Greatest Rock Artists Of All Time (Revision Version)

[Tim]

Seems like a stretch to suggest Sabbath wins popularity, popularity should not be just about who is more famous in 2026; Everlys had lots of charting success from the late '50s to early '60s (3 #1 singles in US, 15 top 10 appearances), and Temptations are even more popular (4 #1 singles, 16 top 10 appearances).

From a quick Google search, BS has sold more albums than either by a decent margin. What do you guys use to measure a band's overall popularity?

Chart success is a big factor, and BS doesn't have very much.

Unfortunate abbreviation.

[Fido]

Not only I believe Jay-Z should be above Eminem as per criteria, I also think it would be pretty bad to have another white guy as the greatest musical artist of another predominantly black style of music.

Does somebody want to search the archive for Sampson's posts saying Jay should be top 10? Those were fun times.

[Tim]

I am pretty sure Kanye will ends up over Eminem.

[ManPerson]

Think I am pretty content with Man's #1-40. How about this for #41-60?

41. The Byrds
42. Otis Redding
43. Metallica
44. Sly & The Family Stone
45. Bill Haley & His Comets
46. The Beastie Boys
47. Bo Diddley
48. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
49. The Kinks
50. Roy Orbison
51. The Clash
52. The Doors
53. The Impressions
54. Simon & Garfunkel
55. Parliament/Funkadelic/George Clinton
56. Eagles
57. Van Halen
58. The Drifters
59. The Grateful Dead
60. Jerry Lee Lewis

I don't really see Beastie Boys > The Kinks as influence and acclaim seem close while Kinks take popularity. But I'm fine with them at the top of the group of new artists. I don't really see Diddley > The Kinks either since I think the Kinks win in popularity is probably the biggest here while they also probably take acclaim. Other than that, I kind of like this compromise.

So... this is what I'd suggest for the compromise.

41. The Byrds
42. Otis Redding
43. Metallica
44. Sly & The Family Stone
45. Bill Haley & His Comets
46. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
47. The Kinks
48. The Beastie Boys
49. Bo Diddley
50. Roy Orbison
51. The Clash
52. The Doors
53. The Impressions
54. Simon & Garfunkel
55. Parliament/Funkadelic/George Clinton
56. Eagles
57. Van Halen
58. The Drifters
59. The Grateful Dead
60. Jerry Lee Lewis

[ManPerson]

Not only I believe Jay-Z should be above Eminem as per criteria, I also think it would be pretty bad to have another white guy as the greatest musical artist of another predominantly black style of music.

Does somebody want to search the archive for Sampson's posts saying Jay should be top 10? Those were fun times.

Eminem has sold like twice as much as Jay-Z with slightly better chart success as well, and while Jay-Z wins in acclaim and musical influence, but not by quite as much, Em probably wins in cultural impact as well. I get that it feels wrong to give Eminem credit for a significant lead in popularity, since the fact that Eminem is the most popular rapper of all time, is, largely, because he's white. But I don't think his placement should go down for that any more than Elvis' should.

[ManPerson]

My draft for the current top 80

New additions in bold

1. The Beatles
2. Elvis Presley
3. James Brown
4. Bob Dylan
5. Michael Jackson
6. Madonna
7. Chuck Berry
8. The Rolling Stones
9. Stevie Wonder
10. Aretha Franklin
11. Ray Charles
12. The Beach Boys
13. Led Zeppelin
14. Jimi Hendrix
15. Fats Domino
16. Prince
17. Marvin Gaye
18. Little Richard
19. The Who
20. Sam Cooke
21. Pink Floyd
22. David Bowie
23. Eminem
24. Jay-Z
25. U2
26. Run-D.M.C.
27. Nirvana
28. 2pac
29. The Supremes
30. Bruce Springsteen
31. Queen
32. Bob Marley & The Wailers
33. Buddy Holly & the Crickets
34. The Temptations
35. Neil Young
36. R.E.M.
37. Elton John
38. The Everly Brothers
39. Janet Jackson
40. Black Sabbath
41. Public Enemy
42. The Byrds
43. Otis Redding
44. Metallica
45. Sly & the Family Stone
46. Bill Haley & the Comets
47. Donna Summer
48. Bee Gees
49. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
50. The Kinks
51. The Beastie Boys
52. Bo Diddley
53. Roy Orbison
54. The Clash
55. AC/DC
56. Fleetwood Mac
57. The Doors
58. Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
59. Joni Mitchell
60. Simon & Garfunkel
61. Creedence Clearwater Revival
62. Parliament/Funkadelic/George-Clinton
63. Aerosmith
64. The Police
65. Al Green
66. Eagles
67. Van Halen
68. The Drifters
69. Pearl Jam
70. Radiohead
71. The Grateful Dead
72. Van Morrison
73. Cream
74. The Isley Brothers
75. Deep Purple
76. The Platters
77. Jerry Lee Lewis
78. Jackie Wilson
79. Ruth Brown
80. The Clovers

