Top 40 Psychedelic Rock Acts

Psychedelic Rock: Top 40 Acts

Psychedelic rock emerged in the mid-‘60s as music inspired, influenced, or representative of the experience of taking hallucinogenic drugs, most notably LSD. The Summer of Love in 1967 and the Woodstock Festival in 1969 were major cultural events which have been tied to the psychedelic rock movement. This list was created by aggegating 13 lists focused on the best psychedelic rock acts of all time. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre. Pink Floyd 1. Pink Floyd 2. Jimi Hendrix 3. The Doors 4. Grateful Dead 5. Cream 6. Jefferson Airplane 7. Tame Impala 8. The 13th Floor Elevators 9. The Beatles 10. The Byrds 11. Love 12. the Yardbirds 13. Iron Butterfly 14. The Rolling Stones 15. Hawkwind 16. Quicksilver Messenger Service 17. Strawberry Alarm Clock 18. The Velvet Underground 19. The Moody Blues 20. Frank Zappa 21. T-Rex 22. Syd Barrett 23. Captain Beefheart 24. Steppenwolf 25. The Zombies 26. The Brian Jonestown Massacre 27. Spirit 28. Moby Grape 29. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard 30. The Seeds 31. The Who 32. Janis Joplin /Big Brother & the Holding Company 33. The Animals 34. Traffic 35. The Hollies 36. Procol Harum 37. The Flaming Lips 38. Can 39. Status Quo 40. The Small Faces Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Top 50 Psychedelic Rock Albums Dave’s Music Database: Top 100 Psychedelic Rock Songs Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre First posted 7/3/2026.

Top 30 Progressive Rock Acts

Progressive Rock: Top 30 Acts

Progressive rock is one of the most beloved and ridiculed of rock music’s sub genres. As a hilarious piece at Cracked.com says, it is “categorized by a sacking of traditional song structure, complex rhythms, odd time signatures,” and insane song lengths betraying the creators’ lack of awareness of when to stop a song. The players tend to be average singers and extremely skilled musicians, often working with wacky instruments. As the piece amusingly states, it is “the only rock genre in which the term ‘flute solo’ has any meaning.” Also prevalent are a propensity toward concept albums built on half-baked themes and philosophy. There tends to be plenty of drug inspiration and “a sense of inherent superiority over other rock genres.” All kidding aside, it is a difficult genre to absorb. The stereotypes detailed at Cracked.com lean toward the truth more often than not, but prog rock is largely defined by not being definable. It is an experimental form which doesn’t play by the rules. 16 lists focused on progressive rock acts were aggregated to create this list. The top 15 were determined by which acts appeared on the most lists. The next fifteen were determined by looking at all acts reaching 4 to 9 lists and then ordering them by overall status in Dave’s Music Database. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre. Pink Floyd 1. Pink Floyd 2. Yes 3. Rush 4. Genesis 5. Jethro Tull 6. Emerson, Lake & Palmer 7. King Crimson 8. Tool 9. The Moody Blues 10. Porcupine Tree 11. Gentle Giant 12. The Alan Parsons Project 13. Kansas 14. Dream Theater 15. The Mars Volta 16. Styx 17. Supertramp 18. Asia 19. Electric Light Orchestra 20. Marillion 21. Frank Zappa 22. Queensrÿche 23. Procol Harum 24. Can 25. Mike Oldfield 26. Manfred Mann 27. Hawkwind 28. Soft Machine 29. Opeth 30. Tangerine Dream Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Top 50 Progressive Rock Albums Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre First posted 7/3/2026.

