Top Music Artists of All Time

Chuck Berry is the God of classic rock n roll and he by himself blows todays music out of the water

no comments.....meh i bet no one even know who he is which would be pretty pathetic

not high up enough

Im sorry what about the man who basically did everything for any blues genre in Robert Johnson. His chops were unmatched and half of all blues songs are RJ originals

Easily one of the top 5 best guitarists ever. This guy is the figurehead, the trademark, of gypsy jazz.

Well... his third/fourth fingers on his left hand were partially paralysed, any other guitarists out there would have given up, Django got better

Genises should definately be top 30. Phil Collins is a great song writer and a great drummer.

What the . . . ? How on earth did Genesis get so low, they were right near the top last week, what happened?

Genesis should have been called geniuses have never heard a boring song even if they were 10 min long

Don't insult Barbara. She can walk on water. Goddess!

Woman in love

Remarkably horrible

how could this master of tone drop down the list so hard & so fast? you should all be ashamed

awesome

The first album is bad but after that they got good, Freaky Styley was decent, then after that they were awesome - Uplift Mofo Party Plan, Mother's Milk, Blood Sugar Sex Majik, One Hot Minute - all great albums, and they were one of the best live acts around at that time. One Hot Minute was their last great album. Californication was just OK, By The Way was pretty bad and Stadium Arcadium was pathetic. Their live shows are pretty stale nowadays. I've pretty much given up on them now.

88 you have got to be kiddin me!

As a poet, musician and composer considering his breadth of style and appeal, paul Simon might be the most talented all around musical mind of this generation.

It was Art Garfunkel that gave Paul Simon's music the ability to see the light of day. Simon is a less than average singer. Holding him back? What a putz!!

They were OK but they really shouldn't be higher than the Beatles. Paul Simon's solo material is better than anything he did with Art Garfunkel. I think Garfunkel was holding him back.

YES YES YES!!!!!

Piano Legend "The Entertainer" - Fantastic Artist!

Michael, I agree with you that Prince is among the greatest popular musicians of all time. I think that he is the most soulful guitarist since Hendrix. I also agree that he is a great bassist but you say that When Doves Cry is proof of his bass playing ability. There is absolutely NO bass guitar in that song. He completely removed it. Listen again.

who fill up this chart? see miles davis comment on you tube . He join the guitar power of hendrix, the dance on stage the moves of mick jagger, the powerfull studio ability of for exemple Burt Bucharach. then other artist express themselves only in one musical gender, prince is a mix of pop. jazz, soul, funk not only in different albums but inside one !! check the difference of style from 1999 to parade then the Masterpiece sighn of the times , lovesexy , diamonds and pearls and their relative live concerts. he produced as well for hundreds groups , he's a sound engineer, he plays nearly everything1 and like Stevie wonder told at NAACP 1996 " one of the important Voices of the Century" ask Bono Vox too! peace edo and wake up!!!

He can play every instrument. Unfortunately popular music is more about image than ability and Prince's image has never really been fashionable. History SHOULD (and hopefully will) look kindly upon him.

i think...in time...prince will be regarded as one of the true greats of 20th century music...as a musician...no one comes close to his ability...the songs he wrote will be forever regarded as some of the greatest of the century...purple rain..when doves cry...1999...little red corvette..nothing compares 2 u...kiss...all classics...his albums define the 1980s like no-one else..dirty mind...1999..purple rain..parade...sign o the times..all groundbreaking albums...as a performer...he was an incredible showman and band leader..just an amazing artist who will be remembered long into the future as one of the greats of the 20th century along with the beatles..

He should be in the top 15 at least. Realise how many prductions he did. His official albums are full of great songs with clear developments en musical experiments. Then look at all the productions he made for so many other artist. The Time, The Family Sheila E. Look at all the great artist he workes with.. from Miles Davis to Joe Cocker, Alicia Keys etc... He most certainly is off great influence to pop and funk music to date still. I rank him right after the beatles....

great he is the best

this is a king,producer,composer,songwriter, dancer,jeck out live perfomances at 80s-90s, multi instrumental player,and one of the greatest gutarist player after jimi hendrix,santana,page, also one of the best bass player(when doves cry) proves why. His teachers are jimi ,joni sly,miles,carlos,james, elvis,john,paul,george,(i love ringo but not him) And if you want to know the best artist of all time are the beatles,dylan jimi,marvin,stevie,doors, brown,bowie,stones,floyd,beach boys,velvet underground,elvis,joni,miles,coltraine,duke,ozzy,nirvana,raidiohead,mj,sex pistoles,clash,fleetwood mac,puplic enemy,and prine. They all make great album in history.

