8/4/2019 100 Greatest Artists of All Time
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time 1/4
This is RS magazine's list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.
1. The Beatles - Makes sense. Some of the most influential albums of all time are theworks of these lads. What else can you say?
2. Bob Dylan - I could argue with this one. He's a legend, but number 2?
3. Elvis Presley - Very successful, the king of rock n roll of course, but he was very
controlled by his manager. 4. Rolling Stones - Often called 'Anti-Beatles', definitely top 5
5. Chuck Berry - Probably invented Rock n Roll. Deserves to be here.
6. Jimi Hendrix - First guitar god, I believe. Revolutionary player
7. James Brown - Godfather of soul, is it? Great showman
8. Little Richard - American Rock & Roll/R & B singer and pianist
9. Aretha Franklin - I think she was the first woman to be inducted into the rock n rollhall of fame. I'll look that up later.
10. Ray Charles - American R&B singer and pianist
11. Bob Marley - Jamaican reggae singer
12. The Beach Boys - Some of the catchiest songs I ever heard.
13. Buddy Holly - Tragic death. One of the first to use a solid-body electric guitar.
14. Led Zeppelin - Possibly the 'fathers of heavy metal', but some might argue that Black
Sabbath is.
15. Stevie Wonder - American soul singer. Plays many different instruments, and has
won 22 grammy awards
16. Sam Cooke - A founder of soul music.
17. Muddy Waters - 'Father of Chicago Blues'
18. Marvin Gaye - 'The Prince of Motown'.
19. The Velvet Underground - American rock band, formed in 1965. Regarded as
highly influencial in the rise to punk-rock, and alt-rock.
20. Bo Diddley - Legendary R&B singer. Known as the 'Originator'
21. Otis Redding - You might not know him, but you've probably heard 'Sittin' on the
dock of a bay'.
22. U2 - The Joshua Tree was one of my favourite albums
23. Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA was overplayed. Good to see him make music
again.
24. Jerry Lee Lewis - 'Great Balls of Fire' was his greatest hit, and one of my favs
25. Fats Domino - Rock & Roll pianist
26. The Ramones - Regarded as the first punk-rock group
27. Nirvana - I swear, RS magazine has a hard-on for these guys. They put Kurt Cobainat #12 on their 'Greatest Guitarists of All Time' list, and now this.
28. Prince - 'Purple Rain' is one of my favourite albums. He's also an icon in style
29. The Who - Should be higher. Rock artists still try to sound like them
30. The Clash - English punk-rock band from the 70's
31. Johnny Cash - The 'Man in Black'. Should be higher, since he's the equivalent of
Elvis, except country. The only country singer I like
32. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - American R&B group
33. The Everly Brothers - Country/Rock Duo
34. Neil Young - Candadian singer-songwriter. Influencial in grunge, though typically
labeled folk/rock
8/4/2019 100 Greatest Artists of All Time
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time 2/4
35. Michael Jackson - Would be higher if he wasn't wacko. Thriller was the best-selling
album of all time
36. Madonna - I don't like her music, but she could still be higher. The 'Queen of Pop'
37. Roy Orbison - American singer-songwriter. Sang 'Oh, Pretty Woman'
38. John Lennon - Liked him in the Beatles, not as a solo artist. Imagine was a great
song, however 39. David Bowie - Icon in music, as well as style
40. Simon and Garfunkel - Should be in the top twenty, in my opinion. If you haven't
heard of them, you need to get some education
41. The Doors - I'd put them top 30, but this is alright
42. Van Morrison - 'Van the Man'. Sang 'Brown Eyed Girl'.
43. Sly and the Family Stone - American funk band
44. Public Enemy - Not a chance. I'd say about 80, maybe
45. The Byrds - American rock group
46. Janis Joplin - American singer-songwriter
47. Patti Smith - The 'Godmother of Punk'
48. Run-DMC - Biggest act in hip-hop throughout the 80's
49. Elton John - Should be higher. Not a huge fan, but I can appreciate his talent
50. The Band - Canadian rock band. They backed Ronnie Hawkins, and Bob Dylan
51. Howlin' Wolf - Blues singer. Another attempt to cater to the R&B genre. Every
prolific classic R&B singer made it onto this list in some random order. They put Muddy
