Greatest Rock Artists Of All Time (Revision Version)

[Tim]

I'd say Scorpions are pretty borderline as a metal artists so them being ranked lower on metal list than Priest or Megadeth does not necessarily translate into them being lower on the overall rock list, with Scorpions' arguably the greatest song clearly not being metal.

[ManPerson]

That's also true, though I think Judas Priest are more acclaimed and influential, anyway.

[Tim]

How's this for a quick fix?

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 (& the E Street Band)
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 (& Crazy Horse)
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. 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. Amos Milburn
129. The Band
130. The Orioles
131. Ike & Tina Turner
132. Four Tops
133. Frank Zappa/The Mothers of Invention
134. Etta James
135. Wilson Pickett
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 (& the Attractions)
148. Yes
149. Iggy Pop/The Stooges
150. The Allman Brothers Band
151. The Ravens
152. Rick Nelson
153. Hank Ballard & the Midnighters
154. Sex Pistols
155. Sam & Dave
156. Oasis
157. The "5" Royales
158. Daft Punk
159. The Yardbirds
160. De La Soul
161. TLC
162. Gladys Knight & the Pips
163. Kate Bush
164. Roxy Music
165. Genesis
166. Lil Wayne
167. Nas
168. Tom Petty (& the Heartbreakers)
169. Dire Straits
170. Dion (& the Belmonts)
171. Booker T. & the M.G.'s
172. Carole King
173. Paul Simon
174. The Coasters
175. Lynyrd Skynyrd
176. King Crimson
177. The O’Jays
178. Brian Eno
179. Jefferson Airplane
180. Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers
181. The Ronettes
182. Eddie Cochran
183. Carl Perkins
184. Patti Smith
185. LaVern Baker
186. A Tribe Called Quest
187. Wu-Tang Clan (incl. solo projects)
188. Pixies
189. Snoop Dogg
190. Lana Del Rey
191. Alice Cooper
192. Isaac Hayes
193. James Taylor
194. Steely Dan
195. Bob Seger (& the Silver Bullet Band)
196. The Mamas & the Papas
197. Solomon Burke
198. The Flamingos
199. The White Stripes
200. Smashing Pumpkins
201. Duran Duran
202. The Human League
203. Neil Diamond
204. The Monkees
205. Dusty Springfield
206. Alicia Keys
207. Rush
208. Destiny's Child
209. The Moody Blues
210. Sonic Youth
211. Chicago
212. Ice Cube
213. KISS
214. The Staple Singers
215. Usher
216. Björk
217. Arctic Monkeys
218. Chuck Willis
219. Little Willie John
220. Del Shannon
221. Nine Inch Nails
222. Rage Against the Machine
223. Motörhead
224. Def Leppard
225. Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force
226. Bon Jovi
227. The Cars
228. Bad Bunny
229. Kool & the Gang
230. Chubby Checker
231. T. Rex
232. Lionel Richie/Commodores
233. The Ventures
234. The Animals
235. Ivory Joe Hunter
236. Tom Waits
237. Pretenders
238. Leonard Cohen
239. Frank Ocean
240. Beck
241. Massive Attack
242. Lou Reed
243. MC5
244. Hüsker Dü
245. Jackson Browne
246. Pet Shop Boys
247. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
248. Phil Collins
249. Sade
250. Ariana Grande
251. Nicki Minaj
252. Hall & Oates
253. Boyz II Men
254. Alanis Morissette
255. Luther Vandross
256. Future
257. War
258. Chaka Khan/Rufus
259. Eurythmics
260. Salt-N-Pepa
261. Peter Gabriel
262. The Righteous Brothers
263. Jethro Tull
264. Soundgarden
265. Crystals
266. George Harrison
267. Electric Light Orchestra
268. New York Dolls
269. The (Young) Rascals
270. T.I.
271. Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps
272. The Marvelettes
273. Joe Tex
274. The Prodigy
275. Johnny Ace
276. Lloyd Price
277. Cher
278. R. Kelly
279. The Lovin' Spoonful 
280. The Spinners
281. Rick James
282. Barry White
283. Weezer
284. Linda Ronstadt
285. The Shadows
286. Emerson, Lake & Palmer
287. Erykah Badu
288. Gary Numan/Tubeway Army
289. Toots & the Maytals
290. Television
291. Todd Rundgren/Utopia
292. Slayer
293. 50 Cent
294. Boston
295. Cheap Trick
296. Buffalo Springfield
297. Justin Bieber
298. Journey
299. John Mellencamp
300. ZZ Top
301. The Moonglows
302. Duane Eddy
303. Alice in Chains
304. Heart
305. Bryan Adams
306. Tina Turner
307. Patti LaBelle/Labelle
308. Steve Miller Band
309. The Dells
310. Judas Priest
311. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
312. PJ Harvey
313. Tyler, the Creator
314. INXS
315. The Doobie Brothers
316. Moby
317. The Chemical Brothers
318. Jan & Dean
319. Boogie Down Productions
320. The B-52's
321. Randy Newman
322. Ritchie Valens
323. Dick Dale & the Del-Tones
324. No Doubt
325. Scorpions
326. Gloria Estefan/Miami Sound Machine
327. Anita Baker
328. Mary Wells
329. Jeff Buckley
330. Tori Amos
331. Blue Öyster Cult
332. Wire
333. Tracy Chapman
334. Ice-T/Body Count
335. Shirley & Lee
336. The Hollies
337. The Stylistics
338. Giorgio Moroder
339. Fugazi
340. Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew
341. Pavement
342. Queen Latifah
343. Screamin' Jay Hawkins
344. Dead Kennedys
345. Black Flag
346. Laura Nyro
347. X
348. Foreigner
349. System of a Down
350. Megadeth
351. Peter Frampton
352. Carly Simon
353. The Roots
354. The Pointer Sisters
355. Jack Scott
356. Larry Williams
357. Kurtis Blow
358. The Fall
359. Warren Zevon
360. Kansas
361. Robbie Williams
362. UB40
363. Aphex Twin
364. Grand Funk Railroad
365. Dave Matthews Band
366. Ohio Players
367. Huey Lewis & the News
368. Bachman-Turner Overdrive
369. The Chiffons
370. Big Mama Thornton
371. Jimmy Buffett
372. Bonnie Raitt
373. Annie Lennox
374. Sarah McLachlan
375. Yellow Magic Orchestra
376. Melissa Etheridge
377. Rickie Lee Jones
378. Joan Armatrading

