpsuit” and “Nico and the Niners,“ as well as the song video for “Jumpsuit.” They additionally made the announcement of their fifth studio music album, Trench, released on October 5 in 2018, and a new world tour, titled “The Bandito Tour”, starting October 16 in 2018.
They have gained a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
6. Mumford & Sons
Mumford & Sons are a British rock band that was formed in 2007. The band consists of Winston Marshall, Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, and Ted Dwane.
The band published their first released studio album Sigh No More (in 2009). Their debut topped at number two on the UK Albums Chart and the Billboard 200 in the United States.
Their second and third studio music album Babel and Wilder Mind all debuting at number one in the United Kingdom and the US, the former becoming the fastest-selling rock record of the decade.
On 20 September of 2018, the band released the single album, “Guiding Light,” introducing their very new album named Delta on BBC Radio 1. The second single, “If I Say,” was published on October 25. Delta was published on 16 November 2018, with features from Yebba, Maggie Rogers, and Gill Landry.
Mumford & Sons have gained a number of music awards during their career, with Sigh No More winning the band the Brit Award for Best British Album in the year 2011, a Mercury Prize nomination and six overall Grammy Award submissions.
The band gained eight total Grammy nominations for the Babel and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. They additionally won the Brit Award for Best British Group in the year 2013.
7. Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an America based rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a neighborhood of Chicago, in 2001. The group consists of leading vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, bassist Pete Wentz, and drummer Andy Hurley.
In the year 2005 major-label breakthrough, From Under the Cork Tree, produced two successful singles, “Dance, Dance,” and “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” and went double platinum. Fall Out Boy earned a Best New Artist nomination at the 2006 Grammy Awards.
This band’s 2007 follow-up, Infinity on High, debuted at position one on the Billboard 200. It produced two global hit singles, “Thnks Fr th Mmrs.” and “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race.”
Fall Out Boy sixth studio music album, American Beauty/American Psycho (in 2015) topped at number one on the Billboard 200 and also spawned the top-10 hit “Centuries” and the music single “Uma Thurman” which reached Number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The band’s seventh studio music album Mania (in 2018), also peaked at Number 1, making it the band’s fourth No. 1 music album and the group’s sixth consecutive top 10 music album. In mid-2018, Fall Out Boy earned their second Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Album for Mania.
8. Lovelytheband
Lovelytheband is an American based indie pop band that developed in 2016 in Los Angeles. The group is composed by guitarist Jordan Greenwald, vocalist Mitchy Collins, and drummer Sam Price.
Their single album“Broken” charted on numerous US Billboard charts. The band covered the Billboard Emerging Artists chart recorded October 6, 2018.
Lovelytheband then debuted in April 2017 with their single album “Broken,” which swiftly earned over three million music streams on Spotify. The single charted on various Billboard charts. It exceeded the Billboard Alternative Songs chart dated April 21 in 2018.
In September of 2017, the band released their very first EP, Everything I Could Never Say…They released the single album “These Are My Friends” in May 2018. On August 3 of 2018, they published their debut album Finding It Hard to Smile.
9. Ghost
Ghost is a Swedish based rock band that was established in Linköping, Sweden in 2006. In early 2010, they released a 3-track demo accompanied by a 7″ vinyl titled “Elizabeth,” and later on their debut full-length music album Opus Eponymous.
Their second music album and major label debut Infestissumam was published in 2013, debuted at position one in Sweden and then won the Grammis Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Album.
The rock band released their third studio album, Meliora, in mid-2015, to much critical recognition and high record sales, standing at number one in their home country of Sweden, and position eight in the United States.
Its lead music single, “Cirice,” earned the band the 2016 Grammy Award for the Best Metal Performance. The rock group released their fourth studio album, Prequelle, in late 2018.
10. Wallows
Wallows are an American based indie rock band from Los Angeles composed of Braeden Lemasters, Cole Preston, and Dylan Minnette.
The rock band began releasing songs independently in April 2017 starting with “Pleaser,” which entered number two on the top Spotify Global Viral 50 chart. They published their major label debut EP, Spring, on April 6 of 2018.
In November of 2017, their song, “Pulling Leaves Off Trees,” was first premiered on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 radio program. The band headlined their very first North American tour that would operate from January to March 2018.
They additionally released a new single album, “Pictures of Girls,” their first on Atlantic. The tune was chosen as a “Critical Cut” by SiriusXM Alt Nation. Wallows completed their North American tour at South by Southwest in March of 2018.
11. The Glorious Sons
The Glorious Sons are a Canadian based rock band from Kingston, Ontario. They are established in 2011, the band signed with Black Box in 2013.
The band has published one EP, Shapeless Art, and two studio music albums; The Union, which was officially released on September 14, 2014, and their second music album Young Beauties and Fools, which was published on October 13, 2017.
The Union was chosen for a prestigious Juno Award for Best Rock Album, and also The Glorious Sons were chosen and won “Group of the Year” and “Rock Group of the Year” at the SiriusXM Indie music Awards at Canadian Music Week in the year 2015.
Young Beauties and Fools was published on October 13, 2017. At the Juno music Awards of 2018, Young Beauties and Fools acquired the Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year.
The Glorious Sons have eight continuous top-10 rock radio hits in Canada including their very first number one modern rock music single “Everything Is All right”.
12. Beach Fossils
Beach Fossils are an American based indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, established in 2009. The group presently includes Jack Doyle Smith, Dustin Payseur, and Tommy Davidson.
Their debut single, Daydream/Desert Sand was officially released in February of 2010 and in May 2010, they delivered their self-titled debut album.
Their next album Clash the Truth was officially released in early 2013, peaking at position 40 on the Independent Albums chart.
