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Top Musical Acts of All-Time

According to Rolling Stone Magazine, these are the 50 greatest musical acts of all time. How many can you name?
To make it easier, we give you a song - not always the most well-known
The list was made in 2010. It was already considered out-of-date back then
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: September 4, 2018
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First submittedJanuary 14, 2013
Times taken126,191
Average score42.0%
Rating3.78
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#
Song
Musical Act
1
Hey Jude
The Beatles
2
Tangled Up in Blue
Bob Dylan
3
Jailhouse Rock
Elvis Presley
4
Gimme Shelter
The Rolling Stones
5
Johnny B. Goode
Chuck Berry
6
Purple Haze
Jimi Hendrix
7
Sex Machine
James Brown
8
Tutti Frutti
Little Richard
9
Respect
Aretha Franklin
10
Hit the Road Jack
Ray Charles
11
Buffalo Soldier
Bob Marley
12
Good Vibrations
The Beach Boys
13
Peggy Sue
Buddy Holly
14
Stairway to Heaven
Led Zeppelin
15
Higher Ground
Stevie Wonder
16
You Send Me
Sam Cooke
17
Hoochie Coochie Man
Muddy Waters
18
Let's Get It On
Marvin Gaye
19
Sweet Jane
The Velvet
Underground
20
I'm A Man
Bo Diddley
21
Try a Little Tenderness
Otis Redding
22
With or Without You
U2
23
Streets of Philadelphia
Bruce Springsteen
24
Great Balls of Fire
Jerry Lee Lewis
25
Blueberry Hill
Fats Domino
#
Song
Musical Act
26
Blitzkrieg Bop
The Ramones
27
1999
Prince
28
Rock the Casbah
The Clash
29
Pinball Wizard
The Who
30
Heart-Shaped Box
Nirvana
31
Folsom Prison Blues
Johnny Cash
32
The Tracks of My Tears
Smokey Robinson
33
Wake Up Little Susie
The Everly Brothers
34
Rockin' in the Free World
Neil Young
35
Man in the Mirror
Michael Jackson
36
Vogue
Madonna
37
Oh, Pretty Woman
Roy Orbison
38
Working Class Hero
John Lennon
39
Space Oddity
David Bowie
40
Cecilia
Simon and Garfunkel
41
Riders on the Storm
The Doors
42
Moondance
Van Morrison
43
Everyday People
Sly and the Family
Stone
44
Fight the Power
Public Enemy
45
Turn! Turn! Turn!
The Byrds
46
Me and Bobby McGee
Janis Joplin
47
Because the Night
Patti Smith
48
It's Tricky
Run-DMC
49
Crocodile Rock
Elton John
50
Up on Cripple Creek
The Band
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101 Recent Comments
Comicone999
+6
Level 51
May 7, 2013
Clapton def should be on the list as should Aerosmith and pink floyd.
kenpo17
+3
Level 66
Nov 10, 2017
I can't stand Pink Floyd, and even I'm surprised they didn't make the list.
Shiloh376
+4
Level 76
Dec 26, 2013
Ridiculous list. I don't care who came up with it. Too many great, talented musicians left off, and too many everyday, fair/good musicians included. Rolling Stone should have called it Rolling Stone Top 50 in the opinion of the guy we happened to give the assignment to....today. I'm going to come up with my own top 50 and I'm sure they'll be a lot less disagreement from Jet Punkers.
kenpo17
+2
Level 66
Nov 10, 2017
Don't know about this one, but some Rolling Stone lists are determined by reader polls. Their "top 100 guitarists of all time list" basically looks like "famous guitarists from the 60's, and then guitarists from readers' favorite bands."
BB123
+1
Level 51
Oct 2, 2018
There are inevitably going to be many 1960s acts on any all-time great pop music list, just as many 19th century novels are going to make any all-time great novels list and just as many 2000s and 2010s television shows are going to make any all-time great television series list. Those periods are generally regarded as being Golden Ages in their respective fields.
kenpo17
+1
Level 66
Nov 6, 2018
No argument here, but that doesn't change the fact that Rolling Stone has a definite bias toward that decade. Probably because that's when they were at the height of their own relevance as well.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 72
Jun 12, 2019
It is the problem with any of these sort of lists "greatest... worst ... of all times" The other day I was looking for worst babynames ever given ( I was looking for a specefic one,,, you had adolf hitler, paycheck, and another one that was very bad) All I kept getting were lists with reasonably normal names. Like (cant remember them so making them up, but along the same lines) jennifar, marolynn, averly.