Number one ! I seen concerts that the band had back in the days and I was shocked at how big their crowds were its insane ! They sang all the Rick classics like we will rock youh and under pressure . Love them

Queen in my opinion is the 3rd greatest behind only Pink Floyd and the beatles

I think Queen should have a much higher rating. Not only was Freddy Mercury a musical genius, but the band could seriously play from any genre. They understood what they were capable of much more than most bands, and when they crossed a genre they took all of their fans with them to something new. That is virtually impossible to accomplish in modern music. In a world where bands conform to an image, Queen didn't. Because the music was so elite, they could be whatever they wanted. No band could get away with what Queen pulled off these days. No band could get away with what Queen pulled off those days, either. They brought real honest to god technical, intentioned music to the table under the guise of rock and roll.

should be in top 10.

Queen should be AT LEAST TOP 10!!!

They should be on the top!!!!!!!!

wtf why the hell isnt queen in the top ten, they had so many good songs like Bohemian rhapsody and Dont stop me now

Queen should be #1! This is so wrong!

WOW! queen 106 this is a shock top ten definately... Queen have the best front man, performer amd singer of all time freddie merury and ofcourse brian may the most unique guitarist c'mon something needs to be changed here i mean hello

OMG R U KIDDING ME THESE GUYS R THE BEST WUTR U TALKING ABOUT?!? BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND, WE R THE CHAMPIONS. SERIOUSLY? #1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

they should be top 10!!

Like I said with Muse, these should be far higher than some of the bands here :P

Welcome to theHotel California!

The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1971 by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner.With five number one singles and six number one albums, the Eagles were one of the most successful recording artists of the 1970s.

way under rated

Greatest rock band of all time.

dont you mean The Orb?

They should be higher !!!! And also Gilmour songs, without Pink Floyd are great :) Wish You Were Here, High Hopes, Comfortably Numb, Another Brick In The Wall, Coming Back To Live, Shine On Your Crazy Diamond and Lost For Words are the best I'm Polish and I do not know English well. There may be errors, so sorry :)

WTF, how are they behind Genesis, Rush, Yes, Hendrix, Rolling Stones, AND Elvis. What's wrong with the world?

Pink Floyd is the greatest band of all time. From there work with syd Barrett to poles apart they have proved that they can create masterful epics, rock symphonies, rock operas, great albums, and everything in between. There lyrics were about real world problems. Politics, schooling, mental walls, insanity, nd just about everything else. This proves that pink Floyd is the greatest band to ever walk the earth.

amazing band just listen to shine on.

this is quite unfair they got to be in the first ten

Pink Floyd is the best!!!!!

CANT STAND THAT BONO. AND A VERY ORDINARY SINGER. BUT OVERALL A DECENT BAND

U2 legendary irish rock band won 22 grammy awards more than jonny cash, sting, the beatles, eric clapton, prince, frank sinatra, madonna, david bowie, the rolling stones, pink floyd, bob dylan. and the same as stevie wonder. only three individuals have received more.

Great players

Dire Straits is the best band in the world!!

Mark Knopfler is the best musician in my opinion

This guy should be first, hes a genious. And where's chopin?

in the top ten!!!!!! likle prince!!!1

David Bowie is much better then Baetles and he is the best artist in history.

David Bowie is 100 x better then Elvis come on get him above him. In fact get him above every solo artist.

He is really the best artist ever!

^ Thank you. 2nd most over-rated band, just after The Beatles. Although The Beatles are definitely more deserving of their hype. I can admit that even though I don't particularly like them.

a couple that should be ranked above the stones 1. bob marley 2. stevie ray vahn 3. john coltrane 4.thelonious monk 5. ray charles 6. marvin gaye just a few

You are so right,infact John Lennon was better too!

McCartney is better.

One of the top female vocalists of the last century. Currently ranks #1 on ShareRanks Top Female singers of 30th century. She had the most charted singles of female solo artists (second to Aretha)

Not flashy but needs a higher ranking.

Magical very melodic vocals. Countless classics- Currently ranking #1 on the Shareranks Top female vocalists of the 20th century..

Older first Cousin to the late great Whitney Houston. Dionne has a unique magical voice and beautiful songs , many from the legendary Burt Bacharach and Hal David song writing team ( should also be on this list) Dionne is a living legend herself .

