Mainstream Rock (chart)
Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the "active rock" and "heritage rock" formats. The chart was launched in March 1981 as Rock Albums & Top Tracks. The name changed multiple times afterwards: first to Top Rock Tracks, then to Album Rock Tracks, and finally to its current Mainstream Rock in 1996. The first number-one song on this chart was "I Can't Stand It" by Eric Clapton on March 21, 1981.
History
The "Rock Albums & Top Tracks" charts were introduced in the issue of Billboard that the parent company published on March 21, 1981. The 50-slot based and 60-slot based positional charts ranked airplay on album rock type radio stations in the United States. Because album-oriented rock stations often focused on playing tracks from entire albums rather than specifically released singles, these charts were designed to measure the airplay of any and all tracks from an album, regardless of context. Rock Albums was a survey of the top albums on American rock radio, while Top Tracks listed the top individual songs being played. Mike Harrison of Billboard explained that when major artists release albums, more than one song from the album can become popular at the same time. The first number-one song on the Top Tracks chart was "I Can't Stand It" by Eric Clapton. "I Can't Stand It" was from Clapton's album Another Ticket with its single having the track "Black Rose" on its alternate side.On September 15, 1984, the Rock Albums chart was discontinued and Top Tracks was renamed Top Rock Tracks. It reduced from a 60-song tally to 50 songs on October 20, 1984, following a major revamp to the magazine. Coinciding with an increase in its reporting panel of album rock stations in the United States, the name of the chart was changed again with the issue dated April 12, 1986, to Album Rock Tracks.
On November 23, 1991, instead of reporting panels, Billboard changed its methodology of measuring airplay by using monitored airplay as provided by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems to compile many of its charts. As a result, this data showed that many songs could spend months to over a year on the Album Rock Tracks chart. Billboard decided to drop to a 40-position chart on the week of June 27, 1992, and songs that fell out of the top 20 and after spending 20 weeks on the chart were moved to a new 10-position recurrent chart.
To differentiate between classic and alternative album rock radio formats, Billboard changed the name of the chart to Mainstream Rock Tracks beginning with issue dated April 13, 1996. The Mainstream Rock Tracks chart did not appear in the print edition of Billboard from its issue dated August 2, 2003, being accessible only through the magazine's subscription-based website, Billboard.biz. In late 2013, the chart was reintroduced to its primary website and magazine.
When R&R ceased publication in June 2009, Billboard incorporated its rock charts, Active Rock and Heritage Rock into its own publication. The radio station reporters of the two charts combine to make up the Mainstream Rock chart. In the United States, active rock stations concentrate on current hits over classic rock standards while heritage rock stations put a greater emphasis on classic rock with a few newer tracks mixed in. The individual Active Rock and Heritage Rock components were discontinued by Billboard at the end of November 2013, due to a growing lack of difference between the two charts.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the chart, in June 2021, Billboard released two charts ranking the top songs and artists in the history of the chart. "Touch, Peel and Stand" by Days of the New was the number-one song on the Greatest of All Time Mainstream Rock Songs and Shinedown was named the number-one artist on the ranking of Greatest of All Time Mainstream Rock Artists.
The current number-one song on the chart is "Dark Thoughts" by The Funeral Portrait.
Chart achievements
Artists
Artists with the most number-one songs
These are the artists with the most songs that topped the Mainstream Rock chart.| Songs | Artist | References |
| 21 | Shinedown | |
| 20 | Three Days Grace | |
| 17 | Five Finger Death Punch | |
| 15 | Foo Fighters | |
| 14 | Metallica | |
| 13 | Van Halen | |
| 13 | Godsmack | |
| 13 | Disturbed | |
| 13 | Linkin Park | |
| 12 | Papa Roach | |
| 12 | Volbeat |
Artists with the most charted songs
Bands who have scored the most charted songs on the Mainstream Rock chart.| Songs | Artist | Reference |
| 51 | U2 | |
| 48 | Pearl Jam | |
| 48 | Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | |
| 47 | Van Halen | |
| 46 | John Mellencamp | |
| 44 | Aerosmith | |
| 43 | Metallica | |
| 42 | Rush | |
| 42 | Foo Fighters | |
| 41 | Ozzy Osbourne |
Artists with the most top-ten songs
Acts who have reached number one in at least three decades
Four decades
Source:Three decades
Source:Artists with the most consecutive number-one songs
