I feel like I need to expand my horizons here. I don't listen to rock music generally (and certainly not classic rock), which is why I generally don't get down with these lists. I'm pretty sure I've never heard a Zeppelin, Stones (aside from Satisfaction, which I discovered because Britney performed it ), Bob Dylan, Who, or Pink Floyd song in my entire life, or at least not that I can identify by name. Can I get some recs?

Alright kids, the rest of the list is OUT (minus the unranked top 5). Scroll fast if you reeeeallly don't want to see it for some reason.

VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time" List:
TOP 5, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
1. The Beatles
2. Bob Dylan
3. Michael Jackson
4. Led Zeppelin
5. Rolling Stones
NUMBER 6 – 11, RANKED
6. Jimi Hendrix
7. Prince
8. Elvis Presley
9. James Brown
10. Stevie Wonder
11. Bob Marley
12. David Bowie
13. The Who
14. Nirvana
15. The Beach Boys
16. Madonna
17. Queen
18. Pink Floyd
19. U2
20. Marvin Gaye
21. Bruce Springsteen
22. The Clash
23. AC/DC
24. The Velvet Underground
25. Chuck Berry
26. Neil Young
27. Aretha Franklin
28. Elton John
29. Radiohead
30. Aerosmith
31. John Lennon
32. Black Sabbath
33. Guns N' Roses
34. Tina Turner
35. Johnny Cash
36. Paul McCartney
37. Fleetwood Mac
38. Sly & The Family Stone
39. The Kinks
40. The Police
41. Van Halen
42. Metallica
43. Ray Charles
44. Joni Mitchell
45. Al Green
46. Ramones
47. Jay-Z
48. Rage Against The Machine
49. Parliament-Funkadelic
50. Sade
51. Billy Joel
52. Beyonce
53. Little Richard
54. Public Enemy
55. Peter Gabriel
56. KISS
57. Iggy & The Stooges
58. Cheap Trick
59. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
60. Whitney Houston
61. Cream
62. Genesis
63. Notorious B.I.G.
64. Talking Heads
65. The Doors
66. Justin Timberlake
67. Coldplay
68. Otis Redding
69. Tupac Shakur
70. Def Leppard
71. R.E.M.
72. Janis Joplin
73. Van Morrison
74. The Cure
75. Rush
76. Run-D.M.C.
77. Lynyrd Skynyrd
78. Judas Priest
79. Eminem
80. Mary J. Blige
81. ABBA
82. Steely Dan
83. Earth, Wind and Fire
84. Curtis Mayfield
85. The Band
86. N.W.A.
87. George Michael
88. Bee Gees
89. Beastie Boys
90. Elvis Costello
91. Green Day
92. LL Cool J
93. Pearl Jam
94. Mariah Carey
95. OutKast
96. Journey
97. Pretenders
98. Depeche Mode
99. Hall & Oates
100. Alicia Keys

Tidbit: Contemporary artists like Beyonce, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Eminem, Coldplay and Green Day are in the Top 100. However, current headliners Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Lil' Wayne and The White Stripes failed to make the cut.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea...101454764.html

This list is a giant pile of FAIL, and I'll only list a few reasons why (there are many, but I need to go to work soon):
1. Jay-Z is the highest ranked hip-hop artist? You CANNOT be serious. Jay-Z is not >>>> Biggie or Tupac. No.
2. Justin Timberlake and his overrated 2 album having ass is waaaay too high. What justification is there for putting him above people like Eminem and Mary J. Blige? He should be in the bottom 5, though preferably he shouldn't be on the list at all.
3. Aretha at only #27 is a joke. She SHOULD be in the top 20.
4. Alicia Keys should not be anywhere on this list, even at #100. Personal bias, I guess, but nothing she has done qualifies her as one of the greatest of all time, imo. Who and what has she influenced?
5. Britney...ugh I don't know why I expected any different. I will admit though that hers is a tricky case.

VH1 tops are so reliable that Natalie Imbruglia was in number 4 on the Top 10 Divas and Mariah Carey didn't even make the list . I love VH1, they are the only music channel that actually play good music but their tops are always a mess people that take their seriously clearly don't know anything about VH1

(from the source I linked above)
This definitive countdown covers all genres of music – from rock to pop to rap to metal – to answer who is worthy to possess the title as "the greatest music artist of all time. Over the 200 musicians including Alicia Keys, Ozzy Osbourne, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Iggy Pop, Nas, Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Geddy Lee (Rush), Alex Lifeson (Rush), Michael Diamond (Beastie Boys), Daryl Hall, John Oates, Noel Gallagher (Oasis), Gene Simmons (KISS), Adam Levine (Maroon Five), 50 Cent, Nelly Furtado, Mandy Moore, Carrie Underwood, Adam Clayton (U2) and many more voted on who they believe deserves this highly coveted title.

Can't blame VH1 for this one lol.

Led Zeppelin - Mothership (the 2 discs are wonderful)
Rolling Stones - Jump Back: The Best of the Rolling Stones 1971-1993 (with this one you are ready to go)
Pink Floyd - Greatest Hits and Dark Side Of The Moon (pretty legendary )


you should listen to Iron Maiden (Edward The Great), AC/DC(Warning!High Voltage) and Aerosmith(The Very Best Of), I stan for all these bands

oh it was by votes, even worse

Beyonce is #52...

Janet didn't make the list

I'm just happy abba is there, 1st time Americans recognize something that isn't popular in their country.

Otherwise this list is more fail than internet explorer running on windows vista...

I could've taken this list seriously upon reading that Mariah Carey made it at #94 until I saw that LL Cool J was placed 2 spots above her. Fail!

76. Run-D.M.C

WAYYYY too low.

this list looks like it was made in wikipedia

IKR? She is just the singer with the best voice ever and one of the best song writers. Poor are the ones that actually take these lists seriously

Well, it's VH1. It's their list. I woudn't argue anymore.

LL Cool J is a rapper so why are you comparing him with Mariah, especially since he is a rap icon and very respected in his genre.

It's obvious that you haven't listened anything by Mariah besides this last decade, you wouldn't say that

VH1 always hates on Mariah, today they showed the top 10 divas and Natalie Imbruglia was there in #4 and Mariah didn't even make the list

This is Mariah Carey's first showing on a list such as this- not that No. 94 is a great showing, but it's better than she's done. But, what's notabel is that Beyonce is ranked way ahead of her. She probably is a stronger entertainer, and has had better tracks, overall, though, so maybe it's not "wrong."

Pleasantly surprised to see Whitney Houston place as she did. Madonna was at 86 on the 1998 list, but that was compiled before Ray of Light's release. She usually fares well on features like this, so she continues to do so.

There are a number of some newbies that weren't on the 1998 list.

The list was compiled in the same manner as the 1998 list, as well as the 100 Greatest Women list. Lists like 'Top Divas" and those of that nature aren't as notable as these kinds.