Greatest Rock Artists Of All Time (Revision Version)

[Fido]

Another artist out of her league is Lady Gaga. All of the artists below her up to Adele are more influential and acclaimed than her, and against the Eagles or Coldplay I'd say she doesn't even win popularity.

[ManPerson]

I figure Gaga is clearly quite influential and culturally impactful atp, even if it's clearly not at the level of Grandmaster Flash or The Ramones and I don't see her as clearly being behind, say, The Eagles or Aerosmith considering those bands aren't exactly the most acclaimed. I could see her between Rakim and Coldplay as a sort of compromise, though.

[Tim]

Checked back and I used to have Gaga between Aerosmith and Eagles which seems like a pretty apt grouping for her.

[Fido]

Cultural impact is the only thing that elevates her influence, and it still isn't at the level of that group. You say the Eagles and Aerosmith are not exactly the most acclaimed, but they are STILL more acclaimed than her. Hell, she is literally THE LOWEST of the group in acclaimedmusic by a huge margin, and it's not like she makes up for it in other areas, unlike Al Green (top tier vocalist), The Police, Van Halen, Rakim (top tier instrumentalists), I mean these are all Hall of Famers. Placing her slighty lower when you had her too high in the first place is not a compromise at all. If she loses, she goes down.

Also, I didn't catch it at first but Dr. Dre above N.W.A. is also wrong.

[ManPerson]

Keep in mind that Lady Gaga has had albums and songs in the 2020s with significant acclaim, so it's likely that if AcclaimedMusic was updated today (which it won't, but that's beside the point), she would rank quite a bit higher, especially since Bad Romance and The Fame Monster rose a lot on the last mini update.

Also her influence clearly goes beyond just cultural impact.

With the release of The Fame, Gaga was credited for reviving electronic dance music during the late 2000s on radio. Jonathan Bogart from The Atlantic stated, "EDM came in by no back door but right through the front gate, with Lady Gaga's 'Just Dance' in 2008" and that "the sound didn't take long to spread".[132] DJ Tommie Sunshine told MTV that "there wouldn't be a David Guetta top 10 hit... there wouldn't be this Black Eyed Peas record, if it wasn't for The Fame. The influence of that record is epic, and we are hearing talking about all of this because of that."[133] St. Louis Post-Dispatch's journalist Kevin C. Johnson with his article "Lady Gaga helps bring EDM to the masses", acknowledges the impact. In the article, Rob Lemon said Gaga "definitely has had influence" and that she "is exposing people to the music, and anybody exposing people to it is part of the machine."[134]

A decade later, Daniel D'Addario of Variety further observed the influence of Gaga's sense of spectacle on the next generation of artists, calling her "a pop star's pop star". He surmised that Sabrina Carpenter's use of self-parodying and ultra-glam camp in her performances, Billie Eilish's incorporation of grandeur into her shows, and Chappell Roan's "drag-inflected let's-put-on-a-show spirit" and "eagerness to use costumes and makeup to help tell her stories" all came from each watching the video for "Bad Romance" in their childhoods.

She and her work have influenced various artists including Miley Cyrus,[492] Nicki Minaj,[493] Ellie Goulding,[494] Halsey,[495] Jennifer Lopez,[496] Beyoncé,[497] Nick Jonas,[498] Sam Smith,[499] Noah Cyrus,[500] Katherine Langford,[501] MGMT,[502] Allie X,[503] Greyson Chance,[504] Cardi B,[505] Rina Sawayama,[506] Blackpink,[507] Madison Beer,[508] Ren of NU'EST,[509] Slayyyter,[510] Bebe Rexha,[511] Bree Runway,[512] Celeste,[513] Kim Petras,[514] JoJo Siwa,[515] Pabllo Vittar,[516] Ava Max,[517] Doja Cat,[518] Chaeyoung of Twice,[519] Kanye West,[520] Rachel Zegler,[521] SZA,[522] Raye,[523] Rebecca Black,[524] Grace Gaustad,[525] Laufey,[526] and Chappell Roan.[527]

Various higher education institutions have offered courses focusing on Gaga. Due to her influence on 21st century culture and her rise to global fame, sociologist Mathieu Deflem of the University of South Carolina launched a course titled "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of the Fame" in early 2011 with the objective of unraveling "some of the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga".[528] Focusing on her influence on gender and sexual identity, the University of Virginia College of Arts and Sciences introduced a writing course titled "GaGa for Gaga: Sex, Gender, and Identity" during its Fall 2010 semester, which explored "how identity is challenged by gender and sexuality and how Lady Gaga confronts this challenge".[529] Courses exploring different aspects of Gaga's phenomenon, including her music and fame, have also been offered by Arizona State University, Tufts University, St. Catherine University, and the University of Richmond.[530]

I don't think, say, Guns n Roses or the Eagles clearly have more influence than this.

