Greatest Rock Artists Of All Time (Revision Version)

[Tim]

Plus both Rush and KISS do have dedicated following both, though obviously behind Bon Jovi in mainstream popularity.

[ManPerson]

I guess I could see Bon Jovi > Frank Ocean, though. Bon Jovi easily take popularity, Frank easily takes acclaim, while neither artist clearly takes influence, ig.

How about this?
170. Alice Cooper
171. Neil Diamond
172. Alicia Keys
173. Chicago
174. Rush
175. KISS
176. Usher
177. Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force
178. Bon Jovi
179. Frank Ocean

[ManPerson]

While we are at it, how I'd re-rank #191-200:

1. The "5" Royales
2. Gladys Knight & the Pips
3. Dion (& the Belmonts)
4. The Mamas & the Papas
5. The Coasters
6. Carl Perkins
7. James Taylor
8. Def Leppard
9. Johnny Ace
10. Dionne Warwick

Coasters a key doo-wop group with a string of classic hits, one of comedy rock pioneers and prolly #2-3 most important collaboration of Leiber-Stoller's career. Dion one of the biggest rock stars late '50s - early '60s, respected for his versatility & longevity since that and cited as influence by some of the top rockers that followed, Springsteen chief among of them. Gladys one of the most respected and popular Motown performers of the late 1960s - early 1970s, managed to become even more succesful after leaving, Mamas and Papas high commercial & artistic peak, one of the leaders of Laurel Canyon scene, further popularization of folk rock, California Dreamin' obvi immortal. The "5" Royales a key players in creation of soul music, their songs covered to great success by the likes of James Brown, Ray Charles, Shirelles and Mamas & Papas, Lowman Pauling one of the greatest guitar heroes of the 1950s, idolized by Steve Cropper.

Def Leppard a huge success from 1984 to 1989 plus a key influence on glam metal scene, James Taylor respected singer-songwriter with major commercial success, Perkins prolly a greatest pure rockabilly artist and #2 most influential behind Presley, a beloved figure among the top rock names, think Beatles, Blue Suede Shoes an immortal classic. Johnny Ace the first rock and roll tragedy, Pledging My Life influential early crossover success. Thown Warwick at the bottom despite her being arguably the biggest name overall as I see her legacy too interlinked with Bacharach & David pop brand with rock being secondary genre at best for her despite her indeed having impact on rock with some of her songs (think Isaac Hayes)

Mamas and the Papas look a bit high, I think. I'd say Carl Perkins is more acclaimed and influential while JT is more popular with acclaim and influence being fairly close.

Fair point on Dionne Warwick, wonder if it would be better to remove her entirely, as her status as a rock artist seems somewhat comparable to, say, Johnny Cash.

[Tim]

I guess I could see Bon Jovi > Frank Ocean, though. Bon Jovi easily take popularity, Frank easily takes acclaim, while neither artist clearly takes influence, ig.

How about this?
170. Alice Cooper
171. Neil Diamond
172. Alicia Keys
173. Chicago
174. Rush
175. KISS
176. Usher
177. Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force
178. Bon Jovi
179. Frank Ocean

I'd take it.

[Tim]

We can still discuss Jon Bon Jovi & co of course but my attempt at inserting #191-200 batch (excluding Dionne Warwick)

140. Chic
141. Talking Heads
142. The Smiths
143. The Cure
144. Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young)
145. Elvis Costello
146. Yes
147. Iggy Pop & the Stooges
148. Rick Nelson
149. Sex Pistols
150. Sam & Dave
151. Oasis
152. Daft Punk
153. The "5" Royales
154. The Yardbirds
155. TLC
156. Gladys Knight & the Pips
157. Kate Bush
158. Roxy Music
159. Genesis
160. Nas
161. Dire Straits
162. Booker T. & the M.G.’s
163. Dion (& the Belmonts)
164. Carole King
165. Paul Simon
166. Jefferson Airplane
167. Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers
168. The Coasters
169. Eddie Cochran
170. Patti Smith
171. Carl Perkins
172. A Tribe Called Quest
173. Pixies
174. Lana Del Rey
175. James Taylor
176. Alice Cooper
177. The Mamas & the Papas
178. Neil Diamond
179. Alicia Keys
180. Chicago
181. Rush
182. KISS
183. Usher
184. Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force
185. Def Leppard
186. Bon Jovi
187. Frank Ocean
188. Bad Bunny
189. Kool & the Gang
190. Johnny Ace
191. The Righteous Brothers
192. Phil Collins
193. Ariana Grande
194. Hall & Oates
195. Cher
196. R. Kelly
197. Journey
198. Justin Bieber
199. Diana Ross

[pauldrach]

Fair point on Dionne Warwick, wonder if it would be better to remove her entirely, as her status as a rock artist seems somewhat comparable to, say, Johnny Cash.