Moved up Priest a decent amount, moved down Scorpions, moved up Megadeth slightly.

[Tim]

How's this for a middle ground.

1. Aaliyah
2. Christina Aguilera
3. Faye Adams
4. 10cc
5. Air
6. The 5th Dimension
7. A$AP Rocky
8. Arthur Alexander
9. 2 Live Crew
10. Air Supply

Aaliyah tragic death in a plane crash, legend in contemporary r&b, well-rounded in all three criteria, Aguilera high popularity, some influence on late 1990s - early 2000s Latin boom, highly acclaimed as vocalist. Faye Adams large influence on rock's breakthrough, huge influence on soul as well, highly respected within early '50s rock scene.

10cc critically acclaimed prog/pop band, high popularity in UK, seen as sorta one-hit wonder-ish in US. Air highly acclaimed genre-crossing electronic duo, influential within ambient, downtempo, alternative pop. The 5th Dimension '60s sunshine pop/psychdelic soul vocal group, high popularity with rather polarizing acclaim. A$AP decent amount of popularity & acclaim in the 2010s, one of cloud rap popularizers. Arthur Alexander '60s soul songwriter-singer, limited popularity but high peer acclaim, direct influence on Beatles, Elvis, Dylan.

Air Supply Australian soft rock duo with pretty much only popularity going for them. 2 Live Crew Miami bass pioneers, notorious for sexually explicit lyrics, As Nasty as They Wanna Be the first album to be deemed legally obscene.

[ManPerson]

I'll take it (for both lists).

[Fido]

Saying System of a Down are more acclaimed than Megadeth is relying too much on AM. Megadeth are considered Metallica's rivals during their peak, with Rust in Peace being sometimes revered as thrash's best album, and Mustaine and especially Marty Friedman in the guitar community are acclaimed in a way that SOAD simply aren't. Giving them popularity also doesn't feel right, as Megadeth were thrash pioneers when the genre was very uncommercial and SoaD were working in a world where metal was a huge market, and still Megadeth have sold more (though they have released more albums, true). Not surprising at all though, I don't really know any SoaD fan who doesn't know Megadeth.

It doesn't really matter much but that's the problem with going so far down on the list and including this many artists. Another point I'll make is that in this range all the top artists in any niche are going to be too low regardless of mainstream status. When an artist is very big in any given subgenre, they basically win influence and acclaim against any mainstream pop star who isn't highly regarded by the musical community. That acclaim may not show up in mainstream publications though, even with a whole community of artists revering somebody. Is Justin Bieber more influential or acclaimed than Judas Priest, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Fugazi, Boogie Down Productions, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy? Not by any chance. Should he be lowered 100 spots? Not really, as there's a whole bunch of artists who also aren't really influential and are less popular than him (I chose him only as an easy example, not being a hater).

[ManPerson]

Saying System of a Down are more acclaimed than Megadeth is relying too much on AM. Megadeth are considered Metallica's rivals during their peak, with Rust in Peace being sometimes revered as thrash's best album, and Mustaine and especially Marty Friedman in the guitar community are acclaimed in a way that SOAD simply aren't. Giving them popularity also doesn't feel right, as Megadeth were thrash pioneers when the genre was very uncommercial and SoaD were working in a world where metal was a huge market, and still Megadeth have sold more (though they have released more albums, true). Not surprising at all though, I don't really know any SoaD fan who doesn't know Megadeth.

This feels more relevant to influence than popularity, I think it's safe to say SoaD's music has definitely been listened to more than Megadeth which should still be the primary consideration when measuring popularity. SoaD have some acclaim in the alternative sphere too and Toxicity is rated very highly in some circles, so while Megadeth are definitely more acclaimed than SoaD in the metal realm, SoaD may still be more acclaimed overall.

