Best New Band for Each Year of the 1970s-2010s

What a time to be alive! No matter where you fit on the age spectrum, there was a time when your growing music tastes aligned with the arrival on new bands taking rock and metal music in a different direction. That’s why this list of the Best New Band for Each Year of the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, ’00s and ’10s should resonate so well, taking you back to a period of discovery and watching a band emerge and dominate with new music, at least for a specific window of time.

This time span has given us everything from the birth of metal with Black Sabbath in 1970s to the ’80s (hair) metal evolution with Poison and Guns N’ Roses bringing heavy music back to the forefront. The ’90s gave us the birth of grunge and nu-metal with Pearl Jam and Korn among the breakouts, while a garage rock revival led by The Strokes and the rise of emo featuring Panic! at the Disco were big markers of the 2000s. And then you’ve got the 2010s that gave us a variety of everything.

READ MORE: Best Rock Songs of the 2000s

One key thing to keep in mind as you scan through the choices is that these lists were compiled as though you were living in that specific year. Who were the bands that emerged with their very first releases? Sure, there are acts who went on to bigger things in the future and some acts reached their peak on their first records, but we’re viewing this through the lens of being a rock and metal fan within each specific year and showcasing what was big at the time.

It’s been an interesting journey, one that’s fun to track looking at how each evolution started and faded in popularity, and in some cases, even came back around again. So join us as we take you through 50 years of hard rock and metal’s best new bands by each individual year.