Top 50 New Wave Acts

New Wave: Top 50 Acts

New wave was a genre of music which emerged in the late ‘70s in the United States and United Kingdom. It grew out of punk rock, a more guitar-based and aggressive sound, but became more commercial with its more smoothed-out synthesizer-driven and danceable sound as well as colorful, trendy wardrobe. This list was created by aggregating 15 best-of lists focused on new wave acts. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre. Talking Heads 1. Talking Heads 2. Blondie 3. The Cure 4. Depeche Mode 5. The Cars 6. The B-52’s 7. Devo 8. The Police 9. New Order 10. Duran Duran 11. Tears for Fears 12. Elvis Costello 13. INXS 14. Culture Club 15. Echo & the Bunnymen 16. Psychedelic Furs 17. Eurythmics 18. Siouxsie & the Banshees 19. The Human League 20. ABC 21. Simple Minds 22. Pretenders 23. Joy Division 24. Aha 25. XTC 26. Adam Ant 27. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark 28. A Flock of Seagulls 29. Erasure 30. The Smiths 31. Pet Shop Boys 32. Berlin 33. The Go-Go’s 34. Oingo Boingo 35. Soft Cell 36. Squeeze 37. Joe Jackson 38. Bangles 39. The Jam 40. Men at Work 41. Television 42. Billy Idol 43. The Fixx 44. Madness 45. Bananarama 46. Ultravox 47. Thompson Twins 48. Talk Talk 49. Spandau Ballet 50. Howard Jones Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Top 250 New Wave/College Rock Songs Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre First posted 7/1/2026.

Top 50 Musical Theater Composers

Musical Theater Composers: Top 50

This list was first posted on March 22, 2012 in honor of the births of two of musical theater’s most celebrated composers (Stephen Sondheim: March 22, 1930; Andrew Lloyd Webber: March 22, 1948). While this list focused on musical theater, a separate list produced around the same time focused on The Top 100 Songwriters of the Rock Era. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Categories. Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II 1. Richard Rodgers 2. Oscar Hammerstein II 3. Stephen Sondheim 4. Andrew Lloyd Webber 5. George Gershwin George and Ira Gershwin, image from wmky.org 6. Leonard Bernstein 7. Cole Porter 8. Irving Berlin 9. John Kander 10. Stephen Schwartz Stephen Sondheim 11. Jerry Herman 12. Frank Loesser 13. Frederick Loewe 14. Ira Gershwin 15. Alan Jay Lerner Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice 16. Tim Rice 17. Fred Ebb 18. Jonathan Larson 19. Jerome Kern 20. Harold Arlen Irving Berlin 21. Lorenz Hart 22. Alan Menken 23. Charles Strouse 24. Marvin Hamlisch 25. Lee Adams Cole Porter, image from hometownstohollywood.com 26. Cy Coleman 27. Jason Robert Brown 28. Jeanine Tesori 29. Dorothy Fields 30. Jerry Ross Leonard Bernstein, image from npr.org 31. Jule Styne 32. Richard Adler 33. Sheldon Harnick 34. Jerry Bock 35. Lin-Manuel Miranda Jerry Herman, image from jerryherman.com 36. Kurt Weill 37. Betty Comden 38. Adolph Green 39. Harold Rome 40. Elton John Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe 41. E.Y. “Yip” Harburg 42. Burton Lane 43. Richard Sherman 44. Robert Sherman 45. Claude-Michel Schönberg Jerome Kern, image from discogs.com 46. Mel Brooks 47. Lynn Ahrens 48. Bob Merrill 49. Johnny Mercer 50. Noël Coward Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Top 50 Musicals/Cast Albums: Top 50 Dave’s Music Database: The Top 100 Songwriters of the Rock Era Dave’s Music Database: Lists Focused on Media, including Stage & Screen Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Categories First posted 3/22/2012; last updated 7/1/2026.

