To figure out the most famous band from every state, Business Insider weighed reputation, record sales, and awards. Crucially, each act was judged in the context of its own era because today’s chart-toppers don’t necessarily eclipse the legends of decades past. They focused exclusively on groups — no solo acts — but took a flexible approach to what counts as a “band,” including any musical act made up of more than one person. While we primarily looked at where each band was formed, we also considered where their music took off and the hometowns that shaped them. What do you think? Should someone else represent the state?
The most famous band of all time from every state
ALABAMA: Alabama
ALASKA: Portugal. The Man
ARIZONA: Alice Cooper
ARKANSAS: Evanescence
CALIFORNIA: The Grateful Dead
COLORADO: OneRepublic
CONNECTICUT: The Carpenters
DELAWARE: George Thorogood and the Destroyers
FLORIDA: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
GEORGIA: R.E.M.
HAWAII: Pepper
IDAHO: Built to Spill
ILLINOIS: Earth, Wind & Fire
INDIANA: Jackson 5
IOWA: Slipknot
KANSAS: Kansas
KENTUCKY: My Morning Jacket
LOUISIANA: The Neville Brothers
MAINE: Rustic Overtones
MARYLAND: Good Charlotte
MASSACHUSETTS: Boston
MICHIGAN: The Temptations
MINNESOTA: Prince and the Revolution
MISSISSIPPI: 3 Doors Down
MISSOURI: Ike and Tina Turner
MONTANA: Silkworm
NEBRASKA: Bright Eyes
NEVADA: Imagine Dragons
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Aerosmith
NEW JERSEY: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
NEW MEXICO: The Shins
NEW YORK: The Ramones
NORTH CAROLINA: The Charlie Daniels Band
NORTH DAKOTA: Bobby Vee & The Strangers
OHIO: Twenty One Pilots
OKLAHOMA: The Flaming Lips
OREGON: The Decemberists
PENNSYLVANIA: Hall & Oates
RHODE ISLAND: Talking Heads
SOUTH CAROLINA: Hootie and the Blowfish
SOUTH DAKOTA: The Spill Canvas
TENNESSEE: Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Three
TEXAS: ZZ Top
UTAH: The Osmonds
VERMONT: Phish
VIRGINIA: Dave Matthews Band
WASHINGTON: Nirvana
WASHINGTON, DC: Minor Threat
WEST VIRGINIA: Asleep at the Wheel
WISCONSIN: Violent Femmes
WYOMING: Teenage Bottlerocket
