Greatest Glam Rock Artists (Revision Version)

[Tim]

Criteria: Artists are ranked according to their popularity, critical and peer acclaim, influence with impact specifically on glam rock music and culture prioritized.

Glam rock is short-lived yet influential rock subgenre reaching its peak during 1971-1975, and going into sharp decline since that, primary a British phenomenon with some artists outside of UK following suit. Visually characterized by flamboyant clothing, make-up and androgynous style. Musically glam rock is divided in two schools. One, lead by T. Rex and followed by the likes of Sweet and Slade, was drawing influences from classic rock and roll, bubblegum pop and hard rock, resulting in catchy hooks and simple melodies. Others, lead by David Bowie and Roxy Music and followed by Sparks and Brian Eno, was strongly influenced by prog and art rock which resulted in more ambitious and dramatic style, both musically and lyrically. Some artists from same time period, which were apart either group musically, like New York Dolls, still got grouped in with glam rock, thanks to their visual aesthetics.

Subgenres which draw influence from glam rock include glam metal, visual key, punk rock, gothic rock and New Romantic, among others.

Link: https://digitaldreamdoor.com/mobile/roc ... -rock.html

1. David Bowie
2. T. Rex
3. Roxy Music
4. Queen
5. Elton John
6. Alice Cooper
7. New York Dolls
8. KISS
9. Lou Reed
10. Mott the Hoople
11. Slade
12. Sweet
13. Brian Eno
14. Sparks
15. Bay City Rollers
16. Suzi Quatro
17. Gary Glitter
18. Iggy Pop and the Stooges
19. Mud
20. Wizzard
21. The Glitter Band
22. Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
23. Be-Bop Deluxe
24. David Essex
25. The Tubes
26. Roy Wood
27. Bryan Ferry
28. Alvin Stardust
29. Alex Harvey
30. Jobriath
31. Richard O'Brien
32. Kenny
33. Smokie
34. Showaddywaddy
35. Geordie
36. Skyhooks
37. The Rubettes
38. Doctors of Madness
39. Fox
40. Neil Merryweather
41. Mick Ronson
42. Silverhead
43. Ian Hunter
44. Jet
45. Hollywood Brats
46. Kim Fowley
47. Hello
48. Angel
49. Metro
50. Racey

Greatest Glam Rock Albums
1. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars David Bowie
2. Hunky Dory David Bowie
3. Electric Warrior T. Rex
4. For Your Pleasure Roxy Music
5. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Elton John
6. Transformer Lou Reed
7. New York Dolls New York Dolls
8. Aladdin Sane David Bowie
9. Sheer Heart Attack Queen
10. Roxy Music Roxy Music
11. Queen II Queen
12. School's Out Alice Cooper
13. Country Life Roxy Music
14. Here Come the Warm Jets Eno
15. Mott Mott the Hoople
16. Kimono My House Sparks
17. Too Much Too Soon New York Dolls
18. The Slider T. Rex
19. Million Dollar Babies Alice Cooper
20. Rock 'n' Roll Animal Lou Reed
21. KISS KISS
22. All the Young Dudes Mott the Hoople
23. Desolation Boulevard Sweet
24. Slayed? Slade
25. The Human Menagerie Cockney Rebel

Greatest Glam Rock Songs
1. Changes David Bowie
2. Bang a Gong (Get It On) T. Rex
3. Walk on the Wild Side Lou Reed
4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Elton John
5. All the Young Dudes Mott the Hoople
6. Rock and Roll, Part 2 Gary Glitter
7. School's Out Alice Cooper
8. Ziggy Stardust David Bowie
9. Rebel Rebel David Bowie
10. Bennie and the Jets Elton John
11. Love Is the Drug Roxy Music
12. Starman David Bowie
13. Killer Queen Queen
14. Personality Crisis New York Dolls
15. Rock and Roll All Nite KISS
16. Cum on Feel the Noize Slade
17. Fox on the Run Sweet
18. Crocodile Rock Elton John
19. 20th Century Boy T. Rex
20. Virginia Plain Roxy Music
21. This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us Sparks
22. Saturday Night Bay City Rollers
23. Ballroom Blitz Sweet
24. Search and Destroy Stooges
25. Elected! Alice Cooper

