100 Best Soft Rock Artists

Author:
Ansel Pereira
Updated:
Apr 13, 2023

L–R: Neil Young, David Crosby, Graham Nash, and Stephen Stills. CSNY may have been the first soft rock band, a genre marked by crisp melodies, smooth vocals, and pristine studio production.
Wikipedia Commons

The textural feel and lush production give soft rock a unique identity. Bands and artists associated with this form of music have appealed to listeners across different genres. Since the early '70s, light rock music—popularly known as soft rock—has had mainstream success thanks to its well-defined melodic structure supplemented with smooth vocal techniques and pristine studio production.

Although this micro genre has metamorphosed stylistically in every decade, the sound remains dynamically rooted in pop-rock tradition. The list below showcases a diverse collection of soft rock bands from different decades. If you are a fan of light rock music, you will have a lot to say.

10 Best Soft Rock Artists

Fleetwood Mac
Air Supply
Bee Gees
Billy Joel
Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young)
James Taylor
Foreigner
Chicago
REO Speedwagon
Bread

Soft Rock Music Emerges in the 1960s

The sounds of soft rock made their way onto the music scene in the ‘60s. As the folk movement diversified, numerous bands and artists adopted folk tradition in an aesthetically stylish pop-rock avatar. The catchy musical structures infused with hypnotic melodic vocal harmonies became the signature identity in this musical experimentation.

To give their musical concepts a flourish, certain acts started incorporating a high degree of finesse to sound processing in the studio thereby taking the dynamics of music production to a whole new level. This lush production-oriented music format gradually paved the way for diverse soft rock acts. Some of the early soft rock bands and artists were known for their catchy rhythm structures combined with intricate vocal harmonies in the chorus or verse of songs.

#11—20

11. The Carpenters

12. England Dan & John Ford

13. Neil Diamond

14. Seals and Crofts

15. Elton John

16. Pablo Cruise

17. 10cc

18. Eric Carmen

19. Eagles

20. Chris Rea

Fleetwood Mac became the greatest soft rockers of all time when Stevie Nicks (second from right) and Lindsay Buckingham (far right) joined the band in 1975.
Wikipedia Commons

Soft Rock Goes Mainstream in the '70s

With musicians in pop and rock genres adopting mellow sounds in their musical compositions, softer songs came to the forefront. As softer sounds became authoritative in pop-rock styles, soft rock came into mainstream prominence.

In the ‘70s, several rock-oriented acts with defining pop elements in their music had tremendous chart-topping success with their songs. While soft rock bands from the US displayed their characteristic pop laden rock sound, their European counterparts became widely known for their smoothed-out pop-rock ballads.

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Soft rock songs became widely popular on radio formats in the ‘70s. Several acts associated with light rock became hugely popular on Adult contemporary stations. With soft rock reaching its commercial peak in the ‘70s, several major record labels started signing and promoting upcoming acts associated with the genre.

Mellow rock bands with their distinctive polished sound encompassed with diverse aspects of balladry found considerable success in the decade.

#21—40

21. Stevie Nicks

22. Journey

23. Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show

24. Player

25. Barry Manilow

26. Ambrosia

27. Hootie & the Blowfish

28. Steely Dan

29. John Mayer

30. Hall & Oates

31. Five for Fighting

32. Chad & Jeremy

33. Smokie

34. Captain & Tennille

35. Wings

36. Stephen Bishop

37. Little River Band

38. Atlanta Rhythm Section

39. The Fray

40. The Doobie Brothers

The Doobie Brothers (pictured here in 1977) were pioneers of yacht rock, a subset of soft rock that emphasized danceable grooves as much as melody.

The Rise of Yacht Rock

Yacht rock, a musical style with a broad spectrum of influences and aesthetics came to the forefront through the soft rock movement in the ‘70s. In the early ‘70s certain soft rock bands started experimenting with their sound by adding varying progressive soundscapes from both mainstream and non-mainstream genres.

This musical exploration shaped the yacht rock sound. While light rock bands showcased a diverse pop-rock musicality in their songs, yacht rock acts also incorporated elements of smooth jazz, R&B, disco, and smooth soul in their compositions. While yacht rock employed similar stylistic traits such as high-quality production and catchy melodies, what differentiated yacht rock from soft rock was the broad spectrum of musical influences from non-mainstream genres.

