Huge omissions, such as those cloudstr pointed out. I'm surprised they would leave out The Jam, too. And the order is pretty whack at times.

No, it's not.

Samp?

janis joplin to be played by amy adams ... hmmm.

Pretty wack to see Stevie above the Who and Zep on the site. Is that a joke?

No, it's not a joke. Would you care to try to make a case for The Who and/or Zep being ahead of Stevie?

If you'd like an objective analysis, I think I'll wait until I have a singles records chart book in front of me. But I must say off the bat, does the live performance aspect weigh in when making this list? The Who and Led Zeppelin are leaps and bounds ahead of Stevie there, even if Fingertips is a live recording.

I'll give it a try

Stevie Wonder vs. The Who

Popularity: Stevie Wonder, his singles charted better and albums are probably about a wash.

Influence: The Who, they innovated more. Stevie's demand for individual creative control was important, within Motown? Did it have an impact on the entire music community?

Musical Impact: Edge to Stevie Wonder.

Cultural Impact: I'm not sure that either have much of this. But weren't The Who the band of the Mods in Britain? Stevie has written some social commentary in his lyrics, that's for sure, but I don't know how much impact they've had.

Stevie Wonder vs. Led Zeppelin

Popularity: Led Zeppelin. They've sold too many records. Of course, they didn't release many singles, but Whole Lotta Love was a pretty big hit. We all know they were an album band so judging them on their singles success is a bit unfair. Stevie had some well-charting singles, but he also had a lot that barely made the charts or did not even make the charts at all. Led Zeppelin's popularity is actually hard to explain save for their technical skill.

Influence: Led Zeppelin, they've influenced too many hard rock and some metal bands

Musical Impact: Clearly Stevie Wonder. Led Zeppelin were panned by the critics.

Cultural Impact: Do people grow their hair out because of Robert Plant? Probably some do.

The Who vs. Led Zeppelin

Popularity: Led Zeppelin, they've sold too many records. I'd rather listen to the Who though.

Influence: you can flip a coin

Musical Impact: Clearly The Who. Led Zeppelin were panned by the critics.

Cultural Impact: probably The Who

For musical impact, the phrase "within their own community" might be a little misleading on its own, maybe not in the context of the entire description of musical impact. It would be gauged against the entire rock industry. Stevie had a reputation as a musical genius and was highly revered among rock artists, so much so that I would rank him the highest among these 3 artists, although The Who also does well. I'd rank Zep behind both of them in MI. They do better than a lot of artists, but I think less well than most artists that would be candidates for the top 10.

Stevie's cultural impact includes his contribution to Martin Luther King's birthday becoming a national holiday. Last time this came up, some questioned whether or not this should count for anything, but when reading the criteria, it looks clear to me that it does fall under cultural impact, whether one thinks that it should or not.

I agree that both bands are more influential than Stevie, but Stevie also has considerable influence, including influence on the use of synthesizers. But I say this is the only part of the criteria where either band clearly beats Stevie. Stevie is a huge single artist and Zep is a huge album artist, so I'd say overall the 2 are about equal here, and as you said, they both beat The Who. I'd give Stevie the advantage over both bands in both musical impact and cultural impact, especially the former. So it looks to me like an overall advantage for Stevie.

I made the list that we're talking about, but I've given the list to Sampson, so I can't change it now anyway. But based on everything that I've read from Sampson, I'll be very surprised if he puts either band ahead of Stevie.

I agree with your assessment, Brian. I think you're on point. And, yeah, I highly doubt Sampson will drop Stevie below Zep and Who. I'm pretty sure Samp's always supported Stevie being in the Top 10 at least.

Thanks Brian. I have concluded that based upon the criteria Stevie Wonder should be ahead of the Who and Led Zeppelin.