Greatest Glam Metal Artists
1. Van Halen
2. Def Leppard
3. Mötley Crüe
4. KISS
5. Bon Jovi
6. Poison
7. Ratt
8. Alice Cooper
9. Skid Row
10. Cinderella

Greatest Neo-Glam Artists
1. Suede
2. Placebo
3. Scissor Sisters
4. The Auteurs/Luke Haines
5. Spacehog
6. Marion
7. Of Montreal
8. Manswear
9. Nancy Boy
10. IAMX

[Area Man]

The top ten list of glam metal artists looks really good. The top three couldn't be better. However, would date-range qualifiers be necessary for Kiss and Alice Cooper? They were glam rock since the 1970s, but didn't become glam metal until a little later. Maybe something like "Kiss (1983-1993 output)" and "Alice Cooper (1986-1991 output)" would work? Kiss would be Lick It Up through Alive III, while Alice Cooper would be Constrictor through Hey Stoopid.

On a similar note, would 1987-1993 Aerosmith and 1979-1990 Scorpions have what it takes to crack the top ten glam metal artists list? I know they aren't universally considered glam metal (even during those time frames), but I'd say that they count.

[Tim]

How about this?

1. Van Halen (1984 - 1988 output)
2. Def Leppard
3. Mötley Crüe
4. KISS (1983 - 1993 output)
5. Bon Jovi (1984 - 1988 output)
6. Poison
7. Ratt
8. Alice Cooper (1986 - 1991 output)
9. Scorpions (1979 - 1990 output)
10. Aerosmith (1987 - 1993 output)
11. Skid Row
12. Cinderella
13. Quiet Riot
14. Dokken
15. Twisted Sister

[ManPerson]

I'd have Quiet Riot higher since Metal Health was the first glam metal album to hit #1, iirc.

[pauldrach]

I'd have Quiet Riot higher since Metal Health was the first glam metal album to hit #1, iirc.

I'd have them at #7 at least.

[Area Man]

Personally, I don't think date-range qualifiers are necessary for Van Halen and Bon Jovi. For Van Halen, for instance, the RateYourMusic consensus at the moment is that glam metal is "only" a secondary genre for Van Halen's 1978 self-titled debut, but that album, more than any other, is most responsible for creating the glam metal genre. It really started the whole thing.

Also, I think the issue of Guns N' Roses being on the list or not should be addressed. I could potentially see them as high as #4. All of their classic-era studio albums have "sleaze rock" as either a primary or secondary genre on RateYourMusic, a genre that is considered a subgenre of glam metal on that website's genre hierarchy system. Appetite for Destruction has glam metal proper as a secondary genre on that site, and their first four studio albums are considered part of the Sunset Strip Glam Metal scene on it. Yes, Guns N' Roses were rawer and ruder than some of the glam metal coming out at the time of Appetite for Destruction (like Bon Jovi), but their sound really wasn't so different from, say, early Motley Crue. They had a combo of hard rock anthems and power ballads (sometimes in the same song, as "Rocket Queen" demonstrates), party-hardy/hedonistic lyrics and aesthetics, big hairdos, mainstream guitar rock aesthetics, etc. These are all characteristics of glam metal, and the insistences that bands like Van Halen and Guns N' Roses are "too good/talented to be glam/hair metal" kinda seem No-True-Scotsman-Fallacy-ish to me (not saying that anybody here's making that argument, but it appears frequently on the Internet).

Thoughts?

[ManPerson]

How about this?

4. KISS (1983 - 1993 output)
5. Bon Jovi (1984 - 1988 output)

I'd think if we only include these respective eras from each band, I'd think Bon Jovi should be ahead of KISS for sure.

[Tim]

How about this?

1. Van Halen
2. Def Leppard
3. Mötley Crüe
4. Guns N' Roses
5. Bon Jovi
6. KISS (1983 - 1993 output)
7. Poison
8. Quiet Riot
9. Alice Cooper (1986 - 1991 output)
10. Scorpions (1979 - 1990 output)
11. Aerosmith (1987 - 1993 output)
12. Ratt
13. Skid Row
14. Cinderella
15. Dokken

[ManPerson]

I think I'd have Scorpions over Alice Cooper since I think their music from their glam metal period is more popular than Alice Cooper's.

[pauldrach]

I think I'd have Scorpions over Alice Cooper since I think their music from their glam metal period is more popular than Alice Cooper's.

Arguably more influential, too.