Rolling Stone's List of the 100 Greatest Singers

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/24161972Let'er rip.[/url]. Rob Thomas on Annie Lennox is my favorite howler:

I also have to be superficial for a moment and point out that she is this unbelievably hot chick — and she has stayed hot to this day.

what

Rob Thomas is hilarious

Jerry Lee@67. Dude could sing half these cats right off the table.

only a third, according to rolling stone

Dion just doesn't sing as good as Lou Reed, Eric Burden, and Paul Rodgers. That is why he has to be lower on the list.

Bob Dylan showing up before Stevie Wonder = I don't scroll through the rest of this list.

Bono is an awful, pretentious writer.

ssidoti | November 13, 2008 3:56 PM EST
I guess John Lennon and Paul McCartney split the votes, which is the only reason I can think of as to why one or the other isn't number 1. Stupid list.

Dion just doesn't sing as good as Lou Reed, Eric Burden, and Paul Rodgers. That is why he has to be lower on the list.

Dion rules!

Full list:

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
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

Rolling Stone has spoken. Mariah Carey's technique is better than kd Lang's.

I can't decide which is more annoying: that Freddie Mercury is on the list at all, or that he's at number 18.

58 Christina Aguilera

I shoulda stopped reading after the Iggy thing about James Brown.

James Taylor before Willie Nelson.

As for the Band, I'd go with Richard Manuel (who isn't on the list) before Levon.

You know, the world's continuing shafting of Chaka Khan is pushing me towards the day of purification.

^^^^ I want to get that on a t-shirt.

As for the Band, I'd go with Richard Manuel (who isn't on the list) before Levon.
This is correct.

Rolling Stone releases stupid rock-centric list? No way.

focusing on the positive, mary j's write-up of aretha is excellent.

christina aguilera is the most insufferable singer of this generation

Kate Perry says no.

focusing on the positive, mary j's write-up of aretha is excellent.

― lex pretend, Thursday, November 13, 2008 4:45 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark

http://www.geocities.com/woofboy_movie/pict/eve.jpg

at least katy perry doesn't really try and sing. when xtina kicks into full I HAVE A GREAT VOICE mode and does like 5-min runs i literally want to become http://depletedcranium.com/Unabomber1.jpg

my hate of xtina and her awful singing technique has been fleshed out many times on ilm

I'm not crazy about melisma-go-go either but I reckon Xtina's scored more hits than misses, and it's not like she invented the style or even took it further than anybody else, really.

the xtina holler is a wonderful, wonderful thing

I'm really just trying not to respond to the bullshit that placed two blokes out of the Beatles and Bob freakin Dylan as better singers than Smokey Robinson.

Rolling Stone has spoken. Mariah Carey's technique is better than kd Lang's.

― james k polk, Thursday, November 13, 2008 3:30 PM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I think the comparison is kind of silly (and of course RS is going to privilege Carey over Lang), but it does get at something that's too often unremarked upon, which is that k.d. lang is a really fantastic singer. I'm not even a huge fan -- apart from a few singles like "Constant Craving" and "If I Were You" -- but I'm always impressed whenever I hear her voice.

But then you read some of the comments and realise that whoever compiled that list ain't so bad after all.

You know, the world's continuing shafting of Chaka Khan is pushing me towards the day of purification.

OTM.

I think the comparison is kind of silly (and of course RS is going to privilege Carey over Lang)

I was just trying to express my annoyance that lang didn't make the list at all even though she is famous enough. She is the best singer of any style I've ever seen in person.

I can't decide which is more annoying: that Freddie Mercury is on the list at all, or that he's at number 18.

― Sara Sara Sara, Thursday, November 13, 2008 3:34 PM (46 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

the fuck is wrong with you???

Bono is an awful, pretentious writer.

did your copy of this week's Duh Aficionado come before everyone else's?
anyway, it's a dumb list, who cares. it's more irrelevant than offensive, really.

No Michael McDonald, no Mel Torme, no Dean Martin. gtfo.

the fuck is wrong with you???

Mercury always sounded to me like a dinner-theater-musical reject who really wants the part, but is substituting his own inflated self-image for actually working towards being a decent singer.

He is a fantastic singer with incredible range. One only need to listen to others try to cover Queen songs in order to appreciate his talent. I'm not even a fan of 'rock' but man what a singer.

BILLIE HOLIDAY?!?!?!?!?!?!1/1?!?!?!/1/1/!

I hope the absence of jazz/American songbook singers was deliberate. Anyway, Sam Cooke is the greatest singer of all time. And any "greatest singers" list without Aaron Neville, Beth Gibbons, Liz Fraser, Margo Timmins and that guy from the Bee-Gees is seriously flawed.

The black singers from the boomer era who normally occupy slots 9-24 on a RS list get interspersed evenly throughout the top 50. That's sort of interesting. What's the most WFT thing on here for you? For me, Paul Rodgers. A few slots above Don Henley. It's like arguing that Lee Majors is just that much better actor than Paul Michael Glaser.

I can't decide which is more annoying: that Freddie Mercury is on the list at all, or that he's at number 18.

― Sara Sara Sara, Thursday, November 13, 2008 4:34 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i have no idea what that means. of course he should be on the list, and he should be much much higher.

Seriously though, it astonishes me that Billie Holiday isn't in the top 5, let alone that NONE of the voters put her anywhere on their lists.

should Freddie Mercury be higher or lower than Montserrat Caballe?

yeah freddie totes belongs here. dude has a fantastic voice and no fooling

i would rather lindsey buckingham be on the list than stevie

lou reed being on this list is ridiculous

guys like Dylan and Reed make sense if you look at this list as "greatest rock vocalists" but of course it's snappier for them to call it "greatest singers"

tru

ugh

should Freddie Mercury be higher or lower than Waxl Rose?