Burt Bacharach and Hal David helped create some of her best material of the 60's and 70's. Beautiful voice and 100s of great songs in her catalogue from 60's- today. Second to Aretha regarding charted singles of the last century.

♥ u Bob Marley... He should be rated in top 5

one of the best music artists ever to walk the earth..he fought against discrimination, and for one love, and unity...hes probably one of my fav music artists ever.

I Think Bob Marley should be higher he is so great that he still lives on a the best selling reggae artist right now

Oh, That's funny, Cause on my list of top music Artists....... Bob Comes in at # 1. I'm gonna go ahead and concider my list as correct before I will this one! ;)

Maybe reggae music is not your kind of music. Maybe to you it sounds all the same. But it's a FACT that Bob Marley is the most played artist all around the world ever! EVERYBODY knows him and at least one of his songs. His music is timeless. If you would ask a boy in Iran who Elvis Presley is, he would have no clue. If you would play a Mozart tune to a woman in Africa and ask her who the maker is, she wouldn't know. If you would show a picture of Roy Orbinson to a teenager in Europe, he/she would think: who is this guy?! You hardly hear a Beatles song on the radio anymore. Even Michael Jackson, who's the only one that comes close to Bobs famousness, is not as often played around the globe as Mr Marley. Maybe Bob Marley wasn't as influential on music as these artists, but he is and was and (it seems) will be the most influential on the WORLD. You just can't deny it. So of course he should be at number one!

You have to look at not only his influence on creating an entire genre of music but his humanitarian acts. Overall he should be ranked #1 as he not only crossed barriers of racism but single handedly created peace in an otherwise hostile country, Jamaica. His influence on the world by far outreaches that of any other artist except the Beatles.

voted man of the century RASTAFARI BLESSED LOVE!

Marley? I know only one hit from him. Hiy style was always the same. He does not belong to the top 100. It is ridiculous to place him here in the top 20

bob marley is the main man, he was the greatest singer and entertainer the world has ever had without a doubt. the list is not right, he should top the list once and for all.

Bob Marley is the bomb, a legend he should be first.

Marley is so damn funnjy too! Maine all the way!

17 psssssssssssh more like he should be rated in the top 10... shameless

bobs music is so moving, he should be top 5 AT LEAST top 10, this list is dispicable

This is just about the right ranking for Marley. Hes good but not in the same league as the man above him

Bob was a musical prophet sent to earth. I am insulted as a Jamaican to see him ranked so low. People are oblivious to his influence on the world

Best musician ever. His songs say something and make you feel something. Hands down the greatest.

Bob Marley's music is so good, it's uncomprehendable how amazing it is.

bob marley should have been on the top

Kurt Cobain was a musical genius and with the help of Krist and the powerful drummer dave they managed to gain great succes, and to all of you who say only one good song, I bet you havent even listen to any other songs, Pennyroyal Tea, Rape Me, In Bloom, About A Girl, Drain You just to mention a few.

I think that Nirvana should be higher on the list.!They changed music and are the basis for most of the rock/grunge artists of today, they defined the 90's and created grunge. How many of the higher ranked artists can say that they literally changed music? There is obviously some extremely talented musicians who will never be duplicated, except many of them just have the talent and the hits, not the lasting impact.

the most overratesd band to ever write a good song

They should be about 110 bands higher they are so awesome They only were around for 5 years yet they managed to change music forever Grunge for life

its kurt

Man I'm still mourning the day that Kart pulled the trigger.

best ever

not top but one of greatest 90 bands

Best Rock Band Ever

30? What ?

Oh, yeah, they definitely do rock, and most of their songs they wrote themselves, in fairness. It's just that there are a few times - the famous Stairway to Heaven intro, for example - where they blatantly lifted parts from other people's songs, and gave them no credit. Having said that, it could be argued that Led Zeppelin did a better job than the original artists with most, if not all, of the material.

Maybe there was a little borrowing here and there. They still ROCK tho, amirite?

led zeppelin for ever! founding fathers of heavy metal. i like how you scroll down the page and find all these lame pop bands... its almost if they included them to show how far behind they are

Led Zeppelin are the greatest musicians ever because first of all they had the greatest drummer ever (Bonham), the greatest guitarist ever (Page), one of the greatest singers ever (Plant), one of the greatest bassists ever (JPJ), one of the greatest songwriters ever (Page), and one of the greatest multi-instrumentalists ever (JPJ). They practically created hard rock (Achilles Last Stand) and were experts in the blues style of playing (since I've been loving you). They also had the ability to create some of the most beautiful songs ever (watch the Rain Song live or Stairway to Heaven). Stairway to Heaven has been rated the greatest song of all time many times and many other songs of theirs are on these lists too. Page is a huge inspiration for me on the guitar and Bonham on the drums. This is why I believe Zeppelin should be #1. Thnxs

best band ever. page is such an inspiration!

