The 50 Greatest Rock Lead Singers of All Time

From rock's early years up until today, the most legendary band leaders to ever grab the microphone.

By Katie Atkinson, Katie Bain, Eric Renner Brown, Kyle Denis, Frank DiGiacomo, Thom Duffy, Ingrid Fajardo, Paul Grein, Lyndsey Havens, Jason Lipshutz, Joe Lynch, Taylor Mims, Melinda Newman, Isabela Raygoza, Andrew Unterberger

08/16/2023

1 Mick Jagger (The Rolling Stones)


David Fenton/Getty Images

No one has moves like Jagger — nor the voice, the image, the fashion sense, or the remarkably enduring charisma of the frontman for the Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band In The World. An announcer memorably shouts that claim in the opening moments of the Stones’ 1970 landmark live album Get Yer Ya-Yas Out!, and Jagger — who turned 80 years old on July 26 — has allowed the band to live up to that boast for well over half a century, from their Hot 100 debut in 1964 (with “Not Fade Away”) to the milestone-marking Sixty Tour of 2022. It takes nothing away from Jagger’s surviving current bandmates — the legendary Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, and their ace touring musicians — to credit the singer first and foremost for the Stones’ lasting importance to rock music and to the culture. After so many years, Mick Jagger continues to personify not only the Rolling Stones but rock’n’roll itself– powerfully sexual, threatening, liberating and joyous, all at once. — T.D.

[www.billboard.com]

no surprise
but Axl Rose on 10 ? where is David Bowie ???

Yep, no surprise at all.

But also guys like Steve Winwood (great voice), Steve Marriott (Small Faces), Eric Burdon (60s), Marc Bolan (70s), deserve at least some credit ...

I'm a GHOST living in a ghost town

Very Nice to see that. In the latest years with the Queen hype Freddie have been subscribing to the number 1 spot almost everywhere. Here is to 60 years Mick - cheers!

They got that shit right - at least as far as Numero Uno goes (not interested in opening the link).

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2023-08-17 20:57 by Doxa.

Clearly this isn't just 'singers' but singers fronting a rock band, otherwise you'd have to see Elvis, Bowie, Elton John, Prince, Michael Jackson etc. in there.

I do wonder how Paul McCartney gets in at 39, without John Lennon getting in at all...did I miss that? I checked over the list twice.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2023-08-17 21:08 by treaclefingers.

I'm not subscribing to this. So many half steppers higher up the list than should be like usual. I'm surprised Mick is on top. At least they got that right. Wait a minute, come to think of it where's golden girl Taylor Swift.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2023-08-17 21:18 by frankotero.

Doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that Mick Jagger will always will be the #1 greatest front man of all time.
Number one. Numero uno. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Comprende?

The article shoud have ended after this sentence:

"No one has moves like Jagger — nor the voice, the image, the fashion sense, or the remarkably
enduring charisma of the frontman for the Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band In The World".


Skimming through the rest of the list, it's nothing more than wasted space and a bunch of hogwash.

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

What about that guy who fronts The E-Street Band?

Number One is oke, the rest is rubbish as for the numbering

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Bob C.
What about that guy who fronts The E-Street Band?

As I mentioned earlier, I think they are taking what they see to be 'actual bands' of which the singer is an integral part, as opposed to what they see as 'backing bands' to the lead singer.

For that reason I think the list is stupid, but number 1 is clearly number 1.

The third paragraph specifies:

"[...] And most challengingly, we opted to disqualify lead singers whose most famous bands are named after them — Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Joan Jett — because it made the lines between solo artist and band too blurry, and because we’d prefer to use this list to focus on the bands that were more democratically assembled, but whose frontpeople still led the way in singular fashion."

The 50 greatest rock lead singers of all time afflicted with L.V.S. (Lead Vocalist Syndrome)...as Keith would say.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2023-08-18 00:16 by Zotz.

Thank goodness for this list. Without it I would go on thinking that Rod Stewart (for 2 different bands), Paul Rodgers (for three different bands), Michael Hutchence, John Fogerty and Peter Wolf were all great lead singers/front men. Now I know that they can't hold a candle to Corey Glover and Poly Styrene.

