Top 10 Countries With the Best Music

The Beatles, Queen, Elton John, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Anne-Marie, Spice Girls and many, many more. The list could go on, and on. While many of the other countries here have created some of the best musical talents, the UK deserves the top spot for having as many iconic acts as it does. And that's just going on about the musicians, and doesn't even start to cover the music they make. So in this case, the UK is a natural choice for top spot on this list.

No countries music come near the United Kingdom. There music has truly changed the world from bands like the Beatles and Queen too traditional Scottish dance music. It's also home to the greatest girl band and boy band of all time the Beatles and the Spice girls. The Beatles have had more number one hits than anyone. It also is home to many different modern musicians such as Ed Sheeran and One Direction.

They've conquered all the continents of the world, and all the genres of art. The best music is British, no matter the genre. Anything from Elo to Queen, Rolling Stones, The Sex Pistols, Enter Shikari, Amy Winehouse, The Prodigy, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Arctic Monkeys, Blur/Gorillaz, Oasis, The Clash, Muse, Robbie Williams, Bullet for my Valentine, Fatboy Slim, Judas Priest The Streets, Dizzee Rascal, Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead to name the least.

A proud nation of artists.

I vote for the UK, but the US is clearly up there, with Canada at #3

this is how it works - the uk takes music, and puts a new spin on it, it's the innovative variety and distinctive nature of all the top uk bands and artists that makes uk the number one for me.

A lot of music genres have started in the US. that is historical fact. The US goes on to make better money while the UK goes on to make better music

When music from the rest of the world eg india, africa finally goes world wide it's my bet that the UK will be at the centre of it, and they will still be playing country in the US.

While I do appreciate UK's music I'm biased towards American music. Toto is American band, my two favourite boys of soul Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye were American. Frankly my music library is American.

UK might have the best music if we disregard the last 2-3 decades. It's hard to argue with Queen, The Clash, Maiden, etc. Practically all the bands from the 70s-80s that still hold up today in my eyes and that I love are from the UK. If you're talking purely modern music though, US takes it. UK has for too long been nothing but pretentious indie rock nonsense and a bunch of cheap copies of The Strokes, of which Arctic Monkeys is the only one that's actually any good. You can keep your Franz Ferdnands and your Libertines, we have the original, superior product. US has great rock, blues, prog, post-hardcore, grunge. We absolutely own at modern rock and all its subgenres with bands like Alabama Shakes, White Stripes, Black Keys, Strokes, At the Drive-In, Mars Volta, Nirvana. And don't even get me started on rap. Nobody even comes within a million miles of touching our rap game.

I'm always torn between the UK and the US, but the amount of time the UK is presented as far superior is reason enough for me to vote for the US. Yes, the UK had some incredible musicians, they had the better Progressive music by a landslide; Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Van der Graaf Generator, Jethro Tull, Genesis...
The US on the other hand had The Beach Boys, who, in my opinion, aren't just the greatest band of all time, they are the most innovative and most versatile, released the greatest album of all time, had one of the best and longest strings of great albums (Pet Sounds 'til Holland, 9 albums), and are among the most influential. Besides them though, the US also had the greatest lyricists, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, one of the most experimental, Frank Zappa, as well as the most technically skilled and one of the most versatile bands, Toto.

The USA has the best music out of all the countries. Now I'm not saying that other countries don't make fantastic music, but how can you compete with the King of Pop Michael Jackson, the King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley. Not to mention Frank Sinatra, and the best trumpet player of all time Louis Armstrong. And rock and roll was born in this country. Just like jazz and the Blues and pop and many other kinds of music. Aerosmith, and Metallica also come from the USA. plus other artists like the Black Eyed Peas, Madonna, Garth Brooks, Whitney Houston, etc. And many other bands and singers may have been born in other countries, but when they came to the United States, they made their best music. For example: U2, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, etc. this is the best country for music. Without a doubt.