[ManPerson]

I'd say
Popularity: Dre fairly easily
Acclaim: Dre
Influence: N.W.A. fairly easily

[Fido]

We might as well call this the Wikipedia list. Three fragments: the first one, saying she helped popularize EDM (key word: popularize, not create or anything) the only one worth a damn, and ignoring The Fame came two years after Timberlake and Timbaland's FutureSex album, or Daft Punk, whose set at Coachella has also been called an important point in its popularization. The second fragment: one dude's article in which he credits certain artists who do something that Madonna and others had been doing for decades as doing it because of Lady Gaga. Source? He made it the fuck up! (seriously, read the article). Third fragment: listing a bunch of names without saying anything, and the Uni courses which also don't mean anything. Saying the Eagles, who defined all the soft rock that dominated the decade after, along with country rock and "yacht rock" or whatever they call it now, are not clearly more influential than her is ridiculous. Guns N' Roses also changed the hard rock landscape shifting it away from the glam metal craze and there is probably not a hard rock act in the 90s and 00s that isn't influenced by them. And Gaga's music in the 20s hasn't been a significant change for her, certainly not enough no say she's more way more acclaimed now than she was before.

So:

Grandmaster Flash: ridiculously more influential and also more acclaimed.
LL Cool J: way more influential and also more acclaimed (I think he should be ahead of Flash, as he only loses influence)
Aerosmith: hugely influential on hard rock, more acclaimed, and even popularity is close
Eagles: they win everything!
Guns N' Roses: more influential, more acclaimed, and even popularity is close
The Police: more influential (in new wave, the Second British Invasion, and because of their reggae elements) and way more acclaimed
Van Halen: way more influential and acclaimed
Eric B. & Rakim: way more influential and acclaimed
Coldplay: they are even more popular!
Al Green: hugely influential on 70s soul and way more acclaimed discography and singing
Ramones: WAY more influential and more acclaimed
Green Day: huge influence on pop punk and the popularization of punk in general and more acclaimed
The Drifters: huge influence on vocal groups through their various incarnations, on R&B in general (Money Honey or There Goes My Baby), more acclaimed and also super popular

If anyone disagrees with any breakdown, say it, and we can discuss it. You know, the good ole DDD way!

[Tim]

Well, if we say Gaga only (sorta) popularized EDM and wasn't an innovator the argument is worth making re: Eagles and soft rock which had popular artists performing it before them, ditto for country rock, Guns n Roses and hard rock (who could be considered glam metal-adjacent and hardly antagonistic to that style either, they were no Nirvana). Sure, some bands cited both as influence but how it's fundamentally different from that wiki list of artists presumably influenced by Gaga?

[ManPerson]

I think it's also worth noting that AM definitely has a bit of a rockist tilt, which should be adjusted for when comparing acclaim. I'm very skeptical that Green Day, for example, win outright in acclaim against Gaga.

[ManPerson]

Anyway, some breakdowns

vs Grandmaster Flash
Acclaim: Seems close
Influence: Grandmaster Flash by a landslide
Popularity: Lady Gaga, probably by an even bigger landslide, but since we're weighting influence a bit more Grandmaster Flash could definitely be ahead

vs LL Cool J
Acclaim: Seems close
Influence: LL Cool J easily
Popularity: Gaga easily
I'm fine with LL over Lady Gaga as well as Grandmaster Flash

vs Aerosmith
Acclaim: Close
Influence: Probably Aerosmith
Popularity: Close

Okay, you might have a point in this case

vs Eagles
Acclaim: Leaning towards gaga
Influence: Close
Popularity: Probably the Eagles

I'm fine with Eagles ahead here as well

vs Guns n Roses
Acclaim: Guns n Roses
Influence: close
Popularity: Gaga

Same deal with The Police

I think between Eagles and Guns n Roses is a fair placement.

