Best Rock Supergroups 

The supergroup has been a staple of rock since the mid-60s – there have been great ones, good ones, and ones that should never have gotten out of the rehearsal room.  

A supergroup is a very fragile thing. Balancing oversized egos from the get-go it can lead to huge problems. The great supergroups are rarely built to last, but even the ones that crash and burn as soon as they get off the ground can often leave an indelible mark on music history.  

Ever since Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker formed Cream in 1966, the term ‘supergroup’ quickly became lazy shorthand for a band who feature other successful musicians. 

So we got to thinking about other groups of successful musicians who’ve joined forces for the greater good of everything under the comforting umbrella of rock and metal.  Weve divided them into 3 tiers: All-Time Titans, Big Names with Lasting Echoes and Cult Heroes & Underrated Players.  

Inevitably there’s a killer playlist too: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4WIujs3rxWQAS7tlSemhl0?si=ee2ed54abfcd4f5c 

1. Cream

Album Quality: Disraeli Gears, Wheels of Fire—psychedelic blues-rock landmarks. 

Impact: The original supergroup, they basically invented the concept. 

Legacy: Every power trio and blues-rock outfit owes them a debt. 

Eric Clapton had made his name as the mid-60s era’s pre-eminent guitar god in The Yardbirds and John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, while bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker were faces on the mid-60s London scene. As Cream, they conjured the kind of magic that can’t be manufactured, releasing in three pivotal albums in four years, influencing an entire generation of musicians and changing the very DNA of rock in the process. It flamed out amid egos, acrimony and bitterness, but they remain the yardstick by which all other supergroups should be judged. 

They reformed for a handful of shows in 2005, but old age didn’t stop Bruce and Baker from getting back into their old ways. They even had a squabble onstage at Madison Square Garden. Bruce’s death in 2014 killed any chance of any more Cream activity.  

2. Foo Fighters

Album Quality: From The Colour and the Shape to Wasting Light, consistently strong. 

Impact: Started as Grohl’s solo project, now arguably rock’s last stadium band. 

Legacy: Spanning decades, they’ve outlived the “supergroup” label and become legends. 

Formed as a solo project by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl following the death of Kurt Cobain, he largely performed all of the instruments on his, yes, self-titled 1995 debut. To tour the release, he recruited Sunny Day Real Estate bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, along with Germs/Nirvana guitarist Pat Smear. Alanis Morrissette drummer Taylor Hawkins joined in time for the band’s third release, There Is Nothing Left To Lose. As of 2015, Foo Fighters have sold 12 million albums, and sell out arenas and stadiums around the world.  

3. A Perfect Circle

Album Quality: Mer de Noms and Thirteenth Step are both critically revered. 

Impact: Defined early 2000s alt-prog. 

Legacy: Side project of Maynard (Tool) and Billy Howerdel that gained real respect. 

A collaboration between guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan, A Perfect Circle have seen many legendary musicians pass through their four-album career. Their current line-up – which includes Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha and Eagles Of Death Metal bassist Matt McJunkins – released their fourth album, Eat The Elephant, in 2018. 

🔥 Strong Middle Tier: Big Names, Lasting Echoes 

4. Audioslave

Album Quality: Self-titled debut is powerful; Out of Exile had its moments. 

Impact: Rage + Cornell = headlines. 

Legacy: Short run, but a modern supergroup done right. 

They broke up in 2006 due to what Chris Cornell called “irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences.” During their six-year tenure – save for a one-off performance in 2017 – the quartet released three albums: their self-titled debut (2002), Out Of Exile (2005) and Revelations (2007), effortlessly combining the most powerful elements of their other bands with a satisfying classic rock bent. 

5. Temple of the Dog

Album Quality: One incredible self-titled record. 

Impact: Tribute to Mother Love Bone’s Andrew Wood, but also previewed Pearl Jam. 

Legacy: Immortalized by “Hunger Strike”; a key chapter in grunge history. 

Formed in Seattle in 1990 by Chris Cornell, Temple Of The Dog were a tribute to his late friend, Mother Love Bone vocalist Andrew Wood, who died following a heroin overdose in the March of that year. The line-up featured Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament (the latter two were in Mother Love Bone) and Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron. Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder made a guest appearance on their sole, self-titled album, which was released in April 1991. 

The album received much attention the following year after Pearl Jam and Soundgarden rose in popularity, following the release of Ten and Badmotorfinger. It was reissued in 1992, with Hunger Strike released as a single.  

6. Them Crooked Vultures

Album Quality: Only one album, but killer. 

Impact: Grohl + Homme + JPJ (Led Zeppelin) turned heads. 

Legacy: Cult fave, fans still beg for a follow-up. 

The group released a self-titled album in 2009 and played shows all over the world through 2010, but have been very quiet since then. Grohl and Homme obviously have a lot on their plates, but they say they hope to get around to another Them Crooked Vultures record at some point. With Grohl taking his rightful place behind the drumkit, their sole, self-titled 2009 album mixed psychedelia, grunge and alt-rock to killer effect. They toured it, but things went dark soon after and have stayed that way since – though a brief reunion at 2022’s Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts in London and LA raised hopes of a second album. 

7. Velvet Revolver

Album Quality: Contraband had real fire; Libertad less so. 