SoaD also have a lot of plays on Spotify and views on YouTube which isn't necessarily accounted for in album sales.

[Tim]

Replaced Little Esther Phillips with Calvin Harris on my long list as she was already included on one of paul's lists of candidates when I added her to mine.

[Tim]

Inserting a batch:

270. T.I.
271. Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps
272. The Marvelettes
273. Joe Tex
274. The Prodigy
275. Johnny Ace
276. Lloyd Price
277. Cher
278. Aaliyah
279. R. Kelly
280. The Lovin' Spoonful 
281. The Spinners
282. Rick James
283. Barry White
284. Weezer
285. Linda Ronstadt
286. The Shadows
287. Emerson, Lake & Palmer
288. Erykah Badu
289. Gary Numan/Tubeway Army
290. Toots & the Maytals
291. Television
292. Todd Rundgren/Utopia
293. Slayer
294. 50 Cent
295. Boston
296. Cheap Trick
297. Buffalo Springfield
298. Justin Bieber
299. Journey
300. John Mellencamp
301. ZZ Top
302. The Moonglows
303. Duane Eddy
304. Alice in Chains
305. Heart
306. Bryan Adams
307. Tina Turner
308. Patti LaBelle/Labelle
309. Christina Aguilera
310. Steve Miller Band
311. The Dells
312. Faye Adams
313. Judas Priest
314. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
315. PJ Harvey
316. Tyler, the Creator
317. INXS
318. The Doobie Brothers
319. Moby
320. The Chemical Brothers
321. Jan & Dean
322. Boogie Down Productions
323. The B-52's
324. Randy Newman
325. Ritchie Valens
326. Dick Dale & the Del-Tones
327. No Doubt
328. Scorpions
329. Gloria Estefan/Miami Sound Machine
330. Anita Baker
331. Mary Wells
332. Jeff Buckley
333. Tori Amos
334. Blue Öyster Cult
335. Wire
336. Tracy Chapman
337. Ice-T/Body Count
338. Shirley & Lee
339. The Hollies
340. The Stylistics
341. Giorgio Moroder
342. Fugazi
343. Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew
344. Pavement
345. Queen Latifah
346. Screamin' Jay Hawkins
347. Dead Kennedys
348. Black Flag
349. Laura Nyro
350. X
351. Foreigner
352. System of a Down
353. Megadeth
354. Peter Frampton
355. Carly Simon
356. The Roots
357. The Pointer Sisters
358. Jack Scott
359. Larry Williams
360. Kurtis Blow
361. The Fall
362. Warren Zevon
363. Kansas
364. Robbie Williams
365. UB40
366. Aphex Twin
367. 10cc
368. Air
369. Grand Funk Railroad
370. Dave Matthews Band
371. Ohio Players
372. Huey Lewis & the News
373. Bachman-Turner Overdrive
374. The Chiffons
375. Big Mama Thornton
376. The 5th Dimension
377. A$AP Rocky
378. Jimmy Buffett
379. Bonnie Raitt
380. Arthur Alexander
381. Annie Lennox
382. Sarah McLachlan
383. Yellow Magic Orchestra
384. 2 Live Crew
385. Air Supply
386. Melissa Etheridge
387. Rickie Lee Jones
388. Joan Armatrading

[Tim]

Next:

Animal Collective
Adam Ant (incl. Adam & the Ants)
Fiona Apple
Arcade Fire
Archibald
Arrested Development
Backstreet Boys
Bad Brains
Bad Company
The Bangles

[Tim]

My take:

1. Arcade Fire
2. Backstreet Boys
3. Fiona Apple
4. Bad Brains
5. The Bangles
6. Arrested Development
7. Archibald
8. Bad Company
9. Adam Ant (incl. Adam & the Ants)
10. Animal Collective

[ManPerson]

I'd have Aaliyah even higher, I'd say she's comparable to ELO, for instance, in all the criteria and, if anything, I think she may be more influential.

[ManPerson]

1. Arcade Fire
2. Backstreet Boys
3. Fiona Apple
4. Bad Brains
5. Arrested Development
6. Bad Company
7. The Bangles
8. Adam Ant
9. Animal Collective
10. Archibald

[ManPerson]

Archibald isn't even listed on AM, only had one hit on the r&b charts which peaked at #10, has pretty much no real lasting popularity, and is only #124 on Sampson's 1950s list.

Imo he should clearly be last in this group.

[Tim]

Probably. I guess I was thinking he's pretty influential with the first rock version of Stagger Lee and influence on New Orleans R&R.

[Tim]

My thinking regarding hypothetical Bieber v Megadeth, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, etc. match-up is that popularity is a landslide Bieber win in all of these cases and influence & acclaim limited to a relatively niche subgenre is not enough to overturn this, even if they are huge within their subgenres. Of course, some of these are influential on relatively large subgenres (Boogie Down and gangsta rap, Judas Priest and broad metal influence), and some have rather broad influence like Fugazi but these are also usually the ones ranked highest of these. Plus, in Bieber's case there's also youtube influence spreading across the genres and within pop music, he's pretty acclaimed.