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ManPerson wrote: Sat Mar 07, 2026 10:48 am I was actually on the fence about how much credit Bee Gees deserved for popularizing disco since it was already very popular before the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. I could see them next to Donna Summer.

Disco was popular before that, but I see Saturday Night Fever as bringing disco to its peak of popularity, to where it was something really huge instead of just one of several popular styles. Also, The Bee Gees had 2 big disco hits prior to that, the earlier one being "Jive Talkin'", a #1 hit in 1975. I think that song played a role in disco becoming a bigger, more mainstream style, helping to pave the way for more disco records by white artists.

Tim wrote: Sat Mar 07, 2026 9:26 am Just saying but I'd say I prefer Impressions and Curtis Mayfield solo getting separate placements as Impressions were not always dominated by Mayfield the way say Miracles were by Smokey Robinson or Crickets by Holly.

I felt that was a tough call when I had the list. I think that the main reason I had it that way was that that was how it was when I took over the list, so since I didn't feel strongly either way, I just left it as it was. If they're separated, I'm not sure that Mayfield should make the list at all. Maybe he's worthy of the lower part of the 2nd hundred.

Brian wrote: Sat Mar 07, 2026 5:43 pm

ManPerson wrote: Sat Mar 07, 2026 10:48 am I was actually on the fence about how much credit Bee Gees deserved for popularizing disco since it was already very popular before the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. I could see them next to Donna Summer.

Disco was popular before that, but I see Saturday Night Fever as bringing disco to its peak of popularity, to where it was something really huge instead of just one of several popular styles. Also, The Bee Gees had 2 big disco hits prior to that, the earlier one being "Jive Talkin'", a #1 hit in 1975. I think that song played a role in disco becoming a bigger, more mainstream style, helping to pave the way for more disco records by white artists.

Makes sense, i think I kind of like having them next to Donna Summer then.

I guess Impressions were dominated by Mayfield for extended period of time so it won't be out of ordinary if we combine them. I can see them slightly higher than they currently are if we do combine them, think just below Bee Gees.

They started out as Jerry Butler & the Impressions, had a big song in "For Our Precious Love", and then Butler left. Mayfield was pretty dominant from then until he left in 1970. After that, they had a few charting singles, but only one real pop hit. They did have a few R&B hits after that.

Once we done with the top 100, I reckon we look over these lists, among others, to see who may be other top 100 worthy artists and, I suggest, to expand the main list to 250 (???).

ManPerson wrote: Sun Dec 08, 2024 9:53 am Some recent-ish artists (1990- onwards) that could be in the list, in very rough order of importance (I don't think all of these should be on the list ftr)

Beyonce
Kendrick Lamar
Taylor Swift
Drake
The Notorious B.I.G.
Dr. Dre
Green Day
Rihanna
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Britney Spears
Fugees/Lauryn Hill
Missy Elliott
Adele
Coldplay
Mary J. Blige
TLC
Lady Gaga
Oasis
Daft Punk
The Weeknd
Justin Timberlake
Lana Del Rey
The White Stripes
Bad Bunny

Brian wrote: Fri Dec 06, 2024 10:36 pm While this part isn't on the main site, here's a second hundred that I had posted in the old forum:

101. Wilson Pickett
102. The Ramones
103. Eric Clapton
104. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5
105. Red Hot Chili Peppers
106. The Four Tops
107. Green Day
108. Frank Zappa
109. The Coasters
110. Etta James
111. LL Cool J
112. Dion (& the Belmonts)
113. Earth, Wind, & Fire
114. Chicago
115. Santana
116. Yes
117. Martha & the Vandellas
118. Jefferson Airplane
119. Iron Maiden
120. The Moody Blues
121. Rick Nelson
122. Hank Ballard & the Midnighters
123. Lavern Baker
124. Talking Heads
125. The Jackson 5 / The Jacksons
126. John Lennon
127. Gladys Knight & the Pips
128. Roy Brown
129. Wynonie Harris
130. Eric B. & Rakim
131. Blondie
132. The Mamas & the Papas
133. The Velvet Underground
134. The Sex Pistols
135. Daryl Hall & John Oates
136. Lynyrd Skynyrd
137. Joy Division/New Order
138. The Five Royales
139. The Yardbirds
140. Rush
141. The Smiths
142. Tom Petty
143. Roxy Music
144. Bob Seger
145. The O’Jays
146. Carole King
147. George Michael / Wham!
148. Kraftwerk
149. KISS
150. Solomon Burke
151. Sam and Dave
152. Genesis
153. Eddie Cochran
154. King Crimson
155. Notorious B.I.G.
156. Patti Smith
157. Alice Cooper
158. The Flamingos
159. Def Leppard
160. James Taylor
161. Jackson Browne
162. Diana Ross
163. Bon Jovi
164. Little Willie John
165. War
166. The Animals
167. The Cars
168. Phil Collins
169. Kool & the Gang
170. Ivory Joe Hunter
171. Bonnie Raitt
172. Del Shannon
173. R. Kelly
174. Mary J. Blige
175. Coldplay
176. Chuck Willis
177. Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers
178. Afrika Bambaataa
179. Carl Perkins
180. Dr. Dre
181. Iggy Pop & the Stooges
182. The Pretenders
183. A Tribe Called Quest
184. Booker T. & the MG’s
185. Depeche Mode
186. Cher
187. Kate Bush
188. Bobby "Blue" Bland
189. Emerson, Lake, & Palmer
190. Salt-N-Pepa
191. The Carpenters
192. The Ventures
193. Nas
194. Boogie Down Productions
195. Journey
196. Johnny Ace
197. Chic
198. John "Cougar" Mellencamp
199. Dionne Warwick
200. Shirley & Lee
201. Screamin' Jay Hawkins
202. Jan & Dean
203. The Dells
204. The Righteous Brothers
205. Paul Simon

ManPerson wrote: Sat Mar 07, 2026 7:00 pm Some others who could be included in the top 200
- Neil Diamond
- Dire Straits (this is a rather surprising omission, imo)
- The Cure
- Sonic Youth
- Pixies
- Judas Priest
- Ariana Grande
- Justin Bieber
- Frank Ocean
- Alicia Keys
- Usher
- 50 Cent
- Lil Wayne
- The Smashing Pumpkins
- Snoop Dogg
- De La Soul
- Wu-Tang Clan
- Boyz II Men
- Steely Dan
- Arctic Monkeys
- Jethro Tull
- Barry White
- Lionel Richie/The Commodores
- The Spinners
- The Staple Singers
- Sade
- Duran Duran
- Amos Milburn
- Ike & Tina Turner
- Brian Eno
- Nicki Minaj
- The Ravens
- Leonard Cohen
- Peter Gabriel
- Heart
- The Monkees
- Nine Inch Nails
- ZZ Top
- Rage Against the Machine
- Aphex Twin
- Björk
- Pet Shop Boys
- Giorgio Moroder
- Yellow Magic Orchestra
- The Human League
- Gary Numan / Tubeway Army
- The Prodigy
- The Chemical Brothers
- Massive Attack
- Moby
- Tyler, the Creator
- Ice Cube
- Motörhead
- Hüsker Dü
- T.I.
- Future
- Isaac Hayes
- Destiny's Child
- Boston
- Bryan Adams
- Weezer
- Alice in Chains

Tim wrote: Thu Jun 11, 2026 5:37 pm While we are at it, artists from Chris F's old top 300 we haven't looked at yet, from highest to lowest:

The (Young) Rascals
MC5
The Shadows
The Marvelettes
Joe Tex
Tina Turner
Beck
Tom Waits
Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine
Robbie Williams
The Eurythmics
Tori Amos
Tracy Chapman
Queen Latifah
Electric Light Orchestra
Sarah McLachlan
Todd Rundgren
The Moonglows
Duane Eddy
Patti LaBelle
The Ronettes
The Doobie Brothers
The Hollies
Dusty Springfield
Chubby Checker
The B-52s
Buffalo Springfield
Mary Wells
INXS
Annie Lennox
George Harrison
Joan Armatrading
Steve Miller Band
Carly Simon
The Chiffons
Ricky Lee Jones
Chaka Khan & Rufus
Kansas
Lloyd Price
Laura Nyro
Soundgarden
No Doubt
Anita Baker
The Lovin’ Spoonful 
Jeff Buckley
Dead Kennedys
Blue Öyster Cult
Grand Funk Railroad
Dick Dale
Alanis Morissette
Television
Foreigner
Melissa Etheridge 
Erykah Badu
Kurtis Blow
X
System of a Dawn
Peter Frampton
The Pointer Sister
The Roots
Jack Scott
Dave Matthews Band
Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew
Fugazi
Ice-T/Body Count
Black Flag
Larry Williams
Ritchie Valens
Big Mama Thornton

Tim wrote: Thu Jun 11, 2026 5:40 pm Brian's list of suggestions for Chris F's list:

Brian wrote:Here's a list of artists of some significance that aren't on the list. The numbered ones are what look to me like the ones that come the closest, and the rest follow in alphabetical order. The numbering starts at 183 because the ones I added are in positions 101-182. Otherwise, those numbers don't mean anything.

183. Heart
184. The Monkees
185. Gene Vincent
186. Toots & the Maytals
187. Jimmy Buffett
188. Isaac Hayes
189. UB40
190. Lou Reed
191. Huey Lewis & the News
192. Ohio Players
193. Warren Zevon
194. Duran Duran

Captain Beefheart
Cheap Trick
Crystals
Dire Straits
The Fall
Megadeth
Motorhead
New York Dolls
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Nine Inch Nails
Pavement
PJ Harvey
Randy Newman
Rick James
Scorpions
Slayer
Stylistics
T. Rex
Wire
Linda Ronstadt
Luther Vandross

Artists we already looked at/planning to look at in bold.

Tim wrote: Sat Jun 13, 2026 7:47 am Went through greatest artists by decade lists to look for high ranking artists we haven't considered plus Devo plus some others.