If you are looking for best/ worst lists, they are never gonna be satisfactory.

PabloHoney
+1
Level 44
Apr 27, 2014
18/50. Not bad, even I can't see Radiohead on this quiz.
aasl25
+7
Level 57
May 12, 2014
11/50. Where's the hell's Queen, Journey, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Sinatra, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Survivor, Rod Stewart, Whitney Houston, among others? Did Justin Bieber made this?
Shiloh376
+2
Level 76
Jun 3, 2014
The Moody Blues, Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Crosby Stills and Nash??
Jonathan
+2
Level 28
Oct 20, 2014
I really hope that list of artists is sarcasm...
mikeb
+2
Level 65
Jan 14, 2015
Skynyrd, Kinks, and to go along with Elvis, Jerry Lee, and Cash, what about Carl Perkins? Could also make a good case for the Eagles and Bill Haley.
kogatora
+2
Level 94
May 21, 2022
Eagles definitely have a place here based on sales
CaptainHumanLogic
+1
Level 40
Apr 23, 2019
Out of everybody you named, only Sinatra deserves to make the list
Shiloh376
+6
Level 76
Jun 3, 2014
Its a decent list. Just like with all these kind of lists though it is completely subjective. We;d probably all agree on at least half the list and then make our own case for the next 25. Depends on your taste in music, your age, whether you place true innovators over stellar performers, and so on.

But its fun to talk about. So to throw in my 2 cents, how does Neil Young keep showing up on these lists (especially without Crosby Stills and Nash)? Queen took harmonies to a whole new level turning them inside out, upside down, and backwards. "Dark Side of the Moon" alone gets PF on the list. Janis Joplin must be a typo. And do we really need Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Jerry lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard (all from the same genre) taking up one tenth of the whole list. Just sayin. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Madonna?

