The 23 Canadian Rock Bands ‘Rolling Stone’ Says Are Better Than Nickelback

Nickelback may be synonymous with Canadian rock, but according to a new Rolling Stone list, there are at least 23 rock bands from "the Great White North" that are better than the hit-making foursome from Alberta.

Overall, the long running music mag has named 50 acts they proclaim to be better than Nickelback, and without the band listed in the Top 50 and stopping off at the mark, there's the potential of even more. In fairness, the article did list such other rock snubs as Skinny Puppy, Cowboy Junkies, Bran Van 3000, Voivod, Chililwack and more. So who did make the cut?

Classic Rockers

You can't miss the legends. Rock and Roll Hall of Famers such as Neil Young, The Band and Rush rank highly on the list, but you shouldn't overlook early punk heroes D.O.A. or '70s rock favorites April Wine and The Guess Who as well.

Make Way for the '80s

Arguably the two biggest names to come out of Canada in the '80s were the driving rock outfit Loverboy and solo superstar Bryan Adams.

Clearly Canadian

There are several acts on this list that had dominant careers in Canada while never quite amassing the same following in the U.S. Sitting at the top of that list would be The Tragically Hip as well as Sloan and Broken Social Scene.

The Superstars

There are names on this list that hit it big not only in Canada, but became worldwide smashes as well. Alanis Morissette and Avril Lavigne saw U.S. pop chart crossover success. For a period in the '90s, you couldn't escape Barenaked Ladies' "One Week" tongue-twister. And Sum 41 are currently winding down a career that saw them score hits during the nu-metal and rap-rock era.

Modern Indie and Alternative Rock

The list was heavy in this area with more name acts such as Arcade Fire, Metric and Tegan and Sara existing alongside Death From Above 1979, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Japandroids, Destroyer and The New Pornographers.

The list goes on to name an addition 27 Canadian artists from other genres as well, saluting what Rolling Stone feels is the best the country has to offer. You can see who placed where on the Rolling Stone list of Top Canadian Acts right here. But beyond the headline mention, there's little discussion of Nickelback's place in Canada's music history, so let's make a case for why they should be included on the list.

The Case for Nickelback

While Nickelback may have been a meme-worthy punching bag for years, there's no denying the band's commercial success since they exploded with the 2001 single, "How You Remind Me," which was the most played song on U.S. rock radio of the 2000s.

The band is one of the most commercially successful rock bands of all-time, having sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. In 2009, Billboard proclaimed them to be the most successful rock group of the 2000s. And in 2023, they were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

READ MORE: 10 Nickelback Songs That Are Really Heavy

Only their debut Curb and their last two albums - Feed the Machine and Get Rollin' - have yet to reach platinum sales status in their native Canada. Silver Side Up, the 2001 album, has amassed eight times platinum status, while 2005's All The Right Reasons currently sits at seven times platinum status in Canada. Six of their studio albums have also reached the No. 1 spot in Canada.