Classic rock might just be one of the most dominant forces in the world as evident by a study from Liberty Games.

The U.K.-based arcade/bar games company gathered data from YouTube Video Music Charts to determine several “most listed-to” figures. This data was collected between October 24-28, 2022 and spans the previous 12-month period. In addition to classic rock, other genres getting this data breakdown treatment included old-school hip-hop, old-school country and classical.

With the data, Liberty Games created a fun breakdown of the top ten most listened-to classic rock artists worldwide. Specifically, Liberty Games also identified the most listened-to classic rock acts in over 125 countries.

Keep scrolling to see the top ten most listened-to classic rock artists worldwide. (We’ll also list which countries where they were streamed the most.) But first, some honorable mentions!

• Honorable Mention: Chicago

  Share

  Chicago didn't make the top ten, but they were the most listened-to classic rock artist in some surprising countries. Among those countries were Cuba, Jamaica, Barbados, Uganda and Oman.

• Honorable Mention: Bruce Springsteen

  Share

  The Boss might be one of the most American artists ever, but he's not the most listened-to classic rock artist in the States. (More on that later.) However, he was the most listened-to classic rock artist in Norway and Namibia.

• Honorable Mention: The Eagles

  Share

  You know who loves to "Take It Easy"? The people of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Laos and Bahrain where the Eagles were the most listened-to classic rock artist.
• Honorable Mention: Thin Lizzy

  Share

  There's apparently plenty of "Whiskey in the Jar" in Zimbabwe as Thin Lizzy was the most listened-to classic rock artist in the African nation.

• Honorable Mention: Def Leppard

  Share

  Our final honorable mention goes to Def Leppard who were the most listened-to classic rock act in Botswana.

• 10. Pink Floyd

  Share

  Pink Floyd had 494 million streams worldwide on YouTube. Believe it or not, they were the most listened-to classic rock act in just one country: Libya.
• 9. Creedence Clearwater Revival

  Share

  CCR racked up 561 million streams on YouTube worldwide. However, Creedence wasn't the most listened-to classic rock act in any of the countries where YouTube streaming data was available.

• 8. The Rolling Stones

  Share

  The Stones garnered 571 million streams via YouTube worldwide. However, they, too, didn't get enough streams to be declared the most listened-to classic rock artist in the countries were streaming data was available.

• 7. The Beatles

  Share

  The Beatles netted 1.01 billion streams from the examined YouTube streaming data. Despite being one of the most influential artists of all time, they were the most listened-to classic rock artist in just one country: Japan.
• 6. Nirvana

  Share

  Nirvana is in an interesting three-way tie in relation to streams. They received 1.05 billion streams per the YouTube data. There's no reasoning given for how the tie was broken. However, it should be noted that Nirvana didn't rank as any country's most listened-to classic rock artist.

• 5. Metallica

  Share

  Metallica also received 1.05 billion streams, but they were the most listened-to classic rock artist in 6 countries. Among those countries were Bulgaria, Finland, Syria and Iran.

• 4. Bon Jovi

  Share

  Bon Jovi came out on top of the big three-way tie of the 1.05 billion streams battle. They were the most listened-to classic rock artist in 16 countries. Those countries included Qatar, Vietnam, Kenya, Madagascar, Indonesia and Belize.
• 3. AC/DC

  Share

  AC/DC is tied with the number two artist on this list with 1.33 billion streams. They were the most listened-to classic rock band in 14 countries. Among them are the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Germany and, of course, the band's native country of Australia.

• 2. Guns N’ Roses

  Share

  GN'R racked up 1.33 billion streams from the examined YouTube data. They were the most listened-to classic rock act in 8 countries which include Brazil, Thailand, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

• 1. Queen

  Share

  Queen is truly classic rock royalty. Per the YouTube streaming data, they racked up 1.86 billion streams and were the most listened-to classic rock artist in a staggering 63 countries! Among them are the band's native United Kingdom, Russia, Mexico, Egypt, Peru, Ireland and many more.

Sign me up for the 96.5 BOB FM email newsletter!

BOB knows music, and now you can too! We'll send you the latest music news and information, plus all the great events going on locally with the BOB Squad.

First Name *

Last Name

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.