10cc
2 Live Crew
The 5th Dimension
A$AP Rocky
Aaliyah
Faye Adams
Christina Aguilera
Air
Air Supply
Arthur Alexander
Animal Collective
Adam Ant/Adam & the Ants
Fiona Apple
Arcade Fire
Archibald
Arrested Development
Backstreet Boys
Bad Brains
Bad Company
The Bangles
Bauhaus
Beach House
Jeff Beck
Belle and Sebastian
Jesse Belvin
Pat Benatar
Big Star
The Black Crowes
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Keys
James Blake
Blink-182
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blur
Blue Cheer
Bon Iver
Gary "U.S." Bonds
Earl Bostic
Tiny Bradshaw
Brandy
Toni Braxton
BTS
Tim Buckley
Johnny Burnette & the Rock and Roll Trio
Burning Spear
Bush
Busta Rhymes
Jerry Butler
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Buzzcocks
Cabaret Voltaire
J. J. Cale
Can
Cardi B
Sabrina Carpenter
Clarence Carter
Goree Carter
The Chantels
Charli XCX
Childish Gambino
The Dave Clark Five
Kelly Clarkson
Jimmy Cliff
Joe Cocker
Cocteau Twins
Counting Crows
The Cranberries
The Crests
Jim Croce
Sheryl Crow
Crowded House
Frank "Floorshow" Culley
Culture
Daddy Yankee
Larry Darnell
The Spencer Davis Group
The Delfonics
Devo
Dinosaur Jr.
Dizzee Rascal
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince [Will Smith]
DJ Shadow
DMX
Bill Doggett
Donovan
Lee Dorsey
Nick Drake
Dream Theater
Ian Dury and the Blockheads
Echo & the Bunnymen
Billie Eilish
The Emotions
Fairport Convention
Faith No More
Fishbone
FKA twigs
The Flaming Lips
Luis Fonsi
Franz Ferdinand
fun.
Nelly Furtado
Gang of Four
Gloria Gaynor
Paul Gayten
The J. Geils Band
Gnarls Barkley
Goo Goo Dolls
Gorillaz
Ellie Goulding
Grimes
Tiny Grimes
The Guess Who
Calvin Harris
Dale Hawkins
Herman's Hermits
Hole
Hootie & the Blowfish
Janis Ian
Billy Idol
Enrique Iglesias
Imagine Dragons
Iron Butterfly
Joe Jackson
The Jam
Tommy James & The Shondells
Jamiroquai
Carly Rae Jepsen
The Jesus and Mary Chain
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Albennie Jones
Grace Jones
KC & the Sunshine Gang
The Killers
Ben E. King
King Curtis
Kings Of Leon
The Kingsmen
Korn
Lenny Kravitz
Major Lance
Cyndi Lauper
Avril Lavigne
LCD Soundsystem
Jimmy Liggins
Lil' Kim
Linkin Park
Dua Lipa
Little Willie Littlefield
Living Colour
Kenny Loggins
Lorde
Lonnie Mack
Madness
Magazine
Post Malone
The Manhattans
Manic Street Preachers
Marilyn Manson
Maroon 5
Bruno Mars
Ricky Martin
Maxwell
MC Hammer
MC Lyte
George McCrae
Don McLean
Big Jay McNeely
Clyde McPhatter
Meat Loaf
Joe Meek & the Tornados
Men at Work
M.I.A
Mickey & Sylvia
Midnight Oil
Migos
Ministry
Kylie Minogue
Minutemen
Misfits
Janelle Monáe
Wild Bill Moore
Joe Morris
Mötley Crüe
Mumford & Sons
Muse
My Bloody Valentine
My Chemical Romance
Johnny Nash
The National
Nelly
Aaron Neville
Joanna Newsom
Nickelback
Harry Nilsson
NSYNC
Ted Nugent
Sinead O’Connor
The Offspring
One Direction
Ozzy Osbourne
P!nk
Augustus Pablo
Robert Palmer
Pantera
The Alan Parsons Project
The Penguins
Pere Ubu
Katty Perry
Lee "Scratch" Perry & the Upsetters
Liz Phair
The Pharcyde
Phish
Phoenix
Gene Pitney
Placebo
Poison
Portishead
Prefab Sprout
Billy Preston
Jimmy Preston
Primal Scream
Procol Harum
Professor Longhair
Psy
Public Image Ltd
Pulp
Pusha T/Clipse
Queens of the Stone Age
Queensrÿche
Quiet Riot
Rainbow
Rammstein
REO Speedwagon
Paul Revere & the Raiders
Cliff Richard
Jonathan Richman/The Modern Lovers
Minnie Riperton
Johnny Rivers
Chappell Roan
Robyn
Olivia Rodrigo
Run the Jewels
The Saints
Sam the Sham & the Pharaos
Travis Scott
Gil Scott-Heron
Sepultura
Shakira
Ed Sheeran
Sigur Rós
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Sister Sledge
Sleater-Kinney
Percy Sledge
(Small) Faces
Elliott Smith
Huey "Piano" Smith & His Clowns
Sam Smith
Solange
The Sonics
Sonny & Cher
The Spaniels
Sparks
The Specials
Spice Girls
St. Vincent
Ringo Starr (& His All-Starr Band)
Gwen Stefani
Steppenwolf
Cat Stevens
Sufjan Stevens
Stiff Little Fingers
Sting
The Stone Roses
Stone Temple Pilots
The Stranglers
The Stray Cats
The Streets
The Strokes
Nolan Strong & the Diablos
Styx
Sublime
Suede
Suicide
Supertramp
SZA
Talk Talk
Tame Impala
Ten Years After
Them
Carla Thomas
Rufus Thomas
Richard (& Linda) Thompson
Sonny Thompson
The Three Degrees
Throbbing Gristle
Tool
Peter Tosh
Toto
Traffic
The Trammps
The Turtles
Bonnie Tyler
UFO
UGK
Uriah Heep
Vampire Weekend
Vanilla Fudge
Suzanne Vega
The Verve
Village People
Junior Walker & the All Stars
Scott Walker
Joe Walsh
Whodini
Wilco
Otis Williams & the Charms
Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams
Amy Winehouse
Steve Winwood
Bobby Womack
Link Wray
XTC
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yo La Tengo
The Zombies

pauldrach wrote: Sun Jun 14, 2026 4:05 am The following artists I saw fit to induct into my Alternative to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are missing on page 8:

Brook Benton
Big Daddy Kane
Big Maybelle
The Cadillacs
Cameo
(Johnny Cash)
The Chi-Lites
Common
Culture Club
Cypress Hill
D'Angelo
(Miles Davis)
Desmond Dekker & the Aces
Dr. John
En Vogue
EPMD
The Five Keys
Roberta Flack
Foo Fighters
Free
Gang Starr
The Gap Band
Geto Boys
Go-Go's
Jane's Addiction
(Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five)
Jungle Brothers
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo
Kool Moe Dee/The Treacherous Three
(Brenda Lee)
(Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers)
Little Anthony & the Imperials
Love
Darlene Love/The Blossoms/Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans
Percy Mayfield
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
The Meters
(Roy Milton & His Solid Senders)
New Edition
Gram Parsons/The Flying Burrito Bros
Teddy Pendergrass
Little Esther Phillips
The Replacements
Simple Minds
Slick Rick
Johnnie Taylor
Tears for Fears
Thin Lizzy
Three Dog Night
The Treniers
(Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble)
Johnny "Guitar" Watson
Bill Withers
Zapp

Artists in brackets are on the fringe of rock and arguably ineligible. Rufus & Carla Thomas should be listed separately.

pauldrach wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2026 5:40 am A few other possibilities not on page 8 I've longlisted for induction into my rock hall project:

ABC
a-ha
ANOHNI/Antony and the Johnsons
Anthrax
Babyface
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Bobby Brown
Canned Heat
James Carr
Gene Chandler
Coolio
Don Covay
Tyrone Davis
Death Cab for Cutie
The Del-Vikings
Dyke & the Blazers
Fatboy Slim
Garbage
Rosco Gordon
Lesley Gore
Guy
(Herbie Hancock)
Donny Hathaway
(Fela Kuti)
Smiley Lewis
Ludacris
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
Lucky Millinder
Mobb Deep
Modest Mouse
Mos Def
Mott the Hoople
Naughty by Nature
Ann Peebles
Lou Rawls
The Robins
Scarface (should maybe be listed along with Geto Boys?)
Seal
The Shangri-Las
The Shins
Simply Red
The Skatalites
Slade
Spoonie Gee
Keith Sweat
Ike Turner & the Kings of Rhythm/Jackie Brenston
Underworld
Venom
The Whispers
Whitesnake
Billy Wright

Artists in brackets again rather on rock's fringe and likely ineligible.

Ace of Base
Akon
Lily Allen
Avicii
J. Balvin
John Cale
The Cardigans
Gustavo Ceratti/Soda Stereo
Ciara
J. Cole
Miley Cyrus
Any DiFranco
Doja Cat
Earl Sweatshirt
Easy-E
The Easybeats
Evanescence
Florence + the Machine
Eddie Floyd
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Rory Gallagher
Boris Grebenshchikov/Aquarium
Johnny Hallyday
Héroes del Silencio
J Dilla
Kid Cudi
M83
Teena Marie
Biz Markie
Mastodon
John Mayer
MF DOOM (& Aliases)
MGMT
Mitski
Gary Moore
Os Mutantes
Stevie Nicks
Nightwish
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Gilbert O'Sullivan
P. Diddy/Puff Daddy
Paramore
Sean Paul
Suzi Quatro
Raspberries/Eric Carmen
Rosalía
Roxette
The Runaways
Leo Sayer
Shaggy
Sia
Harry Styles
Slipknot
Soul ll Soul
Allen Toussaint
T-Pain
Viktor Tsoi/Kino
Rufus Wainwright
Edgar Winter
Young Thug

Area Man wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2026 11:17 pm Here are some random suggestions, if anybody needs more ideas (most probably won't make the cut, though, and forgive me if some have been brought up already):

