Greatest Rock Artists Of All Time (Revision Version)

[ManPerson]

As for The Who, I'd say they win influence over Jay, lose popularity and cultural impact and might edge out in acclaim though it's a hard comparison.

I'd say acclaim is probably a tie. Jay has a ton of musical impact as a rapper.

[ManPerson]

I'd say Sonic Youth should be higher. They clearly take acclaim and influence over, say, Bon Jovi or Chicago.

[Tim]

Do we want to combine Diana Ross and Supremes? I'd say their legacies are pretty intertwined and we already did it for Smokey Robinson and Curtis Mayfield (I guess you could argue they were the principal songwriters in their groups while Diana wasn't).

[Fido]

I was actually under the impression that Dire Straits and Dion are more popular than Petty with Dion's singles success (The Wanderer, Runaround Sue) and Dire Straits' blockbuster success of Brothers in Arms plus Money for Nothing and Sultans of Swing being more popular than any Petty song. As for Nas, I'd give him influence for sure, plus peer acclaim/musical impact as arguably the greatest lyricist/MC in hip-hop.

Comparing chart success Petty has a very impressive album run that I thought puts him ahead. Against Nas it's closer but since he was also a very acclaimed songwriter and lyricist I gave him the win, as Petty's acclaim is also more widespread while Nas is very big in one subgenre.

I vote yes on Diana Ross & the Supremes. I was very close to suggesting we should include Mayfield solo if we had Ross there. If we combine them, should they jump Beyoncé?

[ManPerson]

I don't buy that Petty's acclaim is stronger than Nas. Nas is widely considered one of the greatest lyricists of all time so I'd give him musical impact while Illmatic is far more critically acclaimed than any of Petty's albums.

[Tim]

Thoughts?

30. 2pac
31. Diana Ross & The Supremes
32. Beyoncé
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. George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic
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. The Grateful Dead
80. N.W.A.
81. Dr. Dre
82. Ramones
83. Eric B. & Rakim
84. LL Cool J
85. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
86. Aerosmith
87. The Police
88. Guns N' Roses
89. Van Halen
90. The Drifters
91. Al Green
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. Jackie Wilson
104. Missy Elliott
105. Earth, Wind & Fire
106. Mary J. Blige
107. Wynonie Harris
108. Roy Brown
109. Van Morrison
110. Cream
111. The Isley Brothers
112. The Shirelles
113. The Dominoes
114. The Clovers
115. Ruth Brown
116. Joy Division/New Order
117. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
118. Red Hot Chili Peppers
119. Fugees/Lauryn Hill
120. The Weeknd
121. George Michael/Wham!
122. Eric Clapton
123. John Lennon
124. Deep Purple
125. Big Joe Turner
126. Santana
127. Johnny Otis
128. The Band
129. The Orioles
130. The Four Tops
131. Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
132. Etta James
133. Wilson Pickett
134. Janis Joplin/Big Brother and the Holding Company
135. Justin Timberlake
136. Blondie
137. Billy Joel
138. Martha & the Vandellas
139. Iron Maiden
140. Chic
141. Talking Heads
142. The Smiths
143. The Cure
144. Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young)
145. Elvis Costello
146. Yes
147. Iggy Pop & the Stooges
148. The Allman Brothers Band
149. Rick Nelson
150. Hank Ballard & the Midnighters
151. Sex Pistols
152. Sam & Dave
153. Oasis
154. The "5" Royales
155. Daft Punk
156. The Yardbirds
157. TLC
158. Gladys Knight & the Pips
159. Kate Bush
160. Roxy Music
161. Genesis
162. Nas
163. Tom Petty (& the Heartbreakers)
164. Dire Straits
165. Dion (& the Belmonts)
166. Booker T. & the M.G.’s
167. Carole King
168. Paul Simon
169. The Coasters
170. Lynyrd Skynyrd
171. King Crimson
172. The O’Jays
173. Jefferson Airplane
174. Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers
175. Eddie Cochran
176. Carl Perkins
177. Patti Smith
178. A Tribe Called Quest
179. Pixies
180. Lana Del Rey
181. Alice Cooper
182. James Taylor
183. Bob Seger (& the Silver Bullet Band)
184. The Mamas & the Papas
185. Solomon Burke
186. The Flamingos
187. The White Stripes
188. Neil Diamond
189. Alicia Keys
190. Chicago
191. Rush
192. KISS
193. Little Willie John
194. Del Shannon
195. Sonic Youth
196. Usher
197. Def Leppard
198. Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force
199. Bon Jovi
200. The Cars
201. Frank Ocean
202. Bad Bunny
203. Kool & the Gang
204. The Ventures
205. The Animals
206. Salt-N-Pepa
207. Johnny Ace
208. The Righteous Brothers
209. Phil Collins
210. Ariana Grande
211. Hall & Oates
212. Cher
213. R. Kelly
214. Jethro Tull
215. Judas Priest
216. Journey
217. Justin Bieber
218. Screamin' Jay Hawkins

[Fido]

I don't buy that Petty's acclaim is stronger than Nas. Nas is widely considered one of the greatest lyricists of all time so I'd give him musical impact while Illmatic is far more critically acclaimed than any of Petty's albums.

