Top Ten Things That Saved the Music Industry

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... read more

The king of pop will never be forgotten. My favorite songs by him are Smooth criminal and Beat it.

2 Metal

Why is pop over heavy metal. Metal takes more talent and has more musicianship and musical authenticity than pop music in general.

3 Pop
4 The Beatles The Beatles were an English pop rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The members consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They were soon known as the foremost and most influential act of rock era. Rooted in skiffle, beat, and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later experimented with several genres, ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements in innovative ways. ...read more.

They showed what could be done, although nobody before or since has remotely come close to what they accomplished.
After less than 10 years together, they are the best that ever were, and the best that ever will be.

What is the point of this list?

5 Rock
6 Deadmau5
7 Electronic
8 Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and initial controversy. ...read more.

The second-largest selling music artist of all time, only those four English lads from Liverpool have sold more than The King.

9 Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, United States, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and developed from roots in blues and ragtime. Jazz is seen by many as "America's classical music".
10 Metallica Metallica is an American Heavy/Thrash Metal band formed in 1981. The original lineup was James Hetfield (Vocalist and Rhythm guitarist), Dave Mustaine (Lead Guitar), Lars Ulrich (Drums), Ron McGovney (Bassist). The group came into mainstream from their Self-Titled album and the hit single "Enter Sandman".

With their first two albums, Kill 'Em All and Ride The Lightning reaching underground success, their third effort, Master of Puppets has since become one of the most important heavy metal albums ever, as it became the first thrash metal album to be certified platinum. The title track has since become the band's most played song live. ...read more.
The Contenders
11 Jackie Evancho Jacqueline Marie "Jackie" Evancho is an American classical crossover singer who gained wide recognition at an early age. Since 2009, she has issued an EP and eight albums, including a platinum and gold album, and three Billboard 200 top 10 debuts. Evancho's latest album 'The Debut', was her eighth consecutive ...read more.

Still very young, [only 15 as of April 2015], but with an astonishing voice and talent level that immediately elevated her to the elite level. Proved that it is possible to dress appropriately, sing without auto-tune, overdramatic flourishes, or obscenity, and to conduct your personal life without leaving a trail of wreckage in your wake.

Still very young [15 as of April 2015], but with an astonishing voice and talent. Proved to all future artists that you can sing at a world-class level without auto-tune, electronic tricks, or over-singing, and also dress appropriately, act humbly, and conduct your personal life without leaving a trail of rubble in your wake.

12 Eminem Eminem, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, is an American rapper, actor and music producer born on October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri. Eminem has sold over 300 million records making him the bestselling hip-hop artist of all time. In addition to his solo career, he is a member of D12 and (with Royce da 5'9") half of the hip-hop duo Bad Meets Evil. Rolling Stone ranked him 83rd on its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, calling him the King of Hip Hop. Including his work with D12 and Bad Meets Evil, Eminem has had ten number-one albums on the Billboard 200 and 5 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, and 13 worldwide.
13 Buddy Holly Buddy Holly, born Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959) was an American musician and singer-songwriter who was a central figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was a rising star when a tragic plane crash struck him down at age 22.

During his short career, Holly wrote, recorded, and produced his own material. He is often regarded as the artist who defined the traditional rock-and-roll lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums. Holly was a major influence on later popular music artists, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and Elton John. ...read more.

He was the first popular artist to be allowed to write, arrange, and perform his own music. This breakthrough was crucial to allow rock n' roll and all of its spinoffs to remain constantly creative.

14 Punk Rock Punk rock is a subgenre of rock music. It usually has rebellious lyrics and down stroked power chords played on guitars. Bad Religion, Sex Pistols, and Green Day (actually pop-punk, which is still punk in a way) are a few punk rock bands. The subgenre influenced thrash metal because of it's down stroked guitar playing and other factors.
15 David Foster David Walter Foster is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, songwriter, and arranger, who has won 16 Grammys.

Often called "The Hitman", and a triple-threat writer, producer, onstage performer, he was the driving force behind countless huge hits from the 1980's right up until today. If you are wondering where you might have heard him, he was the producer on Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You".

16 Quincy Jones Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer, conductor, arranger, composer, musician, television producer, film producer, instrumentalist, magazine founder, entertainment company executive, and humanitarian.

For the first 10 years of his career, Michael Jackson was the Justin Bieber of his era. He was not considered a serious artist until he teamed up with producer Quincy Jones for "Off the Wall".

17 Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by his two trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. Spector developed the Wall of Sound, a production style that is characterized for its diffusion of tone colors and dense orchestral sound, which he described as a Wagnerian approach to rock and roll. He is regarded as one of the most influential figures in pop music history and one of the most successful producers of the 1960s. ...read more.

Guilty of murder, and currently serving a life sentence in prison, but a music production genius nonetheless.

18 Ahmet Ertegun

If you don't know who he was, you don't know much about music.

19 Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and humanitarian. He is known for his work with the E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Boss", Springsteen is widely known for his brand of poetic lyrics, Americana, working class and sometimes political ...read more.
20 Clive Davis
21 Emo
22 The Pretty Reckless
23 Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara, 5th September 1946 - 24th November 1991) was a Zanzibari-born British singer of Indian descent, songwriter and record producer, known as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the British rock band Queen. He also became known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave ...read more.
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