[Tim]

Not only I believe Jay-Z should be above Eminem as per criteria, I also think it would be pretty bad to have another white guy as the greatest musical artist of another predominantly black style of music.

Does somebody want to search the archive for Sampson's posts saying Jay should be top 10? Those were fun times.

New question: Why isn't Jay-Z in the discussion for the Top Ten yet? Don't look now but he's kicking the ass of a lot of the names we've been talking about. He's got like ten #1 albums, loads of influence, the most Musical Impact of the new century by far (every single artist wants him guesting on their tracks) and his cultural impact is off the freakin' charts. Heis dominant in all four areas of the criteria. Is this lack of attention simply because he's still so current nobody really thinks to do a serious overview of his career or is it something else, because the man belongs up this high without question.

We talk about how the Beatles influenced fashion, Jay-Z started Roca-wear, one of the most popular clothing lines in America, with earnings of 700 million a year. He is the biggest artist-mogul in the history of music. He's doing things - successfully - that the Beatles, KISS (who damn sure tried) and others could only dream of. Look at artist owned record labels - Ray Charles had Tangerine Records, Sam Cooke had SAR, The Beatles had Apple, The Beach Boys had Brother, etc. yet they had few hits between them and were seen largely as vanity projects. Jay-Z has Roc-A-Fella Records which had in its stable Kanye West, The Neptunes, Beanie Sigel, Cam'ron, The Diplomats, Just Blaze and Jadakiss. That's some of the biggest names out there. He then becomes the President of Def Jam Records, only one of the biggest independent labels in history, all while still being an artist! And yeah, having the bling to buy a chunk of the Nets further penetrates him into the cultural landscape. He is a towering figure in popular culture.

As for Jay-Z's innovation, he was more about secondary influence than strict innovation, which is why I just said "influence". He was the defining example of seeking crossover success while maintaining street credibility, which always the most perilous balance for rappers. Anytime you had legit crossover into pop realm the hardcore hip-hop followers would accuse you of being a sell-out. If you stayed true to the streets and brushed aside any attempts at broader appeal you remained stuck as a big fish in a small pond with little acclaim in the wider market. Now rap was clearly moving further and further into the mainstream before he came on the scene, first with albums (which relied on fan interest completely to move units), then increasingly in the early 90's with a handful of landmark singles from Cube, Snoop, PE, etc. All artists with strong street cred, no question. But then look at Jay-Z who perfected it. He himself said he dumbed down his lyrics to appeal to the mass audience, yet the hardcore rap fans still stuck by him. His productions were polished gems, the hooks were massive and creative ("Annie"?!?!), the rhymes still tough and his flow impeccible. He could dis and be harsh, but could stay witty and accessible. They weren't angry and therefore taboo for mainstream playlists. Remember, this was no Vanilla Ice, DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince or M.C. Hammer, the type of guys who had that level of mainstream hit-stature before him. By the 2000's he's not only releasing a steady stream of Top Ten hits, he's guesting on a ton of them and his presence on them are often what is generating the most buzz. He was omni-present and largely as a result of that style rap itself became universal. He found the balance that acts had been seeking for nearly twenty years and then maintained his stature as the best at it, even as others followed that lead and rap as a whole moved further into the spotlight. That's big influence, even if it was less innovation and more a refinement of what others couldn't quite pull off consistently before him.

