So I guess Axl is still refusing to talk?

Ugh.

Were’s the Guns N’ Roses cover and interview!

It’s one thing to shit on punk, metal, and any modern rocker not named CobainRose, but not including Frank Sinatra makes me think one of you needs to wake up with a horse head under your sheets.

What no Robin Zander???????? Robin who is a phenomenal singer never gets any recognition.

Hmmm…..
I’ve got four words for you…..

Steve Mariott

Robin Zander

Without those names, your list in incomplete, but then again, that’s what we’ve come to expect from your fine publication.
Have a day….

Seriously, Rolling Stone. John Lennon ranked above Marvin Gaye?!??! I’m only 20 into the list and already irritated.

Joel- Have you seen the top of the cover. Maybe no cover but there is an interview in this issue.

Has anyone ever heard of Barbra Streisand? Just curious…

Brad Delp arguably the best singer in my opinion.

It’s ridiculous. MIck Jagger better than F. Mercury? Where is Bruce Dickinson? Even Mariah Carey is in the list?

What about Mike Patton and Vedder ???

What is your criteria for this list?

this is the most rediculous and biased racial poll ever taken put together by minority sympathizers who bow down everytime someone utters the word oh we were slaves 100 years ago

that era is over and the idea that Franklin is rock and roll is rediculous. Its soul or R&B not rock and roll and frankly is an insult to the rock and roll industry and all it stood for

This is preposterous! It’s like saying Frank Sinatra is the king of Rap.

What’s next Tupac is the king of opera?

Get Real

Obviously Rolling Stone Magazine has a Political agenda!!

Looks like the lobbyists are at work

Ok, Bob, calm down…uhm, 1)this list was voted on by a wide ranging panel, 2) the title of the list is the 100 greatest singers of all time, NOT 100 greatest rock and roll singers of all time and 3)shut the fuck up. Rock and roll came DIRECTLY out of the blues and gospel, which came DIRECTLY out dem ol’ Negro spirituals we used to sing when Massa laid the whip down. Please tell us what the rock and roll industry stands for, and how Aretha being voted the greatest singer of all time insults that. I guess its OK to be racist since your inbred dada taught you to be, but being ignorant and just plain uninformed is a direct tribute to your Aryan masters.

Hendrix was far better than Aretha

now that was Rock and Roll

Who put together this list

and what were they thinking

Well I used to be a fan of the rolling stones mag

might as well change the name now

maybe Soul Stones

or running rap stars

Why is Mary J blige in the freakin poll

She has as much to do with Rock and Roll as Carrots are to applesauce

the greatest singers of all time NOT

maybe Soul artist

To say Elvis is not the king is like saying Cowboys where space helmets

obviously someone is on something

We need a real magazine dedicated to Rock and Roll

Anyone have any Ideas of true Rock N Roll mags that I can subscribe to

This is Blacks being Racial

lets stop racial hatred on both sides shall we

Can you believe the insanity

This mag has gone way off base

Q: Where did rock and roll come from?

A: The Delta Blues, Dust Bowl country, boogie woogie, gospel, jazz and slave spiritual songs.

Someone try and tell me James Brown, Little Richard and Ray Charles aren’t completely ingrained in rock and roll.

Any other questions?

Hendrix was a god awful singer. He raspy and annoying…

Are you crazy elvis was no doubt the greatest singer ever. He was named the Entertainer of the Century and he’s not number 1 you are off your rocker!!!!

john lennon was ok but no way that he was a better singer than Paul

Wow, I always grew up thinking that Rolling Stone magazine was “the authority” when it came to music, I guess after all of these years I was wrong. Dont get me wrong, the queen of soul is a legend..but #1..way off base.. I guess your saff needed to do the political thing which I hope serves the magazine well. Oh by the way, I am not even a big elvis fan, I just happen to be moved by th fact that he had 82 award winning albums to aretha’s 40. Sorry guys and galsbut I am only 38 and refuse to feel the “white guilt” that you do.

Glen Campbell was a better singer than Elvis Presley. Elvis Presley was a better entertainer than Glen Campbell.