On March 2 of 2017, the band released their third LP Somersault.
13.Alvvays
Alvvays is a Canadian based indie pop band established in 2011, originating from Toronto. It consists of Alec O’Hanley, Brian Murphy, Molly Rankin, Kerri MacLellan, and Sheridan.
Their self-titled debut music album, published in 2014, topped the US college charts. The club toured heavily in support of their music debut, including slots at Glastonbury of 2015 and also Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in early 2016.
Their following studio album Antisocialites was published on September 8, 2017.
In 2018 they acquired a SOCAN Songwriting Prize submission for their song “Dreams Tonite,” and the Antisocialites was also shortlisted for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize, and then won a Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year.
14. Bob Moses
Bob Moses is a Canadian based electronic duo, created a sound that appeals equally to club goers and also rock music fans.
Formerly from Vancouver, British Columbia, the band consists of Jimmy Vallance and Tom Howie. A remix of their hit song “Tearing Me Up,“ by RAC, won a Grammy Award for the best-remixed recording, non-classical.
Bob Moses published their debut EP, Hands to Hold, on that music label in October of 2012. Soon after the publicity of this first EP, they went on to deliver a next, Far from the Tree.
Bob Moses’ debut music album, Days Gone By, was officially released on September 18, 2015.
“Tearing Me Up” became the most famous song on the album, earning Grammy Award appointments for best dance recording and the best-remixed recording, non-classical and having topped at number sixteen on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart.
On September 14 of 2018, Bob Moses released their second music album, Battle Lines.
15. Lo Moon
Lo Moon is an American based indie rock band from Los Angeles. The band published its first single, “Loveless,” in September of 2016.
In May of 2017, the band released the next single, “This Is It.” The song “This Is It” topped at number 6 on the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs.
In June, the band performed at the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York City, and two months on at Lollapalooza in Chicago, US.
The rock band began headlining shows in November of 2017, including sold-out stops at the Troubadour in Los Angeles and also at Rough Trade NYC.
Its self-titled debut studio music album was then released on February 23, 2018.
16. Cherry Glazerr
Cherry Glazerr is an American based rock band from Los Angeles, California, established in 2013. The current lineup of the band consists of guitarist and lead vocalist Clementine Creevy, drummer Tabor Allen and bassist Devin O’Brien.
The band started performing with a number of famous bands and festival scenes in 2013, including the SXSW, Beach Goth, at the El Rey.
In late 2014, the band delivered their full-length debut, Haxel Princess. Cherry Glazerr published their sophomore album, Apocalipstick, on January 20 of 2017.
In 2018, Cherry Glazerr performed at Coachella, opened for Portugal. The Man and The Breeders, and then released a new single, “Juicy Socks.” In November of 2018, Cherry Glazerr announced their new music album Stuffed & Ready would be officially released on February 1, 2019.
17. Moon Taxi
Moon Taxi is an American based indie-alternative rock band based in Nashville, Tennessee, US. The band was established in 2006 by Spencer Thomson, Tyler Ritter, Trevor Terndrup, Tommy Putnam, and Wes Bailey.
The band has published five studio albums: Mountains Beaches Cities, Daybreaker, Melodica, Cabaret, and Let the Record Play.
On May 5 of 2017, Moon Taxi released the single album “Two High” which hit position three on the trending Adult Alternative Songs chart and position one in Triple-A airplay.
The rock band was included on the Forecastle, Beale Street, Coachella, Hangout, and Firefly music festival bills in 2016.
18. Big Thief
Big Thief is an American based indie rock band with folk roots based in Brooklyn, New York, the United States. Its members are Max Oleartchik, Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, and James Krivchenia. The band’s first music album, Masterpiece, was officially released on May 27, 2016.
On April 4 of 2017, Big Thief premiered a new single album, “Mythological Beauty,” on NPR. Their subsequent LP, Capacity was then released on June 9, 2017.
Capacity appeared on various album-of-the-year lists, including No.1 on NPR’s “Bob Boilen’s Top Ten Album’s of 2017”. SPIN entitled Capacity number 2 on their “50 Best Albums of 2017”.
19. Sunflower Bean
Sunflower Bean is an American based rock band from Glen Head, New York, and Brooklyn established in 2013. The band consists of Jacob Faber, Nick Kivlen, and Julia Cumming.
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The band toured relentlessly, earning themselves the title of New York City’s “hardest-working band” in the year 2014 both as headliners and as openers for bands like Best Coast, Cherry Glazerr, Pixies, Wolf Alice, DIIV, Foxygen, and Sleigh Bells. They additionally performed a series of concerts at South by Southwest 2015.
The band group has released two albums, Human Ceremony (in 2016) and Twenty-two in Blue (in 2018). They are also set to release their third album King of Dudes in late 2019.
20. The Frights
The Frights are an American based surf punk band consisting of Richard Dotson, Marc Finn, Mikey Carnevale, and Jordan Clark.
In March of 2013, The Frights’ debut EP Dead Beach was published by Postmark. This was then followed by their second EP, Fur Sure, in May 2013, and their self-titled debut studio music album in October 2013.
In 2016 they published their sophomore studio album You Are Going To Hate This. In the year 2018, they released their third music album Hypochondriac.
Bonus: Fozzy Band
Fozzy is an American based heavy metal music band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in the year 1999 by lead singer Chris Jericho and guitarist Rich Ward. The music band is signed to Century Media Records and has published three studio albums through this music label. The band’s current lineup consists of Frank Fontsere, Billy Grey, Jericho, Ward, and Randy Drake. Jericho has described the group by saying, “If Metallica and Journey had a bastard child, it would be Fozzy.” As of October of 2017, the band has released a total of seven albums and one live album.