Honestly, it's not much of a competition. Once you pass the silver-spoon native english speaking countries and you're onto the countries that climb the list on their musical merits alone, there's really only one option for the #1

If you're into metal, the Nordic countries, and Sweden no less, is really ground zero. Whether we're talking black metal (Marduk, Arckanum, Armagedda, Dark Funeral and the PIONEERS of the genre Bathory), doom/gothic doom metal (Candlemass, Count Raven, Draconian) or the Swedish specialty, death metal (Amon Amarth, Dismember, Entombed, Bloodbath, Arch Enemy, At the Gates), Sweden is, at least per capita, unmatched. But oh it doesn't end at metal music, oh no

Sweden has successful bands and artists in every genre, from the above-mentioned metal to the oh so famous Swedish pop. As if this was not enough, a VERY significant portion of America's biggest pop hits were written by Swedes (as well as Azerbaijan's winning Eurovision song from 2011 ). This, combined with a population of 10 million, makes for, in my opinion, the greatest music industry in the world. It's not about sheer numbers, it's about quality, and no other country has artists that are as consistently excellent in SO ...more

Abba, Robyn, Avicii, Swedish House Mafia, Roxette, The Cardigans, Europe, Hammerfall, In Flames, Johnossi, Kent, The Hives, Melody Club, Rednex, Sabaton, Sahara Hotnights, The Sounds, Amanda Jenssen, Lykke Li, Agnes, Ana Johnson to name a few Swedish artists.

And don't forget that Sweden have a lot of songwriters and producers that writes music for musicians, bands and artists all over the world, Max Martin is an perfect example of that.

Sweden produced so many amazing Metal bands over the years, especially in Melodic Death Metal and Folk Metal. Opeth, Amon Amarth Dark Tranquility, Arch Enemy, Entombed, At The Gates, In Flames, Bathory, Hypocrisy, Sabaton, etc are just a few of the bands that originated from Sweden.

Classical: Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Bach, Schubert. I doubt there is any other country coming even close to this.

Electronic: Kraftwerk. Electronic music originated in Germany and Britain, but there are few bands whose contribution is comparable.

Metal: Rammstein, Scorpions. Both are among the best metal bands. Only problem is Rammstein sings mostly in German.

All (or at least) most of the credit for classical music and the best musicians go to Germany... How can we ignore this? Even modern bands like Modern Talking and Rammstein, Running Wild and many more are all German... German is among the top 3...

The foundation of Western music comes from Germany. There would be no Beatles or Rolling Stones sound without the great classical composers. So everybody who doesn't vote Germany has no clue about music at all.

Whats so great about germanys music is that many classical artists are from there like Beethoven and Bach but there's also great Metal bands like Kreator, Sodom, Accept, Helloween and the best of all Blind Guardian which is one of the best bands ever.

I love all music in Canada.
Canada: "Thank you India"
India: For what.
Canada: For a Canadian artist using your country's name in their song.
India: You're welcome Canada!

Too many good bands to name despite a population that is dwarfed by its bigger friends. Trooper, rush, three days grace, three doors down, april wine, sum 41, not to mention Justin beiber is a talented artist or he wouldn't be where he was (any non biased musician will tell you that) as well as drake (who owns the rap game right now) as well as the Weeknd. Alexisonfire, dead and divine, protest the hero. The list goes on for a while. that's why I think this country makes the best music.

Canada should be above Sweden on this list. Sweden doesn't have an many internationally acclaimed music giants as Canada has (with the except of the immortal ABBA, of course). Think of this. Bryan Adams. Arcade Fire. Rush. The Band. Barenaked Ladies. Oscar Peterson. Tragically Hip. Blue Rodeo. Nickelback. You can 1000% understand that the UK and the US are #1 and #2 respectively, but Canada should be third, with Sweden in fourth.

Just. Yes. April Wine, Sum 41, Trooper, and not to mention one of the best rock bands of all time, RUSH, and perhaps the most lyrically-talented man on this planet, Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip, it's pretty obvious that Canada dominates in the name of music.

Well, there are mediocre singers like Gotye and Guy Sebastian. Keith Urban is incredible, however he was actually born in New Zealand, even though he is usually considered Australian.

Australia are the future of music. Tame Impala, Flume, Pond, Violent Soho, The Rubens, Birds Of Tokyo, The Temper Trap, D.D. Dumbo, The Murlocs, The Paper Kites, Gotye, Chet Faker, and the greatest band of all time: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard!

Australia could be much higher up this list. But it loses many points for giving the world Rolf Harris.

From Australia, there's also natalie imbruglia, keith urban, gotye, and olivia newton-john.

Most of the super group/influential "British" bands are actually English. Therefore I would say Not "British" but English :-
Led Zeppelin, Yes, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Queen, The Who, Free, The Kinks, King Crimson, Camel, Hawkwind, Motorhead... and so on...

One of the super heavyweights of the music world indeed.