This “white/black” issue is a load of crap. Is there anyone out there that can give me a better singer than Aretha? White guilt and album sales have nothing to do with it. If that were the case, Scott Stapp of Creed whould be in your top ten.

This poll is WAY off base…whoever voted in this poll obviously never listened to Elvis from 1977. His voice at that point was at it’s best and fantastic. He could have sang opera and it would have been great…

To the people complaining that this is a greatest rock n roll singers only list you are WRONG !!! (Bob) The title of the list is: 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time no specific genre was chosen and there’s a lot of great singers from every genre named in the list but Ms. Franklin definately deserves the spot shes in on this list she’s absolutely wonderful

Where’s BRUCE DICKINSON? He has an amazing voice!!

The fact is simple, the King of Rock and Roll is just that…The King…

Those who didn’t vote for Elvis Presley who is, was and will always be The King Of Rock N’ Roll…are tone deaf and willingly blind.

Many thanks to my baby sister Elissa for sending me this link.

Is Elvis in the Top Ten? Good, that’s where he belongs. Shut up already.

Axl Rose should be in the top ten. Where the hell is the cover story and GNR interview?

Axl Rose should be in the top ten. Where the hell is the cover story and GNR interview?

Yeah, the WHITE king!!!

Any list like this that leaves Ian Anderson off is a sham.

Elvis RULES!

At least this magazine is acknowledging that there was rock and roll before The Beatles, but to have the Everly Brothers so far down on the list is ridiculous.

John Lennon a great singer? Rolling Stone always gets in a rut when it comes to naming “greatest” anything. For some reason it cannot do any sort of list without Lennon being ranked high.

Elvis was, is, and always will be King.

Where is Roy Orbison?

i’m going to assume you are organizing this by talent soooo….bob dylan in the top 10? john lennon above paul mccartney. really rolling stone? REALLY?! haha you guys need to give up with the lists already, they are the laughing stock of your audience. listen to “Oh Darling” “Birthday” “Sgt. Pepper Intro” and then tell me john lennons the better singer hahahaha. what a joke.

I think if John Lennon were here today he would tell the whole world to stop dissing Paul McCartney.

Maybe it’s just me, but there was an extreme oversight and a very notable vocalist missing from this list: Chaka Kahn. Where was Chaka on this list?….. gimme a break, how can you forget her.

Where was Frank Sinatra on your list? Why is he not on??

Please listen to more Lennon and Bob Dylan before you judge them from your memory.
Can’t argue with Aretha as top pick, but Lennon and Dylan are great singers.

WOW. surprised by a lot of things on the list including the order/gratuitously high placement of people like Lennon. But to completely snub Chris Cornell from the entire list? The guy is known almost exclusively for his pipes, his songwriting ability aside.

This is a ridiculous list… Bob Dylan has an awful whinny voice, and is and SHOULD be know for his song writing ability, not vocals. Why do you think everyone had to remake his songs? Listen to any of his originals and tell me they and sang better. Knocking on Heavens Door for example, Axle sings it worse than Dylan? HA Clapton does it better too…

Maynard James Keenan?
Why is Jeff Buckley so low?
Why is Thom Yorke so low?
This list is a joke.

Not enough class to include Frank Sinatra ??!! ridiculous.

I have 10 names that didn’t make your list at all. Just food for thought: Josh Groban, Gary Puckett, Brian McKnight, Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Peabo Bryson, Luther Vandross, Michael McDonald, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra. Please!

What about Michael Stipe? I’d also love to see Donovan on this list.

Jackie Wilson is the greatest pure singer ever in rock and roll. There’s no one close to Wilson. Elvis Presley used to watch in awe when Wilson performed live in Vegas.

George Harrison was RUDELY snubbed…Freddy Mercury should be in the top 5…and Paul McCartney should be A LOT higher than he is…also SINATRA??? BENNETT??? NILSSON??? GILMOUR???

-tom

Seriously Patti Smith? But not Michael Stipe??? Have any of you Rolling Stoners ever even listened to Automatic For The People? Thankfully Morrissey, Jeff Buckley and Otis Redding were on the list otherwise I’d probably never buy your magazine again. Seriously, take a listen to Stipe on “You Are The Everything” and “Find The River” and “I Wanted To Be Wrong” and you’ll reconsider this list!

