Greatest Rock Artists Of All Time (Revision Version)

[ManPerson]

I've always thought Bonnie Raitt being on the the list was a bit random so I'm fine with moving her down.

[ManPerson]

I think Wu-Tang could be at #3 if we're including solo projects.

[Tim]

Inserting a new batch of artists:

150. Hank Ballard & the Midnighters
151. Sex Pistols
152. Sam & Dave
153. Oasis
154. The "5" Royales
155. Daft Punk
156. De La Soul
157. The Yardbirds
158. TLC
159. Gladys Knight & the Pips
160. Kate Bush
161. Roxy Music
162. Genesis
163. Nas
164. Tom Petty (& the Heartbreakers)
165. Dire Straits
166. Dion (& the Belmonts)
167. Lil Wayne
168. Booker T. & the M.G.’s
169. Carole King
170. Paul Simon
171. The Coasters
172. Lynyrd Skynyrd
173. King Crimson
174. The O’Jays
175. Jefferson Airplane
176. Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers
177. Eddie Cochran
178. Carl Perkins
179. Patti Smith
180. LaVern Baker
181. A Tribe Called Quest
182. Wu-Tang Clan (incl. solo projects)
183. Pixies
184. Lana Del Rey
185. Snoop Dogg
186. Alice Cooper
187. James Taylor
188. Steely Dan
189. Bob Seger (& the Silver Bullet Band)
190. The Mamas & the Papas
191. Solomon Burke
192. The Flamingos
193. The White Stripes
194. The Smashing Pumpkins
195. Neil Diamond
196. Alicia Keys
197. Rush
198. The Moody Blues
199. Chicago
200. KISS
201. Arctic Monkeys
202. Chuck Willis
203. Little Willie John
204. Del Shannon
205. Sonic Youth
206. Usher
207. Def Leppard
208. Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force
209. Bon Jovi
210. The Cars
211. Frank Ocean
212. Bad Bunny
213. Kool & the Gang
214. The Ventures
215. Lionel Richie/Commodores
216. The Animals
217. Ivory Joe Hunter
218. Pretenders
219. Jackson Browne
220. Phil Collins
221. Ariana Grande
222. Hall & Oates
223. Boyz II Men
224. War
225. Salt-N-Pepa
226. Johnny Ace
227. The Righteous Brothers
228. Cher
229. 50 Cent
230. R. Kelly
231. Jethro Tull
232. Emerson, Lake & Palmer
233. Justin Bieber
234. Journey
235. John Mellencamp
236. Barry White
237. The Dells
238. Jan & Dean
239. Boogie Down Productions
240. Shirley & Lee
241. Judas Priest
242. Screamin' Jay Hawkins
243. Bonnie Raitt

[Tim]

Next:

The Spinners
The Staple Singers
Sade
Duran Duran
Amos Milburn
Ike & Tina Turner
Brian Eno
Nicki Minaj
The Ravens
Leonard Cohen

[ManPerson]

I'd even have Lil Wayne a bit higher, I think he's more popular than Petty, less acclaimed and I'd probably give him influence as well.

[Tim]

1. Amos Milburn
2. Ike & Tina Turner
3. The Ravens
4. Brian Eno
5. Duran Duran
6. The Staple Singers
7. Leonard Cohen
8. Sade
9. Nicki Minaj
10. The Spinners

Milburn in running for the greatest early rock and roll artist, ultimate rock pianist before Fats Domino, legendary string of drinking songs. Ike & Tina one of the greatest live acts in rock, and while not as popular as Tina during her solo career, the duo is in large part responsible for making her such a rock icon. The way Ike treated Tina is a blemish on his legacy but I don't think the duo's musical acclaim suffered as a result. Eno obvi an acclaim and influence beast even if not all of it confined to rock nor to him as a recording artist specifically. Ravens one of the earlest and most unique (bass-lead) vocal groups in rock, early adapters of standards in rock context.

Duran Duran one of the most popular New Wave acts, remained popular even during the 1990s, spearheaded second British invasion and, to an extent, MTV era in rock. Staple Singers gospel/soul/R&B group acclaimed among huge variety of artists, heavily involved in Civil Rights Movement, string of succesful singers during the 1970s.

Cohen acclaim beast, significant lasting popularity, Hallelujah one of these omnipresent songs culturally, his influence not as obvious but it's there. Sade important influence on neo-soul and sophisti-pop, beloved by audiences, critics and artists alike. Nicki one of the greatest and most popular female hip-hop artists, omnipresent during the 2010s, both on charts and in overall pop culture. Spinners I'd say mostly there for popularity even though their collaboration with Thom Bell is respected artistically as well.

