100 Greatest Jam Bands

Defifition: A jam artist is an artist or band (usually below the mainstream) who spends large portions of their live performances through unplanned improvising and changing songs through a transition, such as jazz and bluegrass musicans. These bands generally experiment with jazz, world music, progressive bluegrass, and psychadelic rock.

 Criteria: - Based on creativity, talent, orignality, Influence, and popularity as a "Jam" band.

Other characteristics:
- Often play many cover songs during live performances
- Utilize elaborate light shows
- Are share-friendly; have live performances on the Internet Archive
- Perform at music festivals- Bonnaroo, Summer Camp, and Wakarusa etc.

Last Updated: 2024-02-07
Greatest Jam Bands
  1. The Grateful Dead
  2. Phish
  3. The Allman Brothers Band
  4. Widespread Panic
  5. Dave Matthews Band
  6. The String Cheese Incident
  7. Gov't Mule
  8. Jerry Garcia Band
  9. moe.
10. Yonder Mountain String Band
11. Blues Traveler/John Popper
12. Béla Fleck and the Flecktones
13. The Black Crowes
14. The Disco Biscuits
15. Umphrey's Mcgee
16. Phil Lesh & Friends
17. Ratdog
18. Keller Williams (Incident)
19. Sound Tribe Sector 9
20. The Spin Doctors
21. Medeski, Martin & Wood
22. Little Feat
23. Oysterhead
24. Trey Anastasio (Band/70 Volt Parade/GRAB)
25. Tedeschi Trucks Band
26. Galactic
27. Dickey Betts & Great Southern
28. Old Crow Medicine Show
29. G. Love & Special Sauce
30. Les Claypool (& His Fancy Band/Fearless Flying Frog Brigade)
31. Lotus
32. Robert Randolph & The Family Band
33. New Riders of the Purple Sage
34. Leftover Salmon
35. My Morning Jacket
36. Bruce Hornsby
37. Ween
38. Tea Leaf Green
39. Primus
40. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
41. Rusted Root
42. The Drive-by Truckers
43. Ben Folds Five
44. Victor Wooten
45. Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
46. Hot Tuna
47. The North Mississippi Allstars
48. Colonel Claypool's Bucket Of Bernie Brains
49. Benevento-Russo Duo (& Mike Gordon)
50. Man or Astroman?
51. Jack Johnson
52. Guster
53. Los Lonely Boys
54. Perpetual Groove
55. Paul Butterfield Blues Band
56. Steve Kimock Band
57. John Butler Trio
58. Railroad Earth
59. Blind Melon
60. Nickel Creek
61. O.A.R.
62. Mike Gordon/Ramble Dove/Leo Kottke
63. Acoustic Syndicate
64. The Big Wu
65. Bernie Worrell and the WOO Warriors
66. The New Deal
67. Dispatch
68. Animal Liberation Orchestra
69. Garaj Mahal
70. Matisyahu
71. Pat McGee Band
72. Wishbone Ash
73. Particle
74. Aquarium Rescue Unit
75. The Derek Trucks Band
76. Alfred Howard & The K23 Orchestra
77. Hot Buttered Rum String Band
78. John Popper / John Popper Project feat. DJ Logic
79. New Monsoon
80. Fat Freddy's Drop
81. The Bad Plus
82. God Street Wine
83. Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra
84. Addison Groove Project
85. Quicksilver Messenger Service
86. Robert Walter's 20th Congress
87. The Word
88. The Samples
89. Signal Path
90. The Breakfast
91. MOFRO
92. Donna The Buffalo
93. RAQ
94. Flowmotion
95. Moonshine Still
96. Assembly of Dust
97. Beanland
98. Tri Point Paradox
99. Zilla
100. Conspirator
101. Strangefolk
102. Goose
103. Dopapod
104. Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
105. Brothers Past
106. Spafford
107. Twiddle
108. Moon Taxi
109. Ghost Light
110. The Heavy Pets
rock bands The Grateful Dead and Phish

Rock Jam band The Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead
Rock Jam band Phish
Phish
Rock Jam band The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
Rock Jam band Widespread Panic
Widespread Panic
Rock Jam band Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band
Rock Jam band The String Cheese Incident
The String Cheese Incident









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Most Influential pre-Jam movement artists:

  1. The Grateful Dead
  2. Cream
  3. The Allman Brothers Band
  4. Pink Floyd
  5. Deep Purple
  6. Frank Zappa
  7. Santana
  8. Jimi Hendrix
  9. Led Zeppelin
10. The Yardbirds
11. Blues Project








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