Is this a list of 100 greatest singers? If so, where is Pavarotti? If this is a list of greatest rock singers, then Rolling Stone needs to go back to the dictionary and look up ‘Rock’. I did an impromptu survey of people who hadn’t seen this list and the names I got included Chris Cornell, Eddie Vedder and Brian Vander Ark. I can’t believe such a hastily thrown together list would make the cover. Writing for RS used to mean something, I guess it has become another bit of drivel wrapped in a pretty cover.

CHRIS CORNELL!? EDDIE VEDDER!?

Even though there are many comments that the poll is slanted, the real bias of the poll is ignored. There’s nothing at all wrong with including singers who are not strictly rock singers, because the title isn’t “rock singers.”

People who are better known as songwriters ARE over-represented and too high on the list.

But those are minor things. Despite the fact that Aretha is #1, and deservedly so, this list is hugely biased in favor males.

Wow no soulja boy?!?!?! Im surprised

Whoever called this the “greatest singers” list obviously didn’t mean the GREATEST VOCALISTS because if they had, J.R. RICHARDS, of DISHWALLA would have made the list!!!

Where is Amy Winehouse?

Glad to see Jim morrison on the list. One of the mystifying singers in the 60’s rock ers!

That list was horrible. You got the top one’s ok but then … Dolly Parton?? Mary Blige? Prince? Geeeeezzz …

oh, and since we are talking SINGERS … have you EVER heard of Chrissie Hynde??

I agree with the comment, that a 100 best singers of all times (ha! HA! at least mention Orpheus and Calypso if you MEAN all times) should actually include SINGers in the first place. Besides, your world seems to be an English-sung-only-bellybutton. I’d thought that at least “La vie en rose” sunk in long enough to remember the likes of Edith Piaf (Where are the old divas anyway? Ella Fitzgerald? Maria Callas? Billie Holiday? Dinah Washington? Judy Garland? Yma Sumac?). In any case: Rolling Stone goes Pop.

Where is Darryl Hall ?…perhaps one of the best vocalists in the world still today

More “corporate” lists from the magazine that has become everything it was against!! What was the criteria for this?? Did range matter? Are we talking vocals or singing? Dylan is a vocalist not a singer!! What a bunch of hand picked RNR Hall of Fame crap this is! Ann Wilson from Heart (not even listed) would blow any 1/2 of these “Great” singers off the stage! If ya gonna do singers then do singers!

Where is Ian Gillan?

Typical Rolling Stone list, the voters are all trying to prove how “hip” they are. I like Bob Dylan, and I realize that any list of this type is going to be very subjective, but if we’re talking about SINGING, he doesn’t belong in the top 7000, let alone the top 7. There’s a reason so many of his songs became hits for other artists (and not him). Great songwriter, yes, great singer, no. Others who have no business being anywhere near this list include Lou Reed, Tom Waits, and Iggy Pop. I’m sure there are more I am missing. A few that should be on this list but aren’t: Dennis DeYoung, Sting, Eddie Vedder, Chris Isaak, Brian Johnson, Tom Petty.

Rober Palmer, Dave Grohl, John Fogerty, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Chris Robinson are some more that would make my list.

On the female side, Grace Slick, Annie Lennox, and Ann Wilson should all be there.

where were Barry White and Gladys Knight on this list????? Pitiful.

Hello??? Grace Slick, awesome vocalist who could sing rings around half these people!

steven tyler???

Eddie Vedder belongs on here.

When it comes to “100 biggest jokes of all-time”, RS rag should be #1.

This list is a joke because how can bono be on the list if he cant sing. And where is beyonce, one of the brilliant singers of our time.

Rolling Stone, congratulations! This list gives you about as much credibility as The Wachowski Brothers had after the Matrix trilogy. Good job catering to your demographic and making sure I never read your magazine. Maynard James Keenan anyone?

The comments are here to show you a user consensus… are you listening yet?

