digitaldreamdoor.com forum

The '50s artists seem to be generally getting moved down, at least the ones who aren't in the top 60. The Clovers have especially been dropped quite a lot, despite being probably the greatest rock artist of the first half of the '50s.

I figure that replacing musical impact with acclaim hurts them somewhat while they don't seem to have much lasting popularity either. I could see them moved ahead of Rick Nelson since they take influence and probably acclaim as well.

Added The Ravens and Leonard Cohen to the list of artists which should be considered for the top 200 at page 8 if that's cool with you, Man.

I'm fine with that.

I'd have the Miracles over Donna and the Bee Gees. Their influence on the R&B / Motown sound (which was one of the progenitors of disco) is enormous, without counting Smokey's influence in songwriting in general, which also gives him/them tremendous acclaim. I guess less popular overall, but their success on the R&B charts, which are a better reflection on their popularity, is also great.

Considering how influential I Feel Love was on electronic and new wave music, I'm not sure that the Miracles are more influential than Summer, while I think she's clearly a bit more popular.

Maybe as a compromise of sorts...
54. Summer
55. Miracles
56. BGs

Man, plan on submitting your version of top 155?

Brian wrote: Tue Mar 24, 2026 4:28 pm The '50s artists seem to be generally getting moved down, at least the ones who aren't in the top 60. The Clovers have especially been dropped quite a lot, despite being probably the greatest rock artist of the first half of the '50s.

That may be true but that was the last half decade pre-rock's breakthrough/establishment as one of music's major genres so makes sense for that period to be underrepresented (though it's nice that it was generally given props on ddd lists).

Tim wrote: Thu Mar 26, 2026 4:05 pm Man, plan on submitting your version of top 155?

Yes

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. Prince
17. Marvin Gaye
18. Kanye West
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. Beyoncé
29. Nirvana
30. 2pac
31. The Supremes
32. Bruce Springsteen
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. Drake
42. Elton John
43. Whitney Houston
44. The Everly Brothers
45. Janet Jackson
46. Mariah Carey
47. Black Sabbath
48. Public Enemy
49. Otis Redding
50. The Byrds
51. Sly & the Family Stone
52. Metallica
53. Bill Haley & His Comets
54. The Bee Gees
55. Donna Summer
56. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
57. The Kinks
58. ABBA
59. The Beastie Boys
60. Bo Diddley
61. Roy Orbison
62. The Clash
63. AC/DC
64. Fleetwood Mac
65. Rihanna
66. The Doors
67. Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
68. Dr. Dre
69. The Notorious B.I.G.
70. Joni Mitchell
71. Outkast
72. Britney Spears
73. Simon & Garfunkel
74. Creedence Clearwater Revival
75. Parliament/Funkadelic/George Clinton
76. Radiohead
77. N.W.A.
78. Lady Gaga
79. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
80. LL Cool J
81. Eric B. & Rakim
82. Aerosmith
83. Eagles
84. Guns N' Roses
85. The Police
86. Van Halen
87. Coldplay
88. Al Green
89. The Ramones
90. Green Day
91. The Drifters
92. Adele
93. The Weeknd
94. Rod Stewart
95. Paul McCartney/Wings
96. Pearl Jam
97. The Grateful Dead
98. Roy Brown
99. John Lennon
100. The Jackson 5
101. Mary J. Blige
102. Missy Elliott
103. Wynonie Harris
104. Earth, Wind, & Fire
105. The Shirelles
106. Van Morrison
107. Cream
108. Fugees/Lauryn Hill
109. Red Hot Chili Peppers
110. Eric Clapton
111. Santana
112. Blondie
113. The Isley Brothers
114. The Dominoes
115. The Orioles
116. Iron Maiden
117. The Band
118. Bad Bunny
119. Billy Joel
120. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
121. Justin Timberlake
122. Oasis
123. TLC
124. The Four Tops
125. The Platters
126. Jerry Lee Lewis
127. Deep Purple
128. Chicago
129. Jackie Wilson
130. Lana Del Rey
131. Talking Heads
132. Daft Punk
133. Etta James
134. Martha & the Vandellas
135. Frank Zappa
136. Wilson Pickett
137. Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young)
138. Big Joe Turner
139. Johnny Otis
140. Janis Joplin/Big Brother and the Holding Company
141. The Clovers
142. Rick Nelson
143. Jefferson Airplane
144. Yes
145. Ruth Brown
146. Dion (& the Belmonts)
147. Gladys Knight and the Pips
148. The Coasters
149. The Allman Brothers Band
150. Elvis Costello
151. The Mamas and the Papas
152. The White Stripes
153. Hank Ballard & the Midnighters
154. Lavern Baker
155. The Moody Blues

Tim wrote: Thu Mar 26, 2026 4:26 pm

Brian wrote: Tue Mar 24, 2026 4:28 pm The '50s artists seem to be generally getting moved down, at least the ones who aren't in the top 60. The Clovers have especially been dropped quite a lot, despite being probably the greatest rock artist of the first half of the '50s.