Introspective Individualism

Yacht rock represented a form of introspective individualism that came into prominence after the mass-movement idealism of the ‘60s faded. Several yacht rock artists collaborated with artists from pop and rock genres to create a sophisticated pop-rock blend of songs.

Although yacht rock closely associated with different styles of soft rock, it emphasized more on a groove-based melody with a saccharine-like honesty with lyrics. The light emotions expressed in different yacht rock songs resonate an anthemic quality with a feelgood bounce in the chorus and verse of songs.

#41—60

41. Toto

42. Art Garfunkel

43. Harry Nilsson

44. The Alan Parsons Project

45. Carly Simon

46. Carole King

47. John Denver

48. Leo Sayer

49. America

50. Olivia Newton-John

51. Kenny Loggins

52. Savage Garden

53. Mike and the Mechanics

54. Roxette

55. Styx

56. David Gates

57. Poco

58. Cat Stevens

59. Jackson Browne

60. Harry Chapin

Few artists better embody '80s soft rock than Air Supply. "Lost in Love" was the first of eight Top 5 singles for the duo between 1979 and 1983.
MasterZed17, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons/Photoscape

Soft Rock Evolves in the 1980s and ‘90s

Soft rock evolved a great deal in the ‘80s. As new sounds emerged in the decade, a great number of soft rock artists transitioned their music style in a new direction. Incorporating ultra-urban synthesized sounds and equipped with a new wave of influences these bands and artists reinvented the sound of light rock music.

While glam metal became the defining moment of the ‘80s, a fair share of soft rock bands had chart-topping success. Different types of ballads became hugely popular in the decade. Several glam metal bands started being associated with soft rock for their hard-edged rock love songs. Soft rock bands in the ‘80s created a unique identity for themselves with their sentimental ballads.

With the dawn of the ‘90s, soft rock manifested itself in mainstream in different ways. Certain alternative acts and indie pop acts of the decade started being identified with soft rock because of the pop-centric rock sounds. Certain hard rock bands and glam metal bands had a great deal of commercial success with their soft rock singles early in the decade.

Alongside alternative and grunge, acoustic rock in the ‘90s had a distinctively unique sound that changed the soft rock blueprint in the decade. Different types of acoustic rock love songs and guitar ballads became excessively popular in the soft rock domain in the ‘90s.

#61—80

61. Richard Marx

62. Jack Johnson

63. Bonnie Tyler

64. Wet Wet Wet

65. Jim Croce

66. Three Dog Night

67. Amy Grant

68. Roxy Music

69. Todd Rundgren

70. Genesis

71. Alessi Brothers

72. Supertramp

73. Paul Anka

74. Al Stewart

75. Christopher Cross

76. Climax Blues Band

77. Andrew Gold

78. Firefall

79. Sad Café

80. Crowded House

James Blunt became the face of soft rock in the 2000s as songs like "You're Beautiful" (2005) and "1973" (2007) were inescapable on radio.
Wikipedia Commons

Soft Rock in the 21st Century

The 2000s ushered a new era of musical soundscapes for soft rock. As electronic sounds came into the mainstream, the musical landscape changed dramatically. Emerging bands and artists associated with pop music and rock music started incorporating diverse elements of EDM in their scheme of things.

Several synthpop, dance-pop, and electropop artists started infusing elements of soft rock in their dance-oriented tunes to create a diverse ambience of sounds. This dance-flavored music with stylistic elements from different genres became hugely popular with urban audiences.

Soft Rock Mixing with Electronica

Since the 2010s, the sound of soft rock has been dominated by pop rock and alternative bands. Acoustic-laced pop punk ballads have become exceedingly popular in alternative genres. In present times, a subtle mix of acoustic folk, dance, and rock combined with eclectic electronic elements has become popular with new bands and artists.

Breathy techniques interspersed with whisper-vocal delivery are showcased in unique ways in modern soft rock songs. Considering the radio-friendly sound of soft rock, one can say this format is only going to get bigger in the days ahead.