Greatest Rock Artists Of All Time (Revision Version)

[Fido]

So, do we rock with this update?

1. The Beatles
2. Elvis Presley
3. James Brown
4. Bob Dylan
5. Michael Jackson
6. Chuck Berry
7. Madonna
8. The Rolling Stones
9. Stevie Wonder
10. Ray Charles
11. Aretha Franklin
12. The Beach Boys
13. Led Zeppelin
14. Jimi Hendrix
15. Fats Domino
16. Prince
17. Little Richard
18. Marvin Gaye
19. Kanye West
20. Jay-Z
21. The Who
22. Sam Cooke
23. Pink Floyd
24. David Bowie
25. U2
26. Bruce Springsteen
27. Run-D.M.C.
28. Nirvana
29. Eminem
30. 2pac
31. Beyoncé
32. The Supremes
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. Elton John
42. Mariah Carey
43. Whitney Houston
44. The Everly Brothers
45. Black Sabbath
46. Public Enemy
47. Drake
48. Otis Redding
49. Sly & the Family Stone
50. The Byrds
51. Janet Jackson
52. Metallica
53. Bill Haley & His Comets
54. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
55. Bee Gees
56. The Kinks
57. Donna Summer
58. ABBA
59. Bo Diddley
60. The Beastie Boys
61. Roy Orbison
62. The Clash
63. The Doors
64. Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
65. AC/DC
66. Parliament/Funkadelic/George Clinton
67. Fleetwood Mac
68. The Velvet Underground
69. Joni Mitchell
70. Outkast
71. Simon & Garfunkel
72. Eagles
73. Rihanna
74. Britney Spears
75. The Notorious B.I.G.
76. Kraftwerk
77. Creedence Clearwater Revival
78. Radiohead
79. N.W.A.
80. Dr. Dre
81. Ramones
82. Eric B. & Rakim
83. LL Cool J
84. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
85. Aerosmith
86. The Police
87. Guns N' Roses
88. Van Halen
89. The Drifters
90. Al Green
91. The Grateful Dead
92. Pearl Jam
93. Rod Stewart
94. Paul McCartney/Wings
95. Lady Gaga
96. Coldplay
97. Green Day
98. Adele
99. The Weeknd
100. Depeche Mode

Figure Sabbath does beat Public Enemy in both popularity and influence so I moved them back ahead. The Doors imo lose to Beasties/Orbison/Clash in both influence and acclaim so I don't really see them atop of this group. Think Dre wins popularity by at least as much as Ramones win influence plus revered as a producer which imo has to be factored in acclaim in some form.

Yeah, Public Enemy ahead of Sabbath was more about consistency, though you could argue since hip hop is way bigger than metal they should be ahead. I can agree with Clash and Beasties, not so much on Orbison. I'll say again that you are overrating Dr. Dre but I see it's a lost cause. I liked that hip hop cluster of N.W.A. to Flash.

[Tim]

Well, Orbison is incredibly revered as a vocalist and, to lesser extent, as a writer, highly succesful singles artist, cited as inspiration by tons of singer-songwriters, ranked quite a bit higher than Doors on Samp's influence list.

I'd agree with rap being bigger than metal overall but we already ranked six rappers over Sabbath and Sabbath's influence does stretch outside of metal, think grunge, hard rock, even punk.

Guess I can see Dre below Rakim and Ramones but prolly not below LL Cool J and Grandmaster Flash.

[ManPerson]

I can live with most of this, here's the stuff I'd change.

- I still feel that Prince and Marvin Gaye take acclaim and popularity over Little Richard for sure, but I could live with him being between the two of them

Well, one of the reasons I placed Little Richard next to Fats is because I think it looks better for the two 50s pioneering singers/pianists to be together. Regardless of individual match-ups, I don't see a clear difference that would place one over Prince but not the other.
I'd say Fats Domino clearly takes popularity over Little Richard.