Also thinking we lowballed Eric B. & Rakim a bit

for example
vs LL Cool J
Influence: Eric B. & Rakim
Acclaim: Eric B. & Rakim
Popularity: LL Cool J easily

vs Grandmaster Flash
Influence: Grandmaster Flash
Acclaim: Eric B. & Rakim
Popularity: close

vs Aerosmith
Influence: Eric B. & Rakim easily
Acclaim: Eric B. & Rakim
Popularity: Aerosmith by a landslide

vs Eagles
Pretty much the same breakdown as Aerosmith except I think there's an even bigger difference in influence and popularity

vs Guns 'n' Roses
Influence: Eric B. & Rakim by a landslide
Acclaim: close
Popularity: Guns n Roses by a landslide

Not to toot my own horn but I like where I had Eric B. & Rakim originally, between LL Cool J and Aerosmith.

[Tim]

For what it worth, Samp's influence list has LL Cool J over Rakim and I can see why (popularizing albums within hip-hop, popularizing hardcore hip-hop as a whole, pretty much the first hip-hop solo superstar).

[ManPerson]

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. Beyoncé
30. 2pac
31. The Supremes
32. Bruce Springsteen
33. Queen
34. Bob Marley & the Wailers
35. Buddy Holly & The Crickets
36. The Temptations
37. Neil Young
38. Kendrick Lamar
39. R.E.M.
40. Taylor Swift
41. Drake
42. Elton John
43. Whitney Houston
44. The Everly Brothers
45. Janet Jackson
46. Mariah Carey
47. Black Sabbath
48. Public Enemy
49. Otis Redding
50. The Byrds
51. Sly & the Family Stone
52. Metallica
53. Bill Haley & His Comets
54. Donna Summer
55. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
56. The Bee Gees
57. The Kinks
58. ABBA
59. Bo Diddley
60. The Beastie Boys
61. Roy Orbison
62. The Clash
63. The Doors
64. Kraftwerk
65. Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
66. AC/DC
67. Fleetwood Mac
68. Rihanna
69. The Velvet Underground
70. The Notorious B.I.G.
71. Joni Mitchell
72. Outkast
73. Parliament/Funkadelic/George Clinton
74. Dr. Dre
75. Simon & Garfunkel
76. Britney Spears
77. Creedence Clearwater Revival
78. Radiohead
79. N.W.A.
80. Lady Gaga
81. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
82. LL Cool J
83. Aerosmith
84. Eagles
85. Guns N' Roses
86. The Police
87. Van Halen
88. Eric B. & Rakim
89. Coldplay
90. Al Green
91. The Ramones
92. Green Day
93. The Drifters
94. Adele
95. The Weeknd
96. Depeche Mode
97. Rod Stewart
98. Paul McCartney/Wings
99. Pearl Jam
100. The Grateful Dead
101. George Michael/Wham!
102. The Jackson 5/The Jacksons
103. Mary J. Blige
104. Missy Elliott
105. Earth, Wind, & Fire
106. Jerry Lee Lewis
107. Roy Brown
108. Wynonie Harris
109. The Platters
110. The Shirelles
111. Jackie Wilson
112. Van Morrison
113. Cream
114. Fugees/Lauryn Hill
115. Joy Division/New Order
116. Red Hot Chili Peppers
117. Eric Clapton
118. John Lennon
119. Deep Purple
120. Santana
121. The Cure
122. The Isley Brothers
123. The Dominoes
124. The Orioles
125. The Four Tops
126. The Smiths
127. Blondie
128. The Clovers
129. Ruth Brown
130. The Band
131. Bad Bunny
132. Ariana Grande
133. The Sex Pistols
134. Iron Maiden
135. Billy Joel
136. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
137. Justin Timberlake
138. Usher
139. Oasis
140. TLC
141. Talking Heads
142. Lana Del Rey
143. Daft Punk
144. Big Joe Turner
145. Johnny Otis
146. Eddie Cochran
147. Iggy Pop & the Stooges
148. Kate Bush
149. Roxy Music
150. Chic
151. Genesis
152. Rush
153. Etta James
154. Martha & the Vandellas
155. Frank Zappa
156. Patti Smith
157. Phil Collins
158. Justin Bieber
159. Daryl Hall & John Oates
160. Alicia Keys
161. Chicago
162. A Tribe Called Quest
163. Booker T. & the MG’s
164. Cher
165. Diana Ross
166. R. Kelly
167. Kool & the Gang
168. Wilson Pickett
169. Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young)
170. Janis Joplin/Big Brother and the Holding Company
171. Nas
172. Sam & Dave
173. Pixies
174. Paul Simon
175. Dire Straits
176. Afrika Bambaataa
177. Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers
178. The Yardbirds
179. KISS
180. Elvis Costello
181. Frank Ocean
182. Bon Jovi
183. Alice Cooper
184. Carole King
185. The Righteous Brothers
186. Rick Nelson
187. Neil Diamond
188. Jefferson Airplane
189. Yes
190. Journey
191. James Taylor
192. Carl Perkins
193. The "5" Royales
194. Dionne Warwick
195. Def Leppard
196. Dion (& the Belmonts)
197. Gladys Knight & the Pips
198. The Mamas & the Papas
199. Johnny Ace
200. The Coasters
201. The Allman Brothers Band
202. Del Shannon
203. The White Stripes
204. Sonic Youth
205. King Crimson
206. The Cars
207. The O’Jays
208. Lynyrd Skynyrd
209. Screamin' Jay Hawkins
210. Salt-N-Pepa
211. Solomon Burke
212. Tom Petty
213. Bob Seger (& The Silver Bullet Band)
214. Hank Ballard & the Midnighters
215. Little Willie John
216. The Ventures
217. The Flamingos
218. The Animals
219. Judas Priest
220. Jethro Tull
221. The Pretenders
222. John Mellencamp
223. LaVern Baker
224. Bobby "Blue" Bland
225. Chuck Willis
226. War
227. The Moody Blues
228. Jackson Browne
229. Shirley & Lee
230. Jan & Dean
231. Ivory Joe Hunter
232. Boogie Down Productions
233. Emerson, Lake, & Palmer
234. Bonnie Raitt
235. The Dells

