My 100 All-Time Favorite Artists of Popular Music - 2020 Edition

Theoretically I should've published this back in July; it's not like I didn't have the time.

It's the latest iteration of a list I first created in 2005 and updated in 2010 and 2015--in July or early August.

I can't really cite good justification for having skipped it until now, but in being not only a fan of recorded music but also--typically rather prolifically--live concerts, there is a certain wistfulness, perhaps even ruefulness, in citing so many great artists whose tour plans have been shelved until who knows when (if they're even still with us.)

I expect absolutely no one to agree with this list, and not just because I've never fully agreed with ANY list (that's really not the point of list making).

But this is MY list. Of MY favorites.

I'm not saying these are the best, or should be your favorites. And quite knowingly, with a foremost affinity for guitar-driven rock, this doesn't cover a vast idiomatic range even within the constructs of "popular music."

I certainly like, would've considered eligible and may have included some acts representing blues, country, folk, soul, R&B, pure pop, Motown, disco, rap, hip hop, funk and other popular musical styles. (And jazz, classical, opera and very much so Broadway, though it's beyond the purview here.)

So my choices--and rankings--come with no insistence or preaching, but also no apologies. Keep in mind, too, that while I did take the sequencing seriously, in some ways it's kind of arbitrary and could easily change day to day, if not year to year.

Some who look at the past lists will see that R.E.M.--while still in the Top 10--has slid somewhat, but I really can't say I like them any less than before. But perhaps their retirement has prompted me just feel like I like other legends a bit more. 

Perhaps, sadly, death helps as well, as David Bowie made my Top 10 for the first time and Prince jumped from #84 in 2015 to #36 now. 

But great concerts also factor in, and helps explain why Depeche Mode has jumped nearly 50 spots.

As in 2015, I've generally opted to include solo acts who derived from major bands as part of the band's entry, whether in auxiliary (e.g. The Beatles + the members' solo careers) or joint (Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne) fashion. But where this really didn't make sense (Nirvana and Foo Fighters), I listed them separately. 

It certainly isn't perfect, but especially in this crazy year, just go with it.

My 100 All-Time Favorite Artists of Popular Music - 2020

1. Bruce Springsteen
2. The Beatles (+ solo, Wings)
3. Led Zeppelin (+ Robert Plant)
4. Nirvana
5. The Rolling Stones
6. The Who
7. U2
8. David Bowie
9. R.E.M.
10. The Kinks (+ Ray Davies) 

11. Pearl Jam 

12. The Jam (+ Paul Weller) 

13. The Smashing Pumpkins (+ Zwan, Billy Corgan) 

14. Midnight Oil 

15. AC/DC 

16. The Clash 

17. The Replacements (+ Paul Westerberg) 

18. The Ramones 

19. Jimi Hendrix 

20. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers 

 

21. Cheap Trick 

22. Neil Young (+ CSNY, Buffalo Springfield) 

23. Rush 

24. Queen 

25. Van Halen 

26. Depeche Mode 

27. Bob Seger 

28. Elvis Costello 

29. Bob Dylan 

30. Arcade Fire

31. Hüsker Dü/Bob Mould/Sugar 

32. Soundgarden 

33. Blur 

34. Radiohead 

35. Dinosaur Jr. 

36. Prince 

37. Talking Heads (+ David Byrne) 

38. Pink Floyd 

39. Guns 'N Roses 

40. Green Day 

 

41. Foo Fighters 

42. Elton John 

43. Steely Dan 

44. Warren Zevon 

45. The Killers

46. Stevie Wonder 

47. The Wildhearts 

48. Stereophonics 

49. The Police 

50. Aerosmith 

 

51. Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne 

52. Creedence Clearwater Revival (+ John Fogerty) 

53. Johnny Cash 

54. Simon & Garfunkel (+ Paul Simon) 

55. Eric Clapton/Cream/Derek & the Dominoes/Yardbirds 

56. Fleetwood Mac 

57. Willie Nile 

58. The Waterboys 

59. Peter Gabriel/(early) Genesis 

60. Billy Joel 

 

61. John Mellencamp 

62. The Zombies 

63. The Cure 

64. Maxïmo Park 

65. Garbage 

66. Buddy Guy 

67. Electric Light Orchestra 

68. Jackson Browne 

69. Metallica 

70. Wilco 

 

71. Van Morrison (+ Them) 

72. Bob Marley 

73. System of a Down 

74. Smoking Popes 

75. Blondie 

76. Liz Phair 

77. Elvis Presley 

78. The Cars 

79. The Doors 

80. Beach Boys 

 

81. Santana 

82. Stevie Ray Vaughan 

83. The Byrds 

84. Stone Temple Pilots 

85. Bee Gees 

86. Leonard Cohen 

87. White Stripes/Jack White 

88. The Pretenders 

89. Coldplay 

90. Buddy Holly 

 

91. Manic Street Preachers 

92. The Supremes/Diana Ross 

93. Nine Inch Nails 

94. Velvet Underground/Lou Reed 

95. Sex Pistols 

96. Aretha Franklin 

97. Smokey Robinson/The Miracles 

98. Ash 

99. Alejandro Escovedo 

100. Dire Straits

The Next 30

Material Issue 

Boston 

Chuck Berry 

Red Hot Chili Peppers 

Taylor Swift 

Beck 

The Flaming Lips 

Rod Stewart/The Faces/Jeff Beck Group 

Love 

Kiss 

BoDeans 

Social Distortion 

Eagles 

Def Leppard 

Sly & the Family Stone 

ZZ Top 

Pulp 

Weezer 

Adele 

The Monkees 

Alice Cooper 

The Struts 

The Pixies 

Supertramp 

Oasis 

The Tragically Hip 

Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry 

Rage Against the Machine (+ Tom Morello) 

Graham Parker 

The Bangles