[Fido]

I'd bump the Yardbirds over De La, as I see them only losing critical acclaim. I agree with Man on Lil Wayne, maybe he could be right above Nas, as wrong as that might seem, he is way more popular and even influence is arguable. Snoop I'd say is more popular and influential than Lana, even if not by much. Richie and the Commodores are way more popular and acclaimed than the Ventures. I'd place 50 Cent below ELP, as I see him winning only popularity, and even that is not by much as ELP have actually sold more! Barry White I think should be higher, his popularity and cultural presence are huge. Maybe below Kelly?

[Tim]

Taking Fido's feedback in + inserting the next batch:

120. The Weeknd
121. George Michael/Wham!
122. Eric Clapton
123. John Lennon
124. Deep Purple
125. Amos Milburn
126. Big Joe Turner
127. Santana
128. Johnny Otis
129. The Band
130. The Orioles
131. The Four Tops
132. Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
133. Etta James
134. Wilson Pickett
135. Ike & Tina Turner
136. Janis Joplin/Big Brother and the Holding Company
137. Justin Timberlake
138. Blondie
139. Billy Joel
140. Martha & the Vandellas
141. Iron Maiden
142. Chic
143. Talking Heads
144. The Smiths
145. The Cure
146. Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young)
147. Elvis Costello
148. Yes
149. Iggy Pop & the Stooges
150. The Allman Brothers Band
151. Rick Nelson
152. Hank Ballard & the Midnighters
153. The Ravens
154. Sex Pistols
155. Sam & Dave
156. Oasis
157. The "5" Royales
158. Daft Punk
159. The Yardbirds
160. De La Soul
161. Gladys Knight & the Pips
162. TLC
163. Kate Bush
164. Roxy Music
165. Brian Eno
166. Genesis
167. Lil Wayne
168. Nas
169. Tom Petty (& the Heartbreakers)
170. Dire Straits
171. Dion (& the Belmonts)
172. Booker T. & the M.G.’s
173. Carole King
174. Paul Simon
175. The Coasters
176. Lynyrd Skynyrd
177. King Crimson
178. The O’Jays
179. Jefferson Airplane
180. Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers
181. Eddie Cochran
182. Carl Perkins
183. Patti Smith
184. LaVern Baker
185. A Tribe Called Quest
186. Wu-Tang Clan (incl. solo projects)
187. Pixies
188. Snoop Dogg
189. Lana Del Rey
190. Alice Cooper
191. James Taylor
192. Steely Dan
193. Bob Seger (& the Silver Bullet Band)
194. The Mamas & the Papas
195. Solomon Burke
196. The Flamingos
197. The White Stripes
198. Smashing Pumpkins
199. Duran Duran
200. Neil Diamond
201. Alicia Keys
202. Rush
203. The Moody Blues
204. Chicago
205. KISS
206. The Staple Singers
207. Arctic Monkeys
208. Chuck Willis
209. Little Willie John
210. Del Shannon
211. Leonard Cohen
212. Sonic Youth
213. Usher
214. Def Leppard
215. Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force
216. Bon Jovi
217. The Cars
218. Frank Ocean
219. Bad Bunny
220. Kool & the Gang
221. Lionel Richie/Commodores
222. The Ventures
223. The Animals
224. Ivory Joe Hunter
225. Pretenders
226. Jackson Browne
227. Phil Collins
228. Sade
229. Ariana Grande
230. Hall & Oates
231. Boyz II Men
232. War
233. Nicki Minaj
234. Salt-N-Pepa
235. Johnny Ace
236. The Righteous Brothers
237. Cher
238. R. Kelly
239. Barry White
240. Jethro Tull
241. Emerson, Lake & Palmer
242. 50 Cent
243. Justin Bieber
244. Journey
245. John Mellencamp
246. The Spinners
247. The Dells
248. Jan & Dean
249. Boogie Down Productions
250. Shirley & Lee

251. Judas Priest
252. Screamin' Jay Hawkins
253. Bonnie Raitt

[Tim]

Next:

Peter Gabriel
Heart
The Monkees
Nine Inch Nails
ZZ Top
Rage Against the Machine
Aphex Twin
Björk
Pet Shop Boys
Giorgio Moroder

[Fido]

Amos Milburn is a tough act to rank, as with all 40s artists. I think I'd have him right below Johnny Otis. Him and Turner are right there with Milburn in influence, and I think both are more acclaimed than him, and Santana kicks ass in popularity and acclaim. I assume Ike & Tina's spot includes her solo career, so I could see them higher, as their musical impact is top notch and are very popular. I can see them beating the Four Tops, the Orioles would be too influential imo. I'd bump the Ravens over Rick Nelson for their influence and Ricks' acclaim as a vocalist.

