As you would expect, this list is all kinds of fucked up: Rolling Stone’s 200 best singers of all time

[tbone_ 14194]

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/rosalia-4-1234642320/

 

Bob Dylan better than Adele huh?

 

[bernorange 8367]

[ztejas 43549]

I know black people are generally more talented vocalists, but 12 for 12 seems a bit much. 

And then 13 is John Lennon? 

[Rimbo 26158]

Not clicking on obvious clickbait article.

If Devin Townsend isn't on the list somewhere, it is wrong.

If he is, I don't care about the rest of it.

[jimmyjazz 46268]

Well, I agree with #1.  I scrolled through a few stupid takes in the #200-#181 range, said "fuck it", looked at the top 20, and was mostly "eh".

So were there any classical singers in between?  Because if you want to tell me that Luciano Pavarotti, Leontyne Price, Placido Domingo, Maria Callas, Beverly Sills etc. don't belong in the top 200 then you're smoking crack, but I don't have it in me to check.

Oh yeah, Frank Sinatra is top 3, not fucking #19.

[Gil Bang 26052]

Paul is better than John.

Prince has no business being that high, and he's sure as fuck not better than George Jones.

[tbone_ 14194]

Well, I agree with #1.  I scrolled through a few stupid takes in the #200-#181 range, said "fuck it", looked at the top 20, and was mostly "eh".
So were there any classical singers in between?  Because if you want to tell me that Luciano Pavarotti, Leontyne Price, Placido Domingo, Maria Callas, Beverly Sills etc. don't belong in the top 200 then you're smoking crack, but I don't have it in me to check.
Oh yeah, Frank Sinatra is top 3, not fucking #19.

They made a note in the intro that they stuck with pop singers because they’re Rolling Stone. That actually made sense.

There aren’t 46 better singers than Linda Rondstat.

[jimmyjazz 46268]

2 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

They made a note in the intro that they stuck with pop singers because they’re Rolling Stone. That actually made sense.

Then title the list accordingly.  I mean, yes, it makes sense to exclude the trained virtuosos, because very few pop, rock or country singers could ever match that level of proficiency, but it's still stupid to list "Top 200 Singers of All Time" when you ignore the best singers of all time.

 

Quote

There aren’t 46 better singers than Linda Rondstat.

Not in pop, rock or country, there sure aren't.

I still say it's Aretha #1, Old Blue Eyes #2.

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

Maybe the list is 200 people who sing, in no particular order.

[G650 14278]

16 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

There aren’t 46 better singers than Linda Rondstat.

Truth. I will die on this hill.

[ohchaucer 1443]

That list is dumb for many, many reasons but no Chris Robinson makes it fundamentally invalid.

[freyguy 4305]

Too high: Beyonce, Kurt Cobain, and why is Courtney Love even listed?

 

Too low: Van Morrison, James Brown, Elton John (seriously? 100?), George Michael, and where is Ann Wilson?

[G650 14278]

4 minutes ago, freyguy said:

where is Ann Wilson?

Just exhibit 137 why this list is insane.

[Celery Man 21004]

John that high is silly. Also, is there a better Beatles vocal than Oh Darling?

[qwertyu1234 496]

I hate that I scrolled all that to see if my avatar (Neko Case) was there and it wasn't. Unlike most of the people on that list, they don't do anything in the studio to improve her singing voice...

[Deej 76972]

Where did Weird Al rate?

[Rimbo 26158]

5 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Well, I agree with #1.  I scrolled through a few stupid takes in the #200-#181 range, said "fuck it", looked at the top 20, and was mostly "eh".

So were there any classical singers in between?  Because if you want to tell me that Luciano Pavarotti, Leontyne Price, Placido Domingo, Maria Callas, Beverly Sills etc. don't belong in the top 200 then you're smoking crack, but I don't have it in me to check.

Oh yeah, Frank Sinatra is top 3, not fucking #19.

I like how Beato will often say "The top 5 could be in any order, really" on his Top 20 videos.

They're clickbait and by far the worst things he releases, but they get eyeballs...

[Rimbo 26158]

44 minutes ago, freyguy said:

Kurt Cobain

...Kurt Cobain was on that list?

Good heavens. Are these people deaf? He's not even in the top 1000. Hell, I can sing better than Kurt Cobain... that wasn't ever the point.

[Rimbo 26158]

3 hours ago, tbone_ said:

There aren’t 46 better singers than Linda Rondstat.

This list is no good, no good, no good... baby it's no good. No good, no good, no good, baby it's no good.

 

I made this chart that's stupid, it's true
I made this chart for some fools like you
I'll beg your forgiveness on bended knee
I wouldn't blame y'all if you said to me

It's no good, no good, no good, baby it's no gooooood

[Bogeywon 2519]

Elvis not too 5??

