The Ten Most Awesome Fictional Rock Stars

Who says a rock star has to be real to be awesome? With all of the movies, books and songs about the music industry (or otherwise featuring fake bands), there's a wide range of fictional musicians to love. Unlike real musicians, they'll never let you down by putting out a lame follow-up album or growing old in the spotlight.

Although we couldn't include any animated bands (cartoons wouldn't be that fun to hang out with), the Blues Brothers (not really 'rock star' types), or Andy Dwyer (Mouse Rat just never made it big enough), here are ten fictional rockers way cooler than Chris Gaines.

10. Scott Pilgrim
Alright, so Scott Pilgrim wasn't the most important member of Sex Bob-omb, and he certainly wasn't the coolest (no one can compete with Kim), but is there any doubt that he made them rock the hardest? Plus, let's not forget that he led his group to dominate the craziest battle of the bands ever seen, all while dealing with some serious girl issues. Every great rock star has their relationship problems.

9. Reverend Strychnine Twitch
What do you do when your little pop-punk band gets so big that you really can't play small or mid-size shows anymore? You create a ridiculous garage-rock band under a fake name and don't tell hardly anyone about it. The secret of Foxboro Hot Tubs might've been leaked before they could even put out their first album, but it doesn't make them any less awesome of a fake band.
8. Eric Draven
Based on style and guitar abilities alone, Eric Draven probably deserves a spot on this list anyway. Granted, the Crow has become the go-to Halloween costume for guys who think they'll look way cooler than they really will, but that's just because the character in the movie pulled it off so well. That's not even counting the fact that he comes back from the dead with superpowers to kill a bunch of gangster rapists/murderers and teach a kid some important lessons in life.

7. Hedwig Robinson
Considering that Hedwig and the Angry Inch originally hit the stage in 1998 (the movie came out in 2001), it seems like the plot and characters are more fitting now than ever. Way before the current wave of musicians were talking about gender fluidity, marriage equality, and immigration, Hedwig covered all of it. Of course, it helps that Hedwig also rocks far more than most theatrical performances, and does just fine on film as well.

6. Dewey Cox
Clearly one of the most diverse and talented musicians on this list, Dewey Cox dabbled in nearly every style of music over the course of his life. Despite living the life of excess for decades on end, Dewey still managed to settle down and have a huge loving family at the end of the day. Also, how much of an awesome rocker do you have to be to die three minutes after your final performance? To do any better, you'd have to literally croak on-stage.

5. Chris "Izzy" Cole
Everybody loves a good underdog story, and Chris "Izzy" Cole is just that. Steel Dragon, of the 2001 film Rock Star, was already everything we hated about '80s metal bands, but bringing in a singer from a tribute band (and his super hot girlfriend/manager) made them a lot more bearable. We're not sure we'd want to hang out with Cole (he seems like kind of a dick), but for someone who went from photocopier technician to frontman pretty much overnight, he's totally got the whole "rock star" thing down.
4. Russell Hammond
When it comes to fictional rock bands, Stillwater has to be considered one of the best ever. If Russell Hammond had been a little bit nicer to everyone else in the band, there's a good chance he'd be at the top of this list, but isn't the selfish nature of a rock star (like putting the rest of your band in your shadow on the band's t-shirt) part of the allure? Sure, he wouldn't be the same without Penny Lane and that snot-nosed reporter following him around, but they wouldn't be anything if it wasn't for Russell Hammond.

3. Aldous Snow
Speaking of characters who are better at the rock 'n' roll lifestyle than most actual musicians, the Infant Sorrow singer might have the most excessive rock star life of them all. From his sweet love ballads to a certain TV star ("Inside of You") and tumultuous relationship with Jackie Q to his complete disregard for society's perceived rules and laws, Aldous Snow might just be the greatest rock star of the 21st century (real or fake), even if he did release songs like "African Child."

2. Ziggy Stardust
Let's be honest, there are a lot of rock stars who might be from a different planet. Ziggy Stardust just happened to be the best of them. When a rock legend decides to invent an alter-ego, it's either going to be great or terrible. If the alter-ego is a bisexual alien with a significant drug problem and his rise and fall happens to lead to one of the greatest albums ever created, it's pretty safe to say he's among the great ones.
1. Nigel Tufnel
If you think of fictional rock bands and you don't immediately think of Spinal Tap, you clearly aren't thinking of the right fictional rock bands. It's such a fine line between stupid and clever, but Spinal Tap is more than clever, they're legendary. Both Nigel Tufnel and David St. Hubbins are totally deserving of being on this list, but we didn't want to put multiple members of the same band on the list. We picked Nigel because, well, his amps go to eleven.