Top 20 Musicians of All Time, in Any Genre: The Complete List
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Louis Armstrong was jazz's first superstar. Satchmo's explosive creativity defied conventions of early New Orleans jazz; he was a charismatic showman and dazzling trumpet player who was, literally, too good for his band. His performances were largely responsible for shifting the focus from the group to the soloist, and he was also quite an innovator when it came to scat. Perhaps most importantly, his acceptance by the social elite helped popularize jazz across racial and social boundaries. -Chris Walker
4. Michael Jackson
People made a lot of jokes about Michael Jackson before he died; about the way he spoke, the color of his skin, his fondness for zoo animals and children, the clothes he wore, the women he married, the names he chose for his kids, his penchant for grabbing his nuts, his sentimental streak, his plastic surgeries, and his acting talents, or lack thereof. But when he died people made fewer of those jokes. -Ben Westhoff
3. The Beatles 
Precursors to the Prefab Four, aka the Monkees, the Fab Four from Liverpool started with matching haircuts. But then they began growing their hair out, and that's when shit got real. Before you knew it their hair was much longer than the establishment preferred, and the social order began to decay. Next there was a musical called Hair and then later one called Hairspray. It all got to be a little much, especially if you weren't into hair. -Ben Westhoff
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