Now I'll be the first to say this was inevitible. When an entire generation or two grows up with a style of music that started on the outskirts of the mainstream then it's only a matter of time before it moves into the mainstream once that audience seizes control of the marketplace, but someone's gotta find the key that fits the lock to open that door and then force it to stay open, and that was largely done with Jay-Z, who set the basic blueprint (pun intended or not) of how to have crossover success and stay legit within hip-hop. Secondary influence, granted, but a ton of it.

[Tim]

Just saying but I'd say I prefer Impressions and Curtis Mayfield solo getting separate placements as Impressions were not always dominated by Mayfield the way say Miracles were by Smokey Robinson or Crickets by Holly.

[ManPerson]

Ok, maybe I underrated Jay's influence a bit, he probably also deserves credit for popularizing chipmunk soul. I could see him between Little Richard and The Who.

[ManPerson]

Just saying but I'd say I prefer Impressions and Curtis Mayfield solo getting separate placements as Impressions were not always dominated by Mayfield the way say Miracles were by Smokey Robinson or Crickets by Holly.

I could see that.

[Zach]

On another note, I recall, from a separate discussion a while back, both Brian and Bruce saying they thought Bee Gees probably deserve to be above AC/DC--particularly for their massive influence in popularizing disco globally and their staggeringly impressive chart success.

[ManPerson]

I was actually on the fence about how much credit Bee Gees deserved for popularizing disco since it was already very popular before the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. I could see them next to Donna Summer.

[Tim]

Don't disagree with Man on much this time around but here's my list.

1. The Beatles
2. Elvis Presley
3. James Brown
4. Bob Dylan
5. Michael Jackson
6. Madonna
7. Chuck Berry
8. The Rolling Stones
9. Stevie Wonder
10. Aretha Franklin
11. Ray Charles
12. The Beach Boys
13. Led Zeppelin
14. Jimi Hendrix
15. Fats Domino
16. Prince
17. Marvin Gaye
18. Little Richard
19. The Who
20. Sam Cooke
21. Pink Floyd
22. David Bowie
23. Eminem
24. Jay-Z
25. U2
26. Run-D.M.C.
27. Nirvana
28. 2pac
29. The Supremes
30. Bruce Springsteen
31. Queen
32. Bob Marley & the Wailers
33. Buddy Holly & The Crickets
34. The Temptations
35. Neil Young
36. R.E.M.
37. Elton John
38. The Everly Brothers
39. Janet Jackson
40. Black Sabbath
41. Public Enemy
42. The Byrds
43. Otis Redding
44. Metallica
45. Sly & the Family Stone
46. Bill Haley & His Comets
47. Donna Summer
48. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
49. The Kinks
50. The Bee Gees
51. The Beastie Boys
52. Bo Diddley
53. Roy Orbison
54. The Clash
55. AC/DC
56. Fleetwood Mac
57. The Doors
58. The Impressions
59. Joni Mitchell
60. Radiohead
61. Simon & Garfunkel
62. Creedence Clearwater Revival
63. Parliament/Funkadelic/George Clinton
64. Aerosmith
65. Eagles
66. Van Halen
67. Pearl Jam
68. The Drifters
69. The Police
70. Al Green
71. The Platters
72. The Grateful Dead
73. Jerry Lee Lewis
74. Jackie Wilson
75. Ruth Brown
76. The Clovers
77. Van Morrison
78. Cream
79. The Isley Brothers
80. Deep Purple

[Tim]

This is incredibly nitpicky but I believe this is proper capitalization

32. Bob Marley & the Wailers
45. Sly & the Family Stone

33. Buddy Holly & The Crickets

The former ones are full names of an artist while the latter is us combining two separate artists which are lumped together historically (The Crickets and Buddy Holly solo). The Crickets did go on without Holly unlike the Wailers who disbanded after Marley's death.

