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Rolling Stone’s relevant ranking is The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, not a universal list of every important musician in history. The version most often cited is the magazine’s 2011 update of a list first published in two parts in 2004 and 2005.
Its scope is the rock-and-roll era and the popular genres connected to it: rock, blues, soul, funk, reggae, rap, metal, indie rock and contemporary pop. That makes it useful as a map of Rolling Stone’s editorial canon—and less useful as a neutral judgment on classical, folk, world or other musical traditions outside that frame.
Rolling Stone’s 2011 top 10
The first three positions were unchanged from the original list. Here is the top 10 in the 2011 edition:
| Rank | Artist | Why the placement matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Beatles | Rolling Stone’s highest-ranked group and the list’s unchanged number one. |
| 2 | Bob Dylan | The highest-ranked solo songwriter on the list. |
| 3 | Elvis Presley | The third position remained the same in the 2011 update. |
| 4 | The Rolling Stones | The second band in the top four, representing the blues-rooted rock tradition. |
| 5 | Chuck Berry | A foundational rock-and-roll figure placed above several later-generation stars. |
| 6 | Jimi Hendrix | The highest-ranked guitarist in the top 10. |
| 7 | James Brown | The list’s highest-ranked funk and soul artist in the top 10. |
| 8 | Little Richard | An early rock-and-roll innovator ranked ahead of most later acts. |
| 9 | Aretha Franklin | The first woman in the top 10 and one of its defining soul voices. |
| 10 | Ray Charles | A bridge between gospel, rhythm and blues, soul and popular music. |
The complete ranking is available in Rolling Stone’s original list archive. The archive is the best place to check the entries beyond the top 10 rather than treating shortened lists or reposted versions as authoritative.
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What Rolling Stone was actually ranking
The word “artists” is important. This is not a list of the best singers, instrumentalists or individual songwriters alone. Groups and solo performers appear together, and the ranking reflects a broad mixture of songwriting, recordings, influence, performance, innovation and cultural reach.
That approach explains why The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and other bands can sit beside Dylan, Presley, Franklin and Hendrix. It also explains why the list extends beyond conventional guitar rock. Blues, soul, funk, reggae, rap, metal, indie rock and pop are all part of the musical territory covered by the ranking.
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How to use the list as a documentary watchlist
- Start with the top 10. This gives a quick tour through early rock and roll, British rock, singer-songwriter music, blues-based guitar, funk, soul and rhythm and blues.
- Watch the artists in historical pairs. Compare Chuck Berry with Little Richard, or James Brown with Ray Charles, to hear how different strands of Black American music fed into rock and later popular genres.
- Separate influence from personal taste. A high ranking does not mean an artist is the best fit for every listener. It signals how Rolling Stone’s editors and contributors evaluated artistic impact within the list’s scope.
- Check the edition before quoting a rank. The original list appeared in 2004 and 2005; the commonly cited update is from 2011. A webpage that simply says “Rolling Stone’s greatest artists” may not identify which version it is using.
What this list is not
It should not be merged with Rolling Stone’s later specialist rankings. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time, published in 2023, concentrates on vocalists. The 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, also published in 2023, expanded the magazine’s earlier 2011 guitarists list and covers an especially wide range of guitar traditions, including blues, rock, metal, punk, folk, country, reggae, jazz, flamenco and bossa nova.
Those lists can overlap with the 100 artists ranking, but they answer different questions. A singer’s position on the 200-singers list is not a replacement for that person’s position—or absence—from the 2011 artists list. Likewise, the guitarist ranking is not a revised version of the 100 artists ranking.
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Why the date and scope matter
Calling this simply “the best musicians of all time” makes the ranking sound broader and more current than it is. It is better understood as Rolling Stone’s 2011 view of the most important artists associated primarily with the rock-and-roll era and related popular music.
That distinction matters for documentary viewers. The list can guide a focused history of modern popular music, but it is not a complete survey of world music or all historical musical traditions. Its omissions and ordering reflect the publication’s editorial perspective, its genre boundaries and the period in which the update was made.
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FAQ
What is Rolling Stone’s number one greatest artist?
The Beatles are number one on Rolling Stone’s 2011 edition of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
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Who are the top 10 artists on Rolling Stone’s 2011 list?
The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Little Richard, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles, in that order.
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When was Rolling Stone’s greatest-artists list published?
The original list appeared in two parts in 2004 and 2005. Rolling Stone updated it in 2011, which is the edition generally meant by the commonly cited ranking.
Is this the same as Rolling Stone’s greatest singers or guitarists lists?
No. The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time is a broad artist ranking. Rolling Stone’s 200 Greatest Singers of All Time and 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time are separate 2023 lists with different criteria and scopes.
The Bottom Line
Rolling Stone’s 2011 ranking places The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley at the top, followed by The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Little Richard, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles. It is a useful documentary starting point for the rock-and-roll era and its related popular genres—but it should be presented as Rolling Stone’s dated editorial canon, not as a definitive ranking of every musician or musical tradition.
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