[ManPerson]

For what it worth, Samp's influence list has LL Cool J over Rakim and I can see why (popularizing albums within hip-hop, popularizing hardcore hip-hop as a whole, pretty much the first hip-hop solo superstar).

I certainly don't want to minimize LL Cool J's influence, since it's quite significant, but I feel like Run-D.M.C. deserve a lot (or even most) of the credit for this. I also think the influence of Rakim's relaxed, lyrically complex, rapping style is far more long lasting than LL Cool J's. Pretty much any highly regarded rapper (Tupac, Biggie, Nas, Jay-Z, Eminem Kendrick, I could go on) from the past 30 or so years clearly have a style that's closer to Rakim's than LL Cool J. Eric B. & Rakim also had very influential production as Paid in Full helped popularize sampling in hip hop. I'd even argue that Eric B. & Rakim are third to only Run-D.M.C. and Grandmaster Flash when it comes to influence in hip hop.

[Fido]

I'd say
Popularity: Dre fairly easily
Acclaim: Dre
Influence: N.W.A. fairly easily

Forgot to answer to this. I question Dre winning acclaim since N.W.A. is still his most acclaimed work along with The Chronic, and his high placement on AM is also due to songs like California Love or No Diggity, in which he's only a featured artist (honestly that's something that AM should change but I guess it won't happen now). I would only give him popularity (which was helped by N.W.A.), acclaim a tie and losing influence by more than he wins popularity. But whatever, I won't bug with that any more, you guys will think I'm a Dre hater.

Well, if we say Gaga only (sorta) popularized EDM and wasn't an innovator the argument is worth making re: Eagles and soft rock which had popular artists performing it before them, ditto for country rock, Guns n Roses and hard rock (who could be considered glam metal-adjacent and hardly antagonistic to that style either, they were no Nirvana). Sure, some bands cited both as influence but how it's fundamentally different from that wiki list of artists presumably influenced by Gaga?

C'mon, WHO? What was the big soft rock album before their debut in 1972? Or Desperado the year after? How is this equivalent to Gaga and EDM? Where is Gaga's Hotel California? 70s soft rock also produced albums like Rumours, where is the modern EDM equivalent to that?
Sure, GNR were no Nirvana and that's why we're not talking top 30 ever, but their mark on hard rock with their merge of bluesier and punkier influences is undeniable and bigger than Gaga's, since she was one of many others, and arguably not the most prominent (as I mentioned before, Timberlake's FS/LS predates her).

