Rolling Stones' "100 Greatest Singers of All Time"

[Auggie27]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 11:51am

Fascinating list, fascinating for its inclusions (Thom Yorke -- huh?, Christina Aguilera -- number 58?!) and exclusions -- no K.D. Lang! I particularly appreciated some singers who've been mocked and ridculed, but who are critical to the development of pop, and wildly influential, i.e. Karen Carpenter (major influence on K.D. Lang, by the way) and two great-greats of the classic rock era, Ronnie Spector, #69, and Darlene Love, #84.

But there will be blood. Any list that puts Patti LaBelle at #95 -- and Bjork at #60 is courtin' fistfights. If anyone can post the whole list in a thread, that would be great.

Updated On: 11/18/08 at 11:51 AM

[Q]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 11:56am

List.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 12:00pm

Patsy Cline at #46, and Bob Marley at #19? Huh?

Why do some of them say "So&So by So&So?"

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 12:01pm

Steve Winwood? Really?

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 12:05pm

Another ridiculous list. VERY male heavy. I didnt see Ella.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 12:09pm

I would have put Karen Carpenter much higher. I think her voice is sublime.

kd lang not being on there is pretty crappy. There are lots of misses.

I will defend the inclusion of Bjork. She's not everyone's thing, but she is an extraordinary vocalist.

[madbrian]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 12:10pm

I didn't see Cass Elliot's name on the list, so it has no credibility.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 12:15pm

Yet another stupid list to draw attention to the publication. "of All Time"? How can that be determined when the history of recording is little more that 100 years? And these are mostly all pop singers of the late 20th century.

Just another list for those who like lists.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 12:18pm

Yeah...where's Nellie Melba on this list!

All time, indeed!

[Q]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 12:24pm

Sinatra? Streisand? Bennett? Torme'? lang?

It's all just too bizarre to even comment on.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 12:27pm

Remember that lists like this are to keep interns busy.

Did I miss:

Ella Fitzgerald
Frank Sinatra
Judy Garland
John Denver
Cher
Billy Joel

[landryjames2]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 12:29pm

Mmmm...any list that does not have Garland and Streisand in the top...oh...20 much less at all should be immediately discounted. Whether one is a fan or not of either-- the objective view of the insurpassable greatness and legendary status of their performing styles, and power and uniqueness of their voices is undeniable.

Or did I just miss their names? At first I thought maybe it wasn't an all inclusive list and was just listing rockers. This was negated when I saw Mariah, Dolly Parton, Patti LaBelle and others.

[jasonf]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 12:55pm

First of all, Bob Dylan??? Seriously?? I sing better than him, and I can't carry a tune to save my life.

Besides, forget anyone else, to NOT include Sinatra automatically invalidates the list for me anyway.

[shameless]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 1:16pm

For the people that can't open links at work.


The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time

1 | Aretha Franklin by Mary J. Blige

2 | Ray Charles by Billy Joel

3 | Elvis Presley by Robert Plant

4 | Sam Cooke by Van Morrison

5 | John Lennon by Jackson Browne

6 | Marvin Gaye by Alicia Keys

7 | Bob Dylan by Bono

8 | Otis Redding by Booker T. Jones

9 | Stevie Wonder by Cee-Lo

10 | James Brown by Iggy Pop

11 | Paul McCartney

12 | Little Richard

13 | Roy Orbison

14 | Al Green

15 | Robert Plant

16 | Mick Jagger by Lenny Kravitz

17 | Tina Turner

18 | Freddie Mercury

19 | Bob Marley

20 | Smokey Robinson

21 | Johnny Cash

22 | Etta James

23 | David Bowie

24 | Van Morrison

25 | Michael Jackson by Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy

26 | Jackie Wilson

27 | Hank Williams

28 | Janis Joplin

29 | Nina Simone

30 | Prince

31 | Howlin' Wolf

32 | Bono by Billie Joe Armstrong

33 | Steve Winwood

34 | Whitney Houston

35 | Dusty Springfield

36 | Bruce Springsteen

37 | Neil Young

38 | Elton John

39 | Jeff Buckley by Chris Cornell

40 | Curtis Mayfield

41 | Chuck Berry

42 | Joni Mitchell

43 | George Jones by James Taylor

44 | Bobby "Blue" Bland

45 | Kurt Cobain

46 | Patsy Cline

47 | Jim Morrison

48 | Buddy Holly

49 | Donny Hathaway

50 | Bonnie Raitt

51 | Gladys Knight

52 | Brian Wilson

53 | Muddy Waters by Ben Harper

54 | Luther Vandross

55 | Paul Rodgers

56 | Mavis Staples

57 | Eric Burdon

58 | Christina Aguilera

59 | Rod Stewart

60 | Björk

61 | Roger Daltrey

62 | Lou Reed

63 | Dion

64 | Axl Rose

65 | David Ruffin

66 | Thom Yorke

67 | Jerry Lee Lewis

68 | Wilson Pickett

69 | Ronnie Spector

70 | Gregg Allman

71 | Toots HIbbert

72 | John Fogerty

73 | Dolly Parton

74 | James Taylor

75 | Iggy Pop

76 | Steve Perry

77 | Merle Haggard

78 | Sly Stone

79 | Mariah Carey

80 | Frankie Valli

81 | John Lee Hooker by Bonnie Raitt

82 | Tom Waits

83 | Patti Smith

84 | Darlene Love

85 | Sam Moore

86 | Art Garfunkel

87 | Don Henley

88 | Willie Nelson

89 | Solomon Burke

90 | The Everly Brothers

91 | Levon Helm by Jim James

92 | Morrissey

93 | Annie Lennox

94 | Karen Carpenter

95 | Patti LaBelle

96 | B.B. King

97 | Joe Cocker

98 | Stevie Nicks

99 | Steven Tyler

100 | Mary J. Blige

[StockardFan]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 1:18pm

Does anyone know the answer to my question? Why do some of them say Person X by Person Y?

And I totally missed that Bob Dylan was on that list......WHAT????

[Q]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 1:22pm

Stockard - in the full article, those people give some thoughts on the listed singers.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 1:23pm

Thanks, Q!!

[Parks]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 1:23pm

Donde esta la Cyndi Lauper?

[KrissySim]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 1:36pm

Great singers don't sing in any language but English.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 5:03pm

It looks like one of those audience-votes-their-favorites lists. The sort of thing where people with no concept of what makes a great singer vote 100 times each on their cell phones. At least 25% of that list are popular artists, but not great singers.

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 5:49pm

To me, most of those people may be influential "recording artists," but they are not primarily "singers." I mean...John Lennon, Buddy Holly, Mick jagger, Willy Nelson -- iconic, yes, but SINGERS?

I don't think so.

[Hest882]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 6:03pm

That is indeed a strange list. There are people on there I adore--John Lennon, Neil Young, Bob Dylan--that I would never in a million years put on a "greatest singers" list.

[wexy]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 7:51pm

And I was only kissed by one of them.

[jeniferrenepatricia]

Posted: 11/19/08 at 3:11am

Give me a break...where was PAT BENATAR? That's a real singer....

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 11/19/08 at 3:23am

I couldn't agree more with Gothampc, it is beyond absurd that there's no:
Frank Sinatra (looked for him twice, then searched through the Safari finder because I couldn't believe he just wasn't in the list)
Ella Fitzgerald
Cher
Barbra Streisand
Judy Garland
Cyndi Lauper

Updated On: 11/19/08 at 03:23 AM