No matter the era, the Chicago music scene continues to be a thriving and deeply rooted community anchored by cornerstone DIY venues like The Empty Bottle, The Hideout, and Subterranean. In the late ’90s and early 2000s, that scene encompassed a vibrant mix of pop punk, emo, and hardcore that largely took over Fireside Bowl — an all-ages hangout where Fall Out Boy, Rise Against, and Alkaline Trio made their mark before breaking into the mainstream. In the years since, a new generation has kept the DIY community sharp and sustainable, full of neighborhoods with things to see, do, and discover. With this in mind, we wanted to know the best Chicago bands, from any decade. You can find the top fan picks ranked below.
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5. Knuckle Puck
Knuckle Puck began in the early 2010s, playing covers around the Chicago suburbs and drawing from their environment. In a 2016 interview, guitarist Kevin Maida said they formed the band due to a lack of pop punk in their area — as well as admiring the successful groups with roots in Chicago, notably Alkaline Trio and Fall Out Boy. “By having those bands as subtle role models, it gives you a definition of reality, like, ‘OK, not all bands I like just come from the West Coast or the East Coast. It does happen here. It is possible to be in a band,’” he explained. Last year, they had a proper homecoming when they played their 2015 debut album, Copacetic, in full at Riot Fest, giving them a chance to reflect on just how far they’ve come.
4. The Smashing Pumpkins
Hands down, the Smashing Pumpkins remain one of Chicago’s most essential musical exports, melding alt-rock, dream pop, and a gothic touch into a sound that exploded in — then later defined — the ’90s. Formed in 1988 by Billy Corgan and James Iha, the band had vision from the start, surveying the grunge explosion happening in Seattle and instead choosing to fuse their aggression with a lusher, symphonic-led melody that owed much to the Cure and New Order. Chicago’s club scene allowed them to test out this sound, most significantly at Metro, where they played countless shows. In an homage to their roots, the Smashing Pumpkins played a show at the famed venue in 2022, delivering an era-spanning setlist that represented their formidable career.
3. Rise Against
“They’re a direct byproduct of subculture,” Koyo frontman Joey Chiaramonte said last month, reflecting on opening for Rise Against. Spawned from the ashes of 88 Fingers Louie and Baxter in 1999, his observation rings true, with RA becoming a band that rooted themselves in community, DIY values, and a socially conscious mindset before earning mainstream success. It wasn’t long before their impassioned live shows got them noticed by DreamWorks, who gave the band the resources to write soaring punk anthems that rallied against war, bigotry, and social injustice. Through it all, Chicago has been their rock, essentially being the house band for Riot Fest year after year.
2. Fall Out Boy
Before the members of Fall Out Boy came together, they were in different bands spread out across Chicago’s hardcore scene. Pete Wentz and Andy Hurley were in Racetraitor; Joe Trohman played in Arma Angelus with Wentz; the list could go on. Trohman met Patrick Stump at a Borders in Wilmette, encouraged him to try out for Fall Out Boy, and the rest is history. Though they’ve transcended their hometown roots, they continue to show pride for their city in myriad ways. They’ve written love letters (“Lake Effect Kid”), showed old Fireside Bowl flyers on LCD screens during their performances, and returned to Metro for an intimate homecoming show while doing promo for 2023’s So Much (For) Stardust.
1. Alkaline Trio
Overwhelmingly, our readers called Alkaline Trio the best Chicago band. In 1996, the group started like any other. Members floated around their local scene, with Matt Skiba drumming for several bands (Blunt, Jerkwater, etc.) before deciding to step up to the mic. They spent their early days at Fireside Bowl, which they later memorialized in their 2000 song “Goodbye Forever” (“Remember last April when we saw U.S. Maple?/Somehow, the singer showed the Fireside exactly how I feel”). At their core, though, Alkaline Trio shared a passion to blend dark moodiness with soaring pop-punk hooks, using the Chicago punk scene as a foundation for everything to come.
