Since its inception in 1991, Lollapalooza has been gold standard for music festivals (ok – maybe not in 2004 when it was cancelled or 1998-2002 when it was on hiatus). Over the past twenty years, the festival’s curators have put together line-ups that have been stellar to the point of incredible … and not just the headliners, many others acts who play the side stages have ended up showing back up as headliners in following years. We’ve gone back and reviewed every lineup and ranked them from best to worst:
23.) 2004
This tour was cancelled due to low ticket sales ... not sure why - I guess the lineup was a little ahead of its time ...
22.) 1997
This year's lineup was the most lackluster out of all the years .
Headliners: Snoop Dogg, Korn, Julian and Damien Marley, James
Supporting Acts(SA): Beck, a bright spot - appeared on the side stage
21.) 1993
I had to use all the headliners on this one, enough said.
Headliners: Alice in Chains, Primus, George Clinton, Rage Against the Machine
SA: Tool
20.) 1995
Another year with only a couple of really notable, great acts.
Headlining: Sonic Youth, Cypress Hill, Beck, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
SA: Patti Smith, Moby
19.) 2003 -
Kings of Leon are the only side act that really sticks out.
Headlining: Jane’s Addiction, Audioslave, Incubus, Queens of the Stone Age
SA: Kings of Leon
18.) 1994
Headlining: The Smashing Pumpkins, The Beastie Boys, Greenday
SA: Flaming Lips, The Verve, The Black Crowes
17.) 1996
Headlining: Metallica, Soundgarden, Ramones
SA: Rage Against the Machine, The Violent Femmes, 311
16.) 1991
Lollapalooza’s first year and they had four incredible artist to start it off with and one of the most outrageous band names of all time. I am going to let you figure out the band I am referring to.
Headlining: Jane’s Addiction, Violent Femmes, Ice T, Nine Inch Nails and The Butthole Surfers.
15.) 2006
Headliners: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Death Cab for Cutie, The Raconteurs, The Flaming Lips, Wilco.
SA: Sonic Youth, The Shins, My Morning Jacket, The New p*rnographers, Queens of the Stone Age.
14.) 2011
Headliners: Foo Fighters, Muse, Coldplay, My Morning Jacket.
SA: Arctic Monkeys, Foster the People.
13.). 2014
There were a good amount of side acts that could’ve been headliners and that is why it is number eleven.
Headlines: Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys
SA: Lorde, Spoon, Foster the People, Avett Brothers, Broken Bells, Cage the Elephant
12.) 2005
Headliners: Weezer, Pixies, The Killers
SA: Death Cab for Cutie, Arcade Fire, Spoon, The Black Keys, Billy Idol
11.) 2013
Headliners: Mumford and Sons, The Killers, The Cure, Phoenix.
SA: Vampire Weekend, The National, Lana Del Rey, Alt-J, Grizzly Bear.
10.) 2009
Headliners: Depeche Mode, The Killers, Kings of Leon, Jane’s Addiction.
SA: The Decemberists, Animal Collective, The Arctic Monkeys, Dan Auerbach, Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes.
.jpg "Ranking Lollapalooza's line-ups from 1991-2018 (15)")
9.) 2012 -
Headliners: The Black Keys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack White, Black Sabbath.
SA: Franz Ferdinand, Florence and the Machine, The Shins, Childish Gambino, Tame Impala.
8.) 2010 -There could have been three more headliners that were considered side acts, especially Mumford and Sons who exploded soon after.
Headliners: Sound Garden, The Strokes, Green Day, Arcade Fire, Phoenix, MGMT, The Black Keys.
SA: Dawes, Mumford and Sons, Spoon, The National, Deer Tick, Slightly Stoopid, New p*rnographers.
7.) 2008
Headliners: Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, Wilco
SA: The Raconteurs, Gnarls Barkley, The Black Keys, The National, Blues Traveler, The Kills
6.) 2016
Headliners: Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers
SA: Lana Del Rey, Jane’s Addiction, M83, Two Door Cinema Club, Bastille, Leon Bridges, Griz, Nathaniel Ratlief and the Night Sweats, St. Motel, Strumbellas.
5.) 2018
Headliners: Jack White, The Arctic Monkeys
SA: The National, Vampire Weekend, Odesza, Portugal. The Man, St. Vincent, Greta Van Fleet, Manchester Orchestra, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Borns
4.) 2007
Headliners: Pearl Jam, Daft Punk, Muse, Iggy and the Stooges
SA: Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, Amy Winehouse, Snow Patrol, Patti Smith, Kings of Leon, Spoon, Pete Yorn, The Fratellis, Cold War Kids.
3.) 2015
Headliners: Paul McCartney, Metallica, Florence and the Machine
SA: Alt-J, Alabama Shakes, Of Monsters and Men, Tame Impala, The War on Drugs, Father John Misty, Cold War Kids, Lord Huron, Glass Animals, George Ezra, Moon Taxi, Borns.
2.) 2017
Headliners: The Killers, Muse, Arcade Fire.
SA: The XX, Lorde, Blink-182, Alt-J, Cage the Elephant, The Head and the Heart, Foster the People, The Shins, Liam Gallagher, Glass Animals, Phantogram, Spoon, Milky Chance, Vance Joy, George Ezra, Rag N’ Bone Man, Maggie Rogers.
1.) 1992
Here it is, my number one choice. Firstly, in its second year as a festival, Lollapalooza had the most famous headliners in all of America and their supporting acts were almost just as liked. If it wasn’t for the tour in 1992 and it going so well, Lollapalooza may never have been the powerhouse it is today.
Headliners: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ice Cube, Soundgarden, Pearl Jame, Lush.
SA: Rage Against the Machine, Cypress Hill, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Temple of the Dog..
Please feel free to comment and give your opinion on how you feel about it and if you would change anything.