Ok but that's just one album, Petty's whole discography is much more acclaimed than Nas', who has a bunch of pretty crappy albums, and let's not get into acclaimed songs, Petty has a bigger portfolio of classics under his belt. In the Court of the Crimson King is also at Illmatic's level of acclaim, or The Low End Theory.

Getting back to the Ross & the Supremes, should they be even higher? Considering their whole career I can see them beating Run-D.M.C. in popularity and acclaim.

[ManPerson]

Illmatic is often considered the greatest hip hop album of all time, so I'd say it's acclaim probably is a bit stronger than those other two. And I still think Nas wins in musical impact as well.

[ManPerson]

The Ventures also seem high. I think Ariana Grande, for example takes popularity by just as much if not more than they take influence while she's clearly more acclaimed as well.

[Fido]

The Ventures also seem high. I think Ariana Grande, for example takes popularity by just as much if not more than they take influence while she's clearly more acclaimed as well.

Don't agree with that at all. The Ventures are a candidate for top 100 most influential ever, not only for their guitar influence, but on the album as an art form and instrumental rock in general. Add to that their massive popularity in Japan, and their 100 million records sold.

[Tim]

Getting back to the Ross & the Supremes, should they be even higher? Considering their whole career I can see them beating Run-D.M.C. in popularity and acclaim.

I'd say popularity is Ross & Supremes easy, influence Run-DMC rather easy, acclaim and cultural impact I'd say about tie. If we compare them with Nirvana they win popularity & cultural impact, lose popularity and acclaim. How about #29 for them, over 2Pac and Em?

[Tim]

We can still debate Petty and the Ventures but that's how I'd re-rank #219-227:

26. Bruce Springsteen
27. Run-D.M.C.
28. Nirvana
29. Diana Ross & The Supremes
30. Eminem
31. 2pac
32. Beyoncé
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. George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic
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. The Grateful Dead
80. N.W.A.
81. Dr. Dre
82. Ramones
83. Eric B. & Rakim
84. LL Cool J
85. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
86. Aerosmith
87. The Police
88. Guns N' Roses
89. Van Halen
90. The Drifters
91. Al Green
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. Jackie Wilson
104. Missy Elliott
105. Earth, Wind & Fire
106. Mary J. Blige
107. Wynonie Harris
108. Roy Brown
109. Van Morrison
110. Cream
111. The Isley Brothers
112. The Shirelles
113. The Dominoes
114. The Clovers
115. Ruth Brown
116. Joy Division/New Order
117. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
118. Red Hot Chili Peppers
119. Fugees/Lauryn Hill
120. The Weeknd
121. George Michael/Wham!
122. Eric Clapton
123. John Lennon
124. Deep Purple
125. Big Joe Turner
126. Santana
127. Johnny Otis
128. The Band
129. The Orioles
130. The Four Tops
131. Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
132. Etta James
133. Wilson Pickett
134. Janis Joplin/Big Brother and the Holding Company
135. Justin Timberlake
136. Blondie
137. Billy Joel
138. Martha & the Vandellas
139. Iron Maiden
140. Chic
141. Talking Heads
142. The Smiths
143. The Cure
144. Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young)
145. Elvis Costello
146. Yes
147. Iggy Pop & the Stooges
148. The Allman Brothers Band
149. Rick Nelson
150. Hank Ballard & the Midnighters
151. Sex Pistols
152. Sam & Dave
153. Oasis
154. The "5" Royales
155. Daft Punk
156. The Yardbirds
157. TLC
158. Gladys Knight & the Pips
159. Kate Bush
160. Roxy Music
161. Genesis
162. Nas
163. Tom Petty (& the Heartbreakers)
164. Dire Straits
165. Dion (& the Belmonts)
166. Booker T. & the M.G.’s
167. Carole King
168. Paul Simon
169. The Coasters
170. Lynyrd Skynyrd
171. King Crimson
172. The O’Jays
173. Jefferson Airplane
174. Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers
175. Eddie Cochran
176. Carl Perkins
177. Patti Smith
178. LaVern Baker
179. A Tribe Called Quest
180. Pixies
181. Lana Del Rey
182. Alice Cooper
183. James Taylor
184. Bob Seger (& the Silver Bullet Band)
185. The Mamas & the Papas
186. The Moody Blues
187. Solomon Burke
188. The Flamingos
189. Chuck Willis
190. The White Stripes
191. Neil Diamond
192. Alicia Keys
193. Chicago
194. Rush
195. KISS
196. Little Willie John
197. Del Shannon
198. Sonic Youth
199. Usher
200. Def Leppard
201. Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force
202. Bon Jovi
203. The Cars
204. Frank Ocean
205. Bad Bunny
206. Kool & the Gang
207. The Ventures
208. The Animals
209. Pretenders
210. Jackson Browne
211. War
212. Salt-N-Pepa
213. Johnny Ace
214. The Righteous Brothers
215. Phil Collins
216. Ariana Grande
217. Hall & Oates
218. Cher
219. R. Kelly
220. Jethro Tull
221. John Mellencamp
222. Shirley & Lee
223. Jan & Dean
224. Judas Priest
225. Journey
226. Justin Bieber
227. Screamin' Jay Hawkins