They've sold million of albums, had videos in wall-to-wall rotation, sold out football stadiums across the globe, won Grammys and been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, according to UCR.
Yet, there are great bands here who never reached the Top 40 at all, much less No. 1.
For some, this lack of success on the singles chart is simply a function of the era. These were album-oriented artists, rather than radio fixtures. For others, however, the mystery is how songs that were played – and, in fact, are still played – with such mind-numbing regularity on the radio somehow didn't reach the top of the chart.
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath scored a No. 4 hit in their native U.K. with 1970's "Paranoid" but could never best their career-high No. 52 for 1971's "Iron Man" on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen has written a No. 1 single ("Blinded by the Light" by Manfred Mann's Earth Band), but he's never had his own. "Dancing in the Dark" spent four weeks at a career-best No. 2 in 1984, behind Duran Duran's "The Reflex" and then Prince's "When Doves Cry."
The Clash
A heady mix of punk, reggae, ska and rockabilly eventually earned the Clash double-platinum U.S. album sales. But "Rock the Casbah," their biggest Billboard Hot 100 single, only got to No. 8.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan has never earned a No. 1 single, but he came close twice in the mid-'60s. "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" both went to No. 2.
Crosby Stills and Nash
Even if you add occasional partner Neil Young, CSN have still never gotten any closer than 1977's No. 7 hit "Just a Song Before I Go." They notched seven other Top 30 singles along the way.
Deep Purple
Deep Purple reached No. 4 with both 1968's "Hush" and 1973's "Smoke on the Water" but had only one other Top 40 U.S. single, "Kentucky Woman," which stalled at No. 38 in 1968.
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra released 15 Top 20 hits between 1974-86, becoming radio staples for a generation. They never got any higher than No. 4, however, with 1979's "Don't Bring Me Down."
Jimi Hendrix
The late Jimi Hendrix established himself as one of rock's most enduring legends with just three albums. Yet he never came close to a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100; his titanic cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" only got to No. 20 in 1968.
The Kinks
Stone-cold classics like "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night" were out-charted by 1965's "Tired of Waiting for You" and 1983's "Come Dancing," a pair of No. 6 hits that represent career bests for the Kinks.
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin had four Top 20 finishers, and another that just missed at No. 21. Their highest charting Billboard Hot 100 hit was "Whole Lotta Love," which went to No. 4 in 1969. The nearest Robert Plant and Jimmy Page ever got as solo artists was 1984's No. 3 hit "Sea of Love" with the Honeydrippers.
R.E.M.
Indie favorites R.E.M. had four Top 10 singles between 1987-91, as they shifted to major-label status. Their biggest hit was "Losing My Religion," which went to No. 4 in 1991.
The Who
They've had two No. 2 albums, but no single from the Who did better than 1967's "I Can See for Miles," which finished at No. 9.
Read the full list at UCR