The Top 50 Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Acts

Heavy Metal/Hard Rock: Top 50 Acts

This list was created by aggregating 25 lists focused on the best heavy metal and/or hard rock acts of all time. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre. Metallica 1. Metallica 2. Iron Maiden 3. Black Sabbath 4. Judas Priest 5. Megadeth 6. Slayer 7. Pantera 8. Tool 9. Motörhead 10. Led Zeppelin 11. Mötley Crüe 12. Guns N’ Roses 13. Van Halen 14. AC/DC 15. Ozzy Osbourne 16. Anthrax 17. Aerosmith 18. Kiss 19. Korn 20. Slipknot 21. Deep Purple 22. System of a Down 23. Jimi Hendrix 24. Bon Jovi 25. Def Leppard 26. Alice Cooper 27. Ronnie James Dio 28. Scorpions 29. Avenged Sevenfold 30. Queensrÿche 31. Alice in Chains 32. Marilyn Manson 33. Deftones 34. Rammstein 35. Queen 36. Nirvana 37. Rush 38. Linkin Park 39. Rage Against the Machine 40. Faith No More 41. Whitesnake 42. Ratt 43. Foo Fighters 44. Disturbed 45. Evanescence 46. Rainbow 47. Thin Lizzy 48. Five Finger Death Punch 49. Cinderella 50. Twisted Sister Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Top 50 Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Albums Dave’s Music Database: Top 50 Heavy Metal Songs Dave’s Music Database: Top 50 Hair Band/Glam Metal Songs Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre First posted 7/1/2026.

Top 30 Grunge Acts

Grunge: Top 30 Acts

Grunge was a fusion of punk and heavy metal which originated out of Seattle. The movement developed in the latter half of the ‘80s and peaked in the early ‘90s. While its rise and fall was quick, it birthed a revival of interest in guitar-based, alternative rock. Some of the bands on the list might stir some debate as to whether they are grunge or not. Indeed, record companies rushed to capitalize on the grunge movement and signed many artists which bore a similar sound but didn’t have quite the same credentials and were sometimes dismissed by critics. There were also what I’ll call “grunge adjacent” acts (such as Smashing Pumpkins) that attracted a similar audience and had a similar sound but weren’t really grunge. 23 lists were aggregated to create this list. The acts were grouped in three bunches based on the number of lists on which they appeared. Then each of those groups was ordered based on the acts’ overall status in Dave’s Music Database. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre. Nirvana 20-23 lists: 1. Nirvana 2. Pearl Jam 3. Alice in Chains 4. Soundgarden 5. Mudhoney 10-19 lists: 6. Stone Temple Pilots 7. Hole 8. Screaming Trees 9. Mother Love Bone 10. Silverchair 11. Temple of the Dog 12. L7 13. Melvins 14. Green River 15. Mad Season 16. Tad 4-9 lists: 17. Smashing Pumpkins 18. Live 19. Bush 20. Creed 21. Collective Soul 22. Garbage 23. Dinosaur Jr. 24. Soul Asylum 25. Candlebox 26. Blind Melon 27. Sponge 28. Meat Puppets 29. Veruca Salt 30. Days of the New Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Top 25 Grunge Albums Dave’s Music Database: Top 100 Grunge/Post-Grunge Songs Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre First posted 7/1/2026.