Brian Eno is another headscratcher. His most important work is outside of rock or as a producer behind other artists, and he has no hits. It makes sense to compare him with Roxy Music for their association, but that's too high imo. Another artist related to him is Robert Fripp of King Crimson, and comparing him to them Crimson were more popular and are probably more influential when excluding ambient (which they developed together) and straight producer work. I think he looks better at #178.

I think the Staple Singers beat Kiss considering their R&B success. Leonard Cohen only has strong acclaim really, I think he sould be lowered, every artist below him is more influential and more popular. Maybe around Frank Ocean? But others below beat him too. Whatever. Nicki right above Salt-N-Pepa is very wrong. The Spinners were one of the defining acts of Philly soul and were very popular, I'd bump them above Barry White.

[Tim]

I think Tina solo should get a separate listing personally, a la Cher and Sonny & Cher as Ike was arguably more important artistically (producing, writing occasionally) with Tina the bigger star. Plus the whole publicized break-up between them makes me think it's more apt to list them separately.

[Tim]

Next:

Peter Gabriel
Heart
The Monkees
Nine Inch Nails
ZZ Top
Rage Against the Machine
Aphex Twin
Björk
Pet Shop Boys
Giorgio Moroder

1. The Monkees
2. Björk
3. Nine Inch Nails
4. Rage Against the Machine
5. Pet Shop Boys
6. Peter Gabriel
7. ZZ Top
8. Heart
9. Giorgio Moroder
10. Aphex Twin

Björk widely acclaimed electronic/alt pop diva, highly popular for a unique artist like her. Trent Reznor greatest industrial rock artist, huge influence & respect in both rock & electronic worlds, (electronic) film score pioneer. RATM rap-rock pioneers, influence on direction of guitar rock during the 2000s, acclaimed for their politically conscious lyrics. Pet Shop Boys prolly the greatest electronic duo before Daft Punk came along, one of synth-pop lead artists, noted for their adversarial attitude to music industry and rock music, gay culture's icons. Monkees weaponized their TV show fame to become a blockbuster music success, psych pop, country rock, music video pioneers, cited as influence on both boys bands and some alt/punk. Gabriel another music video pioneer, string of highly acclaimed albums, with So a major commercial win, increased viability of "world music" in English-speaking world.

Moroder household name in disco/electronic music/film scores but, like Eno, large part of his influence as a producer rather than recording artist. ZZ Top topping greatest facial hairs in rock list on old forum, leading blues/hard rock artists for decades, adeptly adapted to MTV era with memorable videos. Heart pioneers in female-lead hard rock, went on to be lead artists in arena rock and masters of rock ballads. Aphex Twin highly acclaimed ambient pioneer who went on to become a sensation on yt; I do see him as a bit peripheral to rock.

[ManPerson]

. Nicki right above Salt-N-Pepa is very wrong. The Spinners were one of the defining acts of Philly soul and were very popular, I'd bump them above Barry White.

Nicki is more acclaimed and popular than Salt-n-Pepa, especially considering her musical impact as a rapper. I'd even have her higher. I'd say she's fairly comparable to Hall & Oates in popularity and acclaim, while I'd argue that she's more influential as pretty much every major female rapper since (Cardi B, Meg, Doja Cat, Doechii, etc.), draw pretty clear influence from Nicki.

[ManPerson]

Usher looks a bit low now, I'd give him acclaim and popularity over Chuck Willis, Del Shannon, Little Willie John and Staple Singers. I guess it's hard to argue he beats Sonic Youth, so maybe they could be a bit higher as well.

[Tim]

I don't really see Usher being particularly more acclaimed than any of these artists even if he outranks most of these on acclaimedmusic (and even on AM it's close between him and Shannon) with Shannon being a major name for British Invasion artists, Little Willie John for soul and beyond, Chuck Willis one of the most respected rock and roll songwriters of the 1950s.

[ManPerson]

Considering Usher also has a fair bit of musical impact as a vocalist I'd still give him the edge in acclaim.

[Fido]

Considering Usher also has a fair bit of musical impact as a vocalist I'd still give him the edge in acclaim.

Little Willie John and Mavis Staples are two of the greatest vocalists of all time

[Tim]

And Pops Staples a great guitarist.