What’s more American than a group of friends taking up instruments in a garage and starting a band with dreams of making it big? All across the country music bands have formed — and every state has produced great music groups — many of whom continue to show home pride as they ride the waves of success, selling records and winning awards.

To make it in the industry, bands often try their luck at one of the music industry hubs, such as Nashville, Los Angeles, and New York City, which are home to some of the world’s most popular bands. Though these bands may become associated with these cities, few actually started there.

To identify the greatest band from every state, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on musical popularity and artist legacy. While not all bands have reached the same level of success, the bands on this list have risen above their in-state competition to become the musical ambassadors from their part of the country.

Click here to see the most famous band from every state.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.

1. Alabama
> Band: Alabama
> City of origin: Fort Payne
> Biggest hit: Song of the South
> Top-selling album: Mountain Music

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2. Alaska
> Band: Portugal. The Man
> City of origin: Wasilla
> Biggest hit: Feel it Still
> Top-selling album: Evil Friends

3. Arizona
> Band: Gin Blossoms
> City of origin: Tempe
> Biggest hit: Hey Jealousy
> Top-selling album: New Miserable Experience

4. Arkansas
> Band: Evanescence
> City of origin: Little Rock
> Biggest hit: Bring Me to Life
> Top-selling album: Fallen

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5. California
> Band: Metallica
> City of origin: Los Angeles
> Biggest hit: Enter Sandman
> Top-selling album: Metallica (The Black Album)

6. Colorado
> Band: OneRepublic
> City of origin: Colorado Springs
> Biggest hit: Counting Stars
> Top-selling album: Good Life

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7. Connecticut
> Band: The Carpenters
> City of origin: New Haven
> Biggest hit: (They Long to Be) Close to You
> Top-selling album: Carpenters

8. Delaware
> Band: George Thorogood & The Destroyers
> City of origin: Wilmington
> Biggest hit: Bad to the Bone
> Top-selling album: Live

9. Florida
> Band: Lynyrd Skynyrd
> City of origin: Jacksonville
> Biggest hit: Sweet Home Alabama
> Top-selling album: One More from the Road

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10. Georgia
> Band: Allman Brothers Band
> City of origin: Macon
> Biggest hit: Ramblin’ Man
> Top-selling album: Eat a Peach

11. Hawaii
> Band: Pepper
> City of origin: Kailua-Kona
> Biggest hit: Stone Love
> Top-selling album: Kona Town

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12. Idaho
> Band: Built to Spill
> City of origin: Boise
> Biggest hit: Carry the Zero
> Top-selling album: Keep It Like a Secret

13. Illinois
> Band: Chicago
> City of origin: Chicago
> Biggest hit: If You Leave Me Now
> Top-selling album: Chicago 17

14. Indiana
> Band: The Jackson 5
> City of origin: Gary
> Biggest hit: I Want You Back
> Top-selling album: ABC

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15. Iowa
> Band: The Everly Brothers
> City of origin: Shenandoah
> Biggest hit: All I Have To Do Is Dream
> Top-selling album: A Date With the Everly Brothers

16. Kansas
> Band: Kansas
> City of origin: Topeka
> Biggest hit: Carry on Wayward Son
> Top-selling album: Point of Know Return

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17. Kentucky
> Band: My Morning Jacket
> City of origin: Louisville
> Biggest hit: Wordless Chorus
> Top-selling album: Z

18. Louisiana
> Band: Down
> City of origin: New Orleans
> Biggest hit: Stone the Crow
> Top-selling album: Nola

19. Maine
> Band: Rustic Overtones
> City of origin: Portland
> Biggest hit: Simple Song
> Top-selling album: Rooms by the Hour

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20. Maryland
> Band: Good Charlotte
> City of origin: Waldorf
> Biggest hit: The Anthem
> Top-selling album: The Young and the Hopeless

21. Massachusetts
> Band: Aerosmith
> City of origin: Boston
> Biggest hit: I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing
> Top-selling album: Toys in the Attic

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22. Michigan
> Band: The White Stripes
> City of origin: Detroit
> Biggest hit: Seven Nation Army
> Top-selling album: Elephant

23. Minnesota
> Band: Prince and The Revolution
> City of origin: Minneapolis
> Biggest hit: Purple Rain
> Top-selling album: Purple Rain

24. Mississippi
> Band: 3 Doors Down
> City of origin: Escatawpa
> Biggest hit: Kryptonite
> Top-selling album: The Better Life

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25. Missouri
> Band: Puddle of Mudd
> City of origin: Kansas City
> Biggest hit: She Hates Me
> Top-selling album: Come Clean

26. Montana
> Band: Silkworm
> City of origin: Missoula
> Biggest hit: Nerves
> Top-selling album: Firewater

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27. Nebraska
> Band: 311
> City of origin: Omaha
> Biggest hit: Amber
> Top-selling album: 311

28. Nevada
> Band: The Killers
> City of origin: Las Vegas
> Biggest hit: Mr. Brightside
> Top-selling album: Hot Fuss

29. New Hampshire
> Band: The Shaggs
> City of origin: Fremont
> Biggest hit: Philosophy of the World
> Top-selling album: Philosophy of the World

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30. New Jersey
> Band: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
> City of origin: Belmar
> Biggest hit: Dancing in the Dark
> Top-selling album: Born in the U.S.A.