PetJunk
+1
Level 16
Jun 9, 2014
Who is Little Richard and how is he better then Led Zeppelin, Nirvana and Michael Jackson?
HighFidelity
+6
Level 58
Jun 22, 2014
Hmmm... if I hadn't heard of someone who made the Top 10, I'd probably google them.
mizu
+6
Level 59
Jun 16, 2015
without little Richie there would be no Michael Jackson.
kenpo17
+5
Level 66
Nov 6, 2018
You could make a strong argument that Little Richard is one of the creators of rock music, alongside people like Chuck Berry, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and a few others. Without Little Richard there would be no Elvis, which means there would be no... most of this list. While there is a LOT wrong with this list, Little Richard being in the top 10 is one of the few things they got right.
SgtMac
+5
Level 55
Mar 4, 2019
They all stood on his shoulders, so to speak.
Patch
+1
Level 38
Jun 20, 2014
No Joni Mitchell...?
skukka
+5
Level 59
Mar 16, 2017
I guess 3 women on the list was already pushing it...
Packerswin14
+1
Level 84
Jul 13, 2014
All of these lists are subjective, true, but this one is just too dumb to merit a quiz. Rolling Stone is probably embarrassed they ever published the list. 10 years later, Nirvana and their 3-chord lack of talent REALLY look stupid on this list. Even Bieber makes more sense than them-- and I can't stand the guy. Yes to every other comment above about who is missing.
ethanc
+5
Level 70
Jul 31, 2016
think before you type
kenpo17
+6
Level 66
Nov 6, 2018
Sure, Nirvana is a bit overrated, but to deny their influence over the last 3 decades, particularly in the 1990's, is to be wilfully blind. Bieber meanwhile is already fading from relevance, and had nothing even remotely original about him in the first place.
ruimateus
+2
Level 75
Aug 21, 2014
I'd like to know which factors did the magazine take into account. I know for example that Blondie was much more successful than The Ramones or Patti Smith. Blondie won the NME Godlike Genius Award this year. They're so good that they are still here after 40 years.
kenpo17
+1
Level 66
Oct 4, 2014
This list just goes to show how little Rolling Stone knows about music. Because their list is so terrible, this is less a list of the top 50 musical acts ever, and more just a test of how well you know waht Rolling Stone thinks of music.
Jerry928
+4
Level 76
Oct 19, 2014
Of all time? Their clock seems to have stopped at 1950.
webkinztoco123
+1
Level 37
Nov 6, 2014
John Lennon must be best ever. He's essentially on the list twice.
HighFidelity
+2
Level 58
Dec 13, 2014
*sigh* I think my best was 49/50, and was keen to get 100%- then you went and added hints!
Arp2600
+2
Level 87
Jan 14, 2015
The greatest bands of all time according to your american friend's granddad :p.
ander217
+1
Level 74
Jan 14, 2015
I'm an American grandma, and I can agree with your statement since I tend to pretty much agree with this list, although there were three or four on here I'd never heard of. Rolling Stone has changed through the years. I remember in the 1970s it totally dismissed Led Zeppelin, but I see it's on their list of greats today. You probably had to live through the 60s to understand what it meant to many of us back then. Most of us didn't have access to the underground papers from the day, (and many of us weren't even allowed to buy Rolling Stone at the time,) but it was available and most of us knew a friend of a friend who could pick up issues and pass them around to us at school and make us feel at least part of the hippie culture. Those were different times.
Arp2600
+1
Level 87
Jan 14, 2015
I was just joking, paraphrasing the front page catch phrase, which says "according to your father", which may not be true for anyone outside the US and under 25 (I'm actually 33). Sorry if it may have seem disrespectful. Anyway, I consider myself as a rock music fan but find much more satisfaction in the 70s and 80s european music, and the american bands I love (Blue Öyster Cult, Talking Heads, Pixies, Pearl Jam for example) are obviously not on RS's list, because they are a bit narrow-minded. The only ones I really like on this list are Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and... Madonna ;).
What
+2
Level 27
Jan 14, 2015
Thank god that there are other magazines with a better taste.
mishmosh
+2
Level 46
Jan 14, 2015
The Rolling Stone editors famously despise progressive or art rock, and revere the traditional oldies. Not surprising that Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Sam Cooke and Fats Domino are in their top 25. They took their bias to the point of absurdity by omitting Pink Floyd. Wasn't DSOTM the top selling album of all time?
kenpo17
+2
Level 66
Nov 6, 2018
I hate Pink Floyd and even I agree with this comment. To deny their influence is absurd.
kenpo17
+1
Level 66
Feb 14, 2019
According to Wikipedia, Dark Side of the Moon is the 4th highest-selling of all time, behind Michael Jackson's Thriller, The Eagles' Greatest Hits, and AC/DC's Back in Black. On the other hand, Mentalfloss has a VERY different list, and they seem to think that DSOTM isn't even Pink Floyd's best-selling album, listing The Wall ahead of it.
Jonathan
+2
Level 28
Jan 15, 2015
loving the outraged Pink Floyd fans on here
kenpo17
+3
Level 66
Apr 8, 2019
I mean, they've got a point. I hate Pink Floyd and even I think they should be on this list.
caribdevist
+1
Level 61
Jan 17, 2015
42%. My first reaction was to be ashamed, but when I saw the ones I missed, I really didn't care. I can live with this.
mizu
+1
Level 59
Jun 16, 2015
Though a solid progressive rock band and rather ingenious Pink Floyd are not one of the best musical acts of all time.

There studio albums were brilliant in there own way, but they were not the most influential of there time or even now.

Moreover they were not a great live band and were somewhat narrowly focused in terms of genre, while they pushed the boundries of progressive rock, they never looked beyond that.

Much like groups such as rundmc, black Sabbath, the offspring, duran duran. Floyd were a great band but just not one of the best of all time.

Of course some people will disagree, I really cant put Floyd along side the Beatles, Elton John, The Rev James Brown or the King

