We’ve all argued with our friends about who is the greatest musician. It’s practically a national pastime. Well, you can lay those arguments to rest. The good people over at YouGov.com have put together this list of the most popular music artists of all time, and despite how seemingly impossible the task, their methodology is pretty compelling.
They took a demographically representative sample of the U.S. and then measured positive, negative and neutral opinions for each person on the list (as well as those who never heard of the artist in question). Their sample of raters is constantly growing so this list gets updated regularly – this list is generated from the week of June 11, 2018. So before you start yelling about how much you disagree, keep in mind that your picks could be on top next time.
There are a total of 1,053 musicians on YouGov’s list, but we looked at just the top 99. So grab your friends, gather ’round the screen, and feel free to cheer and groan as your most and least favorite musicians come up.
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99. Guns N’ Roses
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98. The Monkees
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97. Patsy Cline
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96. The Commodores
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95. Fats Domino
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94. Pink
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93. Ringo Starr
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92. Donna Summer
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91. Garth Brooks
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90. The Carpenters
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89. Paul Simon
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88. Bob Dylan
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87. Van Halen
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86. Barry White
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85. The Blues Brothers
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84. Jennifer Lopez
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83. Ella Fitzgerald
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82. Mick Jagger
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81. Red Hot Chili Peppers
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80. Chicago
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79. Gladys Knight and the Pips
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78. Faith Hill
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77. Rod Stewart
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76. Dean Martin
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75. Bing Crosby
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74. Simon & Garfunkel
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73. Bruno Mars
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72. Kelly Clarkson
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71. The Who
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70. Stevie Nicks
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69. Justin Timberlake
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68. Sting
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67. Bruce Springsteen
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66. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
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65. The Doors
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64. Shania Twain
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63. Cyndi Lauper
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62. Natalie Cole
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61. Otis Redding
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60. Pink Floyd
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59. Smokey Robinson and The Miracles
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58. Kenny Rogers
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57. Sammy Davis, Jr.
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56. Neil Diamond
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55. Creedence Clearwater Revival
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54. Tom Petty
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53. Alicia Keys
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52. Celine Dion
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51. The Jackson 5
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50. Buddy Holly
You’re halfway through. Are friendships in peril? If so, feel free to take a detour and read “27 summer food myths you can stop believing right now.” No one every argued about food.
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49. Chuck Berry
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48. Bee Gees
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47. Carrie Underwood
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46. Led Zeppelin
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45. Journey
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44. James Brown
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43. David Bowie
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42. Carlos Santana
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41. Reba McEntire
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40. Phil Collins
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39. Earth, Wind & Fire
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38. Jon Bon Jovi
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37. Bon Jovi
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36. Bob Marley
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35. Santana
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34. Billy Joel
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33. Michael Jackson
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32. Diana Ross
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31. Jimi Hendrix
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30. Lionel Richie
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29. Queen
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28. Eric Clapton
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27. B.B. King
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26. Adele
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25. Fleetwood Mac
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24. Whitney Houston
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23. Willie Nelson
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22. Aerosmith
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21. John Lennon
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20. Marvin Gaye
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19. Prince
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18. The Supremes
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17. Eagles
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16. The Beach Boys
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15. Nat King Cole
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14. Elton John
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13. Tina Turner
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12. Aretha Franklin
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11. Paul McCartney
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10. Louis Armstrong
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9. The Rolling Stones
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8. Frank Sinatra
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7. The Temptations
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6. Dolly Parton
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5. Stevie Wonder
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4. Elvis Presley
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3. Ray Charles
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2. Johnny Cash
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1. The Beatles
Check out the rest of the entries on the list as well as the ratings for each artist on YouGov.
If you’re ready for a new debate, read our story about “How to grill the perfect steak.” It’s undeniably the right way… unless, of course, you disagree. In that case it’s obviously wrong.
This article was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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