31. New Mexico
> Band: The Shins
> City of origin: Albuquerque
> Biggest hit: New Slang
> Top-selling album: Chutes Too Narrow

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32. New York
> Band: Ramones
> City of origin: New York City
> Biggest hit: Ramones
> Top-selling album: Blitzkrieg Bop

33. North Carolina
> Band: Corrosion of Conformity
> City of origin: Raleigh
> Biggest hit: Clean My Wounds
> Top-selling album: Deliverance

34. North Dakota
> Band: Bobby Vee & The Strangers
> City of origin: Fargo
> Biggest hit: Take Good Care Of My Baby
> Top-selling album: Come Back When You Grow Up

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35. Ohio
> Band: Nine Inch Nails
> City of origin: Cleveland
> Biggest hit: Closer
> Top-selling album: The Downward Spiral

36. Oklahoma
> Band: The Flaming Lips
> City of origin: Oklahoma City
> Biggest hit: She Don’t Use Jelly
> Top-selling album: Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

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37. Oregon
> Band: The Kingsmen
> City of origin: Portland
> Biggest hit: Louie, Louie
> Top-selling album: The Kingsmen In Person

38. Pennsylvania
> Band: Poison
> City of origin: Mechanicsburg
> Biggest hit: Every Rose Has Its Thorn
> Top-selling album: Open Up And Say … Ahh

39. Rhode Island
> Band: The Cowsills
> City of origin: Newport
> Biggest hit: The Rain, The Park and Other Things
> Top-selling album: The Cowsills

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40. South Carolina
> Band: Hootie & the Blowfish
> City of origin: Columbia
> Biggest hit: Only Wanna Be With You
> Top-selling album: Cracked Rear View

41. South Dakota
> Band: The Spill Canvas
> City of origin: Sioux Falls
> Biggest hit: All Over You
> Top-selling album: No Really, I’m Fine

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42. Tennessee
> Band: Paramore
> City of origin: Franklin
> Biggest hit: Misery Business
> Top-selling album: Riot!

43. Texas
> Band: ZZ Top
> City of origin: Houston
> Biggest hit: La Grange
> Top-selling album: Eliminator

44. Utah
> Band: The Osmonds
> City of origin: Ogden
> Biggest hit: One Bad Apple
> Top-selling album: Crazy Horses

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45. Vermont
> Band: Phish
> City of origin: Burlington
> Biggest hit: Farmhouse
> Top-selling album: Junta

46. Virginia
> Band: Dave Matthews Band
> City of origin: Charlottesville
> Biggest hit: Crash Into Me
> Top-selling album: Crash

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47. Washington
> Band: Nirvana
> City of origin: Aberdeen
> Biggest hit: Smells Like Teen Spirit
> Top-selling album: Nevermind

48. West Virginia
> Band: Asleep at the Wheel
> City of origin: Paw Paw
> Biggest hit: The Letter That Johnny Walker Read
> Top-selling album: Texas Gold

49. Wisconsin
> Band: Violent Femmes
> City of origin: Milwaukee
> Biggest hit: Blister In The Sun
> Top-selling album: Violent Femmes

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50. Wyoming
> Band: Teenage Bottlerocket
> City of origin: Laramie
> Biggest hit: Skate Or Die
> Top-selling album: They Came from the Shadows

Detailed Findings

The states of origin of some bands may surprise casual fans. For instance, how many people are aware that the rock band Poison got its start in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, before moving to Los Angeles soon after it formed? Similarly, the dark, brooding image of industrial rock giants Nine Inch Nails may not fit with the blue-collar image of their hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.

Yet the majority of groups on our list go the extra mile when it comes to hometown and home-state pride. The bands Alabama and Kansas named themselves after their respective states. New Orleans-based heavy metal band Down named one of its most popular records “Nola,” a reference to New Orleans, Louisiana. Texas heroes ZZ Top, one of the most popular bands of all time, may be best known for the hit “La Grange,” named after a small town outside of the group’s home base of Houston.

Other artists have even found success singing about American locales they didn’t personally come from. While most people identify Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with New Jersey – “E Street” refers to a street in Belmar, New Jersey – The Boss scored a major hit with his downbeat “Streets of Philadelphia.” Lynyrd Skynyrd, formed in 1964, is perhaps best known for “Sweet Home Alabama,” yet the band actually hails from Florida.

Methodology

To determine the most famous band from each state, 24/7 Wall St. considered lists of the greatest American musicians and rankings of the greatest musicians in the world. These lists were generated on Ranker.com, a crowdsourced list generator that produced a list of the greatest bands in the world. We also measured popularity based on total views of the artists’ Wikipedia pages over the last two years. While we generally relied on lists put together by Ranker, we included artists who had substantially higher Wikipedia page views than the top-ranked band on Ranker. For individual artists to be included on this list they needed to often perform as part of a group that is billed along with the main performer, for example “Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band” or “Prince and The Revolution.” The state listed is not necessarily where an artist or group were born but where they got their start as musicians. The top-selling album is based on the Recording Industry Association of America certifications, excluding best of and other compilation albums. Because RIAA certification at the platinum level rounds to the millions of record sales, these do not necessarily reflect the top-selling album but rather one of the top-selling records.

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