Top 100 Folk/Folk Rock Acts

Folk/Folk Rock: Top 100 Acts

Folk music is characterized as traditional music that often deals with themes of life's daily struggles. It passed from generation to generation via oral tradition. Typically the composers were unknown and the music was played on traditional, acoustic instruments. A folk revival in the 20th century led to the popularization of the art through socially-conscious singer/songwriters who worked within the folk form and also expanded it in the rock era, especially in the 1960s, with more electric instruments. Another wave occurred in the 21st century with artists who found audiences at adult alternative radio. 17 lists focused on the best folk and/or folk-rock acts of all time were aggregated to create this list. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre. Bob Dylan 14 lists: 1. Bob Dylan 2. Simon & Garfunkel 13 lists: 3. Joni Mitchell 4. Joan Baez 5. Pete Seeger 12 lists: 6. Woody Guthrie 10 lists: 7. Neil Young 8. James Taylor 9. Leonard Cohen 10. Peter, Paul, & Mary 9 lists: 11. Gordon Lightfoot 8 lists: 12. Cat Stevens 13. Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter 14. The Kingston Trio 15. Judy Collins 7 lists: 16. The Byrds 17. John Prine 18. Odetta 19. Bon Iver 20. Arlo Guthrie 6 lists: 21. Crosby, Stills & Nash 22. Grateful Dead 23. John Denver 24. The Carter Family 25. Mumford & Sons 26. The Mamas & the Papas 27. Nick Drake 28. Don McLean 29. Donovan 30. Sufjan Stevens 31. Harry Chapin 32. Ani DiFranco 33. Phil Ochs 5 lists: 34. Paul Simon 35. Carole King 36. Harry Belafonte 37. Tracy Chapman 38. Buffalo Springfield 39. The Weavers 40. Jim Croce 41. The Decemberists 42. Fairport Convention 43. Fleet Foxes 44. Joan Armatrading 45. Doc Watson 46. Ramblin' Jack Elliott 4 lists: 47. Johnny Cash 48. Jethro Tull 49. The Band 50. David Crosby 51. Indigo Girls 52. The Lumineers 53. America 54. Richard Thompson 55. Suzanne Vega 56. Lovin’ Spoonful 57. Ben Harper 58. Dan Fogelberg 59. Elliott Smith 60. Bright Eyes 61. Bert Jansch 62. Neutral Milk Hotel 63. Joanna Newsom 64. Townes Van Zandt 65. Billy Bragg 66. Elizabeth Cotten 67. Steeleye Span 68. Janis Ian 69. Buffy Sainte-Marie 3 lists: 70. Van Morrison 71. Tom Waits 72. Jackson Browne 73. Melissa Etheridge 74. Emmylou Harris 75. Violent Femmes 76. Graham Nash 77. Jimmie Rodgers 78. Love 79. Shawn Colvin 80. Jewel 81. Roger McGuinn 82. The Pogues 83. Of Monsters & Men 84. Mississippi John Hurt 85. Tim Buckley 86. Bruce Cockburn 87. Al Stewart 88. Gillian Welch 89. Patty Griffin 90. The Incredible String Band 91. Iron & Wine 92. The Highwaymen 93. Tom Paxton 94. Michelle Shocked 95. Dave Van Ronk 96. Loudon Wainwright III 97. Ian & Sylvia 98. Ewan MacColl 99. Pentangle 2 lists: 100. The Everly Brothers Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Top 60 Folk/Folk Rock Albums Dave’s Music Database: Folk/Traditional: Top 100 Traditional/Folk Songs Dave’s Music Database: Top 100 Folk Rock Songs Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre First posted 6/30/2026.