AOR/melodic rock:
-April Wine
-Asia
-Europe
-Loverboy
-Richard Marx
-Eddie Money
-Night Ranger
-Rick Springfield
-Billy Squier
-Survivor
-38 Special
-Triumph

Blues-rock:
-George Thorogood & the Destroyers
-Steve Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

Comedy rock:
-Spinal Tap
-"Weird Al" Yankovic

Glam metal:
-Cinderella
-Dokken
-Ratt
-Skid Row
-Twisted Sister
-Whitesnake
-Y&T

Glam rock:
-Mott the Hoople
-Sweet

Hard rock:
-The Cult
-Foghat
-James Gang
-Mountain
-Nazareth
-Thin Lizzy

Heavy metal:
-Accept
-Dio
-Saxon

Hip-hop:
-Ludacris
-Tech N9ne

Soft rock/pop-rock:
-Michael Bolton
-Three Dog Night

Just kinda spitballing ideas.

pauldrach wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2026 4:43 am Maybe for a sidebar list of artists on the very fringes of rock but who made significant contributions to the genre nonetheless?

Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers
Roy Milton & His Solid Senders/Camille Howard
Bobby "Blue" Bland
Johnny Cash (& the Tennessee Two)
Miles Davis
Herbie Hancock
Fela Kuti (& Africa '70)
Muddy Waters
Brenda Lee
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Howlin' Wolf
Gordon Lightfoot
Nina Simone
John Prine
Phil Ochs
Wanda Jackson
Carpenters
Johnny Moore's Three Blazers/Charles Brown
Lionel Hampton/Illinois Jacquet
Cecil Gant
Lucky Millinder
Johnnie Ray
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
Robert Cray
Roy Hamilton
Jimmy Smith
Fred Neil
Tangerine Dream
Jean-Michel Jarre
Serge Gainsbourg
...?

Important should be that the artists' main body of work falls outside the rock genre but they recorded at least some music of note that could reasonably be considered rock.

Tim wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2026 8:46 am Some others which may fall under the criteria above:

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
Laurie Anderson
Paul Anka
Marc Anthony
Chet Atkins
Joan Baez
Harry Belafonte
Jorge Ben Jor
George Benson
Bread
Chico Buarque
Glen Campbell
The Captain and Tennille
Roberto Carlos
Adriano Celentano
Petula Clark
Stanley Clarke
Judy Collins
Nat King Cole
Natalie Cole
Bill Conti
Chick Corea/Return to Forever
Larry Coryell
Celia Cruz
Bobby Darin
John Denver
Al Di Meola
Celine Dion
Willie Dixon
Lonnie Donegan
Champion Jack Dupree
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones
Hank Garland
Gilberto Gil
Guitar Slim
Buddy Guy
Jan Hammer
Françoise Hardy
Emmylou Harris
Allan Holdsworth
Rupert Holmes
John Lee Hooker
The Ink Spots
Elmore James
Waylon Jennings
Norah Jones
Quincy Jones
Tom Jones
Albert King
BB King
Freddie King
Alexis Korner
Kris Kristofferson
The Last Poets
Julia Lee & Her Boyfriends
J.B. Lenoir
Paco de Lucía
Little Milton
Little Walter
Magic Sam
Barry Manilow
Johnny Mathis
Stick McGhee
John McLaughlin/Mahavishnu Orchestra
Pat Metheny Group
The Mills Brothers
Bill Monroe
Willie Nelson
Tony Orlando & Dawn
Jaco Pastorius
Peter, Paul and Mary
Jean-Luc Ponty
Alla Pugacheva
Robert Randolph and the Family Band
Helen Reddy
Kenny Rogers & the First Edition
Otis Rush
Arthur Russell
Sabicas
Selena
L. Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Wayne Shorter
Otis Spann
The Soul Stirrers
Barbra Streisand
B.J. Thomas
Conway Twitty
Caetano Veloso
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
Bobby Vinton
Vladimir Vysotsky
Dionne Warwick
Dinah Washington
Grover Washington Jr.
The Watts Prophets
Junior Wells
Hank Williams (& His Drifting Cowboys)
Hank Williams Jr. (& the Bama Band)
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
Jimmy Yancey
Joe Zawinul/Weather Report

I'm fine with them staying combined.

