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Rolling Stone: Top 100 Singers of All Time

Yellow LedbellyYellow Ledbelly Posts: 3,749
edited November 2008 in Other Music
So, the list was posted this morning and I've been having a hell of a time getting the folks at work to guess who's on there....one dumbass said JulionIglesias was #1 and I was wrong because he heard it reported the other day.

RS lists are almost always shit to a large degree, but aside from Aretha Franklin (WTF?) being #1 I can't argue with the top ones very much.

Don't go looking...not surprisingly, there is no Eddie
1. Aretha
2. Ray Charles
3. Elvis
4. Sam Cooke
5. Lennon
6. Marvin Gaye
7. Bob Dylan
8. Otis
9. Stevie Wonder
10. James Brown
11. Paul McCartney
12. Little Richard
13. Roy Orbison
14. Al Green
15. Robert Plant
16. Jagger
17. Tina Turner
18. Freddie Mercury
19. Bob Marley
20. Smokey Robinson
21. CASH
22. Etta James
23. David Bowie
24. Van Morrison
25. Michael Jackson

I wouldn't have Aretha #1, but Ray Charles is one of my favorites of all time and I might move Otis up to #2. Elvis was nothing special in my opinion and Little Richard wasn't all that great vocally to me either.

I was just glad to see RS finally did a list and didn't put Kurt/Nirvana in the top 10....can't remember where he came in but he's on there
All I have to do is revel in the everyday....then do it again tomorrow

They say every sin is deadly but I believe they may be wrong...I'm guilty of all seven and I don't feel too bad at all
Post edited by Unknown User on

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    gnr+pj=2bestevergnr+pj=2bestever Posts: 358
    this is the worst list i've ever seen in my life. Bob Dylan #7? his voice is wayyy below average. This is a top SINGERS list, not a top musician or song writer list.
    Whats got the whole world faking?
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    LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSunLikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun Posts: 6,097
    no eddie, no respect for this list!
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    lalalalaaaaaaaalalalalaaaaaaaa Posts: 2,445
    lol @ Dylan & McCartney...good lord.

    They got Aretha right, but not much else. No mention of Bjork, Keenan, Vedder, Reznor, Morrison, etc....for chrissake, *I* can sing better than Bob Dylan :p
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    Gonzo1977Gonzo1977 Posts: 1,696
    The list is a complete joke.
    Rolling Stone have shamed themselves again.
    Do these guys actually listen to music???
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    muppetmuppet Posts: 980
    Springsteen is number 36 and Chris Cornell doesn't get a mention?

    I love Springsteen and all but he's not that good a singer.
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    chris05chris05 Posts: 347
    Yeh this list is brutal... No Eddie...but yet Kurt Cobain made it on there..his voice was crap. Yes I like Nirvana, but I mean the guy was not a great singer.
    Who cares if the world is going down the toilet? Eddie Vedder got his mojo back!
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    Yellow LedbellyYellow Ledbelly Posts: 3,749
    Saturnal wrote:
    lol @ Dylan & McCartney...good lord.

    They got Aretha right, but not much else. No mention of Bjork, Keenan, Vedder, Reznor, Morrison, etc....for chrissake, *I* can sing better than Bob Dylan :p
    Bjork, to my dismay, is on further down the list actually, as well the Morrisons (Van and Jim), whichever one you were referring to.
    I'm a huge Dylan fan but probably would never have picked him in my top 10...or even 25...but the first two paragraphs of the article written by Bono kind of makes it make sense to me..

    Bob Dylan did what very, very few singers ever do. He changed popular singing. And we have been living in a world shaped by Dylan's singing ever since. Almost no one sings like Elvis Presley anymore. Hundreds try to sing like Dylan. When Sam Cooke played Dylan for the young Bobby Womack, Womack said he didn't understand it. Cooke explained that from now on, it's not going to be about how pretty the voice is. It's going to be about believing that the voice is telling the truth.

    To understand Bob Dylan's impact as a singer, you have to imagine a world without Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, Kurt Cobain, Lucinda Williams or any other vocalist with a cracked voice, dirt-bowl yelp or bluesy street howl. It is a vast list, but so were the influences on Dylan, from the Talmudic chanting of Allen Ginsberg in "Howl" to the deadpan Woody Guthrie and Lefty Frizzell's murmur. There is certainly iron ore in there, and the bitter cold of Hibbing, Minnesota, blowing through that voice. It's like a knotted fist, and it allows Dylan to sing the most melancholy tunes and not succumb to sentimentality. What's interesting is that later, as he gets older, the fist opens up, to a vulnerability. I have heard him sing versions of "Idiot Wind" where he was definitely the idiot.
    All I have to do is revel in the everyday....then do it again tomorrow