The Top 100 Drummers of All Time

Drummers: Top 100

This list was originally posted on the DMDB Facebook page on August 23, 2010, and then revised on January 22, 2011. 30 best-of lists (see resources at the bottom of the page) were aggregated to create this one. As tends to be the case with music lists, it heavily slants toward rock drummers, so while far from flawless, the aggregate approach to creating this list should assure that this is a more representative list than any other out there. When relevant, groups or performers most associated with the drummers are listed in parentheses. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Categories. Neil Peart, Rush’s “YYZ” 1. Neil Peart (Rush) 2. John “Bonzo” Bonham (Led Zeppelin) 3. Keith Moon (The Who) 4. Ginger Baker (Cream) 5. Ringo Starr (The Beatles) 6. Stewart Copeland (The Police) 7. Dave Grohl (Nirvana/Foo Fighters) 8. Mitch Mitchell (The Jimi Hendrix Experience) 9. Bill Bruford (Yes/ King Crimson) 10. Lars Ulrich (Metallica) John Bonham, Led Zeppelin’s Moby Dick” 11. Ian Paice (Deep Purple) 12. Charlie Watts (The Rolling Stones) 13. Terry Bozzio (Frank Zappa/Jeff Beck) 14. Danny Carey (Tool) 15. Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) 16. Roger Taylor (Queen) 17. Buddy Rich 18. Phil Collins (Genesis) 19. Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) 20. Bill Ward (Black Sabbath) Keith Moon, The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (isolated drum track) 21. Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) 22. Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer/Asia) 23. Steve Smith (Journey) 24. Travis Barker (Blink-182) 25. Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden) 26. Dave Lombardo (Slayer) 27. John Densmore (The Doors) 28. Alan White (Yes) 29. Maureen “Moe” Tucker (Velvet Underground) 30. Topper Headon (The Clash) Ginger Baker, Cream’s “Toad” 31. Jimmy Chamberlin (Smashing Pumpkins) 32. Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe) 33. Carter Beauford (Dave Matthews Band) 34. Vinnie Colaiuta (Frank Zappa/Sting/Jeff Beck /Herbie Hancock/Chick Corea) 35. Larry Mullen, Jr. (U2) 36. Alex Van Halen (Van Halen) 37. Aynsley Dunbar (John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers/Jeff Beck Group/Journey) 38. Cozy Powell (Black Sabbath/Rainbow) 39. Gene Krupa 40. Tommy Aldridge (Ozzy Osbourne/Whitesnake) Buddy Rich vs. the Muppets’ Animal 41. Tim Alexander (Primus) 42. Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge) 43. Joey Jordison (Slipknot) 44. Bernard Purdie 45. Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac) 46. Frank “Tré Cool” Edwin Wright III (Green Day) 47. Steve Gadd (Paul Simon/Steely Dan/Eric Clapton) 48. Art Blakey 49. Michael Shrieve (Santana) 50. Al Jackson, Jr. (Booker T. & the MG’s) Gene Krupa vs. Buddy Rich 51. Billy Cobham (Horace Silver/Miles Davis/Mahavishnu Orchestra) 52. Jaki Liebezeit (Can) 53. Matt Cameron (Soundgarden) 54. Max Weinberg (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band) 55. Max Roach 56. Steven Adler (Guns N’ Roses) 57. Deen Castronovo (Bad English/Journey) 58. Elvin Jones (John Coltrane) 59. Tony Williams 60. William “Benny” Benjamin (Funk Brothers) Max Roach 61. Hal Blaine 62. Simon Phillips (Toto) 63. Klaus Dinger (Neu/LA Dusserldorf) 64. Zigaboo “Ziggy” Modeliste (The Meters) 65. Vinnie Paul (Pantera) 66. Brann Dailor (Mastodon) 67. Rick Allen (Def Leppard) 68. Zak Starkey (The Who/Oasis) 69. Phil Rudd (AC/DC) 70. Clive Bunker (Jethro Tull) World’s Greatest Drummers Salute Ringo Starr 71. Mike Giles (King Crimson) 72. Louie Bellson 73. Jeff Porcaro (Toto) 74. Chad Wackerman (Frank Zappa) 75. Don Brewer (Grand Funk Railroad) 76. Chris Adler (Lamb of God) 77. Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) 78. Jim “The Reverend” Sullivan (Avenged Sevenfold) 79. John French (Captain Beefheart) 80. Dominic Howard (Muse) Lars Ulrich of Metallica, drum solo 81. Dave Weckl (Chick Corea) 82. Dave Garabaldi (Tower of Power) 83. Anton Fier (Feelies/Pere Ubu/Golden Palominos) 84. Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle/Desert Sessions) 85. Jon Theodore (Mars Volta) 86. Stanton Moore (Galactic) 87. Don Henley (Eagles) 88. Tico Torres (Bon Jovi) 89. Levon Helm (The Band) 90. Clyde Stubblefield (James Brown) Phil Collins takes drum quiz 91. Scott Travis (Judas Priest) 92. Stephen Morris (Joy Division/New Order) 93. Earl Palmer 94. Alan “Reni” Wren (The Stone Roses) 95. Roger Hawkins (Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section) 96. Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp) 97. B.J. Wilson (Procol Harum) 98. Damon Che Fitzgerald (Don Caballero) 99. Thomas Lang 100. Rod Morgenstein (Dixie Dregs/Winger) Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Categories Amazon.com The Ten Greatest Drummers of All Time. By Julian Apostate. (date?). A personal top ten list with an album selection for each pick. AssociatedContent.com Best Rock Drummers of All Time. By Nick Mayer. (7/7/09). Top ten list with commentary. BBC News Zeppelin voted ‘ideal supergroup’. (7/10/05). Roughly 3500 music fans were polled at Planet Rock Radio for best singer, guitarist, bassist, and drummer. The top 10 of each are listed. CreativeLoafing.com Top 10 Sickest Drummers of All Time. By Ivan Pena. (2/9/10). Top ten list with commentary and video. Digital Dream Door 100 Greatest Rock Drummers. Edited by tommorello. (8/16/08). Top 100 list with no commentary. FanNation.com Top Drummers of All Time. By R.I.P. John Bonham/ Bon Scott’s blog. (2007). Top 20 list with no commentary. Gigwise.com The Greatest Drummers of All Time!. (5/29/08). Top 50 list with commentary. Having a separate page for each drummer is an annoyance. Glam-Racket The Bakers Dozen Greatest Rock Drummers of All Time. By Todd Totale. (3/3/08). Top 13 list with commentary and some video. Includes another 13 on an honorable mention list and 13 on an a dishonorable mention list. HubPages.com My Favorite Drummers. By Constant Walker. (2009). Unranked list with commentary and video. Listology.com Favorite Rock Drummers. By Callanyvegatable. (6/16/2009). Ranked list (8) with no commentary and 7 honorable mentions. Listology.com Top 10 Drummers of All Time. By SgtPepper. (7/15/2010). Top 10 ranked list with no commentary. Listology.com …Favorite Musicians…. By Feif Umgotnn. (4/2/2010). Best-of lists for singers, bands, guitarists, drummers, bassists, and other instrumentalists. 11 drummers on a ranked list as well as 6 honorable mentions. Includes groups most associated with drummer. Mademan.com 10 Best Drummers of All Time. By John Brhel. (4/17/2010). Ranked top 10 list with commentary. MusicRadar.com 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time. By Rhythm Magazine (10/22/2009). Top 50 list with commentary and photos. Annoyingly has a separate page for each drummer. Have to click through all pages to see total list. MyMusicLists.com Greatest Drummers. (2006?). Ranked list of 50+ drummers. Voted and commented on by registered users. PhilBrodieBand.com 100 Greatest Drummers – Jazz, Rock, Skilled. (2006). Three separate ranked lists – one focused on jazz (100), one on rock (100), and a third on most-skilled drummers (50). No commentary. Q Magazine. Best Drummer Ever. (12/24/2010). Originally in print magazine, issue 295. Top 10 ranked list with commentary. Rankopedia.com Best Drummer Ever. (8/9/2010). Voter-based top 25 list with no commentary. RateYourMusic.com 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time. By EVH1622. (year?). Top 50 ranked list with no commentary. Rockband.com The Top 25 Greatest Drummers of All Time. By Slashboi. (1/3/2009). Top 25 ranked list with no commentary. Scaruffi.com Greatest Rock Drummers of All Times. By Piero Scaruffi (1999). Top 28 ranked list with no commentary. Another 100+ honorable mentions. Share Ranks Greatest Rock Drummers of All Time. By pxc0. (2009). Voter-based list with 60+ drummers ranked. Includes voter comments. Squidoo.com The Top 10 Drum Legends and Their Drum Kits. By Andy Phillips (2009?). Top 10 ranked list with commentary. Includes video and photos. StylusMagazine.com 50 Greatest Rock Drummers. By Stylus staff. (7/30/2007). Top 50 list with commentary, photos, and “best of”. The-Top-Tens.com Greatest Drummer of All Time. By AKPickin. (year?). Top 100 voter-based list with comments from voters. Turkku.com Top 20: Drummers. By Jari Leppänen (2010?). Page is focused on top 100 rock albums, but has other lists in the side panel, including a top 20 ranked list for drummers. No commentary. Zuko.com Top 10 Rock Bands, Guitarist, Drummer, Bassist of All Time. By Dr. Von Zuko. (date?). Top ten unranked list with no commentary. First posted 8/23/2010; last updated 6/30/2026.