Tim wrote: Sat Mar 07, 2026 6:22 pm Once we done with the top 100, I reckon we look over these lists, among others, to see who may be other top 100 worthy artists and, I suggest, to expand the main list to 200.

ManPerson wrote: Sun Dec 08, 2024 9:53 am Some recent-ish artists (1990- onwards) that could be in the list, in very rough order of importance (I don't think all of these should be on the list ftr)

Beyonce
Kendrick Lamar
Taylor Swift
Drake
The Notorious B.I.G.
Dr. Dre
Green Day
Rihanna
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Britney Spears
Fugees/Lauryn Hill
Missy Elliott
Adele
Coldplay
Mary J. Blige
TLC
Lady Gaga
Oasis
Daft Punk
The Weeknd
Justin Timberlake
Lana Del Rey
The White Stripes

Add Bad Bunny to this list

I'd say Abba should be considered as well, maybe Brian Eno, though, admittedly a lot of his greatest work is in the ambient genre.

Guess we can also use Bruce's popular music list as a source after these two lists. Abba is on it and pretty high, sadly Eno is not.

Bruce's list doesn't include acclaim, iirc.

Some others who could be included in the top 200
- Neil Diamond
- Dire Straits (this is a rather surprising omission, imo)
- The Cure
- Sonic Youth
- Pixies
- Judas Priest
- Ariana Grande
- Justin Bieber
- Frank Ocean
- Alicia Keys
- Usher
- 50 Cent
- Lil Wayne
- The Smashing Pumpkins
- Snoop Dogg
- De La Soul
- Wu-Tang Clan
- Boyz II Men
- Steely Dan
- Arctic Monkeys
- Jethro Tull
- Barry White
- Lionel Richie/The Commodores
- Moody Blues
- The Spinners
- The Staple Singers
- Sade
- Duran Duran
- Amos Milburn
- Ike & Tina Turner
- Nicki Minaj

My draft for the top 100

1. The Beatles
2. Elvis Presley
3. James Brown
4. Bob Dylan
5. Michael Jackson
6. Madonna
7. Chuck Berry
8. The Rolling Stones
9. Stevie Wonder
10. Aretha Franklin
11. Ray Charles
12. The Beach Boys
13. Led Zeppelin
14. Kanye West
15. Jimi Hendrix
16. Fats Domino
17. Prince
18. Marvin Gaye
19. Little Richard
20. Jay-Z
21. The Who
22. Sam Cooke
23. Pink Floyd
24. David Bowie
25. Eminem
26. U2
27. Run-D.M.C.
28. Nirvana
29. 2pac
30. The Supremes
31. Bruce Springsteen
32. Queen
33. Bob Marley & the Wailers
34. Buddy Holly & The Crickets
35. Whitney Houston
36. The Temptations
37. Neil Young
38. R.E.M.
39. Elton John
40. The Everly Brothers
41. Janet Jackson
42. Mariah Carey
43. Black Sabbath
44. Public Enemy
45. The Byrds
46. Otis Redding
47. Metallica
48. Sly & the Family Stone
49. Bill Haley & the Comets
50. Bee Gees
51. Donna Summer
52. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
53. The Kinks
54. The Beastie Boys
55. Bo Diddley
56. Roy Orbison
57. The Clash
58. AC/DC
59. Fleetwood Mac
60. The Doors
61. Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
62. N.W.A.
63. Outkast
64. Joni Mitchell
65. Simon & Garfunkel
66. Creedence Clearwater Revival
67. Parliament/Funkadelic/George-Clinton
68. Radiohead
69. Aerosmith
70. Eagles
71. Guns n Roses
72. The Police
73. Van Halen
74. Al Green
75. The Drifters
76. Pearl Jam
77. The Grateful Dead
78. Rod Stewart
79. Paul McCartney
80. The Shirelles
81. The Dominoes
82. The Orioles
83. Van Morrison
84. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
85. Cream
86. The Isley Brothers
87. Billy Joel
88. The Platters
89. Jerry Lee Lewis
90. Deep Purple
91. The Band
92. Jackie Wilson
93. Big Joe Turner
94. Johnny Otis
95. Ruth Brown
96. Janis Joplin/Big Brother & Holding Company
97. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
98. Elvis Costello
99. The Clovers
100. The Allman Brothers Band

Some thoughts on the more major differences between our lists

- Since The Orioles are arguably the first doo-wop act I'd have them quite a bit higher than you do, even though their popularity and acclaim is fairly low.