That may be true but that was the last half decade pre-rock's breakthrough/establishment as one of music's major genres so makes sense for that period to be underrepresented (though it's nice that it was generally given props on ddd lists).

Somewhat underrepresented, yes. It's just a question of what constitutes excessively underrepresenting it.

Trying some sort of compromise between mine list and Man's plus some bump for Clovers/Ruth Brown.

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. Prince
17. Marvin Gaye
18. Kanye West
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. Beyoncé
30. 2pac
31. The Supremes
32. Bruce Springsteen
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. Drake
42. Elton John
43. Whitney Houston
44. The Everly Brothers
45. Janet Jackson
46. Mariah Carey
47. Black Sabbath
48. Public Enemy
49. Otis Redding
50. The Byrds
51. Sly & the Family Stone
52. Metallica
53. Bill Haley & His Comets
54. Donna Summer
55. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
56. The Bee Gees
57. The Kinks
58. ABBA
59. The Beastie Boys
60. Bo Diddley
61. Roy Orbison
62. The Clash
63. AC/DC
64. Fleetwood Mac
65. Rihanna
66. The Doors
67. Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
68. Dr. Dre
69. The Notorious B.I.G.
70. Joni Mitchell
71. Outkast
72. Britney Spears
73. Simon & Garfunkel
74. Creedence Clearwater Revival
75. Parliament/Funkadelic/George Clinton
76. Radiohead
77. N.W.A.
78. Lady Gaga
79. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
80. LL Cool J
81. Aerosmith
82. Eagles
83. Guns N' Roses
84. The Police
85. Van Halen
86. Eric B. & Rakim
87. Coldplay
88. Al Green
89. The Ramones
90. Green Day
91. The Drifters
92. Adele
93. The Weeknd
94. Rod Stewart
95. Paul McCartney/Wings
96. Pearl Jam
97. The Grateful Dead
98. The Jackson 5/The Jacksons
99. Mary J. Blige
100. Missy Elliott
101. Earth, Wind, & Fire
102. Roy Brown
103. Wynonie Harris
104. The Shirelles
105. Van Morrison
106. Cream
107. Fugees/Lauryn Hill
108. Red Hot Chili Peppers
109. Eric Clapton
110. John Lennon
111. Santana
112. The Isley Brothers
113. The Dominoes
114. The Orioles
115. Iron Maiden
116. Blondie
117. The Band
118. Bad Bunny
119. Billy Joel
120. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
121. Justin Timberlake
122. Oasis
123. TLC
124. The Four Tops
125. The Platters
126. Jerry Lee Lewis
127. Deep Purple
128. Talking Heads
129. Chicago
130. Jackie Wilson
131. Lana Del Rey
132. Daft Punk
133. The Clovers
134. Ruth Brown
135. Etta James
136. Martha & the Vandellas
137. Frank Zappa
138. Wilson Pickett
139. Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young)
140. Big Joe Turner
141. Johnny Otis
142. Janis Joplin/Big Brother and the Holding Company
143. Rick Nelson
144. Jefferson Airplane
145. Yes
146. Dion (& the Belmonts)
147. Gladys Knight and the Pips
148. The Mamas and the Papas
149. The Coasters
150. The Allman Brothers Band
151. Elvis Costello
152. The White Stripes
153. Hank Ballard & the Midnighters
154. Lavern Baker
155. The Moody Blues

Is there other '50s artists you reckon are getting shafted, Brian?

The Four Tops look a bit low in retrospect. I think they're more popular than the Isley Brothers for example, a bit less influential, while acclaim is close.

A lot of changes

Guys, I admire the effort in remaking the list. I'm still trying to process the changes. Some of the alterations are a bit controversial, in my opinion.

Well, it's not done yet (we are aiming for the top 200 at least) and nothing is set in stone. What do you have in mind for controversial changes? For what it worth, we did change the criteria somewhat with acclaim (including critical, peer, industry) replacing musical impact and cultural impact deemphasized.

I think Bo Diddley is too influential and acclaimed (musical impact is what I'm talking about, as usual), to be below the Beastie Boys.

I think I'd flip them, too.