New Study Ranks the Top 10 ‘Ultimate Dad Rock Bands’

A new study published by Merchoid has determined the top 10 “dad rock” bands of all time and the results may surprise you.

While most associate “dad rock” with classic rock and hair metal, that’s all changing as the years and decades roll by. Nothing speaks to this notion better than the No. 1 “dad rock” band receiving more than twice the votes of the bands tied for No. 2.

How Was the Study Conducted?

Merchoid asked 3,000 people in the U.S. one question: “Which band truly epitomizes dad rock today?”

Of course, many dads today grew up in the ’90s, so the representatives this silly little subgenre are changing before our eyes and ears, as evidenced by the range of responses.

Let’s see that Top 10!

‘America’s Ultimate Dad Rock Band’ Ranking (Merchoid Study Results)

Impressively and, perhaps a bit shockingly, Nickelback are crowned the ultimate dad rock band, receiving a whopping 26 percent of the votes.

Party rock legends Van Halen and pop-punk icons Blink-182 — tied for second — each received 12 percent of the votes. Even combined they wouldn’t have had enough votes to beat Nickelback!

Van Halen are the only ’70s band to make the list with Bon Jovi and Guns N’ Roses the sole ’80s representatives.

01. Nickelback (26%)
02. Van Halen (12%)
*TIE*
02. Blink-182 (12%)
04. Red Hot Chili Peppers (10%)
05. Nirvana (10%)
06. Linkin Park (8%)
07. Guns N’ Roses (8%)
08. Coldplay (6%)
09. Bon Jovi (6%)
10. Limp Bizkit (2%)

READ MORE: Why Is It Called ‘Butt Rock’?

Our Takeaways

King Edward has been dethroned! Is the new era of “dad rock” officially upon us?

Van Halen were the ultimate party band and have a long list of hits that are inseparable from U.S. pop culture. Is it that these dad fans are now granddads, thus damaging Van Halen’s qualifications for “dad rock”? The lesser share enjoyed by other of-the-era icons (Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi) suggests that this could be the case.

Meanwhile, Limp Bizkit and Fred Durst have embraced the “Dad Vibes” over the last few years. Is their “dad rock” star on the rise at No. 10?

Aging out of “dad rock” and into “granddad rock” is only natural, but what’s curious is that artists whose popularity exploded in the very late ’90s and 2000s (Nickelback, Blink-182) seem to have leapfrogged the most immediate successors of the ’70s and ’80s dad rock bands (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana).

The Merchoid study also determined that 86 percent of people surveyed associate this term with the ’60s.

Linkin Park, meanwhile, are the outlier regarding that anecdote. Their sound became transcendental and still feels very current and less rooted in nostalgic eras. Could that be part of it?

These are just some reactionary thoughts. There’s no one true answer here, but it’s fun to debate as the idea of “dad rock” is clearly advancing through rock’s timeline.