Musical Hierarchy (Serious discussion)

[Karma]

We're narrowing this down to the WOMEN of music, encompassing pop, r&b under "rock" (which "Rolling Stone" often does when discussing this topic).

Now, anybody over the age of 25 SHOULD be aware of and appreciate the legacy of such artists as Aretha Franklin, Patti Labelle, Cher etc. Anybody who grew up in the 80's was obviously touched by Madonn, Mariah, Whitney and Janet.

But who is at the top? who belongs where in the hierarchy of "Women in rock".

Many articles have shown Aretha at the top with Madonna CONSISTENTLY being in the top 10 or even the top 5 or EVEN coming in 2nd ONLY to Aretha. Of course i LOVE Madonna but I can't discount Cher, Patti, Tina...and when giving credit to Madonna , one MUST give credit to HER peers [ Whitney, Mariah...and Janet...who seems to be on the wane]

I would say that Aretha is at the top with HER peers being: Patti Labelle, Cher and Tina Turner.

the 80's represents the passing of the torch to Madonna, Mariah, Whitney and Janet. Madonna and Mariah carry on through the 90's...and we are in the 2000's where the legacy and legend of Aretha speaks for itself but you have at least one if not two generations of kids who hardly know of her...outside of "RESPECT" consistently appearing in the top 10 (or top 5) of rolling stone's 500 most important songs of the 20th century etc. there are kids today who know nothing of Madonna, classic whitney, Mariah, Cher etc.

 

[Prophet]

Well I think that is how music changes. I mean there are some singers who were totally famous and at the top of their game and we have probably never even heard of them today. I think it comes to relevance today. I think that we are talking about two different classes of artists here.

You have the ICONOCLASTS.

Whitney Houston
Madonna
Patti Labelle
Cher
Bette Midler
Etta James
Diana Ross
Tina Turner

Then You have the SUPERSTARS.

Britney Spears
Christina Aguilera
Rihanna
Beyonce Knowles
Pink (while I despise her, she has ALOT of Fans)

While there are a few exceptions (Madonna and Cher AND Tina Turners who's new tour is ON FIRE)the Iconoclasts don't really cross into the Superstar worlds. Music Evolves and changes and I think that is just a part of evolution of music. Think about the current influx of R&B and Hip Hop during the past few years. In the late 90's it was all about Bubble Gum Pop and in the early 90's it was more alternative. I think the true test of an artist is whether or not they can put out NEW Music and connect with a brand new artist. I mean Britney and Christina have been in the business for over 10 years now and they are still staying current. They are on their way, and then there are the exceptions (Cher and Madonna) who have continued to put out NEW music into the 2000's with amazing success.

 

[Rampage]

Great list, but you missed a few...

Mariah Carey--love or hate her, she is supremely talented and has been on top a LONG time. And she is FINE.

Celine Dion -- sold a TON of records.

Barbara Streisand --big fan following.

Ella Fitzgerald --Grand dame of Jazz, her rendition for Porgy and Bess with Satchmo is the shit.

Gwen Stefani --Definitely big, and still on the rise.

Arguments could also be made for Donna Summer, Sade, maybe even Erykah Badu in addition, even if on another slightly lower level. Just something to think about.

 

[Prophet]

I personally think Mariah Carey has TOTALLY faltered in the music business her last few CDs were HORRIBLE with the exception of The Emancipation of Mimi, which when you compare it to her other music, seems almost like a fluke..

But OLD school Mariah I am ALL for. Music Box is the jam. And her Unplugged album was just absolutely amazing!

And how did I forget CELINE!?! My best friend would smack me in the face for that.

Barbara is in the iconoclast section but I mean DAMN who has heard ANYTHING about her after her wedding? Nothing at all.. It's almost as she just went off into obscurity.

Ella is good, VERY good.

But Gwen Stefani.. is horrible. I hate her. HATE her. But I guess she is pretty damn famous.

 

[Rampage]

I personally think Mariah Carey has TOTALLY faltered in the music business her last few CDs were HORRIBLE with the exception of The Emancipation of Mimi, which when you compare it to her other music, seems almost like a fluke..

But OLD school Mariah I am ALL for. Music Box is the jam. And her Unplugged album was just absolutely amazing!

Have you been drinking? MC has 18 #1 hits, more than anybody but the Beatles I think, and she is pretty much the #1 selling female singer EVER.

 

[Prophet]

Yeah I would guess that most of those hits are from her earlier albums and from Emancipation of Mimi, she might have had one or two hits from her albums that didn't do so well...

"Vision Of Love"
1990 - "Love Takes Time"
1991 - "Someday"
1991 - "I Don't Wanna Cry"
1991 - "Emotions"
1992 - "I'll Be There"
1993 - "Hero"
1993 - "Dream Lover"
1995 - "Fantasy"
1995 - "One Sweet Day" (w/ Boyz II Men)
1996 - "Always Be My Baby"
1997 - "Honey"
1998 - "My All"
1999 - "Heartbreaker"
1999 - "Thank God I Found You"
2005 - "We Belong Together"

 

[Rampage]

She did have a break in there after crapping the bed with Glitter, putting out one doo-doo effort other than Glitter from '99 to '05. Then she came the hell back HARD, and her run from the beginning is still impressive overall.

 

[Prophet]

Yeah I was looking at that.. It's like since 91' she had like 3 hits a year! That's CRAZY!

I LOVED her when she first came out but then the year 2000 hit and she came out with the stupid album Rainbow and then Charm Bracelet and it was just SOOO awful and then when Emancipation of Mimi came out and I was ALL about it. This new album however MC2 I am not feeling that much. Feels like there's not enough work put into as Emancipation.