The question is whether only artists should be included whose primary genre is rock or whether all artists should be included and then judged only by their rock credentials. The latter is more difficult and would mean that Johnny Cash should be included and possibly other borderliners such as Warwick, Herbie Hancock, Muddy Waters, etc. as well. The former might result in the exclusion of Bobby Bland (primary genre: blues) and some other artists previously mentioned such as Tangerine Dream and Jean-Michel Jarre, whose most important work probably lies in electronic styles that place them outside the rock pantheon.

[Tim]

I guess I am not really opposed to letting these artists go (though Bobby Bland and Tangerine Dream seem like they could go either way) but we might as well do a disclaimer for these cases. Something like this: only artists who primarily recorded and performed in rock and roll (music genre originating in the late 1940s out of jump blues with gospel, jazz, boogie-woogie, electric blues, swing etc. influences. Originally an American genre primarily performed and recorded by black artists, rock and roll went on to become a global musical & cultural phenomenon across the racial and national barriers) were eligible for this list.

[Fido]

I can live with that Bon Jovi placement. On the last topic, we could do like the Guitarists list, or the jazz artists list, which have an unnumbered section with borderline artists.

[Fido]

I like that last version of the list. Some things: I could see the 5 Royales above Daft Punk if we take their R&B success against Daft Punk's chart success, with the 5 Royales being way more influential and with great musical impact. Gladys and the Pips over TLC too, they have almost twice as much R&B hits which is both artists' style of music. I could see Dion over the MGs too, it's a weird one cause of the latter's work for other artists, but it also would be consistent with the 60s artists list. For the Coasters, I trust Sampson's knowledge of the 50s, though to me it would seem the Coasters are more acclaimed overall and have more enduring songs. Don't disagree with Smith separating Perkins from the rest of the 50s bunch, but I don't see what the difference would be between Cochran and Perkins vs her. Both are more influential, less acclaimed, and then it's singles vs albums for popularity, with both having few but immortal hits. Imo Alice Cooper wins acclaim and influence against Taylor, so they could be swapped. And lastly Def Leppard against Bambaataa would come down to acclaim, and are we sure Bambaataa wins?

[Tim]

Not opposed to most of these changes you are suggesting but I'd say Cochran's guitar and studio influence is a bit more wide-reaching than Perkins' rockabilly influence. I know they are ranked side by side on Sampson's list but, conversly, there is a bit of a gap between them on Brian's old list.

[ManPerson]

I'd say The Coasters take acclaim and popularity clearly over Frankie Lymon, I could see them ahead of Jefferson Airplane as well.

I'd also say Ariana Grande and Hall & Oates take acclaim and popularity over Johnny Ace, and while Johnny Ace takes influence, he isn't even on Sampson's top 100 so I don't think it's a huge enough win to take the matchup.

I'm fine with most of Fido's suggestions except I think TLC are probably more influential than Gladys Knight so I'd keep them ahead.

[Tim]

1. The Allman Brothers Band
2. Lynyrd Skynyrd
3. The White Stripes
4. Solomon Burke
5. King Crimson
6. The O’Jays
7. Del Shannon
8. The Cars
9. Salt-N-Pepa
10. Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Allman Brothers legends live and Southern rock/Jam band pioneers, decent longevity after having two key members die tragically. Lynyrd Skynyrd played a hand in popularizing Southern rock, two absolute immortal songs/memes, very good lasting popularity overall too, The White Stripes are modern guitar rock legends, spearheaded garage rock revival, Seven Nation Army omnipresent. O'Jays one of ultimate Philly soul acts with a string of hit singles, Solomon Burke important in shaping soul music plus revered by both soul & rock artists alike, despite limited commercial visibility, Crimson also not too succesful commerically but highly innovative and went on to become musical legends a la Velvet Underground over the years.