ferdy86
+2
Level 77
Jul 7, 2015
Can't accept Lou Reed for Velvet Underground? I mean, he was Velvet Underground.
Shiloh376
+3
Level 76
Dec 21, 2015
Apparently Rolling Stone is stuck somewhere in time with the Beatniks and Hippies. And I grew up in that era. "Top Acts Of All Time"?? What happened to the last 30 years?
bubbabubba23
+4
Level 56
Feb 26, 2016
First tried the Smiths. Since it's not there, the list is worthless
KingofQuiz
+5
Level 56
Aug 3, 2016
I'm offended that no one else is offended that Billy Joel isn't on here.
CosaNostra
+2
Level 28
Sep 16, 2016
I'm surprised about who's not on here...
DonTheLamplighter
+2
Level 85
Sep 20, 2016
Well at least the Beatles top the list.
Punewolf
+2
Level 68
Dec 27, 2016
I thought the eagles had the biggest selling album of all time
kenpo17
+1
Level 66
Feb 14, 2019
Depends on which source you believe. I most commonly see Michael Jackson's Thriller listed as the best-selling album of all time (and I believe it to be true) with Eagles at #2. But some lists do claim that they're #1.
Timtam
+1
Level 70
May 30, 2022
By that logic, Avatar, or rather now Avengers Endgame is the greatest film of all time 🤷
bakainu
+2
Level 68
Apr 11, 2017
I can't believe they didn't name [my favourite band]! Clearly it's a farce of a sham.
Timtam
+1
Level 70
May 30, 2022
Yeah, honestly where the f is Pylon smh
FNSpiderMan
+3
Level 74
May 2, 2017
This list is kind of trash, both in order and inclusion.
smartynuts
+2
Level 35
May 9, 2017
For "Good Vibrations" you should also accept Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch (clearly as influential as the Beach Boys)
Merchue
+1
Level 27
Jun 20, 2017
I totally agree with this
Merchue
+4
Level 27
Jun 20, 2017
Sad that Public Enemy and Run-DMC are the only rap groups
LVSAS
+4
Level 43
Sep 19, 2017
The fact that Queen and Pink Floyd aren't on this list is a disgrace. Freddie Mercury is hands down the greatest singer of all time and they have probably the two most widely played songs around the world; We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions. And the Floyd is there too along with the Stones, Beatles, Zeppelin and Bowie. Good grief!
JonnorVanGriving
+2
Level 80
Nov 6, 2017
I believe that No. 31 should be Folsom Prison Blues, not Folsom Brison Blues...
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Nov 7, 2017
Fixed
Malbaby
+2
Level 70
Dec 9, 2017
AC-DC were a great act, great entertainment and I'm an old fuddy-duddy.
drLuigi
+1
Level 45
Dec 9, 2017
Got half of the from these lyrics

http://www.metrolyrics.com/hail-hail-rock-n-roll-lyrics-garland-jeffreys.html

Archer1212
+2
Level 63
Feb 14, 2018
it's astonishing that this list was compiled by Rolling Stone... no Kinks? Pink Floyd? Clapton? Jeff Beck? Beastie Boys? Wu-Tang? Biggie? 2pac? Radiohead? Massive Attack? Black Sabbath? Metallica? The Stooges? unreal.
undeadwarrior
+2
Level 64
Apr 5, 2018
Ridiculous list - it may be a "prestigious" music magazine, but it is their OPINIONS nonetheless. There is no basis in fact for this list: it's all to do with musical taste.
Jorissie
+1
Level 91
May 9, 2018
Fun quiz but could be better if you picked the most popular song for every artist
Margles1
+3
Level 41
May 19, 2018
Journey? Rush? Foreigner?
Margles1
+2
Level 41
May 19, 2018
Also Pat Benatar!!
kenpo17
+1
Level 66
Nov 6, 2018
I'd nominate the Runaways as well. They didn't stick around long, but they were pretty influential and launched the solo careers of both Joan Jett and Lita Ford.
sg1rob
+2
Level 79
Jun 6, 2018
I heard Pink Floyd did not make the list.
beowolf
+4
Level 36
Jul 18, 2018
No Pink Floyd, Queen, Clapton, Deep Purple, AC/DC, ZZ Top, ELO. ELP, Diana Ross, Donna Summer ??????????? How come Bo Diddley made the list but B B King and Buddy Guy didn't. and as much as I love "Because the Night" what else did Patti Smith do that put her before the aforementioned.

The Band, Run DMC Public Enemy, Sly and the Family Stone was this list complied by Trump

MungoJerry
+1
Level 59
Feb 24, 2019
the band 100 percent deserves to be on this list, dont trip
gatorsong
+1
Level 72
Oct 16, 2018
Maybe pick a different song for Bo Diddley. I was stumped because all I could think of was the Spencer Davis Group song by the same name.
Atkinson
+1
Level 64
Nov 29, 2018
I can't believe there's no Falco. It's as if "Rock Me Amadeus" had never happened. This list is BOGUS!
MisterFahrenheit
+1
Level 18
Jan 4, 2019
I'm surprised Queen isn't on here.
RC1
+1
Level 70
Feb 14, 2019
also ACDC, one of the highest selling acts in history. Just shows what elitist garbage Rolling Stone is.
gxf8200
+1
Level 44
Mar 7, 2019
If there's any comment to be made on how broken this list is, it's that several artists were only around for a few years. Hendrix was a great musician, but he had literally three albums. Lou Reed as a solo artist had a profound career, but The Velvet Underground had five albums, and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who could name one song off of them. The list heavily leans toward artists that died young or bands considered cool or innovative in a very dad-rock perspective, which means that some of the actual innovative artists are excluded from the list.