[G650 14278]

So I'm not bothering to read the list, but is Mike Patton or Ronnie Spector on there?

[0xdeadbeef 1652]

From the Article:

Quote

In all cases, what mattered most to us was originality, influence, the depth of an artist’s catalog, and the breadth of their musical legacy.

 

That gives them some pretty wide wiggle-room. 

But still, this is a crap list.  Taylor Swift at 102?   She may be short-term popular with stupid teenage girls, but most of her catalog will not be played in 20 years and her voice itself isn't in the same league as some.

 

[ztejas 43549]

3 minutes ago, 0xdeadbeef said:

In all cases, what mattered most to us was originality, influence, the depth of an artist’s catalog, and the breadth of their musical legacy.

I guess that makes more sense. Considering none of those things have to do with signing ability. 

[jimmyjazz 46268]

11 minutes ago, 0xdeadbeef said:

But still, this is a crap list.  Taylor Swift at 102?   She may be short-term popular with stupid teenage girls, but most of her catalog will not be played in 20 years and her voice itself isn't in the same league as some.

True.  I don't think Billie Eiish is any more important than Taylor, but as a singer, Billie helped usher in a (highly annoying affected) vocal style.  Top 200?  Well, no, but I get it.

[Paul Wesley 3289]

5 hours ago, Rimbo said:

Not clicking on obvious clickbait article.

Yeah, I'm interested in such a list, but this is where I'm at with Rolling Stone.  

It seems they've done the math and they're accountants say that they make more money with stupid disingenuous bullshit.  That seems like a bad long-term strategy.  

[0xdeadbeef 1652]

7 minutes ago, Paul Wesley said:

Yeah, I'm interested in such a list, but this is where I'm at with Rolling Stone.  

It seems they've done the math and they're accountants say that they make more money with stupid disingenuous bullshit.  That seems like a bad long-term strategy.  

To be fair, there is no long term play an accountant, or anyone else, could give a print magazine.  They are on the same long downward slide that Mad Magazine and Playboy were on.  That ends with stopping the print version. 

Their best hope is to diversify and find something that the 'Rolling Stone' name enhances.  

[Paul Wesley 3289]

I'm sure you're right.  Hell, I was a subscriber to the print magazine off and on, even up until a few years ago.  I used to get it at the studio just for the conversation-starter value.  

But it's been a loooooong time since Rolling Stone published a list without nudging each other and going, "This will piss them off!"  

I'm not playing along anymore.  

[Rimbo 26158]

47 minutes ago, Paul Wesley said:

It seems they've done the math and they're accountants say that they make more money with stupid disingenuous bullshit.  That seems like a bad long-term strategy.  

I mean, you can do both. You can do the stuff that draws eyeballs and generate good content. This was what made Playboy great for so many years... Buy it for the centerfold, subscribe for the articles.

But Rolling Stone hasn't been relevant in decades. Even the name is outdated Boomer shit...

[Gil Bang 26052]

2 hours ago, Celery Man said:

John that high is silly. Also, is there a better Beatles vocal than Oh Darling?

Paul is much, much better than John.  George is better than John. 

John is (was) the third-best singer in the Beatles. 

[Rimbo 26158]

12 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

Paul is much, much better than John.  George is better than John. 

John is (was) the third-best singer in the Beatles. 

Fourth-best.

[Gil Bang 26052]

yeah, I'm repeating myself. 

I'm a Prince fan.  Motherucker was a HUGE talent.   I love funk, and he was a funky mofo.  Maybe one of the funkiest ever.   Great songwriter, amazing musician.

Does ANYBODY consider him a "great" singer?  I sure as fuck do not.  He's a good singer.  He sings well enough to front a tight-ass motherfucking band, and bring great songs to life.  A great showman.   He's no singer in the real sense.  He's Tom Petty level as a singer. 

[WhatTheBuck 28811]

8 hours ago, Rimbo said:

Not clicking on obvious clickbait article.

Yeah, all these lists are intentionally fucked up in order to generate outrage which leads to clicks. If you looked at a list and thought, “Yeah, that looks about right,” nobody would talk about it. 

[Celery Man 21004]

Tiny Tim got robbed.

[Paul Wesley 3289]

27 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

Does ANYBODY consider him a "great" singer? 

Oh, I do, for sure.  Those falsetto lines in "Kiss" are impossibly hard notes to hit.  Screaming in tune ("Baby I'm a Star") is hard to do.

I'll bet Tom Petty would tell you that Prince was an order of magnitude better as a singer.   

Edit:  "would have told you"

Edited January 3, 2023 by Paul Wesley
one dead fingernail

[jimmyjazz 46268]

Yeah, Prince was a very very good singer.  Top 200?  No.