    They say every sin is deadly but I believe they may be wrong...I'm guilty of all seven and I don't feel too bad at all
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    petrocspetrocs Posts: 4,342
    Rolling Stone shouldnt be allowed to post lists like this
    Shows:
    9/24/96 MD. 9/28/96 Randalls. 8/28-29/98 Camden. 9/8/98 NJ. 9/18/98 MD. 9/1-2/00 Camden. 9/4/00 MD. 4/28/03 Philly. 7/5-6/03 Camden. 9/30/05 AC.
    10/3/05 Philly. 5/27-28/06 Camden. 6/23/06 Pitt. 6/19-20/08 Camden. 6/24/08 MSG. 8/7/08 EV Newark, NJ. 6/11-12/09 EV Philly, PA. 10/27-28-30-31/09 Philly, PA., 5/15/10 Hartford,5/17/10 Boston, 5/18/10 Newark, 5/20-21/10 MSG
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    PJGARDENPJGARDEN Posts: 1,484
    If you read the methodology behind the list it states it asked the voters to submit their top 20 favorite vocalist of all time. It didn't ask who they thought was the best so maybe the title of the article is a little misleading. If someone were to ask me who my favorite vocalists were, the list would be a lot different than if someone asked me who I thought the best vocalists were. For example, I would never put Dylan at the top of the list as one of the best vocalist but he would certainly be at the top of my list for favorite.
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    canadajammercanadajammer Posts: 263
    If Freddy, Eddie or Robert aren't atop the list, its got to mean something else.
    it sounds like top 100 most influential voices

    Even so, its pretty clear Ed should be at least #100 for top 100 voices, singers or whatever.
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    Jeremy1012Jeremy1012 Posts: 7,170
    Saturnal wrote:
    lol @ Dylan & McCartney...good lord.

    They got Aretha right, but not much else. No mention of Bjork, Keenan, Vedder, Reznor, Morrison, etc....for chrissake, *I* can sing better than Bob Dylan :p
    You mean Jim Morrison? Cause there's no way in hell he was any better a singer than Dylan. This list doesn't specify technical profiency. Dylan's voice was excellent for its purposes back in the day.
    "I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead, I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land — every colour, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike — all snored in the same language"
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    Cropduster84Cropduster84 Posts: 1,283
    I don't like lists.....


    How this joke was compiled is beyond me....
    'The more I studied religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself.' - Sir Richard Francis Burton
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    jamie ukjamie uk Posts: 3,812
    It's hard to have too much interest in a list of 'best singers' if it's based entirely on 'text book' voices, I mean if it is then how come Pavarotti isn't number 1 ?
    In fact half the folks left in the X Factor competition have varying degrees of 'perfect' voices, but not a scratch of originality or soul amongst them.
    I find this list about as useless as any other poll I've ever looked at. It's no more use than a hedgehog with a wheelbarrow.
    I came, I saw, I concurred.....
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    g under pg under p Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,126
    Chaka Khan....*Aint Nobody* now she has a everlasting voice.

    Peace
    *We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

    *MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
    .....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

    *The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


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    nuffingmannuffingman Posts: 3,014
    jamie uk wrote:
    It's no more use than a hedgehog with a wheelbarrow.
    Pretty useless then!!!

    It's a crock of shit. When Paul Rodgers is at 56 it's obviously dodgy.

    I suppose they need something to fill the day.
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    BetterThanYouBetterThanYou Posts: 853
    seeing the title of this thread, i was hoping i would see one, just one, name on this list that really deserved to be there....and sadly she's not. margo timmins of the cowboy junkies. her voice is angelic and sends shivers up my spine when i hear it. listen to 'the trinity session' and tell me you don't think she belongs on that list.
    "Have you ever.........pooped a balloon?"
    ~D.K.S.
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    zacman13245zacman13245 Posts: 294
    why isn't Johnny Cash in the top 10?
    I'm spinning, oh, I'm spinning

    6/30/2008 - Mansfield, MA.
    5/17/2010 - Boston, MA
    9/3/2011 - East Troy, WI (PJ20)
    9/4/2011 - East Troy, WI (PJ20)
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    Jack_C_GregoryJack_C_Gregory Posts: 540
    Rolling Stone's top 100 lists are always very predictable. No matter what the list is, the top 10 musicians or albums or singers are always going to come from the sixties or fifties.

    We get it. Those people or albums were very revolutionary, for the time.

