Over the years, thousands of artists and musicians have come and gone, while only a handful seemed to have left a lasting impression on popular culture. These are the legendary music stars who have gone beyond the norm to bring their musical vision to the world, and who will always be remembered for their extraordinary contributions to the industry. Some are still with us, while others have passed, but they all share a common goal, a desire and drive to excel in the field of music, and to do what they do best, entertain and inspire.

1) The Beatles:
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This pop-cum-rock band from Liverpool, England was formed in 1960, and consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The Beatles have the honour of being one of the most successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music.

After releasing more than 40 different #1 singles, albums, and EPs, the Beatles have become ‘The Best Selling Musical Act of All Time in the US’. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked The Beatles #1 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time due to their innovative music and massive cultural impact that helped define the 1960s and future generations of music.

2) Elvis Presley:

Known by fans and critics alike as the ‘King of Rock and Roll’ or simply ‘The King’, Elvis Presley is an icon whose persona, music and cultural influence has lived on years after his death. Presley was a versatile musician, encompassing different genres of gospel, blues, ballads and pop.
Because of his diversity, Elvis managed to garner a wide fan base. To date, Elvis is the only performer to have been inducted into four music Halls of Fame.

3) Michael Jackson:

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An American artist, recording superstar, and entertainer, Michael Jackson exploded  onto the professional music scene as an 11-year-old. He is as a member of the Jackson 5. Surely, there is no music fan alive today who does not own and appreciate any one of Michael Jackson’s top selling albums. Often referred to as the ‘King of Pop, five of Jackson’s studio albums have become some of the world’s best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and History (1995).

Jackson is also one of a handful of artists to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame not once, but twice. He is also listed multiple times for breaking sales records, including one for Thriller as the world’s best selling album. Jackson has also received 13 Grammy Awards and 13 number one singles in his solo career, more than any other male artist during that time. For the last four decades Jackson has broken musical boundaries to become a legend and a firm part in today’s popular culture. He is also one of the most famous men in the world.

4) Rolling Stones:

This popular English Rock Band, headlined by Mick Jagger, has released 55 albums, and has had 32 top 10 singles in both the UK and US. They have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, making them one of the best selling rock and roll bands of all time. In 1989, The Rolling Stones were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2004 were ranked #4 in a list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. The band’s massive tour, the Bigger Bang Tour has been declared the highest grossing tour of all time, earning $437 million and placing them firmly in the Guinness Book of World Records.

5) Chuck Berry:

Charles Edward Anderson ‘Chuck’ Berry is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, and a pioneer in rock and roll music. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website states of Berry, ‘While no individual can be said to have invented rock and roll, Chuck Berry comes the closest to any single figure to being the one who put all the essential pieces together’. Berry also holds the honour of being one of the first artists to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when it opened in 1986. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him as the #5th Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004. He was also ranked #6 on the Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Three of Berry’s songs made it onto the list of 500 songs that have shaped Rock and Roll.

6) Led Zeppelin:

Led Zeppelin are an English band who consisted of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham. They were popular for their unique brand of heavy metal, guitar-driven sound, making them one of the first and most influential Heavy Metal bands of our time. Catering to a large audience, Led Zeppelin infused interpretations of blues, folk, reggae, soul, funk, classical, Celtic, Indian, Arabic, pop, Latin and country into their music.

The band sold more than 300 million albums worldwide, making them one of the greatest bands of all time. Led Zeppelin sold more than 111.5 million albums in the United States and they had their original studio albums reach the US Billboard Top 10. Six of these reached the number one spot, a feat not often achieved by a British musician in the States. Led Zeppelin are ranked #1 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, while Rolling Stone acknowledges these musical greats as being the ‘heaviest band of all time’, and ‘the biggest band of the 70s’.

7) Nirvana:
Nirvana was an American rock outfit headlined by singer-cum-guitarist Kurt Cobain.  After successful singles like the spectacular ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, Nirvana entered mainstream rock, bringing with them a unique sub-genre of alternative rock - grunge. Soon Cobain was in the centre of a media frenzy, being referred to as the ’spokesman of a generation’, with Nirvana the ‘flagship band’ of ‘Generation X’.

The band has sold more than 25 million albums in the US alone, and more than 50 million albums worldwide. To this day, Nirvana is credited as being one of the most important, influential and popular rock bands of recent years.

