Top 40 Classic Rock Vocalists

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

So 'The Legends of Classic Rock', a syndicated Canadian radio show, held a poll on their website asking people to vote for the top 40 vocalists in classic rock history. They're been unveiling the list ten at a time, here's what we've got going into the final 10, band affiliations added by me:

40) Phil Collins (Genesis/solo)

39) Alice Cooper (Alice Cooper)

38) Axl Rose (Guns 'n' Roses)

37) Ann Wilson (Heart)

36) Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)

35) Meat Loaf (solo)

34) Brad Delp (Boston)

33) Ronnie James Dio (Black Sabbath/Rainbow/Dio)

32) Van Morrison (solo)

31) Peter Gabriel (Genesis/solo)

30) Rod Stewart (solo)

29) John Fogerty (CCR)

28) Rob Halford (Judas Priest)

27) Jon Anderson (Yes)

26) Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath/solo)

25) Paul Rodgers (Bad Company/Queen + Paul Rodgers/solo)

24) Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac/solo)

23) Bob Seger (solo)

22) Steve Perry (Journey)

21) Bruce Springsteen (solo)

20) Jon Bon Jovi (Bon Jovi)

19) Eric Clapton (Yardbirds/Cream/Derek and the Dominoes/solo)

18) Bon Scott (AC/DC)

17) Steven Tyler (Aerosmith)

16) Janis Joplin (solo)

15) David Bowie (solo)

14) Ian Gillan (Deep Purple)

13) Geddy Lee (Rush)

12) Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones)

11) Burton Cummings (The Guess Who/solo)

I'm quite surprised by a lot of this list...nice to see Burton so high up, but I realize that if this wasn't a Canadian list, he probably wouldn't have made it at all (and realistically should be a lot lower)...likewise, I thought Geddy would be higher, probably even top 5...Springsteen, Fogerty, and Phil Collins should also be quite a bit higher IMO, whiole I could do without Gabriel and Dio...

Here's my guess at the top 10...

10) Dennis De Young (Styx)

9) Don Henley (The Eagles/solo)

8) Neil Young (Buffalo Springfield/CSNY/solo)

7) Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)

6) Sting (The Police/solo)

5) Jim Morrison (The Doors)

4) Roger Hodgson (Supertramp)

3) Roger Daltrey (The Who)

2) Freddie Mercury (Queen)

1) David Lee Roth (Van Halen)

Obviously Roth's more of a personal choice, I'm sure Mercury will end up with the win...so yeah, to get discussion going, what do the rest of you think of this list? Fairly accurate? Should there be some Beatles? Who's missing? Who's overrated?

[apsham]

You know, as far as lists go... that's actually one that I find quite agreeable.

[Farmer Reil]

Bruce at #36 and Meatloaf at #35, in a list that includes Clapton, Bowie, Stevie Nicks and Mick fucking Jagger in the 20's or higher, is a bit fucking shocking...

[Number of the Breast]

You missed out Ozzy. No way in hell should be higher than Bruce or Meat Loaf.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

To be fair, neither Maiden nor Meatloaf really fit the playlists of the stations that broadcast the show (and by proxy the people who voted for the list).

[Farmer Reil]

AHAHAHAHA, I JUST SAW VAN MORRISON AT #32.

Who booked this crap?

[Number of the Breast]

I'm guessing that explains why Dio's so low and why there's no David Coverdale as well >_>

[Pesci]

I would expect Plant and Mercury to be in the top five somewhere, possibly even the top three, but then again I don't know of this radio station and never listen to it, so if they're basing it off of the stuff they play, I have no idea.

[Vendetta]

What about Brian Johnson from AC/DC His voice bascialy made that band. Bon Scott was good, but Johnson just sounds better IMO.

[thuganomic]

Where is Sebastian Bach? >_>

[Thatz]

Wow, there's no Harrison, McCartney, or Lennon on the list? I can understand why people wouldn't like their music, but it's near impossible to deny that those three couldn't sing. I'm not saying that they should've won, but seriously, at least one of them should be in the Top 40.

Of course, the people who made the list might just be idiots, and they could classify the Beatles as "oldies" rather than "classic rock" for some reason...

Edited June 4, 2007 by Thatz

[GoGo Yubari]

Mm, well, of the three I would only really rate McCartney in a top forty. Lennon and Harrison made much better music, but McCartney had the best voice by a mile. But yeah, I certainly think his omission was unfortunate as "Helter Skelter" and "Golden Slumbers" really should prove that he's an incredibly good vocalist.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

There's a chance he's in the top ten, of course, but I don't see it happening. Too bad since the three I voted for were him, Mercury and Roth.

[Nerf]

What about Brian Johnson from AC/DC His voice bascialy made that band. Bon Scott was good, but Johnson just sounds better IMO.

[JStarr]

Just on vocal power, I'd have had Brad Delp around 25 or so and Steve Perry borderline Top 10. I love Perry's voice, and Delp just hit some ungodly notes on a lot of Boston's best stuff. Ann Wilson, likewise, should be much higher, as should Mr. Loaf. Don't know if I'd rate Brian Johnson above Bon, but he should be on this list somewhere. And there really aren't many on this list that I'd say have no business being on it, although like Potato Head, I could do without Dio.

Far as the top 10, for some reason, I'm expecting David Crosby before I expect Neil Young. Not sure why, especially considering it's a Canadian show.

[Bigal]

What about Brian Johnson from AC/DC His voice bascialy made that band. Bon Scott was good, but Johnson just sounds better IMO.

Get out.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

10) Elton John

9) David Gilmour

8) Roger Waters

7) Jim Morrison

6) Paul McCartney

5) John Lennon

4) Bono

3) Roger Daltrey

2) Robert Plant

1) Freddie Mercury

Uh...I was way off. I can see no Young (range seems to have been valued over soul), no DeYoung (people ashamed to vote for Styx), no Henley...but Sting, DLR, and Hodgson not being anywhere in the top 40 is a fucking crime, as is putting Waters above Gilmour and Lennon above McCartney.

[GoGo Yubari]

Lennon above McCartney is ridiculous, and I say that as someone who thinks that Lennon had ten times the talent that McCartney did. Say what you will about his solo work, but Sir Paul is an amazing singer. And fucking Bono above either? All sorts of lame.