100 Greatest Artists of All Time...well at least according to Rolling Stone

When I was a little girl, my mom would have The O’Jays, Luther Vandross, Diana Ross and other R&B staples playing when we would clean the house. My dad would have Miles Davis or Aretha Franklin playing as we cooked dinner. I grew up in the 80s, during the dawn of MTV and BET. This exposed me to more than the music that played in my home. I consider myself a music enthusiast.  So when I saw Rolling Stone Magazine’s The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, I had to buy it.

Of course I knew that The Beatles would be #1, but I was really surprised to find that Michael Jackson was #35! What?!?!? The late great King of Pop who has countless hits, countless awards & hundreds of millions of albums sold worldwide was ranked #35 in Rolling Stone even though he appeared on their cover almost a dozen times. Even though I was disappointed at the pop king’s ranking, I was quite please to see that the magazine included artists from every genre in American music. From Rock to Rap, R&B to heavy metal, the best and most influential artists were included.

I was definitely happy to see so many Rap Artists included but even more so to learn about so many other artists. Artists that rappers have sampled from or white pop artists that used R&B music to cross-over in the early days of Rock & Roll were discussed by other artists & music execs that have influenced them along the way. If you pass by one, definitely pick it up. If the wonderful artwork doesn’t interest you, the stories about these amazing artists and how their work has influenced music will.