AM is rockist, true, but to say Green Day isn't more acclaimed than her is getting caught in their recent shitty music. She doesn't have a Dookie or and American Idiot, their acclaim during the height of their career was way over hers.

Why didn't you comment on the rest of my breakdowns? Saying "between Eagles and GNR is a fair placement" while ignoring that would put her ahead of Ramones or Van Halen for example, two artists with pretty straightforward breakdowns against her, is not fair at all. If that requires rearranging that whole group, so be it. It honestly seems you want to make this list, which can be considered the main one on the site, in a couple months, and that discussion is detrimental to that, instead of the point imo.

[ManPerson]

I'd say
Popularity: Dre fairly easily
Acclaim: Dre
Influence: N.W.A. fairly easily

Forgot to answer to this. I question Dre winning acclaim since N.W.A. is still his most acclaimed work along with The Chronic, and his high placement on AM is also due to songs like California Love or No Diggity, in which he's only a featured artist (honestly that's something that AM should change but I guess it won't happen now). I would only give him popularity (which was helped by N.W.A.), acclaim a tie and losing influence by more than he wins popularity. But whatever, I won't bug with that any more, you guys will think I'm a Dre hater.

The points about his features are pretty fair.im not sure he loses influence by more than he wins popularity, though, considering how influential The Chronic's production was.

Well, if we say Gaga only (sorta) popularized EDM and wasn't an innovator the argument is worth making re: Eagles and soft rock which had popular artists performing it before them, ditto for country rock, Guns n Roses and hard rock (who could be considered glam metal-adjacent and hardly antagonistic to that style either, they were no Nirvana). Sure, some bands cited both as influence but how it's fundamentally different from that wiki list of artists presumably influenced by Gaga?

C'mon, WHO? What was the big soft rock album before their debut in 1972?
Tapestry and Sweet Baby James
Or Desperado the year after? How is this equivalent to Gaga and EDM? Where is Gaga's Hotel California? 70s soft rock also produced albums like Rumours, where is the modern EDM equivalent to that?
Fair point.
Sure, GNR were no Nirvana and that's why we're not talking top 30 ever, but their mark on hard rock with their merge of bluesier and punkier influences is undeniable and bigger than Gaga's, since she was one of many others, and arguably not the most prominent (as I mentioned before, Timberlake's FS/LS predates her).

Hard rock as a whole was definitely on the decline when GNR was coming around though.

AM is rockist, true, but to say Green Day isn't more acclaimed than her is getting caught in their recent shitty music. She doesn't have a Dookie or and American Idiot, their acclaim during the height of their career was way over hers.

I was thinking more on the lines of musical impact as Green Day were considered sellouts by a large part of the punk community.

Why didn't you comment on the rest of my breakdowns? Saying "between Eagles and GNR is a fair placement" while ignoring that would put her ahead of Ramones or Van Halen for example,
Ramones seem comparable to LL Cool J and Rakim, so I could definitely see them moving up. In terms of Van Halen, I'm not sure their discography is more acclaimed than Gaga's, though they definitely get points for Eddie's guitar playing.
two artists with pretty straightforward breakdowns against her, is not fair at all. If that requires rearranging that whole group, so be it. It honestly seems you want to make this list, which can be considered the main one on the site, in a couple months, and that discussion is detrimental to that, instead of the point imo.

To be clear, I welcome this discussion wholeheartedly.

[ManPerson]

Here's what I suggest, but feel free to disagree further.

74. Simon & Garfunkel
75. Britney Spears
76. Creedence Clearwater Revival
77. Dr. Dre
78. Radiohead
79. N.W.A.
80. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
81. The Ramones
82. LL Cool J
83. Eric B. & Rakim
84. Aerosmith
85. Eagles
86. Lady Gaga
87. Guns N' Roses
88. The Police
89. Van Halen
90. Coldplay
91. Al Green
92. Green Day
93. The Drifters

[Tim]

Drifters look a bit low as of now with Clyde era having high musical impact and Ben E. King's iteration being sorta precursor to more pop-influenced r&b such as Motown and popularizing string section within rock. Don't know the exact spot but I see them winning acclaim and influence over Gaga, Coldplay, Green Day, maybe even Al Green. I'd say there's even an argument for them winning acclaim and popularity over say, Ramones, NWA, Grandmaster Flash but that's more contentious.

[ManPerson]

I think Green Day are comparable to them in influence while Al Green takes acclaim, but I could see them a bit higher.