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Critical Consensus: 100 Most Essential Musical Artists

My Critical Consensus projects avoid personal opinion; they are aggregate mathematical polls intended to measure the true consensus of critical and popular opinion as to what is considered the greatest of all time. Sources are selected to provide the widest cross-reference of opinion while maintaining a wide acceptance of legitimacy. Results for this list are derived from an accumulation of results from previously tabulated Critical Consensus lists for essential albums and songs, plus other lists of greatest artists, singers, songwriters, bands, etc. from those sources, plus any career honors such as Kennedy Center, Medal of Arts, R&R Hall. Comments and questions relating to winners, purpose, or methodology always welcome.
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made by Will Yudelson
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The Beatles
The Beatles
1
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
2
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
3
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
4
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
5
David Bowie
David Bowie
6
Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
7
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
8
James Brown
James Brown
9
Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
10
The Who
The Who
11
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
12
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
13
Neil Young
Neil Young
14
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
15
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
16
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
17
Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
18
Miles Davis
Miles Davis
19
Ray Charles
Ray Charles
20
Prince
Prince
21
U2
U2
22
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
23
Bob Marley
Bob Marley
24
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
25
Radiohead
Radiohead
26
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon and Garfunkel
27
Nirvana
Nirvana
28
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
29
Hank Williams
Hank Williams
30
Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
31
John Coltrane
John Coltrane
32
Otis Redding
Otis Redding
33
Queen
Queen
34
The Clash
The Clash
35
Madonna
Madonna
36
Elton John
Elton John
37
Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
38
Billie Holliday
Billie Holliday
39
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
40
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