VH1 100 Greatest Artists Of All Time

Michael jackson had a huge Impact on pop  music,  no denying that.   The range of styles he influence however was and is very limited.  Queen influenced everyone from pop stars like katy perry, timberlake, lady ga ga, ect ect.  To rock like motley crew, Def Lepperd,  Extreme,  Guns and roses, and even metal bands like priest, maiden, metallica.  A much wider range music.  Of course that continues today with Muse and Dream theater.   Queen should be the top ten, along with Zep, the who, ect.

plumrach wrote: "he was a soul singer who was killed by his father"


That's not the first thing that comes to mind when I describe him to someone. Yes, his death was tragic, but surely it's not the most important thing about him? :D I would instead say that he was one of the greatest soul singers of all time, whose songs included the extraordinary 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine,' and who collaborated with such wonderful artists as the glorious Tammi Terrell (best song being 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough'). :D :D :D

mike hunt wrote: "He wasn't as great as people make him out to be. If queen wrote some of that crap he did they would get flamed. The music wasn't all that great, not all that inspired."


I think he was a genius. While he wasn't as consistent as Queen, his best songs (Billie Jean, Dangerous, Heal the World, Beat It) were arguably among the best songs of all time; not just from a vocal point of view but also from a musical and lyrical perspective.

"Nirvana was and is huge, but again doesn't mean shit. No way is nirvana on the same level as Queen or the Who. I don't care what anyone say's. They shouldn't even be in the top 50. Iron maiden blows Nirvana out of the water. Priest blow that crappy band out the water too."

I love Nirvana. They perhaps aren't as great as many people believe that they were (Kurt's death probably led to them being mythologised more than they deserved) but IMO they were absolutely among the greatest groups of all time, and I think they were very much superior to both Maiden and Priest.

mike hunt wrote:

"justin timberlake and brittany spears are huge does that mean they're better than Zeppelin and queen and the who?"

Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears are just pop stars that bring in a lot of money.  They are not even remotely comparable to MJ.  And let's not confuse "bigger" with "better," as they are two completely different things.  "Better" relates to personal taste, but "bigger" relates to influence on popular culture, which cannot be misconstrued by personal taste.

"No way is nirvana on the same level as Queen or the Who."

Ask people in their 20s who they think is bigger.  Nirvana's impact on our popular culture was far greater.  Queen and The Who were great bands, but Nirvana was at the front of a movement that spoke for a generation.  In the UK, The Who were initially part of the mod movement, but here they were just a band with a few big records.

Your mainstream musical tastes seem to cut off at some point in the 80s, which is your choice and perfectly fine.  But many big things happened after that, and in the last 20 years, Nirvana is the biggest next to Michael Jackson.  Whether or not you like them is irrelevant to their legacy and influence.

"sir"  In america you're correct nirvana had a much bigger Impact than Queen,  But worldwide it's really not that close.  Queen are the 5th biggest selling artist of all time.  Over 300 million records sold, that's more than the stones for gods sake.  you're looking at it from an only america point of view.   Queen are only behind Elvis, you're beloved michael,  Of course the beatles.  nirvana's not even close to that level worldwide.

a lot of these cats in their 20's are saying nirvana was one of the most overated bands of all time......Though as far as the movement part i can't argue.  wasn't ossis a huge movement in england?.....does that mean they were better than Zeppelin?.....of course not!......The real question is if people in their 40's and 50's still think the music is great.  most people over 30 think nirvana was overated, while Queen gets more props than they did in their heyday.

mike hunt wrote:

"you're looking at it from an only america point of view."

In this particular case, yes, because this was a US poll.  Of course Nirvana didn't cause much of a stir in Europe or anywhere else really.  So then we basically agree on this point.

"The real question is if people in their 40's and 50's still think the music is great."

No, the real question is if people of all ages think music is great.  Anyone over the age of 15 can tell if music has stood the test of time.  Whether or not they choose that style of thinking is another story.

as far as my musical interest ending somewhere in the 80's......mostly is true.  classic rock of the 70's and the 80's metal scene that i grew up with will alway's be my favorite, but the early 90's had some moments that peaked my interest. Pantera and Clutch, and some of alice and chains.   Though not really big on the top 40 in the 90's till the present i still love music as a whole.  Dr. john just released a great new album at the ripe age of 70.  Clutch still rock out and release new albums 20 years on.  Muse has some stuff I like.

On the list of best selling music artists
What does the claimed sales mean and if they have claimed sales why is it not in the certified sales and how do they work these things out anyway?

Also good to see Queen have sold more than the beatles in the UK and Led Zeppellin

freddiefan91 wrote:

[QUOTE]What does the claimed sales mean and if they have claimed sales why is it not in the certified sales and how do they work these things out anyway?[/QUOTE]

A lot of countries didn't measure their record sales back in the 60s and 70s, so all you can do is estimate.

It's often said that Madonna or Mariah Carey are the best-selling female artists of all time, but neither of them come remotely close to a Greek singer named Nana Mouskouri.  She has recorded over 100 albums, and sold well over 300 million of them.  That number is grossly underestimated because she has sold millions of records in countries that still don't keep track of record sales to this day.