My fiance always tells me Robert Plant is the only man he would ever go gay for. I don't blame him.

Greatest musicians ever. Don't understand why they aren't on the top.

JIMMY PAGE IS GOD! I am his diciple. There is no such thing as better then Zeppelin. R.I.P. John Bonham.

Should be further up. the greatest and first band to basically make heavy metal alive.

Led Zeppelin is #1

definitely the best rock band

Sorry try Nirvana kid

best band of 90th

why the hell is norah jones so high up at 39?! she should be like 258 or something like that! WAY TOO MUCH OVERRATED!!

#64 is not bad at all. great artist

Why is he so low on the list? This entire site is bogus. Many mentioned above did not write their own songs, had no grasp of music as a theory, just because they sold records to a bunch of teens they are top artist? wow.

without a doubt the greatest musician the world has ever or will ever seen. anyone who disagrees just doesnt understand the music.

he made a lot of crazy things, including his death -he died because he was suffoctated by his vomit. Poor fellow, drugs, sex and soon death. Certainly no example for the youths.

he was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XD :)

hendrix brought the world to the guitar and expanded our minds

jimi hendrix had a kick as guitar playing

Yes they are way too low, they should in top 80 at least... Half of these names I haven't heard of

Scorpions are the best rock band of all time. modern bands like linkin park dont even compare to them. awesome those german guys are

Actually he's pretty bad.

He is the BOSS! Bruce should be much higher on this list.

They don't call him the boss for nothing. He writes about ordinary things and ordinary people in an extraordinary way. Really listen to his music and experience one of his concert but until then you cant ever call him overrated.

the fact that you said he is overrated probably means you have only listen to born in the USA or have no idea what great music is. The man is a musical genius.

he is overrated, only because he screamed born in the USA he has got so many votes, I think

no. 32 now, much too high, overrated, on my list he is 786

no. 85. Seriously. What sort of list is this anyway?

Only 1st place .No one rocks harder than mozart :P.

ac/dc is the best metal band hands down!

BACK IN BLACK!

where did all the points go? ac/dc had loads yesterday

Whoa! Take it easy, dude. Think about it, 42nd is pretty good for a list where Mozart is 1st! Frickin' MOZART! Now sing with me, It'll make you feel better :) - Thun! Der! Struck! Da! Dada! Da! Da! Thunderstruck! Yeeeah! Yeah! Yeah!

why is it soooo low!! it should be on top!

Hot August Night!

Wow, I never realized the Doors were still so popular! The Doors in the top 10, Led Zeppelin not even in the top 20 - just the way it should be. There are some bizarre inclusions, a quick scan of the list reveals many pop acts that are too high such as Prince, Madonna, etc. and the occasional one hit wonders such as Foreigner, other than this I like the list - many great acts along with some that I have never heard of and will have to check out at some point.

Greatest Band ever. A mixture of poetry and music. A band that played to make music and not just money. Revolutionary

The greatest band of all times. Only six studio albums, only on the world scene for 5 years, yet just as revered as bands around two to three times as long with several more albums produced.

over rated

the band like always still rockkkks ..

First three albums were good but then it went horribly wrong with the sad death of Cliff Burton. The band got gradually worse after that.

Legends of our time. They will still move up these ranks. Should end in top 20.....

The Legend should be on first place!

No way in hell Metallica's this low..

Metallica revolutionized Thrash Metal, people say there sell-outs for the "Load of ****" era, I just think it was there way of reaching out to every music lover. From there first Demo (Power Metal Demo) to there last live Performance, Metallica still reigns the greatest metal band of all time.

The Who does not belong at 92! They belong in at least the top 50. They're one of the greatest artists of all time, way above Bon Jovi and this other stuff!

you have got to be kidding me. In what universe is rush better than the who??

WHAT!? 110!!! they belong so much better than that

How come this band is so low. Thay have influenced so many Rock band. and were way ahead of there time.

Im prouf that he is in the top 100.. but for me. bon jovi should be within the top 10

Bon Jovi is great to see in concert 2 thumbs ups!! Bon Jovi should be in top 40 not in the 60s....

Bon Jovi @154 Stop reading this article from there.

why is she ranked 72th? She should be way up!

