Counting Crows are a rock band that became extremely popular in 1994, following the release of their debut album August and Everything After, which featured the hit song "Mr. Jones".

The band was formed by singer Adam Duritz (formerly of The Himalayans) and guitarist David Bryson in San Francisco in 1991. Duritz had also contributed to recordings by Bay Area group Sordid Humor, although he was never a member of the band. Counting Crows originally performed as an acoustic duo, playing gigs in and around Berkeley and San Francisco. After adding members, the band was signed to Geffen.

Counting Crows, with their intimate and melancholy approach, suddenly achieved a large fan base among those Generation X alternative rock fans that were looking for something different from the raging guitars of the Seattle scene.

In 1999, Counting Crows released "This Desert Life" which featured the song "Colorblind" which was featured in the movie "Cruel Intentions".

Counting Crows covered (2002) an old Joni Mitchell song, "Big Yellow Taxi," featured on the album Hard Candy as well as on the soundtrack to the movie Two Weeks Notice, starring Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock. Vanessa Carlton sings the backing vocals on the single edit of the song, a major hit that brought new (and young) fans to the band. The band's more eclectic covers have included Rod Stewart's "Maggie May," Oasis' "Cigarettes & Alcohol", Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City," the Grateful Dead's "Friend of the Devil," and Gram Parsons' alt-country classic "Return of the Grievous Angel."

In November 2003, they released their newest "best of..." album, Films About Ghosts. They also toured in 2003 with John Mayer, Maroon 5 and Graham Colton Band.

In the summer of 2004, Counting Crows released the song "Accidentally in Love" for the soundtrack of the computer-animated movie Shrek 2. The song was nominated for an Academy Award. Later versions of the Crows' 2003 greatest-hits disc include "Accidentally in Love."

Counting Crows' lead singer Adam Duritz's vocal style has often been compared to those of Van Morrison and Bob Dylan.

North Carolina metalcore band, Between the Buried and Me take their name from a Counting Crows song off of the album August and Everything After, "Ghost Train."

The Counting Crows' lyrics (composed primarily by Adam Duritz) frequently deal with aspects of ordinary life, and in even their most upbeat songs, somber untertones are often present.