Nearly as good as the UK, Isle of Man are third!

Indian music is very versatile and unique and we have also produced a lot of world renowned artists such as A.R. Rahman (won two academy awards), Shreya Goshal (Ohio declared June 26 Shreya Goshal day), Arijit Singh (Tum hi ho is probably the most famous Indian song in world and he's also the most listened to Asian artist on Spotify) and the legends Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, and Lata Mangeshkar's songs are still listened to by Indian youth even today. Our national anthem is also voted consistently in the top ten (although all the national anthems are beautiful and special in their own way).

I loved Bollywood until very recently (nowadays their content is very generic and their music has started becoming more westernised and less authentic). However, my playlists are still dominated by movie albums such as Kabir Singh, Aashiqui 2, Rockstar, Udta Punjab, Mirzya (which also had Pakistani singers), Ae Dil hai Mushkil, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Lata ji, Kaushiki Chakraborty, Asha ji, Kumar sanu and more.

I love the sound of their music and the runs that they do sound so melodious and makes their language seem almost like honey. Although I don't understand what they say I can feel the emotions in their songs and my favourite is definitely Tum hi ho by Arijit Singh.

Although just like any other country this doesn't apply to ALL Indians and we should know that already. But sorry to say I have definitely lost all respect for India as a nation. I work in charity. And I am deeply saddened by the state of the Rohingya Muslim community in Burma being massacred. I have seen many Indians condoning the massacre of these people and from what I also see is Hindu communities being repulsive to Muslims without a care that innocent women and children are being butchered. The things I generally read from Indians clearly shows their immense hatred towards other certain nationalities or beliefs and its absolutely rude and sick.

LiSA, Eir Aoi, and Luna Haruna are the best! They sing a lot of good songs for Sword Art Online! Not to mention FLOW is known for a lot of good songs for Naruto and Code Geass! And finally, Linked Horizon sings one of the best opening songs ever for the anime Attack on Titan!

Japan - Amuro Namie, Jin Akanishi, X4, the-ICE, E-Girls, Flowers ( not just anime) much better than K-Pop. J-POP been out longer than K-Pop. And Japan is second largest music production, in the world. 3rd, largest film production, after China and US.

Probably the most versatile. Can be compared with every genre there is and would probably be the best. It will always exceed in melancholic songs and rock songs. Should be at least top 3.

I don't know if it's because of the language but in Japan you don't even have to rhyme to sound awesome! Some of my favorite bands include One Ok Rock, The Gazette, Girugamesh and Man With a Mission.

France has proven during centuries is place about music and even today excels in underground, pop rock, jazz, Hip-Hop, RAP, RnB, alternative, classic and french music benefits from all countries roots.

France should be somewhere after cana day and sweden. There are so many french edm musicians, and it's one of the largest languages in the world, much larger and popular than german or japanese.

The best rhythm, positive energy and even though you don't understand lyrics, you fall in love! I just love it so much (and no, I'm not French).

France has a very deep supply of very good music in virtually all music genres, in particular in electronic, rap and metal.

The best opera music ever...and not only...folk, do not always think the unique world things are from UK or USA... their music are low cultured like everything born the last decadent century

My two favorite Italian composers have got to be ennio morricone and nino rota, And my two favorite Italian bands are lacuna coil and rhapsody of fire.

Maybe not well known as english or american ones, but italians made music. From singers to bands to composers to opera (created by italians).

The music of this period isn't very good but the music of the past or of the 20th century was very very good. Italy is fantastic.

Norway has way better music than Sweden but Sweden is somehow way above Norway. Sweden is a perfect example of an overrated country. People overrate just about everything in Sweden while they continue to underrate Norway.

Norway has the best black metal and has great folk music. Norway has the best music is you like atmospheric stuff, especially atmospheric metal. Bands like Burzum and Ulver will blow you away

I came to this list for folk music and traditional music that you'd hear in the canals of Venice or the streets of Paris not black metal or classic rock. It has awesome folk music

The pop scene is very electronic, but in a much less harsh way than what I often see; it's modern and chill.

These guys really work hard to put out very different and complex music. In Kpop, it is apparent when headliners like Girls' Generation, BoA, 2NE1, SHINee, and 2PM release new songs that they have come a long way. All of these artists work nonstop, not only releasing Korean tracks, but also Japanese, Mandarin, and even some English. They are reaching out to the rest of Asia, and the world. Last month alone, tons of South Korean idols released comeback albums, singles, mini-albums, and music videos. I hope more people will appreciate South Korean Music and Culture more.