Rolling Stone Magazine always meant Rock and Roll, and when it puts out a poll of the 100 Greatest Singers it is assumed Rolling Stone can only mean Rock and Roll Singers. The poll can not be open ended because if it is ,it would be less credible than it already is(If that is Possible).
I am 53 years old, and THE Rolling Stone Magazine I remember reading would never put out such rubbish as a poll like this.
Just a few comments, other wise I would be here all day.
WE all love John Lennon, but he is not a better singer than Paul McCartney. Paul McCartney, one of greatest voices in Rock and Roll History, top 5 in any true Rock and Roll Poll, if we have to do Polls. Then we have Bob Dylan, you can fool some of the people some of the time, Bob Dylan said that, Bob Dylan in the top 10, he does not make the top 500, I Said That.

I do not get this list. Come on, Kurt Cobain? Don’t get me wrong, he was very talented but not a great singer. He is also above Jim Morrison! People like Chris Cornell and Frank Sinatra belong on this list. This list is supposed to be about the Greatest Singers, not about the most Creative or Famous Singers. It is just obserd.

Ok ill give Aretha Franklin the number 1 positon..But Tom Petty, Kurt Cobane, Iggy Pop…this is a joke right….these guys cant sing for $hit!….Whitney Houston should be right up there with Aretha…but hey its the rolling stones magazine….Im surprised the Wiggles and Barney aint catagorised in this poll…..

1.Whitney
2.Mariah
3.Who cares.

I still don’t get it… Why Sinatra is off?… Why Sinatra is off? Talking about singers, about voices, he was the man who started it all… HE WAS THE REFERENCE… you can’t make a list of the greatest 100 singers of all time and take him off… that’s a crime… that’s sacrilege to any kind of music… There are great singers in this list, of course… And lots missing but… Sinatra… THE VOICE… I must say I was a buyer of Rolling Stone but, from now on I’m not a buyer anymore… I’m sorry… Sinatra off… bffff…

What… in the name of FUCK, is Freddie Mercury doing 18th? That god of song matched an opera singer! There was no “He could have been…” He fucking WAS.

How do you have someone like Christina Aguilera above a great vocalist like Mariah Carey. Mariah should have been in the top 10.

I completely agree with Phatass that Freddie Mercury shouldn’t have been placed at number 18. He should have been in the top 10 – or in the top 5. John Lennon and Elvis weren’t better singers than Freddie Mercury.

I think the list took the legendary status of some singers and translated that into vocal ability, which is wrong. Freddie Mercury deserves a much higher placing Rolling Stone.

I’m really starting to convince myself that this list was drawn up by someone incredibly drunk, incredibly stupid, or incredibly filled with double agendas. Mick Jagger a better singer than Freddie Mercury?

Whitney Houston at 34? More like the 34 joints you had to smoke to place her so low.

This isnt greatest rock singers. its greatest singers period. its not a bad list but i think elvis is too high and luther vandross is too low

This is pure bullshit!! There is no way john lennon, bob dylon, or elvis should be mentioned on this list – it’s ridiculous!!

WTF????????

Freddie Mercury isn’t the number one???

WTF????????WTF????????WTF? ???????WTF????????WTF????????W TF????????WTF????????WTF?????? ??WTF????????WTF????????WTF??? ?????WTF????????WTF????????WTF ????????WTF????????WTF????????

OMG………. Aretha I can understand why theyn made her number one……. but Whitney #34???????????, Mariah #79????????, Mary J Blige #100???????????? I believe this list is racist, if a white girl has a little bit of soul, she autimatically makes the list but women with real power dont, Donna Summer is #?????, Pat Benatar is #???????, Dinah Washington is #??????????.

Whitney should be like #2

Whitney should be like #2

Christina above Mariah Carey….. Mariah should be top ten….. Babyface hasone of the best voices ever.. where did he rank.

Christina above Mariah Carey….. Mariah should be top ten….. Babyface hasone of the best voices ever.. where did he rank.

bob dylan so deserved to be on that list! he sings with passion and his songs actually MEAN something.