Whitney is shld b ranked top on d list may b second to Michael Jackson. She was legendary

She's a legend. The Diva of all divas. There's nobody that could touch her in whwtever stage her voice was. The best, second to no one.

She was great before Bobby Brown.

where is Henry Mancini? John Williams is plagiarist

John Williams was the Film composer for Star wars, ET, Superman, Shindelers list, Indiana Jones, Jarassic Park, Patriot, Fiddeler on the roof, and Saving Private Ryan to name a few

Black sabbath should be higher up

black sabbath is awesome !!!

rush should in no doubt be at least in the top 50 not anywhere near 98 they have at one time the best freakin drummer alive

I'm a fan of Rush but I disagree that their theatrical albums are as good as Pink Floyd's. Pink Floyd came before them yet dark side of the moon and the wall are leagues ahead of 2112.

I totally agree. They generally don't get the respect they deserve either. Think about how many five piece bands can't even come close to the music that these three guys create. And their theatrical albums that they produced such as 2112 are right up there with the theatrical albums of The Beatles and Pink Floyd.

Rush is probably one of the most positive bands we've had in decades. Their lyrics are truly uplifting and the music is upbeat, high energy rock! Rush should be in the top 20 for sure.

That was the world record at the time (1988) but it was broken a couple of years later. In fact, quite a few artists have played to larger paying audiences: Metallica, The Rolling Stones, A-Ha, Paul McCartney, Rush, Hendrix, Pantera, AC/DC, and so on... It's an impressive statistic nonetheless.

She has sold the most concert tickets of any solo performer of all time! She has won eight grammy's! And holds the record for playing in front of the largest paying audience of 184,000 people!

Easily my favorite singer. Should be much higher, IMHO.

Just so you know, it's not me that's doing it, I've even given him points recently. It is unrealistic for him to be so low. Yes, I expect you have annoyed quite a few people, hence the low ranking.

Howcome he's so low when The Eagles are 94th? He put them there. Looks like somebody has a grudge or something?

Front man for The Eagles.

Noel Gallagher is without a doubt one of the best song writers of all time, oasis deserve the spot of nirvana. Kurt Cobain was a glorified mess

you gotta roll with it

wow what and idiotic thing to say..... the description. greatest artist ever

Everyone knows him for his odd behaviour, humour and smutty lyrics but it's all a front for amazing musicianship. One of the greatest underrated guitarists of all time and a damn fine composer too.

The greatest composer of the last 50 years.

icon, female Michael Jackson

i hate you my queen.you are nr 400

i love you my queen.you are nr 1

maynard james is number one to my deff ears

Only one band beats them and that is the Beatles. Tool should only be below the Beatles, some classical composers and a couple of modern solo artists. It is ludicrous for them to be so far down.

Most people hate tool first time they listen but after a week listening to it , they just LOVE it , just like me ! They are #5 Best Rock bands Ever

the complexity and artistry that this band produces is just beyond any other band I know. They incorporate mathematical theory and formulas into the music, write beats in 17 or 21 instead of the common 4. The artistry of their music videos is like no other, and all of this is done with no managers or directors of people writing lyrics or music or beats their raw and natural. The more you learn about them and the band members the more you enjoy them and their music.

It's true that a lot of people hate TOOL. I say just listen to the albums a few times, especially their later albums because they get better as they go on. They're an album band more than a song band, if that makes sense. I hated them at first but this music really grows on you. I think they might be the greatest band of all time, the only thing holding them back from that is that they don't have that many albums.

What do you mean all their songs sound the same? Where are your ears, man? And Tool just lost another 100 points! What's with all this Tool hate lately? Tool are a great band, they make beautiful music. I don't get it.

OK, they're an important band, fine, I don't think many would disagree with that, BUT twenty years really isn't that long, my friend. Top thirty is probably about right. Top ten is too much.

Easily the most important band of the last 20 years.

How is Tool not higher up? One of the most talented group of artists around today.

Eminem Best Rapper Alive !!!! but..better than MJ ? my ASS!

eminem is the king of rap .he deserves to be in the top 10 and for gods sake he is greater then MJ

While Eminem is legendary, he certainly is not better than 2PAC and Biggie combined. With out them, Eminem would never have existed!

the best

He has done amazin songs like toy soldier,not afraid,space bound loads at least top 10. RAPPING LEDGEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

top 10 hands down!

yur crazy he deserves to be in the top 10!!

He should be in the top 50 not top 400. HE is the best rapper ever.

BETTER THAN 2PAC AND BIGGIE COMBINED!

Eminem > the whole universe

LEGEND!