Adult Album Alternative (AAA) Acts: Top 100

Adult Album Alternative: Top 100 Acts

In 1996, Billboard magazine lanched the adult album alternative (AAA) chart. The radio format is a spinoff of the album-oriented radio format rooted in music from the ‘60s and ‘70s. AAA includes some of that genre’s most noted acts (Eric Clapton, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen), but expands to include a variety of genres generally broader than most other radio formats, encompassing alternative rock, alt country, folk, jazz, and blues. On December 10, 2017, a top 100 list was published on Billboard. A top 50 list was updated on February 18, 2021. The list below reflects the top 50 from 2021 and then the remaining artists from the 2017 top 100 list. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre. Dave Matthews Band 1. Dave Matthews (solo and with band) 2. U2 3. Coldplay 4. Jack Johnson 5. Sheryl Crow 6. John Mayer 7. Mumford & Sons 8. Counting Crows 9. Death Cab for Cutie 10. Snow Patrol 11. Beck 12. The Wallflowers 13. R.E.M. 14. Ray LaMontagne 15. The Lumineers 16. David Gray 17. The Head & the Heart 18. Train 19. The Black Keys 20. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats 21. Norah Jones 22. Cage the Elephant 23. Florence + the Machine 24. Hozier 25. Of Monsters & Men 26. Matchbox 20 27. Adele 28. Ryan Adams 29. Imagine Dragons 30. Kings of Leon 31. Red Hot Chili Peppers 32. Tom Petty (solo & with Heartbreakers & Mudcrutch) 33. Sting 34. John Mellencamp 35. Eric Clapton 36. Pearl Jam 37. KT Tunstall 38. Ben Harper 39. Goo Goo Dolls 40. Spoon 41. The Fray 42. Leon Bridges 43. Sarah McLachlan 44. The Killers 45. Pete Yorn 46. The Decemberists 47. Bruce Springsteen 48. Green Day 49. Chris Isaak 50. Keane 51. Collective Soul 52. Wilco 53. Barenaked Ladies 54. Lenny Kravitz 55. Tracy Chapman 56. Melissa Etheridge 57. The Avett Brothers 58. Guster 59. Jason Mraz 60. Michael Franti 61. Bonnie Raitt 62. The Rolling Stones 63. Matt Nathanson 64. Alanis Morissette 65. Indigo Girls 66. Blues Traveler 67. Mark Knopfler 68. Tori Amos 69. Shawn Colvin 70. Jonny Lang 71. Amos Lee 72. Phish 73. Shawn Mullins 74. Brandi Carlile 75. Van Morrison 76. Robert Plant 77. Dawes 78. Arcade Fire 79. Foo Fighters 80. Neil Young 81. Grace Potter 82. John Hiatt 83. Lorde 84. Alabama Shakes 85. Pretenders 86. Mat Kearney 87. Natalie Merchant 88. Phillip Phillips 89. Santana 90. Paul Simon 91. Fitz & the Tantrums 92. Jewel 93. Michael Kiwanuka 94. Ingrid Michaelson 95. Brett Dennen 96. Paolo Nutini 97. Jackson Browne 98. John Bulter Trio 99. Old 97’s 100. Feist 101. Vance Joy 102. One Republic Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre Billboard (2/18/2021). “Greatest of All Time: Adult Alternative Artists” First posted 12/10/2017; last updated 2/18/2021.

 

Counting Crows August and Everything After released

August and Everything After Counting Crows

Released: September 14, 1993 Peak: 4 US, 16 UK, 1 CN, 12 AU Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 0.9 UK, 10.6 world (includes US and UK) Genre: mainstream rock/adult alternative

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Round Here (4/16/94, 31 BA, 9 GR, 9 RR, 11 AR, 7 MR, 70 UK, 6 CN, 7 DF) Omaha (1994, 38 CN, 85 AU) Mr. Jones (11/27/93, 5 BA, 1 GR, 1 RR, 25 AC, 2 AR, 2 MR, 28 UK, 1 CN, 5 DF) Perfect Blue Buildings Anna Begins Time and Time Again Rain King (7/16/94, 66 BA, 18 GR, 22 RR, 4 AR, 49 UK, 18 CN, 13 DF) Sullivan Street Ghost Train Raining in Baltimore A Murder of One (11/19/94, 17 AR, 11 DF) Total Running Time: 51:42 The Players: Steve Bowman (drums) David Bryson (guitar) Adam Duritz (vocals, piano, harmonica) Charles Gillingham (piano, etc.) Matt Malley (bass)

Rating: 4.271 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Counting Crows formed in 1991 in the San Francisco Bay area. Their debut, August and Everything After, was a multi-platinum, top-five album. It was one of the first of a wave of “adult alternative” albums that followed in the wake of grunge. While Counting Crows weren’t grunge, they benefited from the renewed interest in guitar-based mainstream and alternative rock sparked by the genre. “When the prevailing guitar jingle of Mr. Jones cascaded over radio in the early ‘90s, it was a sure sign that the Counting Crows were a musical force to be reckoned with. Their debut album, August and Everything After, burst at the seams with both dominant pop harmonies and rich, hearty ballads, all thanks to lead singer Adam Duritz.” AM “The lone guitar work of ‘Mr. Jones’ coupled with the sweet, in-front pull of Duritz’s voice kicked off the album in full force. The starkly beautiful and lonely sounding Round Here captured the band’s honest yet subtle talent for singing ballads, while Omaha is lyrically reminiscent of a Springsteen tune. The fusion of hauntingly smooth vocals with such instruments as the Hammond B-3 organ and the accordion pumped new life into the music scene, and their brisk sound catapulted them into stardom.” AM “On Rain King, the piano takes over as its aloof flair dances behind Duritz with elegant crispness. The slower-paced Raining in Baltimore paints a perfectly gray picture and illustrates the band’s ease at conveying mood by eliminating the tempo.” AM “Most of the songs here engage in overly contagious hooks that won’t go away, making for a solid bunch of tunes. Containing the perfect portions of instrumental and vocal conglomeration, the Counting Crows showed off their appealing sound to its full extent with their very first album.” AM Notes: A deluxe edition was released in 2007 that added six demos to the original track listing and a second CD of thirteen live songs from the last show of the August and Everything After tour.

Resources: AM AllMusic.com review by Mike DeGagne Related DMDB Links: First posted 4/5/2008; last updated 11/27/2024.