- My breakdown on Kanye
Kanye vs Hendrix
Acclaim: Kanye
Popularity: Kanye fairly easily
Influence: Jimi Hendrix fairly easily (though I'd give Kanye cultural impact)

Kanye vs Prince
Acclaim: Close
Popularity: Close
Influence: I'd lean towards Kanye

- I could see Houston where you have her

- I figure N.W.A's cultural impact and influence should bring them pretty high, especially since they're probably the most lastingly popular 80s hip hop act. I could see them a bit lower than I have them, though, since they only have 4 songs of any note.

- I see Guns N Roses as pretty close to The Police and I think they take popularity and acclaim over Van Halen and Pearl Jam for example

- CSNY don't seem to particularly excel in any of the criteria (for a top 100 candidate, anyway), so I had them fairly low. I could see them a bit higher but I wouldn't have them over Jackie Wilson, or any of the guys i have above him.

My attempt at a middle ground
1. The Beatles
2. Elvis Presley
3. James Brown
4. Bob Dylan
5. Michael Jackson
6. Madonna
7. Chuck Berry
8. The Rolling Stones
9. Stevie Wonder
10. Aretha Franklin
11. Ray Charles
12. The Beach Boys
13. Led Zeppelin
14. Jimi Hendrix
15. Fats Domino
16. Kanye West
17. Prince
18. Marvin Gaye
19. Little Richard
20. Jay-Z
21. The Who
22. Sam Cooke
23. Pink Floyd
24. David Bowie
25. Eminem
26. U2
27. Run-D.M.C.
28. Nirvana
29. 2pac
30. The Supremes
31. Bruce Springsteen
32. Queen
33. Bob Marley & the Wailers
34. Buddy Holly & The Crickets
35. The Temptations
36. Neil Young
37. R.E.M.
38. Elton John
39. Whitney Houston
40. The Everly Brothers
41. Janet Jackson
42. Mariah Carey
43. Black Sabbath
44. Public Enemy
45. The Byrds
46. Otis Redding
47. Metallica
48. Sly & the Family Stone
49. Bill Haley & the Comets
50. Bee Gees
51. Donna Summer
52. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
53. The Kinks
54. The Beastie Boys
55. Bo Diddley
56. Roy Orbison
57. The Clash
58. AC/DC
59. Fleetwood Mac
60. The Doors
61. Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
62. Joni Mitchell
63. Outkast
64. Simon & Garfunkel
65. Creedence Clearwater Revival
66. Parliament/Funkadelic/George-Clinton
67. Radiohead
68. N.W.A.
69. Aerosmith
70. Eagles
71. Guns n Roses
72. The Police
73. Van Halen
74. Al Green
75. The Drifters
76. Rod Stewart
77. Paul McCartney/Wings
78. Pearl Jam
79. The Grateful Dead
80. The Shirelles
81. Van Morrison
82. Cream
83. The Isley Brothers
84. The Dominoes
85. The Orioles
86. The Band
87. Billy Joel
88. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
89. The Platters
90. Jerry Lee Lewis
91. Deep Purple
92. Jackie Wilson
93. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
94. Big Joe Turner
95. Johnny Otis
96. Janis Joplin/Big Brother & Holding Company
97. Ruth Brown
98. The Allman Brothers Band
99. Elvis Costello
100. The Clovers

I like it. Any reason you did not acknowledge Wings in Paul McCartney's listing?

Because I forgot.

ManPerson wrote: Sat Mar 07, 2026 6:58 pm Bruce's list doesn't include acclaim, iirc.

Sure but there are still gonna be overlap between top 300 popular music artists and top 200 rock artists.