The Top 25 Doo-Wop Groups of All Time

Doo-Wop: Top 25 Acts

Doo-wop emerged in the 1950s as an integral force in the shaping of early rock and roll. The genre was marked by vocal groups, predominantly male and black. More than a dozen lists were aggregated to come up with this DMDB list of the top 25 doo-wop groups of all time. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre. The Platters 1. The Platters 2. The Drifters 3. The Coasters 4. The Flamingos 5. The Clovers 6. The Orioles 7. Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers 8. The Spaniels 9. Dion & the Belmonts 10. The Dominoes 11. The Moonglows 12. The Cadillacs 13. The Del-Vikings 14. The Five Satins 15. Little Anthony & the Imperials 16. The Crests 17. The Harptones 18. The Dells 19. Hank Ballard & the Midnighters 20. The Five Royales 21. The Skyliners 22. The Cleftones 23. The Four Seasons 24. The Diamonds 25. The Penguins Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre Dave’s Music Database: The Top 100 Doo-Wop Songs of All Time First posted 3/5/2026; last updated 6/29/2026.

Top 20 Crooners of All Time

Crooners: Top 20

According to Wikipedia, “crooners are singers who sing in a soft, intimate style made possible by the introduction of microphones and amplification.” This technological breakthrough made it possible to pick up quieter sounds and a greater frequency range. Prior to such breakthroughs, singers had to be able to project through a very loud vocal style. Crooners often performed in front of big bands. The style grew to its height in popularity in the 1940s through the late ‘60s. It has, however, continued through modern day artists such as Michael Bublé and Harry Connick, Jr. who sing vocal jazz in a style which has come to be labeled as “traditional pop.” This list was created by aggregating 10 lists focused on the best crooners of all time. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Categories. Frank Sinatra 1. Frank Sinatra 2. Bing Crosby 3. Nat “King” Cole 4. Tony Bennett 5. Dean Martin 6. Perry Como 7. Johnny Mathis 8. Bobby Darin 9. Sammy Davis, Jr. 10. Mel Tormé 11. Michael Bublé 12. Harry Connick, Jr. 13. Matt Monro 14. Andy Williams 15. Charles Aznavour 16. Louis Armstrong 17. Barry Manilow 18. Tom Jones 19. Eddie Fisher 20. Vic Damone Resources/Related Links: Wikipedia: List of Crooners Dave’s Music Database: Top 25 Traditional Pop/Vocal Jazz Albums Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Categories First posted 6/29/2026.

 

