The ‘Big 4’ Bands of Boomer, Gen X + Millennial Dad Rock

Who are the “Big 4” dad rock bands of three of the biggest generations — Boomer, Gen X and Millennial?

First, let’s define exactly what “dad rock” is. As Berklee pointed out, the phrase dad rock generally refers to older music. The general consensus is that many of the biggest bands you can hear on any classic rock station are considered dad rock.

But considering there are so many generations, young people might think ’60s and ’70s bands are borderline ancient. Thus, they may think that bands that rose to prominence in the ’90s and 2000s are dad rock, since those are the groups many newer dads grew up listening to.

READ MORE: Study Ranks the Top 10 ‘Ultimate Dad Rock Bands’

So we decided to choose who the “Big 4” of dad rock bands would be for three generations — Boomer, Gen X and Millennial. Keep reading to see an explanation of how we broke down each category.

Boomers

Boomers are classified as being born between 1946-1964, which is one of the broadest generational ranges. That would have made their first year as a teenager between 1959-1977. Thus, our “Big 4” Boomer dad rock bands were famous in the ’60s and ’70s when the Boomers were teenagers.

Gen X-ers

Folks of Generation X were born between 1965 and 1980, and entered their teenage years from 1978 until 1993. That’s a pretty wide scope of bands to cover, as rock ‘n’ roll experienced a couple of different waves within that timeframe.

To narrow it down, we went with the four bands that had great success in multiple decades and stood the test of time the longest. Groups that peaked in the late ’70s and ’80s make up this generation’s “Big 4.”

Millennials

Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996, which is another pretty wide age range. The oldest millennials turned 43 in 2024, and the youngest turned 28. So the bands that were popular when this group were teenagers found success in the ’90s and early 2000s.

Scroll through the galleries below to see which bands we picked to represent dad rock for each generation.

25 Hilariously Accurate Rock Star Look-Alikes