| 100% | RADIOHEAD | 9 | "Creep" band whose original name was On a Friday |
| 59% | ALDA | 4 | Actor whose original name was D'Abruzzo and who went on to play a noted Captain |
| 55% | PEARLJAM | 8 | "Jeremy" band whose original name was Mookie Blaylock: 2 wds. |
| 54% | GREENDAY | 8 | "American Idiot" band whose original name was Sweet Children: 2 wds. |
| 54% | BEACHBOYS | 9 | "Good Vibrations" band whose original name was the Pendletones: 2 wds. |
| 51% | ABBA | 4 | Band whose name is a palindrome |
| 51% | ABA | 3 | Band whose name is a rhyme scheme |
| 50% | REM | 3 | Band whose original members' last names were Stipe, Berry, Buck, and Mills |
| 49% | ABBA | 4 | Band whose name is sometimes rendered with a backward B |
| 48% | TALKINGHEADS | 12 | Band whose name was taken from a term in TV Guide |
| 48% | OKGO | 4 | Indie band whose name is a two-word command |
| 48% | ASIA | 4 | "Heat of the Moment" band whose name is a continent |
| 48% | XTC | 3 | British band whose name is also slang for a drug |
| 47% | JUDASPRIEST | 11 | Heavy metal band whose name is a euphemism for "Jesus Christ!" |
| 47% | ACDC | 4 | Hard-rock band whose name is stylized with a lightning bolt |
| 47% | RADIOHEAD | 9 | "Paranoid Android" band whose name was inspired by a Talking Heads song |
| 46% | ALT | 3 | ___-J (indie-rock band whose name is a keyboard shortcut for the symbol ∆) |
| 45% | ASIA | 4 | 1980s band whose name is also a continent |
| 45% | MEN | 3 | Of Mice and ___, "Restoring Force" band whose name is inspired by a John Steinbeck novel |
| 45% | MRT | 3 | Actor whose original name was Laurence Tureaud |
| 45% | DEEP | 4 | ___ Purple, "Smoke on the Water" band whose name was inspired by a Peter DeRose song |
| 45% | ROMANCE | 7 | My Chemical ___, "Helena" band whose name is inspired by a collection of novellas by Irvine Welsh |
| 45% | LUMINEERS | 9 | With “the,” band whose “Nightshade” is a track on the “Game of Thrones” soundtrack (April, 2019) |
| 44% | JACOBRIIS | 9 | New York social reformer whose name is on a Manhattan housing project |
| 44% | STAR | 4 | Actor whose name is in big letters on a movie poster |
| 43% | ROLLING | 7 | The ___ Stones, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" band whose name was inspired by a Muddy Waters song |
| 43% | LAYLA | 5 | Song on Eric Clapton's "Unplugged" album whose title is a woman's name |
| 43% | EMF | 3 | British rock band whose name is also a circuitry term |
| 43% | LALAW | 5 | NBC series whose name was seen on a license plate |
| 43% | RADLEYS | 7 | The Boo ___, "Wake Up Boo!" band whose name is inspired by Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" |