8) Madonna:

Madonna has been regarded as ‘one of the greatest pop acts of all time’ and been named ‘The Queen of Pop’, a very flattering nickname indeed. Starting out in the 1980s with some shocking and controversial antics, Madonna drew criticism from the Vatican and commercial sales started to plummet. She revived her career in 1998 with her album Ray of Light, and has been an unstoppable force ever since, even at the age of 50.

The Recording Industry Association of America ranks her as the best selling female rock artist of the 20th century and the second top selling artist in the United States. Guinness Book of records also lists her as the most successful female recording artist of all time and the top earning singer in the world. Madonna was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2008.

9) Queen:

Guitarist Brian May, lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, and drummer Roger Taylor formed Queen in 1970. Bassist John Deacon joined the following year. The band is noted for their musical diversity and beautiful vocal harmonies, and for incorporating their audience in their live performances. In 1985, their Live Aid performance was voted the best rock performance of all time. To date, Queen has released 15 studio albums, five live albums, and numerous compilation albums. By 2006, Queen had sold more than 300 million records internationally.

10)  Bob Marley:

Bob Marley was a Jamaican musician, singer-cum-songwriter and Rastafarian. He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist from the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands The Wailers, and Bob Marley and the Wailers. To this day, Bob Marley remains the most widely known performer of reggae music, and is credited for helping spread Jamaican music to a worldwide audience.

11) Jay Z:

Jay-Z is an American hip hop artist and businessman, and former CEO of Def Jam Records and Roc-a-Fella Records. He also owns 40/40 Club and the New Jersey Nets. To date, he is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having sold over 26 million units in the US alone. After announcing his retirement in 2003, Jay-Z made a massive comeback in 2006 with the critically acclaimed album Kingdom Come, which sold 680 000 copies in its first week.

MTV named Jay-Z are one of the greatest MCs of all time. The New York Times also announced that Jay-Z is on the verge of signing a partnership with Live national for $150 million, among the most expensive contracts ever awarded to a musician.

12) Tupac:
Tupac Amaru Shakur, or 2Pac, was an American rapper, top selling recording artist, and successful actor, as well as a prominent social activist. He has also been recognised in the Guinness Book of World records as the highest selling hip hop artist with more than 75 millions albums worldwide. Tupac has made a tremendous impact in the hip hop culture of America, with lyrics delving deeper into topics of violence, life in the ghetto, racism, conflicts with other rappers, and the hardships of growing up. Shakur is also known for advocating political, economic, social and racial equality, and also for his frequent run-ins with the law, raw descriptions of violence, and drug and alcohol abuse.

13) Run-D.M.C:

Run DMC was an influential and pioneering hip hop group which was founded in the 1980s. It consisted of founding members Joseph ‘Run’ Simmons, Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels, and Jason ‘Jam-Master Jay’ Mizell. The group had a massive influence on the development of the hip hop culture through the 1980s and is credited for breaking hip hop into mainstream music. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them #48 in their list of greatest musical artists of all time. They have also been nominated for possible 2009 induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

14) Jimi Hendrix:

James Marshall Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who made an incredible contribution to the world of rock music. After initial success in Europe, Hendrix set his sights on America and achieved fame there after his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival.

Hendrix has won numerous prestigious rock music awards, including been inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and the UK Hall of Fame in 2005. He has also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994. Rolling Stone magazine also named Hendrix the top guitarist on its list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2003.

15) Eminem:

Marshall Bruce Mathers III, also known by his stage name Eminem and by his alter ego Slim Shady, is an Academy Award and Grammy Award winning rapper, record producer and actor. In his short career, Eminem has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide, making him one of the highest selling rappers of all time. Eminem gained popularity in 1999 after the release of his debut album, The Slim Shady LP, and then following it up with the Marshall Mathers LP, which became the fastest selling hip hop album in history. And while winning throngs of awards, including Grammy’s, Eminem was both praised and criticised for his controversial lyrics and angry persona.

Despite all the controversy surrounding him, Eminem ranked #9 on MTVs list of Greatest MCs of all time, #3 on MTVs ‘22 Greatest Voices in Music’, and #82 on Rolling Stone’s ‘The Immortals’. In 2008, readers of Vibe magazine voted him the ‘Best Rapper Alive’.