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100 Most Influential Rock 'n' Roll Artists

Criteria: Factored by the following: Cultural Influence, Musical Influence and Performing Influence. Artists from other musical genres from outside rock 'n' roll are not included on this list.

Last Updated: 2010-11-09
Most Influential Rock 'n' Roll Artists
  1. Elvis Presley
  2. The Beatles
  3. James Brown
  4. Bob Dylan
  5. Chuck Berry
  6. Run-D.M.C.
  7. The Jimi Hendrix Experience
  8. Ray Charles
  9. Led Zeppelin
10. Fats Domino
11. Aretha Franklin
12. Clyde McPhatter
13. Little Richard
14. Madonna
15. Buddy Holly & The Crickets
16. Bill Haley & The Comets
17. Michael Jackson
18. The Beach Boys
19. Sam Cooke
20. The Who
21. Bo Diddley
22. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
23. Black Sabbath
24. Johnny Otis
25. Public Enemy
26. Stevie Wonder
27. The Byrds
28. N.W.A
29. The Velvet Underground
30. The Rolling Stones
31. Sonny Til & The Orioles
32. Nirvana
33. Parliament/Funkadelic
34. Tupac Shakur
35. Pink Floyd
36. Prince
37. R.E.M.
38. The Kinks
39. Neil Young
40. Ruth Brown
41. The Ramones
42. The Everly Brothers
43. Afrika Bambaataa
44. The "5" Royales
45. Eddie Cochran
46. Sly & The Family Stone
47. The Supremes
48. Cream
49. The Beastie Boys
50. Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
51. The Clash
52. David Bowie
53. Link Wray
54. Big Joe Turner
55. The Shirelles
56. Marvin Gaye
57. LL Cool J
58. Roy Orbison
59. Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
60. The Stooges
61. Joni Mitchell
62. Carl Perkins
63. Jesse Belvin
64. Van Halen
65. Motorhead
66. The Sonics
67. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
68. Queen
69. The Yardbirds
70. Screamin' Jay Hawkins
71. Kurtis Blow
72. Eric B. & Rakim
73. Bob Marley
74. Van Morrison
75. U2
76. The Clovers
77. King Crimson
78. Professor Longhair
79. The Band
80. Metallica
81. Janet Jackson
82. Ice-T
83. Hank Ballard & The Midnighters
84. Little Willie John
85. Frank Zappa
86. The Grateful Dead
87. Otis Redding
88. Janis Joplin
89. The Doors
90. Del Shannon
91. The Ronettes
92. The MC5
93. The Temptations
94. Chic
95. Deep Purple
96. The Flamingos
97. Patti Smith
98. The Isley Brothers
99. Rush
100. The Sex Pistols


Most Influential Producers


1. Sam Phillips

2. Phil Spector

3. Jerry Leiber
      & Mike Stoller

4. Dr. Dre

5. Kenny Gamble
      & Leon Huff

6. Brian Wilson

7. Dave Bartholomew

8. Brian Holland
      & Lamont Dozier

9. George Martin

10. Bernard Edwards
      & Niles Rogers

11. Mutt Lange

12. Todd Rundgren

13. Luther Dixon

14. Bumps Blackwell

15. Jerry Wexler

16. Rick Rubin

17. Allan Toussaint

18. Chips Moman

19. The Bomb Squad

20. Lee "Scratch" Perry



Most Influential Non-Performers


1. Alan Freed
    (radio dee jay)

2. Berry Gordy Jr.
    (Motown Records founder)

3. Ahmet Ertegun
    (Atlantic Records founder)

4. Tom Dowd
    (engineer)

5. Les Paul
    (guitar innovator)

6. Leo Fender
    (guitar/amp innovator)

7. DJ Kool Herc
    (hip hop godfather)

8. Leonard Chess
    ( Chess Records founder)

9. Irvin Feld
    (Concert Promoter)

10. Paul Ackerman
    (music journalist)





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