Study Reveals Most Popular Rock Band in New Jersey
Crowd during Bon Jovi performance at the Special Announcement at Exclusive Concert at the New Meadowlands Stadium on October 22, 2009 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
These are the bands I grew up with when they were at their height of popularity. It’s when these classic rock bands weren’t called “classic” yet and they were the hottest ticket in the world. Many of them still tour and draw a decent audience. A couple are still selling concert tickets just the way they did back in the day, and some no longer exist.
Like many others, I had two main ways I would learn about the hottest bands in the seventies and eighties. One was having an older brother whose records I would listen to when he wasn’t around. I sneak into his room and grab a few albums to crank up in my room. Sometimes he’d catch me and sometimes he wouldn’t, but it was always worth it.
The other source was simply turning on the radio. Growing up in Philly there were the two main rock stations in the city at that time.
Now, there’s a new study by Sell Easy that may interest you if you had a similar upbringing.
For some, there’s no arguing that rock and roll is the greatest genre of all time. However, when it comes to which band is the best, it will be debated forever.
One company set out to settle the rocker rage and determine which bands were the most popular across the country and in each state. They analyzed search volume data from the past year and mapped the results.
The most searched classic rock band in New Jersey is Bon Jovi! I’ve seen them on three separate occasions (before Richie left). It makes sense that Jersey guys are number one in the Garden State.
According to the research, Bon Jovi is our state’s favorite, but here’s how the rest of the bands stack up.
Countrywide, the Most Searched Classic Rock Bands Van Halen and Guns ‘N Roses most popular in five states each. ZZ Top and Queen came in second with four states each, and the Doobie Brothers in third with three. Five bands tied for fourth, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kiss, Judas Priest, Eagles, and Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Rock on!
Bon Jovi: Their 35 Best Songs, Ranked
Bon Jovi has been active for over four decades, and they aren’t showing signs of slowing down.
Their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career has netted them over 130 million albums sold worldwide and legions of fans spanning generations.
Narrowing down their catalog to a select number of songs and ranking them is a daunting task, but here are Bon Jovi’s 35 best songs, ranked.
The Latest on Bon Jovi
A new docuseries about Bon Jovi is set to premiere on Hulu on April 26. The docuseries is titled Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.
The docuseries also has the cooperation of all Bon Jovi members, both past and present. A teaser trailer of the docuseries offers a supercut of the band’s wild career, including the exit of guitarist Richie Sambora.
Additionally, the teaser trailer shows Jon Bon Jovi in a hospital bed. He’s holding a dry-erase board that simply says, “I’m good.” Meanwhile, an unidentified voiceover says, “Jon’s going through his challenges.” It then cuts to JBJ saying, “It almost killed us.”
The “challenges” appear to be about Bon Jovi’s recent vocal issues, which he discussed during the Pollstar Live! conference in February 2024.
Per Ultimate Classic Rock, Bon Jovi said, “It’s become public knowledge now, but I’ve had major reconstructive surgery in my vocal cords, and I never had anything like this, ever. So it’s been a difficult road, but I found a doctor in Philadelphia who did something called a medialization, because one of my cords was literally atrophied.”
A description of Thank You, Goodnight from Hulu also promises it will delve into the band’s “most public moments of friction.” Of course, this is likely a reference to the 2013 exit of Sambora, who has often talked about the potential of rejoining the band.
Joel Katz is the Morning Show Personality, Assistant Program Director, Podcast Host, Voiceover artist, audio producer, and Digital Content Writer for Magic 98.3. Joel has been working in New Jersey radio since college and started at Magic in 2002 as the Morning Show Host, “I can’t think of another place where I’d fit more perfectly; it’s just a great company with awesome people.” Joel is married to Kathleen, his elementary school sweetheart (they were each other’s first dates at age 9), shares a birthday with his oldest son, Ty, and has twins, Kiera and Liam. Joel runs at least 3.1 miles every day and enjoys playing basketball, doing laundry, saving his turn signal for when he really needs it, kissing dogs through a fence, using coasters, making that cool noise by rubbing his fingers on balloons, and chasing after ping pong balls on a windy cruise ship.