WHERE THE HELL IS EDDIE VEDDER?!?! HE A BILLION TIMES BETTER THAN PRINCE!

y is steve perry 76 and where is paul stanley

Axl, Axl , AXL

Axl, Axl , AXL

Axl, Axl , AXL

Where the hell is David Byrne huh? An amazing singer/songwriter in an incredibly influential band. pfft.

i think before you make your judgements, you should read the article “what makes a great singer?” by jonathan lethem. thatll probably give you a better understanding of how this list was constructed.

….

okay. did that. now here’s my complaints…

rolling stone has a knack for leaving out at least 2 crucial figures in their “100 greatest” lists. here’s 4 of my favorite “forgottens” for this one:
axl rose
eddie vedder
chan marshall
chris cornell

and whats weird is that rolling stone LOVES eddie vedder and chan marshall!

what happened?

I agree with much of the list, tho I probably would switch mccartney and plant. tough to say. i liked seeing sam cooke at 4. john lennon speaks to me more than any other singer but he’s chill at 5. you mercury winers need to gt over yourselves. i love his voice, but he deserves top twenty not top ten. too over the top- not enough real soul to be that far down. one travesty tho was the lack of jazz vocalists. sinatra, vaughn, holiday, among others. not to mention armstrong who basically reinvented singing in the way dylan did. fuck rolling stone he should have made top ten.

Not sure who is on list by my top 3 is
1) Chris Cornell
2) Layne Staley
3) Eddie Vedder

Layne Staley?

cabrones !!! os habeis dejado a Frank Sinatra !!!

Here’s my top 5
1. Freddie Mercury
2. Marvin Gaye
3. Robert Plant
4. David Lee Roth
5. Rob Halford*

*If listen to him, although he is a heavy metal singer, he has an amazing range.

Layne Staley should have been on list for 100 greatest singers, that man has voice of gods

FREDDIE MERCURY #1

W. Axl Rose

Axl in one in million

you guys all suck. this is totally based on personal opinion.

My top 3
1. Freddie Mercury
2. Gerard Way
3. Conor Oberst

Are you kidding? Barbra Streisand sings everyone on this list under the table — Bob Dylan on the list at all? What a crock! Someone needs to get their hearing checked!! Barbra’s won every award in the book and is the best selling female artist ever! What a joke this list is!

shannon hoon.

Axl Rose, Axl Rose, Axl Rose, Axl Rose.
my backup? >>
November Rain
Dead Horse
Don’t Cry
Mr. Brownstone
Knockin on Heavens Door….
shall I go on?

It’s funny how the USA and UK think that music only exists in these two countries.

Most of these people are not even great, they are popular because these countries have more influence in the world and therefore, force a lot of crap on the rest of the world.

It’s funny that the countries that export more music are the ones who also know less about music. For instance, I know all these artists and thousands others American and British but I also listen to thousands of Portuguese, Spanish, Brazilian, African, French and other European artists. This gives me the knowledge to realize how overrated a lot of the english speaking artists are. The non-speaking artists are not as well known because of the language barrier, but there are so many that would put most of these to shame.

Also I’d like to let you know that these artists are not considered the top best in the countries I mentioned. There are a lot of national artists that are prefered to foreign ones. Just to clear up the wrong idea people have that Elvis for instance is King of Rock everywhere, he’s not I’m afraid, he’s just a mortal who sung a few cool songs outside his home country and UK.

For instance, if you check (and please do) Amalia rodrigues (a portuguese Fado singer) you can easily see that her singing, her expressiveness, her soul, etc shadows all these “best singers” no sweat. The reason why she is not in this list is because she sings in Portuguese and as everybody knows, anything that it’s not sung in english never gets anywhere.

You can’t just create a best list as it will always be based on popularity and not talent alone.

WOW, WHY NOT HAVE 100 DIFFERENT
PEOPLE MAKE OUT 100 DIFFERENT LISTS. IT IS ALL OPINION. LISTEN
TO WHAT YOU LIKE AND NOT WHAT SOMEONE ELSE TELLS YOU. THAT BEING
SAID, WHOEVER CAME UP WITH THIS
LIST MUST HAVE BEEN ( and proably
was) STONED!