The Korean music industry is ridiculously developed. Music is a large part of modern Korean culture, and Korean artists have fanbases that span the entire globe. The language barrier hardly exists for international fans, as English lyrics are included in most songs to boost global appeal, and artists hold world tours. Idols train for years, sometimes a decade, to ensure that mainstream Korean music is flushed with undeniable talent. Unlike most Western artists, Korean groups and solo acts release new content every few months, so the music is always evolving. It's not just 'K-Pop' anymore; there are dozens of genres represented in Korean music so everyone can find something they enjoy. The artistic presentation, too, puts SK on another level, from group choreography to detailed album packaging. Once someone is introduced to Korean music, they can't deny that South Korea has perhaps the most intense music scene in the world.

They work to make sure that people can relate to their music and that they've given their all and more into what they've produced. They succeed all limits and really move people from places like Australia to places like Canada. BTS started from a small label but still beat the chances. Big Bang have been the "kings of kpop" for a decade now. Korean idols don't disappoint. Their are many people who underestimate South Korea when it comes to the music industry but once they actually take the time to check out a kpop music video, there are next to no chances they wont come back for more. South Korea will continue to attract people to their amazing music and will continue to inspire people all ver the world

I personally think Korea should be higher up on the list. I do respect every music culture, however I believe in the last 20 years, Korea has accomplished many things in the music industry. As most of you know, there is K-pop, which is loved by tons of people around the globe, attracting fans with their style and music. There are variety of music shows that cover each genre of music. One of my favourite groups/singers is Bigbang. Unlike other K-pop groups, they tend to focus more on music itself than the other components of an K-pop Idol. They are good at dancing but their music is what makes them standout and lead the K-pop culture. by the way, don't assume Psy's music style is the mainstream music in Korea lol.

I've listened to everything. Literally everything. From rock to metal to hip hop to rap to dance to edm to pop to folk. Name a band or artist and I will most likely know their music. And from my experience with music NOTHING stands up to Brazilian music. Listen to someone like Jorge Ben and you will see where I'm coming from.

For me Brazil is top 05 for sure! Brmuch of its music is original and not imported from other countries. There is country that just remake styles and ryhtms from USA or UK but did not bring something unique to music. Brazil is like USA and UK because there is dozen of unique music scenario.

Brazil has an awesome music scene. The blend of different cultures is amazing. I love percussion based music in any genre. Brazilian music is just really upbeat, alive and rhythmic.

Brazil has without any doubts the best music artists. They reason is simple: they use their heart to sing. everyone who has been in Brazil knows what I am talking about. you will find excellent street artists their. Brazilian music is not very popular because they sing in portugues and so it doesn't get through the filters of USA and UK. just think about bossa nova, samba, forro, funk, sertanejo

Has everybody forgot about the eurovision winner's Lordi, ando which is worse they have the representation of the Rasmus too. I think they have to be in higher places on this list

My favorite finnish bands are nightwish, ensiferum, apocalyptica, lordi, finntroll, and wintersun.

Still wondering why Finland's 20, they make great metal/rock. Korpiklaani is the best.

Japan? Seriously?
Also USA is way to high up here. Children of Bodom kicks Metallica's ass any day.

The Russian music scene, though often overlooked by the West, is home to many of the greatest artists on earth. Take it from someone who has no relation to Russia whatsoever, I am simply an enthusiast. To name a few, Sergey Bezrukov and Russian band Lyube have perfectly cultivated the feeling of beautiful, nostalgic sadness, along with the historical, happy feeling that comes purely from Russian music. Vintazh and the all-girl group Blestyaschie provide some of the best pop music in the world to younger listeners.

The problem with American music is that it seems to be afraid to show emotion. They can be singing these really sad songs, but the singer is like 'I don't want it to be too depressing or no one will listen to it". There are too many major chords. Russian music on the other hand is not afraid to be depressing. If it's a sad song, the music is also sad. If it's a happy song, then it's more upbeat. Just as it should be.

I am from russian-speaking country. Even thought I don't listen to music in Russian, Russia has lots of great musicians. Pop, rap, even metal. Soviet and modern music. Not to mention some classical music.

Why is Russia so low? Are people forgetting that it's home to some of the greatest classical composers of all time? Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Rimsky- Korsakov, Rachmaninov just to name a few!