The Top 50 Classical Composers

Classical Composers: Top 50

This list was originally presented as a note on the DMDB Facebook page on February 2, 2011. That original post was prompted by Anthony Tommasini, who in January 2011, undertook the two-week task in the New York Times of selecting the top 10 classical music composers in history. That list, and 13 others (see sources below), have been aggregated to create the official Dave’s Music Database list below. As always, the goal is to present an objective list based on others’ opinions. Besides, I’m less informed on classical music than any other genre, so I couldn’t compose a list of my own if I wanted to. My apologies for any misspellings. Note: this list has been updated to aggegate 23 best-of lists focused on classical artists. Roughly the first half of the list is determined by putting all composers who reached at least 8 lists in order based on overall Dave’s Music Database. The remainder of the list is determined by taking all composers who reached between 2 and 7 lists and ranking them based on overall Dave’s Music Database status. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Categories. Ludwig van Beethoven 1. Ludwig van Beethoven 2. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 3. Johann Sebastian Bach 4. Igor Stravinsky 5. Gustav Mahler 6. Béla Bartók 7. Frederic Chopin 8. Sergei Rachmaninoff 9. Felix Mendelssohn 10. Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky 11. Dmitri Shostakovich 12. Antonin Dvorák 13. Maurice Ravel 14. Franz Schubert 15. Richard Wagner 16. Joseph Haydn 17. Hector Berlioz 18. Johannes Brahms 19. Robert Schumann 20. Antonio Vivaldi 21. George Friedrich Händel 22. Claude Debussy 23. Giusseppe Verdi 24. George Gershwin 25. John Philip Sousa 26. Franz Liszt 27. Claudio Monteverdi 28. Aaron Copland 29. Giacomo Puccini 30. Edward Elgar 31. Richard Strauss 32. Jean Sibelius 33. Kurt Weill 34. Modest Mussorgsky 35. Sergei Prokofiev 36. Arnold Schoenberg 37. Charles Ives 38. Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina 39. Anton Bruckner 40. Samuel Barber 41. Henry Purcell 42. Georges Bizet 43. Philip Glass 44. Ferde Grofe 45. Jean-Philippe Rameau 46. Ralph Vaughan Williams 47. John Cage 48. Camille Saint-Saëns 49. Pierre Boulez 50. Edvard Grieg Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Categories Amazon.com: Essential Artists Consists of two lists: one of popular music’s essential artists and another of classical composers. Links take you to shortbios and more links to works by the artist/composer. Classical list has 52 entries, unranked. Answers.com Greatest Classical Composers. By del_icious_manager (date?) A user posted a question asking for people to list 7 of the greatest classical composers and state reasons for choices. The best answer, as chosen by the asker, was from del_icious_manager who listed seven composers chronologically with sentence-longbios/justifications. BiographyOnline.net Greatest Classical Music Composers of All Time. (date?) Top ten ranked list with brief paragraphs on each entry. Cleveland.com Who are the 10 greatest classical-music composers of all time? You decide. By Donald Rosenberg. (1/30/2011) Response to Anthony Tommasini’s top 10 list in the New York Times. Picks seven composers himself, but doesn’t rank them. DigitalDreamDoor.com The 100 Greatest Classical Music Composers. Edited by Guy/Brian. (12/31/2006) Top 100 ranked list. No commentary. eHow.com 10 Most Famous Classical Composers. By Amber D. Walker. (1/3/2010) This article focuses on ten composers with paragraph entries on each. No ranking. HubPages.com Top 5 Classical Composers of All Time. By Isabella Snow. (date?) This article focuses on five composers with paragraph entries on each. No ranking. Jaltcoh.blogspot.com The Top 10 Greatest Classical Composers. By John Althouse Cohen. (1/22/2011) A personal top ten ranking with detailed entries on each composer. Inspired by the New York Times article. Legends of American Music stamp series (1993-1999) This series of stamps started in 1993 covering various genres. Eight classical composers/conductors were introduced in 1997. Listverse.com Top 15 Greatest Composers of All Time. By FlameHorse. (12/17/2009) Top 15 ranked list with detailed entries and video posts. NYTimes.com The Greatest. By Anthony Tommasini. (1/21/2011) The original post which inspired the DMDB list and several of the other entries in this category. He undertook a two-week series to select the top 10 classical musical composers in history. He laid out the list via articles, videos, and blog posts which garnered more than 1500 responses. Squidoo.com The Best Classical Composers of All Time. By ?. (date?) Unranked list of five composers with links to purchase music and other related products. Writer and date unidentified. The-Top-Tens.com Greatest Classical Composers. By ?. (date?) Users post lists here and then others vote on them. This top ten list has expanded to 23 entries as added by users. Original list generator and date of creation unidentified. Very few commentaries. First posted 7/28/2012; last updated 6/29/2026.

College Rock: Top 30 Acts

College Rock: Top 30 Acts

College rock emerged in the 1980s as sort of the birth of alternative rock before that term was widely used. It got its name because of the prevalence of radio stations at college universities that would play left-of-mainstream material. Some of the genres most prominent artists (R.E.M., U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers) went on to become some of the biggest mainstream acts of the 1980s and ‘90s while others maintained more of a niche audience (The Replacements, Pixies, Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth) but have become critically acclaimed bands because of their place in rock and roll history. 11 lists focused on college rock acts were aggegrated to create this list. See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre. R.E.M. 1. R.E.M. 2. The Smiths 3. The Cure 4. The Replacements 5. U2 6. Pixies 7. Hüsker Dü 8. Red Hot Chili Peppers 9. XTC 10. The Smithereens 11. Sonic Youth 12. 10,000 Maniacs 13. Love & Rockets 14. Camper Van Beethoven 15. Talking Heads 16. The B-52’s 17. Echo & the Bunnymen 18. Midnight Oil 19. Dinosaur Jr. 20. Elvis Costello 21. The Police 22. Tears for Fears 23. INXS 24. Joy Division 25. Pretenders 26. Violent Femmes 27. Siouxsie & the Banshees 28. Psychedelic Furs 29. The Jesus & Mary Chain 30. Big Star Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Genre Dave’s Music Database: Top 250 New Wave/College Rock Songs First posted 6/29/2026.