2000's British Rock Group Named the Most Streamed 'Indie Rock' Garage Band

Before becoming global rock stars and touring the world, many bands got their start in ordinary garages. Now, a recent study reveals that one indie rock band still dominates Spotify’s charts with their unique sound, and it’s none other than Arctic Monkeys.

Alan’s Factory Outlet did the job of collecting Spotify streaming data to uncover which garage-born bands have stood the test of time. Based on research, 72% of people who have started bands in their garage said it lasted less than a year, with only a handful of bands managing to make it to the big leagues.

Their streaming data reveal that Arctic Monkeys remain the top-streamed rock band to come out of a garage. They took the No. 1 spot, earning over 53 million streams on Spotify as artists “born from garage roots.” Runner-up was the Australian band Tame Impala, with over 47 million streams, and rock legends Green Day in third with over 36 million streams.

Based on the data, Arctic Monkeys have even beaten out the iconic band Nirvana and metal legends Metallica. The study did show that Nirvana and Green Day were among the top three bands that inspired young teens to form a garage band.

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Arctic Monkeys was originally started in Sheffield, England, in 2002 with lead singer and guitarist Alex Turner. As friends and neighbors, Turner was joined by drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook, and bassist Andy Nicholson. They started the band after receiving instruments for Christmas, and performed their first gig in 2003 at a pub. Nicholson was later replaced by Nick O’Malley in 2006.

They released their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, in 2006 and topp UK charts and won Best British Album at the 2007 Brit Awards. Their second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, was also a hit and won them their second Best British Album award. Two more albums were released in 2009 and 2011, which did moderately well.

Arctic Monkeys gained international fame with the release of AM in 2013. Their song “Do I Wanna Know” became a band-defining moment for the band, topping Billboard charts and being certified Platinum four times. The song’s opening guitar riff became a sensation among fans and won them their third Brit award.

The rock band has released seven studio albums and has been nominated for nine Grammy awards over the span of their career.