Though only having about 3 million citizens, the entire world knows Jamaican music. They have created their own musical language in Reggae, Roots, Dub, Dancehall etc.

Artists like Bob Marley and The Skatalites are know all across the world.

Knowing that Bob Marley comes from Jamaica, and then knowing these amazing other bands and singers that come from this tiny place, 14th is really good for a tiny country in the Caribbean.

Jamaica's has produced numerous genres of music that form the backbone of many popular other styles today. Jamaican music has culture and flare. You can cry, you can simma down or you can have a dance with some friends.

"When music hits you you feel no pain" BoB Marley. Spiritual. Music its here, music of vibes its here too and what about other genres. Dancehall, reggae, jazz and blues etc

Listen to flamenco music. Just listen to that raw unadulterated passion expressed through song, guitar and dance. Music with such passion deserves to be recognised.

Over rated music. The flamenco is just a bunch of screaming. Their music is stolen from the Muslims who occupied Spain and is not really theirs.

Spanish music is not only flamenco. We have a ton of good pop artists. Also, the new wave of trap musicians is fire.

Traditional Flamenco music, Spanish Guitar, Enrique Iglesias...this country deserves to be higher.

I would not compare Pakistani bands to American or English classics, but they have this eccentric feel that is distinctive to any other band. Pakistani music industry, as versatile as it is, defines true music be it classical folk music or rock/metal. Platforms like Nescafe Basement and Coke Studio is the pinnacle of music in its own. With the existence of bands like Junoon, Strings, Vital Signs, Entity Paradigm, Noori, Jal, Call, Fuzon and many more, our music portrays our culture and is unprecedented. For me Pakistan has one of the best music bands/artists and music in general. Period. We take proud in our country's music.

Pakistan I think is the best ever singer producer country. Most iconic singers that this country has produces are Nusrat Fateh Ali khan, Abida Parveen, Mehdi Hassan, Rahat Fateh Ali khan,Atif Aslam, Noor Jehan, Ghulam ali,Shafqat amanat ali these are the icons of pakistan . Being pakistani I feel very proud that these icons are world renowned artists.

Pakistan has always been a powerhouse of amazing music and artists. It's a real shame that corrupt fundamentals like Zia had to ruin the whole scene. There could have been a balance. Those were the days Pakistan had only just started to shine, on top of people like Zia you had Indian music/film directors plagiarising Pakistani songs which is wrong in itself. Pakistan already had started working its way up with little resources and global limelight and it was unfortunate that those working in Bollywood decided to take credit. But today with the likes of Coke Studio, growth of Lollywood and popularity of T.V. drama songs PK is already up to its potential and will only continue

What really irks me is how Coke Studio doesn't get a lot of recognition in the world, even coca cola champions 'Coke Studio @ MTV' which is Indian. But Coke Studio itself which is Pakistani, but isn't labeled Pakistani openly compared to Indian version, is underrated. Why is Coke Studio, a platform showcasing so vast talent of singers and musicians from Pakistan so underrated. It shouldn't be about nationalities, but I just wonder.

New Zealand has many talented stars that have made it to the top of the charts. Think Lorde, Kimbra, etc.

Well, we have Stan Walker (I don't know if he is a kiwi or a Australian) and that's about it...

The birth-place of Keith Urban!

This country gave us Lorde.

I'm shocked at how low this is. If we're on about music today then yeah, Iran does deserve to be pretty low. But, if we're talking about TRUE Persian music (until the early 2000's) this should probably be in the top 10 or 15. Iran has so many instruments that other's don't have, so you know when your hearing Persian music right off the bat. Many famous staples of Persian music are Vigen, Hayedeh, Moein, Iraj Khajeamiri, Dariush, the list goes on and on. Persian music also made a large impact in ancient times. Even with the current Iranian government crippling the people and their freedom, music helps us get through everything. If you've read till this point, thanks for reading.

I am looking for something that is this good! it simply plays with the soul

Too low on the list!

Netherlands produces the best music in the world because most of the best DJ's in the world are from The Netherlands. If you're a fan of electronic music just like me, then Netherlands is the choice for you. So I think it should be #1 and not #43.

This is the country that also gave us the van halen brothers.

My all time favorite dutch band is within temptation.

Tom Jones, Catatonia, Shirley Bassey, Manic Street Preachers, Feeder, Catfish & The Bottlemen etc. etc. For a country with a population of only 3 million, they've produced some amazing musicians.