Waters ahead of Marvin Gaye. Come on
52. Allman Brothers Band - Southern-rock band
53. Eric Clapton - English blues-rock guitarist
54. Dr. Dre - Has numerous Grammys for rapping and producing
55. Grateful Dead - American rock band
56. Parliament/Funkadelic - African-American soul band
57. Aerosmith - American hard rock band
58. Sex Pistols - One of the first punk bands. Definitely one of the most prolific
59. Louis Jordan - Jazz musician. Not familiar with his works
60. Joni Mitchell - Canadian singer-songwriter
61. Tina Turner - American singer and entertainer
62. Etta James - American R&B singer. Sang 'At Last'. Should be top 90s if anything atall
63. Phil Spector - He's a producer. Why is he on here?
64. The Kinks - English rock group
65. Al Green - American gospel singer
66. Cream - '60's British rock band. Considered to be the first 'supergroup'
67. The Temptations - American R&B vocal group
68. Jackie Wilson - R&B singer
69. Carl Perkins - 'The King of Rockabilly'
70. The Police - Sold over 50 million albums world-wide. Highest paid musical act of
2008. Biggest ego of a bassist frontman
71. Frank Zappa - American composer. Phenomenal guitarist
72. AC/DC - They've had countless hits, and are one of the most popular bands around.
I'm surprised RS didn't place them higher-glad they didn't
8/4/2019 100 Greatest Artists of All Time
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time 3/4
73. Radiohead - Glad to see them gettin' some love, but they were placed ahead of some
great legends. Maybe a few years down the road I would put them here
74. Hank Williams - Country singing legend
75. The Eagles - Could be higher. Their greatest hits album was the 2nd greatest selling
album of all time
76. The Shirelles - Girl group in the 60's. The first to get a #1 single on the Billboard100. I would exlude them based on their lack of longevity
77. Beastie Boys - Jewish hiphop group. Never would have guessed they'd be successful,
but they were
78. The Stooges - Highly influencial in punk-rock
79. The Four Tops - American R&B quartet. Are noted for having a baritone for a lead
singer(stubbs)
80. Elvis Costello - English musician, singer-songwriter
81. The Drifters - American R&B vocal group
82. Eminem - Has many awards, including an Academy award for 'best original song' for
2002's 'Lose Yourself'
83. N.W.A. - Gangsta-rap group from the eighties. Dr. Dre and Ice Cube were in thisgroup
84. James Taylor - American singer/songwriter and guitarist from Boston
85. Black Sabbath - RS never really liked Black Sabbath. If memory serves me
correctly, their first review of Sabbath went something like 'Should they even exist?...'. I
would place them in the top 40 at least
86. Tupac Shakur - Rap artist. The first to have an album go to #1 while in jail.
87. Gram Parsons - Country singer. Died at age 26
88. Miles Davis - Jazz trumpet player
89. The Yardbirds - English rock group. Introduced us to Clapton, Page, and Beck
90. Carlos Santana - Solo guitar player. His band has consisted of about 40 people over
the years
91. Ricky Nelson - American singer with over 50 Hot 100 hits
92. Guns n Roses - 'Appetite for Destruction' was the best thing they ever did. Too badthey weren't consistent
93. Booker T. and the MG's - Instrumental soul band. One of the first inter-racial
groups
94. Nine Inch Nails - Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails. He's pretty much the only
member
95. Lynyrd Skynyrd - American southern rock band
96. Martha and the Vandellas - Female R&B group
97. Diana Ross and the Supremes - Popular female singing group of the 60's
98. Roxy Music - English rock group from the 70's. Not top 100 material
99. Curtis Mayfield - American soul singer
100. Lee 'Scratch' Perry - Influencial figure in Reggae music
Artists That Deserved to Make The List (At Least More Than Some of The Ones That
Actually Did)
Queen - Top 30 material, easily
Pink Floyd - Top 50
8/4/2019 100 Greatest Artists of All Time
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time 4/4
Metallica - I don't want to sound like another metalhead that doesn't shut up about metal
groups, but Metallica deserves to be somewhere on the list. In the 90-100 range at least
Tom Waits - One of the most unique voices, and an amazing talent. Top 80, about
Pearl Jam - They have Nirvana at 27, and Pearl Jam isn't on the list? Where is the justice?
Willie Nelson - I'd put Willie on the list before I'd put Gram Parsons on, that's for sure
Van Halen - I'd say somewhere around 80
Red Hot Chili Peppers
REM
Neil Diamond
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Rod Stewart
Fleetwood Mac
Judas Priest
Wu Tang Clan
Notorious BIG
Waylon Jennings
B.B. King
Wilson Pickett
Frank Sinatra
The Cure
The Smiths