The Cars to my knowledge the first to have a hit in New Wave style which briefly become omnipresent and went on to have a decent lasting legacy, music video pioneers, a string of succesful singles/albums during the 1980s, Del Shannon's legacy a bit reduced to Runaway nowadays but an early synth pioneer, highly respected by fellow musicians and the ones who followed him, Salt-N-Pepa hip-hop female pioneers and Screamin' Jay originating shock rock and maker of one of most recognizable songs of 1950s over the years.

[ManPerson]

I'd have O'Jays higher as I'd give them popularity and influence over White Stripes and Solomon Burke.

[Tim]

Reading this, I am actually not sure if I'd give Ariana and Hall & Oates acclaim over Johnny Ace. Plus he's got quite a bit of cultural impact in aftermath of his death.

https://digitaldreamdoor.com/mobile/bio ... obile.html

[Area Man]

With Journey being talked about for inclusion on the list, I feel the need to put in a good word for Boston (the number two classic-era AOR/melodic rock artist on the website's list of them).

I'm not demanding that they be on the list, but I'm just presenting their criteria, which I think, with the exception of critical acclaim, is pretty strong.

Influence: Boston's 1976 debut album Boston is considered the "big bang" for the AOR/melodic rock genre, one of the leading genres of mainstream guitar rock from the mid-1970s to the early-1990s. Sure, other artists have arguably AOR/melodic rock albums that predate it - like Styx, REO Speedwagon, April Wine, Peter Frampton, Jefferson Starship, Head East, Russ Ballard, Michael Stanley Band, Charlie, Trooper, and maybe Rick Springfield (I say "maybe" for Springfield, because I can't find a release month/day for his first AOR/melodic rock album Wait for Night, only its year of release - 1976) - and The Who's Who's Next (1971) might be the prototype of the genre from its prehistory, but the genre didn't really crystallize and codify until Boston's Boston came along. The genre's mix of arena rock aesthetics, one-two punch of cascading keyboards and searing guitars, one-two punch of hard rock anthems and soft rock power ballads, and sentimental/unironic/sincere tone really came together perfectly for the first time on that album. Some artists on the list already (like Heart, Chicago, Cher, etc.) jumped aboard the AOR/melodic rock train after the genre proved wildly successful with mainstream consumers.

Acclaim: Okay, Boston isn't exceptional with critical acclaim, but Boston's Boston is currently ranked/rated/voted as the number one album on RateYourMusic to have "AOR" as its primary genre.

Popularity: Boston's Boston was the best-selling debut album of all time, until Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction (1987) came along.

[Tim]

Thanks for reminder, added them to the list of candidates for top 250 on page #8. Think if Journey ends up close to the top 200 there is a decent chance Boston ends up in the top 250 as well.

[Fido]

I agree with Man on lowering the Stripes and Burke as I also see Crimson ahead of them.

[Tim]

#200-209 inserted.

140. Chic
141. Talking Heads
142. The Smiths
143. The Cure
144. Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young)
145. The Allman Brothers Band
146. Elvis Costello
147. Yes
148. Iggy Pop & the Stooges
149. Rick Nelson
150. Sex Pistols
151. Sam & Dave
152. Oasis
153. The "5" Royales
154. Daft Punk
155. The Yardbirds
156. TLC
157. Gladys Knight & the Pips
158. Kate Bush
159. Roxy Music
160. Genesis
161. Nas
162. Dire Straits
163. Dion (& the Belmonts)
164. Booker T. & the M.G.’s
165. Carole King
166. Paul Simon
167. The Coasters
168. Jefferson Airplane
169. Lynyrd Skynyrd
170. The O’Jays
171. Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers
172. Eddie Cochran
173. Carl Perkins
174. Patti Smith
175. A Tribe Called Quest
176. Pixies
177. King Crimson
178. Lana Del Rey
179. Alice Cooper
180. James Taylor
181. The Mamas & the Papas
182. The White Stripes
183. Solomon Burke
184. Neil Diamond
185. Alicia Keys
186. Chicago
187. Rush
188. KISS
189. Del Shannon
190. Usher
191. Def Leppard
192. Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force
193. Bon Jovi
194. The Cars
195. Salt-N-Pepa
196. Frank Ocean
197. Bad Bunny
198. Kool & the Gang
199. Johnny Ace
200. The Righteous Brothers
201. Phil Collins
202. Ariana Grande
203. Hall & Oates
204. Cher
205. R. Kelly
206. Journey
207. Justin Bieber
208. Diana Ross
209. Screamin' Jay Hawkins