"The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time" was a special issue published byRolling Stone in two parts in 2004 and 2005, and later updated in 2011.[1] The list presented was compiled based on input from musicians, writers, and industry figures and is focused on therock & roll era.[1]
The publication features comments that several musicians wrote about their colleagues, includingElvis Costello on theBeatles,Janet Jackson onTina Turner, and others.
Since its publication, the list has been frequently cited by many specialized and generalist publications.[2][3][4][5][6]
The list was published in two issues in 2004 and 2005, and later updated in 2011. It was selected based on the choices of a panel of 55 musicians, writers, and industry figures.[1] As the editors explain, the artists were selected by "their peers", and the list aims to be "a broad survey of rock history", encompassingrock and roll,blues,hard rock,heavy metal,indie rock,rap andcontemporary pop.
In both versions of the list, the top three positions are held bythe Beatles,Bob Dylan, andElvis Presley; rounding out the top ten were (in descending order): theRolling Stones,Chuck Berry,Jimi Hendrix,James Brown,Little Richard,Aretha Franklin, andRay Charles.
In 2011,Rolling Stone published a revised edition of the list, with position changes from the 27th position onward. The position of 68 artists was unchanged, and 20 had fewer than two rank changes. The only significant position change wasCarl Perkins, who dropped 30 ranks in the 2011 listing. The updated list also featured artists not present in the original, includingPink Floyd #51,Queen #52,Metallica #61,Creedence Clearwater Revival #82,Jay-Z #88,Tom Petty #91,R.E.M. #97, andTalking Heads #100.
In the 2011 list, several artists were removed from the greatest 100, includingLouis Jordan #59,Etta James #62,N.W.A #83,Miles Davis #88,Ricky Nelson #91,Martha & The Vandellas #96,Roxy Music #98, andLee "Scratch" Perry #100.
The list consists primarily of American or British artists who sold well in America, as well as the following:AC/DC (Australian, with several British-born members),the Band (Canada/US),Bob Marley (Jamaica),Joni Mitchell (Canada),Lee "Scratch" Perry (Jamaica; only in the 2005 list),Carlos Santana (Mexican by birth, naturalized American),U2 (Ireland, with two British-born members), andNeil Young (Canada).
Most artists on the list were active in the 1960s and 1970s.