[ManPerson]

Yea, I can fix that

[ManPerson]

My attempt at a compromise

1. The Beatles
2. Elvis Presley
3. James Brown
4. Bob Dylan
5. Michael Jackson
6. Madonna
7. Chuck Berry
8. The Rolling Stones
9. Stevie Wonder
10. Aretha Franklin
11. Ray Charles
12. The Beach Boys
13. Led Zeppelin
14. Jimi Hendrix
15. Fats Domino
16. Prince
17. Marvin Gaye
18. Little Richard
19. Jay-Z
20. The Who
21. Sam Cooke
22. Pink Floyd
23. David Bowie
24. Eminem
25. U2
26. Run-D.M.C.
27. Nirvana
28. 2pac
29. The Supremes
30. Bruce Springsteen
31. Queen
32. Bob Marley & the Wailers
33. Buddy Holly & The Crickets
34. The Temptations
35. Neil Young
36. R.E.M.
37. Elton John
38. The Everly Brothers
39. Janet Jackson
40. Black Sabbath
41. Public Enemy
42. The Byrds
43. Otis Redding
44. Metallica
45. Sly & the Family Stone
46. Bill Haley & His Comets
47. Donna Summer
48. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
49. The Kinks
50. The Bee Gees
51. The Beastie Boys
52. Bo Diddley
53. Roy Orbison
54. The Clash
55. AC/DC
56. Fleetwood Mac
57. The Doors
58. The Impressions
59. Joni Mitchell
60. Simon & Garfunkel
61. Creedence Clearwater Revival
62. Parliament/Funkadelic/George-Clinton
63. Radiohead
64. Aerosmith
65. Eagles
66. The Police
67. Van Halen
68. Al Green
69. The Drifters
70. Pearl Jam
71. The Grateful Dead
72. Van Morrison
73. Cream
74. The Isley Brothers
75. The Platters
76. Jerry Lee Lewis
77. Deep Purple
78. Jackie Wilson
79. Ruth Brown
80. The Clovers

[Tim]

I will take it.

[Tim]

1. The Beatles
2. Elvis Presley
3. James Brown
4. Bob Dylan
5. Michael Jackson
6. Madonna
7. Chuck Berry
8. The Rolling Stones
9. Stevie Wonder
10. Aretha Franklin
11. Ray Charles
12. The Beach Boys
13. Led Zeppelin
14. Jimi Hendrix
15. Fats Domino
16. Prince
17. Marvin Gaye
18. Kanye West
19. Little Richard
20. Jay-Z
21. The Who
22. Sam Cooke
23. Pink Floyd
24. David Bowie
25. Eminem
26. U2
27. Run-D.M.C.
28. Nirvana
29. 2pac
30. The Supremes
31. Bruce Springsteen
32. Queen
33. Bob Marley & the Wailers
34. Buddy Holly & The Crickets
35. The Temptations
36. Neil Young
37. R.E.M.
38. Elton John
39. Whitney Houston
40. Mariah Carey
41. The Everly Brothers
42. Janet Jackson
43. Black Sabbath
44. Public Enemy
45. The Byrds
46. Otis Redding
47. Metallica
48. Sly & the Family Stone
49. Bill Haley & His Comets
50. Donna Summer
51. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
52. The Kinks
53. The Bee Gees
54. The Beastie Boys
55. Bo Diddley
56. Roy Orbison
57. The Clash
58. AC/DC
59. Fleetwood Mac
60. The Doors
61. The Impressions
62. Joni Mitchell
63. Simon & Garfunkel
64. Creedence Clearwater Revival
65. Parliament/Funkadelic/George Clinton
66. Radiohead
67. Outkast
68. Aerosmith
69. Eagles
70. The Police
71. Van Halen
72. Paul McCartney/Wings
73. Rod Stewart
74. Al Green
75. The Drifters
76. Pearl Jam
77. The Grateful Dead
78. The Shirelles
79. N.W.A
80. Van Morrison
81. Cream
82. The Band
83. Guns N' Roses
84. Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young)
85. The Dominoes
86. The Isley Brothers
87. Billy Joel
88. The Four Seasons
89. The Platters
90. Jerry Lee Lewis
91. Deep Purple
92. Jackie Wilson
93. Big Joe Turner
94. Johnny Otis
95. The Allman Brothers Band
96. Janis Joplin/Big Brother and the Holding Company
97. Elvis Costello
98. Ruth Brown
99. The Clovers
100. Sonny Til & the Orioles