- I'd keep Janet Jackson a bit higher. I see her as pretty close to Metallica in acclaim and popularity (they're on opposite ends of the spectrum between sales/lasting popularity and chart success so it's pretty hard to judge), while I think her influence is a bit more widespread.

I had influence as a tie, with Metallica winning both popularity and acclaim. While close on both accounts, I think the fact that Metallica achieved that level of popularity while making a very uncommercial style of music puts them ahead.
Sure, but I think they should be back to back either way.

- Joni Mitchell/Outkast/Velvet Underground seem to take acclaim and influence over the Eagles (probably Rihanna and S&G as well) so I'd move them ahead

Ok with Joni and Velvet, disagree with Outkast and S&G winning influence, for the reasons previously stated.

- I think Lady Gaga and Coldplay are very comparable in the criteria with Rod Stewart and Macca
- I wouldn't underestimate The Weeknd. Obviously in the upper echelon in popularity for 21st century artists while more or less pioneering alternative r&b. Solid acclaim as well.

Sure, they are comparable but Stewart and Macca still win.

The Weeknd basically only has popularity imo. His acclaim is way out of this league, and his influence on alt r&b also is. He debuted after Ye's 808s, Drake (who we already have in the top 50 for more or less the same), and he was one of many along with Ocean and the host of others who continued after 00s neo-soul. Haven't looked too far ahead but he is ahead of other way more important R&B artists like Blige, Jackie Wilson or EW&F.

I think you're underrating his acclaim a bit, keep in mind that After Hours, Dawn FM and all the singles from both albums (including Blinding Lights) aren't taken into account for the AM artist rankings. I can see some of your points in regards to his influence but I think alt-r&b (The Weeknd's flavor of it especially) has a pretty distinct sound from neo-soul. I'm fine with him being at the bottom of this group, but I'd very much be opposed to him dropping below the top 110-120.

[ManPerson]

How about this?

1. The Beatles
2. Elvis Presley
3. James Brown
4. Bob Dylan
5. Michael Jackson
6. Chuck Berry
7. Madonna
8. The Rolling Stones
9. Stevie Wonder
10. Ray Charles
11. Aretha Franklin
12. The Beach Boys
13. Led Zeppelin
14. Jimi Hendrix
15. Fats Domino
16. Prince
17. Little Richard
18. Marvin Gaye
19. Kanye West
20. Jay-Z
21. The Who
22. Sam Cooke
23. Pink Floyd
24. David Bowie
25. U2
26. Bruce Springsteen
27. Run-D.M.C.
28. Nirvana
29. Eminem
30. 2pac
31. Beyoncé
32. The Supremes
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. Elton John
42. Mariah Carey
43. Whitney Houston
44. The Everly Brothers
45. Black Sabbath
46. Public Enemy
47. Drake
48. Otis Redding
49. Sly & the Family Stone
50. The Byrds
51. Metallica
52. Janet Jackson
53. Bill Haley & His Comets
54. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
55. Bee Gees
56. The Kinks
57. Donna Summer
58. ABBA
59. Bo Diddley
60. The Beastie Boys
61. Roy Orbison
62. The Clash
63. The Doors
64. Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
65. AC/DC
66. Parliament/Funkadelic/George Clinton
67. Fleetwood Mac
68. The Velvet Underground
69. Joni Mitchell
70. Eagles
71. Outkast
72. Simon & Garfunkel
73. Rihanna
74. Britney Spears
75. The Notorious B.I.G.
76. Kraftwerk
77. Creedence Clearwater Revival
78. Radiohead
79. N.W.A.
80. Dr. Dre
81. Ramones
82. Eric B. & Rakim
83. LL Cool J
84. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
85. Aerosmith
86. The Police
87. Guns N' Roses
88. Van Halen
89. The Drifters
90. Al Green
91. The Grateful Dead
92. Pearl Jam
93. Rod Stewart
94. Paul McCartney/Wings
95. Lady Gaga
96. Coldplay
97. Green Day
98. Adele
99. Depeche Mode
100. The Weeknd

[Tim]

No problems for me except you got two #71s, Outkast and Simon & Garfunkel.

