50 Greatest Musical Artists

[HughBeaumont]

73. Nope.

If we're talking strictly modern (20th-21st Century) . . . .

50. Nirvana - Rock
49. Willie Nelson - Country, rock
48. N.W.A. - Hip hop
47. Metallica - Metal
46. Guns 'N Roses - Rock, metal
45. Steely Dan - Jazz, Rock, Pop
44. Igor Stravinsky - Classical
43. Kraftwerk - Electronic, Rock
42. Elton John - Rock, Pop
41. Rush - Rock
40. Public Enemy - Hip hop
39. The Beastie Boys - Hip hop, rock
38. Genesis - Rock
37. The Clash - Rock
36. The Who - Rock
35. Led Zeppelin - Rock
34. R.E.M. - Rock, pop
33. The Ramones - Rock
32. The Tempations - R&B, doo-wop
31. AC/DC - Rock, metal
30. Van Halen - Rock
29. The Kinks - Rock, pop
28. Jerry Lee Lewis - Rock
27. Bob Marley - Reggae, rock
26. Diana Ross and the Supremes - R&B, doo-wop
25. The Doors - Rock
24. Husker Du - Rock, pop
23. Buddy Holly - Rock, country
22. James Brown - Soul, funk
21. Black Sabbath - Metal
20. Aretha Franklin - Soul, gospel
19. Pink Floyd - Rock
18. John Coltrane - Jazz
17. RUN-D.M.C. - Hip hop, rock
16. Charlie Parker - Jazz
15. Michael Jackson - Pop, rock
15. David Bowie - Rock, pop
14. Jimi Hendrix - Rock
13. Billie Holiday - Jazz, Classical
12. Stevie Wonder - R&B, Soul, pop
11. Louis Armstrong - Jazz
10. Ella Fitzgerald - Jazz
9. George Gershwin - Jazz, Classical
8. Ray Charles - Jazz, Pop, Country, R&B
7. Frank Sinatra - Pop, jazz
6. Johnny Cash - Country, rock
5. Frank Zappa - Rock, Jazz, Avant Garde
4. The Beatles - Rock
3. Beach Boys - Rock
2. The Rolling Stones - Rock
1. Miles Davis - Jazz

This really is a hard list to make . . . I left off a lot of my favorite artists that one can arguably vouch for (Yes, ELP, Art Tatum, Talk Talk, The Bad Brains, Phillip Glass, Aphex Twin, Einsturzende Neubaten, Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Dead Can Dance, The Police, MF Doom, Mahavishnu Orchestra, etc). Truth is, I'm not even a fan of some of these acts, but you cannot deny the influence, contribution and talent. No current gen artist (2000 and beyond) will be on mine and certainly not any NashVegas or modern R&B. Sorry, your influence and staying power haven't been proven yet. The only current gen artist that I would consider is MF Doom, who is miles ahead of any rapper out there. It'd be the same with video games and maybe a few movies past 2000 make it.

I'm utterly amazed no one mentioned Ray Charles. His omission is dumbfounding.