    This would be like if a medical journal came out with the top 100 ways to knock-out a surgical patient and number one was getting them drunk and then hitting them over the head real hard. Sure, at one point in time,that probably was the best way, but there are better ways now.
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    RolanBolanRolanBolan Posts: 36
    Meh. Typical Rolling Stone list. Truth be told, they tend not to be very imaginative when it comes to Top Whatever lists. The same 100 people always end up on every list over and over and over. The only thing that does surprise me (as far as Rolling Stones lists go) is that they did not manage to find an excuse to put Kurt Cobain in the top ten.

    Um......does the name Jeff Buckley ring a bell? There are so many more deserving singers, it's just useless to even try to name them all.
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    Todd76Todd76 Posts: 1,469
    Clearly the most glaring omission from the list is Mike Patton - should at least be top 10 (in my humble opinion)....and i'm surprised that Michael Stipe didn't make the cut

    Just thought i'd list all 100 here.....since it hasnt been listed and no link has been provided

    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
    In my world everyone is a pony,
    and they all eat rainbows and pooh butterflies!
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    elmerelmer Posts: 1,683
    Yellow Ledbelly wrote:
    To understand Bob Dylan's impact as a singer, you have to imagine a world without Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, Kurt Cobain, Lucinda Williams or any other vocalist with a cracked voice, dirt-bowl yelp or bluesy street howl. It is a vast list, but so were the influences on Dylan,
    not to mention forgot Hoottie & The Blowfish :)
    Bono loves his spiel aye, the fucker can't stay out of anything! I know not how accurate he is (Cobain?) but I've heard similar eulogies about the Sex Pistols, course, I'm wouldn't for one second compare their musical legacy -if you'd call it that- to Dylan.

    List shoulda been retitled as Favourite or Influential Singers.
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    Dismantle The SunDismantle The Sun Posts: 139
    walrus wrote:
    HERE is the entire list with comments about each singer

    this is how Maynard James Keenan voted


    Actually what had happened to him in the list. He has a lovely voice.
    But whoever or whatever votes, no one will agree with Rolling Stone.

    I would have voted MJ Keenan high on the list, along with Eddie and people from the band Gomez. Peter Gabriel would be there too.
    I like Frankie Valli and glad he managed to scrape in.
    I don't know if anyone heard Victor Krummenacher singer, but that guy can sing the telephone directory and still have you in tears.
    Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun - W.H. Auden
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    justamjustam Posts: 21,396
    It's as if they couldn't distinguish the difference between "songwriter" and "singer". Dylan and Lennon certainly would make a song-writer list, but they should NOT be on a singer list if Ed is not. :p
    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&
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    K.LOK.LO Posts: 163
    Depends on what they meet by great singer. Some might consider Aretha Franklin or Whitney Houston the best singers, whereas others might choose someone like Bob Dylan or David Bowie. It depends if you're looking for more emotion, more technical talent, or a mixture of both.
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    PJGARDENPJGARDEN Posts: 1,484
    K.LO wrote:
    Depends on what they meet by great singer. Some might consider Aretha Franklin or Whitney Houston the best singers, whereas others might choose someone like Bob Dylan or David Bowie. It depends if you're looking for more emotion, more technical talent, or a mixture of both.

    The RS list was compiled from a fairly lengthy list of artist and others in the music industry asking who their favorite singers were. Not the best singers. Makes a BIG difference IMO..

    Here is the list of voters and methodology.
    http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/24161972/page/101
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    Get_RightGet_Right Posts: 12,479
    whats with all the folks voting for themselves???
    weak
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    lalalalaaaaaaaalalalalaaaaaaaa Posts: 2,445
    walrus wrote:
    HERE is the entire list with comments about each singer

    this is how Maynard James Keenan voted
    lol...not surprising!
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    Gonzo1977Gonzo1977 Posts: 1,696
    Why Rolling Stone would hold any merit or credability towards the opinions of any of these worthless shit eating scumbags is beyond me.

    Sebastian Bach
    James Blunt
    Sammy Hagar
    Daryl Hall
    Yoko Ono
    Kurt Loder
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    Rock FossilRock Fossil Posts: 47
    If you read who developed the methodology for processing the votes you will find that it was Ernst & Young. Perhaps they should stick with being accountants, although given the state of the economy the methodologies that are being employed in that field aren't working out too well either.

    I have been a Bob and Neil fan for over 30 years and would have them top in a singer/songwriter list every time. However on a list of vocalists I would have Eddie Vedder ahead of both of them.

    I can't argue with Aretha at the top and don't begrudge Cobain his spot, but generally this list is a joke and those who have voted must have been confused as to what they were voting for. It just bounces between the sublime and the ridiculous all the way down.
    Now I'm livin' out here on the beach,
    but those seagulls are still out of reach.
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    AlBorlandAlBorland Posts: 117
    no love for the greatest smokey baritone in the land? stuart staples needs to be on the list.
    Skeletons ain't got nowhere to stick their money.
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