Grunge is alive and well on Rolling Stone‘s newly updated 200 Best Singers of All Time list.
The ranking features late Nirvana and Soundgarden frontmen Kurt Cobain and Chris Cornell at #36 and #80, respectively, as well as Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder at #105.
The list also ranges from hard rock and metal — Led Zeppelin‘s Robert Plant at #63, Ozzy Osbourne at #112, Judas Priest‘s Rob Halford at #129, Guns N’ Roses‘ Axl Rose at #134 and Ronnie James Dio at #165 — to classic and modern alternative — Radiohead‘s Thom Yorke at #34, Kate Bush at #60, Fiona Apple at #111, Florence + the Machine‘s Florence Welch at #128, Hole‘s Courtney Love at #130, U2‘s Bono at #140, R.E.M.‘s Michael Stipe at #152, The Cure‘s Robert Smith at #157, Yeah Yeah Yeahs‘ Karen O at #184 and Billie Eilish at #198.
“Keep in mind that this is the Greatest Singers list, not the Greatest Voices List,” Rolling Stone cautions. “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 … In all cases, what mattered most to us was originality, influence, the depth of an artist’s catalog, and the breadth of their musical legacy.”
The #1 singer on Rolling Stone‘s ranking is Aretha Franklin.
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