Oh, and put me in the "John Lennon was a great rock singer" camp.  He didn't have the pop sensibility that Paul had, but man he could do some things.

[Nole-4-Life 804]

Bob fucking Dylan but  no Steve Perry?

I'm a better singer than Bob fucking Dylan.

[tbone_ 14194]

See, they could have called this list the top 200 vocal performers and maybe it would have made more sense.

























Nah, probably not.

[956 Worldwide 34806]

Beyoncé didn’t have the best voice in her own movie, that belonged to Jennifer Hudson. 
 

Both George and Patsy Cline are too low, and Frank Sinatra. 

[Buzzrock 14950]

11 hours ago, Nole-4-Life said:

Bob fucking Dylan but  no Steve Perry?

I'm a better singer than Bob fucking Dylan.

Perry is there. 82. 

[Buzzrock 14950]

Hard rockers who made the list:

Ronnie James Dio

Axl Rose

Rob Halford

Ozzy

Roger Daltry

Eddie Vedder

Chris Cornell

Robert Plant

Kurt Cobain

In other news it is absolutely absurd that Sia isn’t on this list. Every bit of the power and talent of Adele (if less mainstream) and buckets of hits for herself and other huge acts over the last ten years or so.

[Gil Bang 26052]

3 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

Hard rockers who made the list:

Ronnie James Dio

Axl Rose

Rob Halford

Ozzy

Roger Daltry

Eddie Vedder

Chris Cornell

Robert Plant

Kurt Cobain

In other news it is absolutely absurd that Sia isn’t on this list. Every bit of the power and talent of Adele (if less mainstream) and buckets of hits for herself and other huge acts over the last ten years or so.

If that's the standard, Carole King is the greatest singer ever. 

[DougO 5256]

I'm not even going to look at it. I assume it's a typical rolling stone list created to get people talking about some rolling stone shit, but actually has little relevance.

[tbone_ 14194]

I'm not even going to look at it. I assume it's a typical rolling stone list created to get people talking about some rolling stone shit, but actually has little relevance.

Totally.

However, I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad topic to discuss great singers. Which is why I posted the list.

[Al_4_ISU 12507]

George Jones not being Top 5 completely invalidates it.

Didn't really have an issue with the Top 3 though.

[Al_4_ISU 12507]

On 1/2/2023 at 9:40 PM, Gil Bang said:

yeah, I'm repeating myself. 

I'm a Prince fan.  Motherucker was a HUGE talent.   I love funk, and he was a funky mofo.  Maybe one of the funkiest ever.   Great songwriter, amazing musician.

Does ANYBODY consider him a "great" singer?  I sure as fuck do not.  He's a good singer.  He sings well enough to front a tight-ass motherfucking band, and bring great songs to life.  A great showman.   He's no singer in the real sense.  He's Tom Petty level as a singer. 

Prince could wail into a falsetto, but it's not really great singing.  Prince was an incredible musician, performer, and songwriter.  His being a singer took a major backseat to the rest of that.

[ztejas 43549]

16 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

Hard rockers who made the list:

Ronnie James Dio

Axl Rose

Rob Halford

Ozzy

Roger Daltry

Eddie Vedder

Chris Cornell

Robert Plant

Kurt Cobain

In other news it is absolutely absurd that Sia isn’t on this list. Every bit of the power and talent of Adele (if less mainstream) and buckets of hits for herself and other huge acts over the last ten years or so.

No Steven Tyler? 

[Al_4_ISU 12507]

8 minutes ago, ztejas said:

No Steven Tyler? 

Outside of "Dream On" it's a lot of sqwaking.

 

Ian Gillan is a glaring omission.

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

5 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Ian Gillan is a glaring omission.

No Paul Rogers? No Art Garfunkel? This list sucks.

[Hermanator 7183]

22 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

Hard rockers who made the list:

Ronnie James Dio

Axl Rose

Rob Halford

Ozzy

Roger Daltry

Eddie Vedder

Chris Cornell

Robert Plant

Kurt Cobain

In other news it is absolutely absurd that Sia isn’t on this list. Every bit of the power and talent of Adele (if less mainstream) and buckets of hits for herself and other huge acts over the last ten years or so.

Dio and Cornell are a cut above. 

I've seen a ton of singers, many on this list, in person and no one I've seen outside of a few classically trained opera singers had a voice as powerful as Dio. His non mic'd voice carried over the freaking metal band to the first few rows. That tiny fucker could go. It was sort of shocking to see it up close in person. 

He also has a weird distinction of being the only person I can think of where I feel the last ever song they ever did was probably their best. Bible Black is a rocking ass song. 

Edited January 4, 2023 by Hermanator

[tbone_ 14194]

Yea +1 on Dio