Bon Scott ?

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I'm just a Bad Boy Boogie

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powerage78
Bon Scott ?

Agreed, this list is painful in its exclusions.

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NICOS
Number One is oke, the rest is rubbish as for the numbering

Pretty much rubbish in general.

Jagger? Seriously? He maybe the best front man of any rock band and most likely he has (or rather had) the best backing band in rock business but that doesn't make him the best rock singer. Personally I think he's overrated as a rock singer although he is a great blues and ballad singer.

Beside that: where is Elvis on that fu*king list?????

I am surprised but glad to see that Mick is number one. That is correct for frontman he invented the modern frontman. I figured mercury would be at the top he's so overhyped since the movie. He had a great voice but Queen is just meh at least to me. I did not like some of the other rankings but oh well. At least they got Jagger correctly placed.

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slew
I am surprised but glad to see that Mick is number one. That is correct for frontman he invented the modern frontman. I figured mercury would be at the top he's so overhyped since the movie. He had a great voice but Queen is just meh at least to me. I did not like some of the other rankings but oh well. At least they got Jagger correctly placed.

Mercury had a commanding stage presence and certainly deserves to be very high on that list. He’s up there with the best of them…

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birdie

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slew
I am surprised but glad to see that Mick is number one. That is correct for frontman he invented the modern frontman. I figured mercury would be at the top he's so overhyped since the movie. He had a great voice but Queen is just meh at least to me. I did not like some of the other rankings but oh well. At least they got Jagger correctly placed.

Mercury had a commanding stage presence and certainly deserves to be very high on that list. He’s up there with the best of them…

agreed, that's undeniable, whether or not you even like the music.

another absurdity of the list: Lou Reed is at #21. It's maybe a little bit of exaggeration to call his vocal style 'singing'. But anyways – if you have Lou Reed on such a list, you should have Dylan on it, too (far above Reed, of course)

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slewan
another absurdity of the list: Lou Reed is at #21. It's maybe a little bit of exaggeration to call his vocal style 'singing'. But anyways – if you have Lou Reed on such a list, you should have Dylan on it, too (far above Reed, of course)

Well not if you go with the requirements to be on the list, which is to lead a band in which the lead singer is simply an equal part of it...not a singer with a backing band.

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treaclefingers

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slewan
another absurdity of the list: Lou Reed is at #21. It's maybe a little bit of exaggeration to call his vocal style 'singing'. But anyways – if you have Lou Reed on such a list, you should have Dylan on it, too (far above Reed, of course)

Well not if you go with the requirements to be on the list, which is to lead a band in which the lead singer is simply an equal part of it...not a singer with a backing band.

yes, but if they are talking about singers not about front men. And Lou Reed hasn't even been a great frontmen with VU

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slewan

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treaclefingers

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slewan
another absurdity of the list: Lou Reed is at #21. It's maybe a little bit of exaggeration to call his vocal style 'singing'. But anyways – if you have Lou Reed on such a list, you should have Dylan on it, too (far above Reed, of course)

Well not if you go with the requirements to be on the list, which is to lead a band in which the lead singer is simply an equal part of it...not a singer with a backing band.

yes, but if they are talking about singers not about front men. And Lou Reed hasn't even been a great frontmen with VU

For sure. I wasn't commenting on Lou but rather Dylan.

Never heard of Kathleen Hanna and Hayley Williams who are in the top 20. And Stevie Nicks above Freddie?

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Koen
Never heard of Kathleen Hanna and Hayley Williams who are in the top 20. And Stevie Nicks above Freddie?

Natte vinger werk Koen

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I didn’t know Anthony Kiedis was a singer. I thought he was just a musical imbecile that couldn’t write a different melody if his life depended on it.

Jagger is unavoidable but, so many out of the list like Bowie, Sting, Annie Lennox...

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NICOS

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Koen
Never heard of Kathleen Hanna and Hayley Williams who are in the top 20. And Stevie Nicks above Freddie?

Natte vinger werk Koen

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