The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time
From Sinatra to SZA, from R&B to salsa to alt-rock
www.rollingstone.com
This list came out on January 1 and I guess I shouldn't be surprised that what they consider the "greatest singers of all time" is not what I would expect. Just wondering if anyone else had seen this and felt like it's as bad as I do.
Singers included among the GOATs: Courtney Love, Bob Dylan, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Ozzy Osbourne, Kelly Clarkson, Brandy, Sylvester, El Debarge, Amy Winehouse and a number I've never heard of that may be great. I personally love Courtney Love, Bob Dylan, Ozzy, and Amy Winehouse but they are not the best singers by any stretch.
Singers not included among the GOATs: Celine Dion, Layne Staley, Paul Rodgers, Ann Wilson, Annie Lennox, Grace Slick, Brad Delp, Steven Tyler, Pavarotti, Paul Simon, Alanis Morissette, Bill Joel, Sly Stone. I am not a fan of Celine Dion but there's no doubt she's one of the best singers with the best range and most success ever.
Observations:
- The Top 10 are all African American R&B singers. All of them are great (IMO), but an all-R&B Top 10 seems a bit agenda-driven.
- The best white singer of all time according to this list is John Lennon.
- Singers that are transgender and/or died of AIDs at an early age are represented even though none are technically great singers or have a catalog more than 1 or 2 albums.
- Dying early after only releasing one or two albums seems to be a major criteria for being one of the GOATs
- Barbra Streisand (can't stand her but she has a great voice) is #147 while Minnie Ripperton is #65, Patti Labelle is #74, Arianna Grande is #43, Aaliyah is #40, Adele is #22. Adele may very well be accurate and I like her voice, but she's also trendy right now.
Most Rolling Stone lists are junk so this shouldn't be surprising, but it's pretty clear that this list was put together more to appease an agenda than it was to actually list the 200 best vocalists that have ever walked the earth. And a lot of the younger singers on this list just happen to be popular right now -- even Billie Eilish would tell you she's not one of the best singers of all time but there she is.
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