Billboard just released its Top 125 GOAT list; We sliced and diced it for you…

(November 22, 2019).  Last week, in a release that flew under most folks’ radars, Billboard magazine unleashed its 125 Greatest Of All Time artists ranking, to commemorate the trade publication’s 125th anniversary.

Except for a story in USA Today commemorating Mariah Carey’s placement on the list as the top female, the GOAT chart received very little fanfare outside of Billboard’s own website.

It is an interesting list though – if not also surprising in a number of ways – and it is worthy of further exploration, which this blog is always happy to do, of course. 

It’s hard to believe Billboard (or ‘The Billboard’ as it was called way back then) has been around since 1894, but it’s true.  

With what began as a publication for theatre, carnivals, novelties and other forms of late 19th-century entertainment, Billboard started charting popular music in the early 20th century and by 1940 had published its first “pop” singles chart.

It would be another 18 years before the marquee singles chart we know today, The Hot 100, was inaugurated (August 1958).

Similarly, the magazine’s top albums chart began in 1956 as a ten-position list before it grew to 200 slots in May 1967, where it’s been ever since.

It is those two charts – the Hot 100 singles and Billboard 200 albums – that inform the Top 125 artists list Billboard released last week, and it is that list that DJROBBLOG dissects for readers here.

While the artists who make up the bulk of the list are not surprising, the order of some of them are.  

For example, who would have expected the Rolling Stones to be one step from No. 1 (behind only the Beatles), or that three British acts – the Beatles, Stones and Elton John – would rule this American all-time recap. 

Does the fact that Madonna – the queen of Pop – ranked behind Mariah Carey surprise you?  What about the fact that the top three American acts are all women, and that all of the above placed higher than Michael Jackson?  Or that Taylor Swift is already in the top ten – at the ripe old age of 29!

Taylor Swift isn’t the only millennial on this list – there are at least a dozen – and they represent their generation pretty well, too.

There are nine rap acts and eight country stars on the list, to go along with the multitude of rock, pop and R&B artists – so it’s pretty eclectic genre-wise.  The country breakdown doesn’t include acts who started as country but ended up pop (like Taylor or Olivia Newton-John), or who  briefly delved into country (Ray Charles, Lionel Richie).

But there’s no point in continuing to build it up, check the list out for yourself, along with the various slices and dices that DJROBBLOG put together for you below.  Then be sure to provide your opinions in the comment section at the end of the article (or on one of our social media pages).

Here are the Top 50 artists overall on the list:

You can access the full list of 125 here. 

Here are the top 25 male solo artists (with overall rank in parentheses):

Here are the top 25 female solo artists:

Here are the top duos/groups:

Here are the top British acts (*denotes mixed-nationality bands):

Here are the top American acts:

Here are the top Canadian acts:

Here are the top R&B acts (defined here as non-rap acts who had significant success on Billboard’s R&B/soul charts over the years):

*note: the above list is based on pop crossover success.  The order would be substantially different if it were based on their R&B and soul chart success.  

Here are the top country acts (not counting acts who started as country but ended up pop, or who briefly delved into country):

Here are the top hip-hop acts (those who primarily rap):

Here are the top post-2000 acts (i.e., those whose first chart entry was on or after January 1, 2000):

So there you have it.  Were you as surprised at some of the rankings as I was? Or did you expect to see an artist or two that didn’t make it?

Again, feel free to comment below or on any of our social media feeds and give your opinions.  

And Happy 125th anniversary to Billboard!

DJRob

DJRob is a freelance blogger who covers R&B, hip-hop, pop and rock genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff!  You can follow him on Twitter @djrobblog.

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