Rolling Stone has been causing a stir with their lists and when there’s any type of ranking coming from a popular music magazine, it’s going to get people angry, bothered, emotional and annoyed – especially when those people are fans of the slighted song, band, TV show, or album. All those feelings really came to the fore for Rolling Stone’s The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time list they released on January 1st, 2023.
Most of that negative emotion seemed to be focused on the exclusion of a really really good singer in Celine Dion.
Céline Dion was not included on Rolling Stone’s 200 Greatest Singers of All Time list. pic.twitter.com/pJKFEfhaYE
— Pop Base (@PopBase) January 1, 2023
In fact that’s how I even knew this list existed — the deluge of social media posts speaking to the absence of the skinny Canadian pop singer behind songs like “My Heart Will Go On,” “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now,” and several other big singles was louder than Celine belting out the chorus at her first Las Vegas residency show.
Here’s the offending full list including Rosalia, Michael Stipe, Brenda Lee, Debbie Harry, Luther Vandross, Dolly Parton, Thom Yorke, Frank Sinatra, Gladys Knight, Beyonce, and Ozzy Osbourne.
Rolling Stones 200 Best Singers of All-Time
Rank
Singer
200
Rosalía
199
Glenn Danzig
198
Billie Eilish
197
Burna Boy
196
Paul Westerberg
195
Poly Styrene
194
Kelly Clarkson
193
Brandy
192
Anohni
191
Jung Kook
190
Frank Ocean
189
Joan Baez
188
Fela Kuti
187
Bonnie Raitt
186
Ofra Haza
185
Alicia Keys
184
Karen O
183
Solomon Burke
182
Jazmine Sullivan
181
Bob Seger
180
SZA
179
Martha Wash
178
Tabu Ley Rochereau
177
Patty Loveless
176
Iggy Pop
175
Lana Del Rey
174
Buddy Holly
173
Marianne Faithfull
172
Juan Gabriel
171
Odetta
170
Chris Stapleton
169
Sylvester
168
Debbie Harry
167
Marc Anthony
166
Morrissey
165
Ronnie James Dio
164
Sandy Denny
163
Bobby “Blue” Bland
162
Françoise Hardy
161
Brenda Lee
160
Mercedes Sosa
159
Mississippi John Hurt
158
Carrie Underwood
157
Robert Smith
156
George Strait
155
Corin Tucker
154
Dion
153
Mahlathini
152
Michael Stipe
151
Martha Reeves
150
Bryan Ferry
149
Wanda Jackson
148
Levon Helm
147
Barbra Streisand
146
Ruth Brown
145
PJ Harvey
144
Darlene Love
143
Luciano
142
Russell Thompkins Jr.
141
Christina Aguilera
140
Bono
139
Rocío Dúrcal
138
Merle Haggard
137
El DeBarge
136
Lauryn Hill
135
IU
134
Axl Rose
133
Neil Young
132
Loretta Lynn
131
Jeff Buckley
130
Courtney Love
129
Rob Halford
128
Florence Welch
127
Tammy Wynette
126
Donny Hathaway
125
Joe Strummer
124
Robert Johnson
123
Karen Carpenter
122
Donna Summer
121
Jackie Wilson
120
Charlie Rich
119
Barrington Levy
118
John Fogerty
117
Patti Smith
116
Chet Baker
115
Erykah Badu
114
Chrissie Hynde
113
La India
112
Ozzy Osbourne
111
Fiona Apple
110
The Weeknd
109
Roger Daltrey
108
Caetano Veloso
107
Lou Reed
106
Bill Withers
105
Eddie Vedder
104
Aaron Neville
103
Leonard Cohen
102
Taylor Swift
101
Gladys Knight
100
Elton John
99
Clyde McPhatter
98
Bob Marley
97
Usher
96
Chuck Berry
95
Vicente Fernández
94
Toots Hibbert
93
Stevie Nicks
92
Anita Baker
91
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
90
Gal Costa
89
Selena
88
Jimmie Rodgers
87
Diana Ross
86
Michael Jackson
85
Johnny Cash
84
Lata Mangeshkar
83
Amy Winehouse
82
Steve Perry
81
João Gilberto
80
Chris Cornell
79
Emmylou Harris
78
Janis Joplin
77
Bruce Springsteen
76
Wilson Pickett
75
D’Angelo
74
Patti LaBelle
73
Héctor Lavoe
72
Muddy Waters
71
Roy Orbison
70
Ronnie Spector
69
Youssou N’Dour
68
Rihanna
67
Dennis Brown
66
David Ruffin
65
Minnie Riperton
64
Björk
63
Robert Plant
62
George Michael
61
Umm Kulthum
60
Kate Bush
59
Howlin’ Wolf
58
Lady Gaga
57
Brian Wilson
56
Barry White
55
Tina Turner
54
Willie Nelson
53
Miriam Makeba
52
Mick Jagger
51
Sade
50
Joni Mitchell
49
Rod Stewart
48
Toni Braxton
47
Linda Ronstadt
46
Mavis Staples
45
Ella Fitzgerald
44
James Brown
43
Ariana Grande
42
Teddy Pendergrass
41
Etta James
40
Aaliyah
39
Louis Armstrong
38
Curtis Mayfield
37
Van Morrison
36
Kurt Cobain
35
Dusty Springfield
34
Thom Yorke
33
Bessie Smith
32
David Bowie
31
Luther Vandross
30
Hank Williams
29
Chaka Khan
28
Mahalia Jackson
27
Dolly Parton
26
Paul McCartney
25
Mary J. Blige
24
George Jones
23
Smokey Robinson
22
Adele
21
Nina Simone
20
Marvin Gaye
19
Frank Sinatra
18
Celia Cruz
17
Elvis Presley
16
Prince
15
Bob Dylan
14
Freddie Mercury
13
Patsy Cline
12
John Lennon
11
Little Richard
10
Al Green
9
Otis Redding
8
Beyoncé
7
Stevie Wonder
6
Ray Charles
5
Mariah Carey
4
Billie Holiday
3
Sam Cooke
2
Whitney Houston
1
Aretha Franklin
Does Celine Dion belong on a list of 200 of the best singers of all-time? I don’t know. I love the music I like but I don’t put much thought into who the best singers in the history of singing are. I imagine that after the first two dozen most well-known vocalists, it gets pretty subjective after that and there are just so many good singers globally that have existed in the history of time.
In Rolling Stone’s defense, they did say that having a great voice doesn’t mean they’re a great singer. That’s a difference that they called in the third paragraph of the article:
“…keep in mind that this is the Greatest Singers list, not the Greatest Voices List. Talent is impressive; genius is transcendent. Sure, many of the people here were born with massive pipes, perfect pitch, and boundless range. Others have rougher, stranger, or more delicate instruments. As our write-up for the man who ended up at Number 112 notes, “Ozzy Osbourne doesn’t have what most people would call a good voice, but boy does he have a great one.” That could apply to more than a few people here…”
It seems that the most-outraged internet commenters didn’t read that or doesn’t understand that context.
Other supposed snubs on the list include Jennifer Hudson, Tony Bennett, Madonna and Justin Bieber. This isn’t the first time Rolling Stone published a list of the greatest singers; the magazine ranked the 100 Greatest Singers back in 2008.
The post Full List: Rolling Stone’s ‘The 200 Best Singers of All-Time’ (2023) appeared first on stuarte.