Rolling Stone Top 100 Singers of all time
 

Way too low for our girl!!!



100 Mary J. Blige
99 Steven Tyler
98 Stevie Nicks
97 Joe Cocker
96 B.B. King
95 Patti LaBelle
94 Karen Carpenter
93 Annie Lennox
92 Morrissey
91 Levon Helm
90 The Everly Brothers
89 Solomon Burke
88 Willie Nelson
87 Don Henley
86 Art Garfunkel
85 Sam Moore
84 Darlene Love
83 Patti Smith
82 Tom Waits
81 John Lee Hooker
80 Frankie Valli
79 Mariah Carey
78 Sly Stone
77 Merle Haggard
76 Steve Perry
75 Iggy Pop
74 James Taylor
73 Dolly Parton
72 John Fogerty
71 Toots Hibbert
70 Gregg Allman
69 Ronnie Spector
68 Wilson Pickett
67 Jerry Lee Lewis
66 Thom Yorke
65 David Ruffin
64 Axl Rose
63 Dion (not Celine)
62 Lou Reed
61 Roger Daltrey
60 Björk
59 Rod Stewart
58 Christina Aguilera
57 Eric Bourdon
56 Mavis Staples
55 Paul Rodgers
54 Luther Vandross
53 Muddy Waters
52 Brian Wilson
51 Gladys Knight
50 Bonnie Raitt
49 Donny Hathaway
48 Buddy Holly
47 Jim Morrison
46 Patsy Cline
45 Kurt Cobain
44 Bobby "Blue" Bland
43 George Jones
42 Joni Mitchell
41 Chuck Berry
40 Curtis Mayfield
39 Jeff Buckley
38 Elton John
37 Neil Young
36 Bruce Springsteen
35 Dusty Sprinfield
34 Whitney Houston
33 Steve Winwood
32 Bono
31 Howlin' Wolf
30 Prince
29 Nina Simone
28 Janis Joplin
27 Hank Williams
26 Jackie Wilson
25 Michael Jackson
24 Van Morrison
23 David Bowie
22 Etta James
21 Johnny Cash
20 Smokey Robinson
19 Bob Marley
18 Freddie Mercury
17 Tina Turner
16 Mick Jagger
15 Robert Plant
14 Al Green
13 Roy Orbison
12 Little Richard
11 Paul McCartney
10 James Brown
09 Stevie Wonder
08 Otis Redding
07 Bob Dylan
06 Marvin Gaye
05 John Lennon
04 Sam Cooke
03 Elvis Presley
02 Ray Charles
01 Aretha Franklin

Thank God, now I know that the 45th best singer ever is Kurt Cobain! I had been racking my brain trying to figure that out, but now Rolling Stone's expertise has saved me the trouble. And I knew that James Taylor deserved to be somewhere within the 65 to 75 range, but they've nailed it down for me. Thanks Rolling Stone. Whew!

You have to admit she's in very good company with that entire list though! I would almost consider this a list of the most distinctive singers of all time... not necessarily the BEST. For instance, people like Springsteen and Fogerty are not necessarily "great" vocalists in my mind, but they're surely unique and unforgettable. Besides than that, what would classify them as 'great?' Neither have much of a range or anything like that. Same could be said of Stevie... her voice is undoubtedly one of the most unique in the history of pop music... but is it really one of the hundred greatest of thousands of years of humanity? Hardly. People like Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and even Roy Orbison have much "greater" voices in my mind, regardless of what I think of their recorded works.

Rolling Stone's lists are always crap, and this one doesn't disappoint.:rolleyes:

How can you have a "greatest singers of all time" list and not include Barbra Streisand, Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra? This list isn't called "greatest singers of rock." :shrug:

Where the frick is Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald? Or Ann Wilson for cripe's sake? Louis Armstrong?

:eek: No Eddie Vedder??? No Mark Lanegan???what a craplist.

RS sucks. I disagree with about 6 out of the top 10.

Exactly. That's how Dylan got to #7. They're looking at distinctive voices and their unique ability to interpret a song.

Michele

Uh, what the fedge??!!! Steve Perry is waaay too low on that list! And Christina Aguilera????http://img2.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/sick/sick0022.gifPukus Welby , M.D.!!! What the hell is she doing on that list? Kurt Cobain, plech. And, Annie Lennox should have been higher!

Where are:

Chrissie Hynde
Johnette Napolitano (Concrete Blonde)
Justin Currie (Del Amitri)
Stuart Adamson (Big Country)
Ian McCulloch (Echo & The Bunnymen)
Peter Murphy (Bauhaus, brill solo work)
Mark King (level 42)
Paul Weller (The Jam , Style Council, brill solo stuff)
Lindsey Buckingham
Robbie Robertson
Shirley Manson (Garbage)
Ian Astbury (The Cult)

RS and the heart of the matter
 

In my heart, Stevie Nicks is off the charts, a real singer and the greatest at that, my favorite so I am glad she was on their list but 98 ain't too accurate imo.:angel:

I've been thinking about this list a good deal today... show how badly we need new Mac/Stevie music to chew over :lol: . But anyway, I was thinking this shows how the tides might be turning for Stevie in regards to public sentiment and music critics. I don't think she would have made this list even 10-20 years ago. She really hasn't ever been taken entirely seriously by either critics or the masses. But maybe this is a sign that is changing. Frankly, I'm surprised and pleased Stevie is on the list at all. Just think about the article back in '81 where Rolling Stone proclaimed her the Queen of Rock. That whole interview really was border line poking fun at her, and her airy fairy princess persona. I think RS has given props to Fleetwood Mac more for their cultural impact than they've ever given any real credibility to their music as well. They love to talk about how the Mac's inbred, druggie, dramatic ways changed the face of the music biz, but they don't talk much about how their music has impacted the world, new artists ever since, etc. I mean 30 years later, Fleetwood Mac itself, much less music journalists, are finally just now admitting that Tusk was an extraordinary album, Fleetwood Mac's creative pinnacle and best album. It just wasn't taken seriously at the time either. So to wrap up my ramblings... I'm glad Stevie was on this (albeit) silly list, and I think it can only mean good things for her and Fleetwood Mac, period. What do they call it in regards to presidents, Revisionist History? :eek:

98th is a bit of an insult.

look at some of the people on this list, they dont all sing "sweetly"
#64 Axl Rose - sounds like a corpse.

Stevie - maybe not everybodies cup of tea, but then neither is anybody on the list.

Another name thats not on this list that should be is Harriet Wheeler, lead singer of the Sundays. If any of you have heard this amazing talent sing, you'd know what I'm talking about.:nod:

Another glaring omission IMHO is Linda Ronstadt ..while not a rock singer in the Nicksian sense ,as far her voice itself goes she is tehcnically better than 95% of those that did make the list.:shrug:

Bob Dylan's voice is crap. Just saying. He is a great songwriter, but his voice is scratchier than any singers should be.

That being said, it's a stupid typical Rolling Stone list. I saw this on Yahoo Bullitens yesterday, and they have contemporary artists and older artists [including Keith Richards if I'm not mistaken] vote on this, they all wrote down thier top 20 and the list was made that way.

Stevie, while I personally enjoy her singing because it sounds real to me, I don't think her voice is in the top 100. Christine McVie has a MUCH better voice than Stevie does, and she is not on this list what so ever. So I think we should be happy Stevie is on here at all. And again anyone who said distinctive over best had the right idea. It seems the most 100 well known voices over the 100 best voices.

Send a letter to Rolling Stone anyone :p