Top 10 Best R&B Artists of All Time

The Top Ten
1 Michael Jackson Michael Jackson (Michael Joseph Jackson; August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, dancer, and songwriter. He passed away from cardiac arrest caused by a propofol and benzodiazepine overdose on June 25, 2009. He donated (at least) a remarkable 500,000,000 dollars to charity. Michael is also known as The King of Pop (a title given to him by Elizabeth Taylor) or under the initials MJ. Dubbed the King of Pop, he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. ...read more.

Billie Jean is a R&B song.

His a pop singer not r&b

2 Amir Tataloo Amirhossein Maghsoudloo, born September 21, 1987 (age 33)
better known by his stage name Amir Tataloo, is an Iranian singer and songwriter. He was born in Tehran, Majidiyeh region.

An underground musician unauthorized by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Tataloo is "a rapper with so many fans" in words of Time and has a "strong fan base" among the youth in Iran according to Radio... read more

He always sings about problem of the people of his country.

I am not for iran , it is a number one.

Amir Tataloo is better than Michael Jackson and he is The Best

3 Janet Jackson Janet Jackson is a singer and dancer who is well known for her sexually graphic records, iconic performances, and slightly weak voice. She is regarded as a sex symbol through her songs and videos.

Yea my queen! A legend

4 Usher Usher Terry Raymond IV is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. Born in Dallas, but raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee was where he lived until moving to Atlanta, Georgia at the age of 12 where his mother put him in local singing competitions all over the city.
5 The Weeknd Abęl Makkonen Tesfaye, known professionally by his stage name The Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was born on 16 February 1990 in Toronto, Ontario. He used to upload songs on YouTube in 2010, now he has 3 studio albums Kiss Land, Beauty Behind The Madness and Starboy. He has won 3 Grammy awards and 9 Juno Awards

No. His music "puts you in the worst mood"

Don't make no sense if The Weeknd ranks lower than Usher on this list

Probably the most genuis Artist ever . He always nails in every genre . Such a brilliant voice

6 Joe
7 Boyz II Men Boyz II Men is an American R&B vocal group, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies.

Boyz II Men can make anything sound good, it's what they do.

8 Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Throughout his career, Vandross was an in-demand background vocalist for several different artists.
9 Frank Ocean Christopher Edwin Breaux, known professionally as Frank Ocean, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and photographer.
10 Chris Brown Christopher Maurice "Chris" Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actor. Born in Tappahannock, Virginia, he was involved in his church choir and several local talent shows from a young age. He is most well known for his physical assault towards the singer Rihanna in 2009. He is also known for many hit singles, such as "Kiss Kiss", "Run It!", "Forever", "Deuces", "Look At Me Now", "Loyal", "Ayo", and "Back to Sleep".

He belongs on the worst r&b artists list. This guy is a disgrace to r&b!

The Contenders
11 TLC TLC is an American girl group whose original recording line-up consisted of Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas.
12 Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris, known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist.

I mean, Usher and Ne-Yo are good, but Stevie Wonder is the master of this genre and the one that they all look up to.

Very surprised he is this low would have expected he would be number 1 or 2.

13 Drake Aubrey Drake Graham, known professionally as Drake, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor, born on October 24, 1986 in Toronto, Canada. He started his career on Canadian reality show "Degrassi: The Next Generation".
14 Erykah Badu

The Queen Of NEO Soul.. Grammy Winner,
One of the most celebrated and recognised voice in R&B

15 Marvin Gaye Marvin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay Jr.; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of hits, earning him the nicknames "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul". ...read more.
16 Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith, better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor.
17 Beyonce Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, is an American singer and actress, who started out in the popular pop/r&b girl group Destiny's Child. They had multiple top 5 hits such as "No, No, No", "Say My Name", "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Survivor", "Independent Women", "Bootylicious", and "Jumpin', Jumpin" from 1999 to 2004. After they broke up in 2006, Beyonce pursued her solo career, creating smash hits such as "Crazy In Love", "Single Ladies", "Halo", "Partition", "Irreplaceable", "Drunk In Love", "Baby Boy", "Beautiful Liar", "7/11", and "Run The World (Girls)", and has since become one of the most influential performers and biggest celebrities of the 21st century.

When you talk about R&B, few on this list qualify in any traditional sense; thus many true R&B best "of all time" are omitted. Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Aretha, Etta James, Ray Charles, The Temptations, Four Tops, Sam and Dave, Martha Reeves, Fontella Bass, Gladys Knight, The Supremes and many more are much more worthy than many on this list. They deserve respect, not only for their level of talent, but as those who led the way.

Beyonce is a joke!

18 Brian McKnight Brian McKnight, born June 5, 1969, is an American R&B singer-songwriter, arranger, producer, and musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays eight instruments including piano, guitar, bass guitar, percussion, trombone, tuba, flugelhorn and trumpet. He is one of the very few leggiero tenors in the pop genre. McKnight is perhaps most recognized for his strong falsetto and belting range. McKnight's work has earned him 16 Grammy Award nominations, though he has never won. He is third only to Morten Lindberg and Snoop Dogg for the record of most Grammy nominations without a win. His most well-known songs include "Back At One", "One Last Cry", and "Anytime."

He's one of the greatest for sure, always with good and meaningful lyrics and great melodies.

19 R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), known professionally as R. Kelly, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and convicted sex offender. He has been credited with helping to redefine R&B and hip hop, earning nicknames such as "the King of R&B", "the King of Pop-Soul", and the "Pied Piper of R&B." ...read more.
20 Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16th 1979 and died August 25th 2001. She was a dancer, an actress and an R&B singer. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, raised in Detroit, Michigan and died at Marsh Harbour, Bahamas. ...read more.
21 Maxwell Gerald Maxwell Rivera,, better known by his stage names Maxwell and Musze, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor.
22 Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway was an American jazz, blues, soul and gospel singer, songwriter, arranger and pianist.

Come on, Donny should be higher! Donny was young, black and gifted! Chris Brown is just young and black!

23 Janelle Monae Janelle Monáe Robinson, known professionally as Janelle Monáe, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and model signed to her own imprint, Wondaland Arts Society, and Atlantic Records.
24 Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook, known by the pseudonym Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress.

Alicia Keys and Beyonce are both the greatest!

25 Johnny Gill Johnny Gill started out as a solo artist in the 1980s, releasing two albums that didn't garner much attention. It was not until later, when Gill became a member of the r&b/pop group New Edition, that people started to take notice of his music and his talent. He went on to release his most successful album, 'Johnny Gill', in 1990, giving him his biggest hits with songs like "My, My, My", "Rub You the Right Way", "Fairweather Friend", and "Rap My Body Tight." He went on to release two more albums in the 90's, but then took a long break from his solo career, not releasing another solo album until 2011's "Still Winning." Throughout the late 90's and early 2000's, he was part of the r&b group LSG, ...read more.
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