I'm especially tired of seeing Nirvana on these lists. They had three albums, and completely stole their shtick from Pixies.

overtired
+1
Level 85
Apr 24, 2019
I thought Higher Ground was the Red Hot Chili Peppers for a second and was wondering what on Earth they were doing at number 15...
NCGators
+4
Level 56
Apr 25, 2019
I couldn't place Sex Machine for the life of me ... Word to the wise ... DON'T Google it
MungoJerry
+1
Level 59
Feb 16, 2020
haha
Sifhraven
+1
Level 72
Jun 12, 2019
Man I sucked on this one... only got 16 !! Seeing the answers there were only 6 that didnt mean anything to me..(all of which were amongst lowest guessed ones)

I did get the low scorers public enemy and everly brothers.

Tomtrific
+1
Level 82
Sep 29, 2019
I'm not a big Eagles fan, but I'd put them on the list before a lot of the others. And apparently Rolling Stone didn't know music existed before rock and roll. I didn't see Sinatra or Crosby on the list. But they do put their token country singer (Johnny Cash) on the list, just to show how cool and well-informed they are. Rolling Stone is a joke.
mpepperdine
+1
Level 76
Apr 7, 2020
No Queen? The guys at Rolling Stone are clueless.
pinkysbrain
+4
Level 84
Apr 10, 2020
just 3 words / creedence Clearwater revival.
lavernesue
+1
Level 79
Nov 27, 2020
Thank you. Surprised that no one else had mentioned them until you.
fizzcroak
+2
Level 28
Aug 22, 2020
i stopped caring once I realised Nina Simone and Queen weren't on the list aha
DietWater
+1
Level 38
Sep 21, 2020
@Crimsoniakc you must like that modern rock crap if it wasnt for the "outdated rockandrollers" was step the how the new ones made their sound so stop complaining
Feysand
+2
Level 35
Feb 17, 2021
WHERE IS QUEEEEEEN?????!!!!!!! I GAVE UP AS SOON AS THAT DIDN'T WORK!!!!
TheCaptain
+1
Level 62
Oct 25, 2021
Patti Smith over Queen, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Guns N' Roses?
FattyCarbuncle
+1
Level 69
Feb 19, 2022
this is a rolling stone magazine list.... hence many oversights yet the DOUBLE INCLUSION of john lennon with and without the beatles. if anyone is unaware Jan Wenner (publisher of rolling stone) generally hates the entire genres of metal, punk, prog rock, etc. he also dosen;t care about most music before 1950. and only will give token endorsements of most music post-1975.... unless it sounds like classic era rock. on the other hand he personally worships lennon and the beatles to the point that he probably wakes up with the taste of lennon in his mouth. this whole list should be taken as indicative of nothing but the personal tastes of Jan Wenner
Bletsch
+1
Level 69
Feb 22, 2022
Grateful dead????
jamaltepec
+1
Level 66
Aug 5, 2022
haven't read the other comments yet, but i don't see eric clapton on the list how is that possible
AJFSPPRDRTYTS
+1
Level 36
Dec 21, 2022
Where the !@#$ is Queen?
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 71
Jul 20, 2023
Lol this is such a bad list, not even that it's out of date but you can think of at least 25 or 30 that aren't on here that should be, eg. Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, Queen, Blondie, Clapton, AC/DC, Miles Davis, etc.
AJFSPPRDRTYTS
+1
Level 36
Feb 23, 2024
Rolling Stone has a bias against Billy Joel.
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 71
Jul 20, 2023
25/50
angelacara
+1
Level 75
Jul 25, 2023
The fact that Nirvana is the newest band on this list just shows how terrible popular music has become in the past 30 years.
jack541
+2
Level 65
Feb 7, 2024
run dmc but no pink floyd looooooooooooooooool
AJFSPPRDRTYTS
+1
Level 36
Feb 23, 2024
I know top fifty is very limited, but if you can't fit in Queen, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, Eric Clapton and the Kinks then you don't have a very good list.

As far as supergroups go, The Band over Cream is laughable.

KainenManas
+1
Level 96
Apr 15, 2024
For real! Also so English-speaking centric - I consider some classical composers pretty astounding as well, especially for the impact in their times. Fun quiz but definitely subjective.
NotaRealPerson
+1
Level 55
Jul 13, 2024
No Metal bands at all?
Fergy586
+1
Level 78
Oct 30, 2024
Glad others have recognized how ridiculous the exclusion of Pink Floyd is
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 71
Jan 16, 2025
Otis Redding underrated
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