25 Michael Jackson
24 Van Morrison

how could they not revise this list with this staring them right in the face?

did Bernard Sumner make the top ten or

XPs Elton's entry claims he only got better after the surgery!

Elton's huskier voice suited the poppier material he did later fairly nicely, as opposed to the reedier, rock 'n roll voice of his younger days.

but lord did he have to rely on his backup singers live when he did the old material after that surgery. even 30 years ago.

You don't think Smokey Robinson has a great voice, halfway?

I'm not sure I agree with your general point, either...You either connect with a voice or you don't. I know Dylan and Westerberg and Neil Young aren't great singers in a technical sense, but it wouldn't be accurate to say I love their singing in spite of their voices. Those voices are everything--whatever they are, they're the very thing I'm connecting with.

How is Amy Winehouse on list of people you enjoy despite their singing?

Her singing is the whole allure, like, yes, she had incredible production on both LPs, but her voice and singing style is what elevated Back to Black above much of the glut of retro revivalism.

Can't imagine liking her in spite of her defining quality

^otm

I liked her songwriting but found her singing contrived, put on...but not enough to make me dislike the songs!
I find Smokey unemotional as a singer, Al Green among others does a similar thing a lot better. He also gave many of his best songs to other acts, the songs he saved for the Miracles tended to be samey if you listen to several in a row.

Count me among those who prefers Joni's ruined voice

No one seems inclined to argue against the placement of Aretha.

no Gregg Allman is weird, considering some of the replacement level vocalists who are on the list. John Lennon above a lot of those immediately behind him is mystifying. Beth Gibbons deserves a place. Willie Nelson way down at 54 is criminal imo.

How in the hell is John Lydon not on there? I'd put him in like the top 20 most influential rock singers ever.

Well, he couldn't sing, for one.

thinking about this list for more than 10 seconds at a time gives me a headache!

I find Smokey unemotional as a singer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMA2pDXZGOI

thinking about this list for more than 10 seconds at a time gives me a headache!
^OTM!

thinking about this list thread for more than 10 seconds at a time gives me a headache!

Well, he couldn't sing, for one.

Ppl have weird ideas about what "singing" is. He's a fantastic singer and led two of the most important bands of the era.

He's brilliant and an innovator, but I would argue that his vocalizations don't really amount to "singing" as that term is commonly understood. I remember his even saying, maybe in the early 80s, that he couldn't sing.

TS: (S)he has a great set of pipes but they are only a singer therefore not a real musician who knows what they are doing vs. Can't sing can't act, can dance a little but has a way with words that's undeniable.

I only say people "can't sing" if they're actually off-key, can't carry a tune. Lydon, Dylan, Neil Young, those guys are always on key, or at least in relative pitch to the key. Sid Vicious couldn't sing, e.g.

otm

I only say people "can't sing" if they're actually off-key, can't carry a tune. Lydon, Dylan, Neil Young, those guys are always on key, or at least in relative pitch to the key. Sid Vicious couldn't sing, e.g.

Agree. Which brings me back to wondering where Tom Waits and Lemmy are.

I think there's room to argue "singers" and "vocalists" are two different definitions, otherwise I'd be decrying Ken Nordine missing the top 10

Yeah, I won't compare what Dionne Warwick does compared to what John Lydon does, though I'd love to hear her sing "Death Disco" with a bossa nova lilt.

Ditto Lydon's "Don't Make Me Over"

Lydon's "Message to Michael" wouldn't be so different.

Aretha covering "(This is Not a) Love Song"

Well, he couldn't sing, for one.

― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Tuesday, January 3, 2023 1:40 PM bookmarkflaglink

he seemed to learn on how Masked Singer last year.

*how on

Will credit that guy from Passenger for inventing the Poor Wickle Sad Puppy Voice, if we are judging by amount of influence on today's singers then he's the king.

irl lol xD

thumbs down for the list from Gene Simmons

https://www.tmz.com/2023/01/05/kiss-gene-simmons-rolling-stone-200-greatest-singers-list-snubbed-snub/

while others like Celine Dion, Cher and even KISS were left off

even KISS!

stanley will surely place highly on rolling stone's 200 best between song banterers of all-time

anybody here drinking some tequilaaaaaaaaa

actually his banter is now lip synced too

Holy shit, lol: https://variety.com/2023/music/news/celine-dion-protest-rolling-stone-greatest-singers-of-all-time-list-1235480933/

TIL Madonna is Canadian

"Part of a fan club called The Redheads on Facebook, around 15 dedicated Celine soldiers rode over six hours from Montreal to New York City...Meanwhile, across the street at the New York Public Library, was a larger political protest denouncing the Jan. 6 insurrection."

The juxtaposition here seems to say something important about the world right now, but I'm not sure exactly what.

what a bunch of fucking losers.

like I wouldn't exactly 'understand' if someone protested outside the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, protesting a band/performer that was snubbed, but it'd at least make more sense, as it's an actual accolade people aspire to.

picketing a fucking LISTICLE?

To which I'd add: even though famous books have been written to the contrary, Celine Dion really isn't all that good.

Maybe the list only had room for one “Dion”!

I'm getting a few other Dionne Warwick fans together and we're heading to New York.

Better yet, go to Cleveland!

Dionne Warwick not making the list invalidates the whole list for me. The whole list! (not kidding)

Also, no Nilsson?

Glad to see Russell Thompkins there, but would have liked Philippé Wynne (sp?) as well.

Is Dio on the list?

Anybody here
Seen my old friend Ronnie?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?

lol

Late on this but three things I thot at a glance: no Candi Staton ffs, no Neil Diamond ffs, and Sandy Denny is disgracefully low. Imma picket the Rolling Stone offices.