Artists with the most cumulative weeks at number one
Albums/Songs
Albums With the Most Weeks at #1
Albums whose singles have spent at least 15 weeks at #1 on the Mainstream Rock charts| Total cumulative weeks | Album | Year | Weeks at #1 | Singles | Artist | Reference |
| 33 | The Better Life | 2000 | 9 | "Kryptonite" | 3 Doors Down | |
| 33 | The Better Life | 2000 | 21 | "Loser" | 3 Doors Down | |
| 33 | The Better Life | 2000 | 3 | "Duck and Run" | 3 Doors Down | |
| 27 | One-X | 2006 | 7 | "Animal I Have Become" | Three Days Grace | |
| 27 | One-X | 2006 | 13 | "Pain" | Three Days Grace | |
| 27 | One-X | 2006 | 7 | "Never Too Late" | Three Days Grace | |
| 26 | Days of the New | 1997 | 16 | "Touch, Peel, and Stand" | Days of the New | |
| 26 | Days of the New | 1997 | 10 | "The Down Town" | Days of the New | |
| 23 | The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion | 1992 | 11 | "Remedy" | The Black Crowes | |
| 23 | The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion | 1992 | 2 | "Sting Me" | The Black Crowes | |
| 23 | The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion | 1992 | 4 | "Thorn in My Pride" | The Black Crowes | |
| 23 | The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion | 1992 | 6 | "Hotel Illness" | The Black Crowes | |
| 21 | Human Clay | 1999 | 17 | "Higher" | Creed | |
| 21 | Human Clay | 1999 | 4 | "With Arms Wide Open" | Creed | |
| 21 | Life Starts Now | 2009 | 11 | "Break" | Three Days Grace | |
| 21 | Life Starts Now | 2009 | 5 | "The Good Life" | Three Days Grace | |
| 21 | Life Starts Now | 2009 | 5 | "World So Cold" | Three Days Grace | |
| 20 | Break the Cycle | 2001 | 20 | "It's Been Awhile" | Staind | |
| 20 | Contraband | 2004 | 11 | "Fall to Pieces" | Velvet Revolver | |
| 20 | Contraband | 2004 | 9 | "Slither" | Velvet Revolver | |
| 19 | Silver Side Up | 2001 | 13 | "How You Remind Me" | Nickelback | |
| 19 | Silver Side Up | 2001 | 3 | "Too Bad" | Nickelback | |
| 19 | Silver Side Up | 2001 | 3 | "Never Again" | Nickelback | |
| 18 | Hail to the King | 2013 | 11 | "Hail to the King" | Avenged Sevenfold | |
| 18 | Hail to the King | 2013 | 7 | "Shepherd of Fire" | Avenged Sevenfold | |
| 17 | Away From the Sun | 2002 | 17 | "When I'm Gone" | 3 Doors Down | |
| 17 | When Legends Rise | 2018 | 5 | "Bulletproof" | Godsmack | |
| 17 | When Legends Rise | 2018 | 5 | "When Legends Rise" | Godsmack | |
| 17 | When Legends Rise | 2018 | 2 | "Under Your Scars" | Godsmack | |
| 17 | When Legends Rise | 2018 | 5 | "Unforgettable" | Godsmack | |
| 17 | American Idiot | 2004 | 14 | "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" | Green Day | |
| 17 | American Idiot | 2004 | 3 | "Holiday" | Green Day | |
| 17 | Come Clean | 2001 | 10 | Blurry | Puddle of Mudd | |
| 17 | Come Clean | 2001 | 6 | "Drift and Die" | Puddle of Mudd | |
| 17 | Come Clean | 2001 | 1 | "She Hates Me" | Puddle of Mudd | |
| 17 | The Sound of Madness | 2008 | 10 | "Second Chance" | Shinedown | |
| 17 | The Sound of Madness | 2008 | 3 | "Sound of Madness" | Shinedown | |
| 17 | The Sound of Madness | 2008 | 1 | "The Crow and the Butterfly" | Shinedown | |
| 17 | The Sound of Madness | 2008 | 3 | "Diamond Eyes " | Shinedown | |
| 17 | Purple | 1994 | 2 | "Vasoline" | Stone Temple Pilots | |
| 17 | Purple | 1994 | 15 | "Interstate Love Song" | Stone Temple Pilots | |
| 17 | Achtung Baby | 1991 | 12 | "Mysterious Ways" | U2 | |
| 17 | Achtung Baby | 1991 | 2 | "One" | U2 | |
| 17 | Achtung Baby | 1991 | 3 | "Even Better than the Real Thing" | U2 | |
| 16 | Black Gives Way to Blue | 2009 | 8 | "Check My Brain" | Alice in Chains | |
| 16 | Black Gives Way to Blue | 2009 | 8 | "Your Decision" | Alice in Chains | |
| 16 | Sonic Highways | 2013 | 13 | "Something from Nothing" | Foo Fighters | |
| 16 | Sonic Highways | 2013 | 3 | "Congregation" | Foo Fighters | |
| 16 | 72 Seasons | 2023 | 11 | "Lux Æterna" | Metallica | |
| 16 | 72 Seasons | 2023 | 2 | "72 Seasons" | Metallica | |
| 16 | 72 Seasons | 2023 | 1 | "Too Far Gone?" | Metallica | |
| 16 | 72 Seasons | 2023 | 2 | "Screaming Suicide" | Metallica | |
| 16 | Amaryllis | 2012 | 12 | "Bully" | Shinedown | |
| 16 | Amaryllis | 2012 | 4 | "Unity" | Shinedown | |
| 15 | Collective Soul | 1995 | 9 | "December" | Collective Soul | |
| 15 | Collective Soul | 1995 | 4 | "The World I Know" | Collective Soul | |
| 15 | Collective Soul | 1995 | 2 | "Where the River Flows" | Collective Soul | |
| 15 | Dosage | 1999 | 15 | "Heavy" | Collective Soul | |
| 15 | Evolution | 2018 | 8 | "Are You Ready" | Disturbed | |
| 15 | Evolution | 2018 | 3 | "A Reason to Fight" | Disturbed | |
| 15 | Evolution | 2018 | 4 | "No More" | Disturbed | |
| 15 | Transit of Venus | 2012 | 13 | "Chalk Outline" | Three Days Grace | |
| 15 | Transit of Venus | 2012 | 1 | "The High Road" | Three Days Grace | |
| 15 | Transit of Venus | 2012 | 1 | "Misery Loves My Company" | Three Days Grace |