Impact: GNR + Scott Weiland = tabloid magnet. 

Legacy: Never quite matched expectations, but still packed a punch. 

It was always going to end in tears, but for two albums, but Guns N’ Roses/Stone Temple Pilots mash-up Velvet Revolver were a more electrifying proposition than whatever incarnation of GN’R Axl Rose was dragging round the world. Scott Weiland’s glam-rock cosplay perfectly suited Slash and Duff McKagan’s hard rock showboating, as evidenced on such classics as Fall To Pieces and Slither. 

The band were awarded Best International Newcomer at the 2004 Kerrang! Awards and a GRAMMY for the song Slither in 2005. The band parted ways with Scott following a strained tour in 2008 and announced his dismissal on April 1. They reunited for a one-off performance in 2012 as part of a benefit concert for the late composer John O’Brien at the House Of Blues in Hollywood. 

8. Bad Company

Album Quality: The debut is a classic. 

Impact: Hugely successful in the ’70s. 

Legacy: Staples on classic rock radio—”Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Bad Company,” etc. 

Bassist Boz Burrell died in 2006. They spent that summer on the road with Joe Walsh, though guitarist Mick Ralphs felt like staying home. They recruited Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes to replace him. They’ve taken many breaks over the years and the lineup has shifted quite a bit, but every few years they come back together.  

🎸 Cult Heroes & Underrated Players 

9. Black Country Communion

Album Quality: Strong blues-rock musicianship. 

Impact: More niche, despite members like Glenn Hughes and Joe Bonamassa. 

Legacy: Loved by gearheads and blues fans. 

Formed after a jam session between ex-Deep Purple bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes and modern blues guitar king Joe Bonamassa, and lent extra firepower by Jason ‘Son Of John’ Bonham and keyboard payer Derek Sherinian, Black Country Communion brought early 70s blues rock into the 21st century. After four well-received but sporadically released albums, they reunited for a fifth.  

10. Mad Season

Album Quality: Above is hauntingly beautiful. 

Impact: A grunge deep cut. 

Legacy: Cult classic—Layne Staley’s tortured soul at its rawest. 

Formed by Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, and featuring members of local legends Screaming Trees and The Walkabouts, they managed just one album, the gloomy yet stately Above, before falling apart. The deaths of Staley and bassist – as well as ex-Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan, who replaced Staley in an aborted attempt to resurrect the band in the late 90s – only adds to their dark mystique. 

11. Asia

Album Quality: Polished, radio-friendly prog-lite. 

Impact: Huge in the early ‘80s. 

Legacy: Mixed views—some call it sellout prog, others love the hooks. 

Their members may have done time in King Crimson, Yes, ELP and The Buggles, but Asia hit gold with the polished hard rock of their self-titled 1982 debut album. Singer and bassist John Wetton wryly said, “We were so famous in America at one point that builders used to hang off scaffolding to shout at me… I rather enjoyed it.” A string of albums with one-word titles beginning and ending in ‘A’ followed, albeit to diminishing returns, though Heat Of The Moment remains a cast-iron classic. 

12. Chickenfoot

Album Quality: Fun but not essential. 

Impact: Hagar + Satriani + Anthony = shred alert. 

Legacy: Enjoyable side project, not a game-changer. 

Hot off the back of selling his Tequila company for squillions of dollars, Sammy Hagar decided that he was bored of waiting for estranged bandmate Eddie Van Halen to call him and launched his own party-rock band, Chickenfoot. Roping in guitar wizard Joe Satriani and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, what could easily have been a charmless, millionaire’s hobby band turned out be a whole lot of fun, as their two albums, 2009’s Chickenfoot and 2011’s confusingly-titled Chickenfoot III proved.  

13. The Power Station

Album Quality: New wave meets hard rock experiment. 

Impact: MTV darlings for a minute. 

Legacy: More remembered for Robert Palmer and Duran Duran connections. 

Big hair, big egos, music slick as an oil spill, The Power Station were the most 80s supergroup ever. Featuring Duran Duran’s (non-related) John and Andy Taylor, former Chic drummer Tony Thompson and besuited pop-rock lothario Robert Palmer, they were groovy, funky and fuelled by the spirit of the age.  

14. HSAS (Hagar, Schon, Aaronson, Shrieve)

Album Quality: One live-in-studio record. 

Impact: Flash in the pan. 

Legacy: Mostly a curiosity for completists. 

Like some early 80s hard rock Avengers, the short-lived HSAS saw him Schon team up with Sammy Hagar, Kenny Aaronson and former Santana drummer Michael Shrieve. Adopting their initials for the worst band name to chant out loud on this list, they managed one mostly live record in the rather excellent Through The Fire, and then they were gone. 

15. Bad English

Album Quality: Pure AOR. 

Impact: “When I See You Smile” hit big, but faded fast. 

Legacy: Often derided as “corporate rock”—a relic of late ’80s product 

Featuring former members of Anglo-American pop-rockers The Babys (singer John Waite and keyboard player Jonathan Cain) and AOR gods Journey (guitarist Neal Schon and Cain again), Bad English briefly towered over the US charts like Godzilla dominating the Tokyo skyline. Fusing classic hard rock power and soaring ballads, their self-titled 1989 debut made a whole nation simultaneously punch the air and weep.