1/Elvis – Best in 50’s
2/John Lennon – Best in 60’s
( not overrated McCartney )
3/ Elton, Bowie and Freddie (tie)
Best in 70’s
4/ Michael Jackson – Best in 80’s
5/ 1990 up ?????????

why is mary wells constantly underrated? she put motown on the map before smoky and diana,who should also be included.also how ’bout linda ronstadt, dionne warwick,leon russell,brenda lee,celine dion joan baez, ritchie havens,steven stills,david crosby,alanis morrisette,shawn colvin,gene pitney

order in the courtroom! how’ bout kenny loggins,neil diamond,paul simon,billy joel,levi stubbs,connie francis. you heard me.

Rolling Stones, the world is bigger then USA and UK. Pavarotti?? Andrea Bocceli? Amália Rodrigues?? Mariza?? Charles Aznavour? Edith Piaf? Try any of them. And Freddie Mercury 18th place? Really, I find your list very amusing.

chris cornell, eddie vedder, should be on there. of course if you include the world and not just american and uk singers, there are many others that could be on a top 100 list. Basically greatest lists and award shows for art are bullshit. Anyone who loves art would never put it into a competition.

My top 6-
1.FREDDIE MERCURY
2.ROBERT PLANT
3.STEVEN TYLER
4.AXL ROSE
5.BON SCOTT
6.BRIAN JOHNSON

but my favorite is Steven tyler(=
& Freddie mercury of course(;

Forget all these other people. It’s inexcusable that Frank Sinatra was left off the list at all.

where the hell is Ella Fitzgerald? Billie Holiday?

I am a huge, huge fan of Sam Cooke, although I am very, very happy he is in the top 5 which he very well should be, however; I was a bit disappointed with Jackie Wilson not being in at least the top 20 at least the op 15. RIP!

Where is June Christy; that’s the point. That list was too easy. “the cool” Ms. Christy could put Madonna, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga et. al. to shame and too bad she is not on the list. Rolling stones need to do its home work and stop writing shallow work with the excuse, the dog eat my homework?

also where is Barbara Streisand; how soon we forget that voice!

steve winwood should be in the top ten very few singers sounded like ray charles at sixteen (apart from ray charles)

the list said greatest singers, see some people have good names and what not but some of you have people on here but just singing with out the music just all vocals then you have to take that into account. With the Rat Pack being one of my favs I can still say crooners sound good but this type of list they just want be in the places where you think they should be.

The list said greatest singers, I see some people have good names on here but singing without the music just all vocals, and then you have to take that into account. With the Rat Pack being one of my favs I can still say crooners sound good but this type of list they just want be in the places where you think they should be.

(type error on other post)

bon scott look at what he did in only 5 years the man was and is a music genius you people couldnt tell talent if it jumped up and bit yar on the fucking face
BON Lives

tang ina nyo!!!!!!mga gago

Where’s Grace Slick??

where fuck is “Vicente Fernandez” ?
put him on the list please

Freddy mercury should be number one he is the great singer ever to live, he had the best voice I have ever heard in my life this list angers me !!!!

The Rolling Stone voters included singers from many genre’s of music but didn’t anyone want to give a nod to some of the older generation ‘SUPREME’ veteran vocalists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Bassey, Celine Dion, Barbara Streisand, Frank Sinatra and/or Linda Rondstadt? Rolling Stone tends to rate highest vocal technique here rather than really who is the best singer. Unfortunately, the list says, ‘Best Singer’ but many on the list certainly do not deserve to be in the top 100 of that title. I would match any of the above vocalists, anyday, to many that Rolling Stone has listed in the top 100.

This list is a MIERDA where is celine Dion,Why is Mariah Carey in #74 mariah carey sings better than Christina Aguilera,Dolly Parton,Nina Simone, Mariah Carey have to be in #5 or 6# position and celine dion and whitney houston

And where is rosa lopez rosa lopez is the best voice of spain

Micheal Jackson is placed so low???? Beyonce isn’t even on the list? Christina above Mariah??? WHITNEY HOUSTON… 34???? Someone really is on crack!!!!

Rolling Stone rides again! Where is Ronnie James Dio? He has one of the greatest rock voices of all time! And how come Bon Scott is not on the list?