[Fido]

I can live with that. Here's my take on the next group:

90. Al Green
91. The Grateful Dead
92. Jerry Lee Lewis
93. Pearl Jam
94. Rod Stewart
95. Paul McCartney/Wings
96. Lady Gaga
97. Coldplay
98. Green Day
99. Adele
100. Depeche Mode
101. Missy Elliott
102. George Michael/Wham
103. Earth, Wind & Fire
104. The Weeknd
105. The Jackson 5
106. The Platters
107. Wynonie Harris
108. Mary J. Blige
109. The Shirelles
110. Roy Brown

[ManPerson]

I'd have Mary J. Blige over The Platters at least, more influential while similar in other areas. I'd also have Jerry Lee Lewis a few spots lower, maybe between Green Day and Adele since I think Green Day would take popularity and influence.

[Tim]

Thought you wanted George Michael lower as well. I'd say most artists in this range beat him in acclaim and/or influence.

[ManPerson]

That too. I may have overreacted with how much I wanted to move him down before, though. I'd have right ahead of Wynonie Harris.

[Tim]

Does it count for musical impact for Phil?

https://x.com/vurnt22/status/2045320593965281421?s=20

[ManPerson]

We might need to move him back ahead of Genesis.

[Fido]

It's a hard bunch to compare, way different eras. The Platters had four number ones and seven top tens, were very influential on later vocal groups, and had a top tier vocalist in Tony Williams. Wynonie vs Blige is even harder but fifteen Top 10 hits on the R&B charts and one of the creators of rock, while being influential directly on Elvis. Though it's true it didn't feel right separating Missy and Mary.

You guys are underrating Jerry Lee Lewis a whole lot. Way more influential than the group below him, his piano playing and wild performances are acclaimed as the best of them, and has two absolutely immortal songs.

[Tim]

Let's try something like this:

92. Pearl Jam
93. Jerry Lee Lewis
94. Rod Stewart
95. Paul McCartney/Wings
96. Lady Gaga
97. Coldplay
98. Green Day
99. Adele
100. Depeche Mode
101. The Jackson 5/The Jacksons
102. The Platters
103. Mary J. Blige
104. Missy Elliott
105. Earth, Wind, & Fire
106. George Michael/Wham!
107. Wynonie Harris
108. Roy Brown
109. The Shirelles
110. The Weeknd

[ManPerson]

I would not have The Weeknd that low. I think he is a bit more musically influential than George Michael with comparable popularity and acclaim.

[Tim]

Guess I can see him at #105, between Missy and EW&F. Re: Jerry Lee Lewis, I'd say Pearl Jam win popularity easily, acclaim is Jerry Lee but clearly not by as much, influence a close Jerry Lee win.

[Fido]

Guess I can see him at #105, between Missy and EW&F. Re: Jerry Lee Lewis, I'd say Pearl Jam win popularity easily, acclaim is Jerry Lee but clearly not by as much, influence a close Jerry Lee win.

So... Jerry Lee wins!
I'd rather lower George Michael than raise The Weeknd. I wouldn't have him above EW&F as they kill in musical impact and are more influential.

[Tim]

I'd say Jerry Lee's two relatively small wins is not enough to cancel Pearl Jam's large one given that Pearl Jam are very influential and acclaimed themselves and Jerry Lee was the original 'cancelled' rock star which hurt his period of acclaim and popularity.

[ManPerson]

I'd suggest this
92. Pearl Jam
93. Jerry Lee Lewis
94. Rod Stewart
95. Paul McCartney/Wings
96. Lady Gaga
97. Coldplay
98. Green Day
99. Adele
100. Depeche Mode
101. The Jackson 5/The Jacksons
102. The Platters
103. Missy Elliott
104. Earth, Wind, & Fire
105. Mary J. Blige
106. The Weeknd
107. George Michael/Wham!
108. Wynonie Harris
109. Roy Brown
110. The Shirelles