Ultimate Male Artists Countdown - FINISHED

by **HAL9000** » Sat Dec 24, 2011 10:48 am

Lewis17 wrote:(hey, it's Christmas ~ I can dream ).

by **HAL9000** » Sat Dec 24, 2011 11:03 am

By the way, I think it's appropriate to mention or remind on this...
Stevie Wonder (MJ named him "a musical prophet") and John Legend (#25 on this countdown) performed "The Way You Make Me Feel" during The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert in October, 2009 as a tribute to Michael Jackson.

Official video: HERE (3:47 minutes).

Stevie's emotional breakdown during performance was so touching... :cry:

by **Play** » Sat Dec 24, 2011 11:07 am

That was really touching man!

by **stevyy** » Sat Dec 24, 2011 3:05 pm

oh my god, stevie wonder is the most likeable and nicest of all the legends. i love him so much. he is such an emotional person.

by **FreakyFlyBry** » Sat Dec 24, 2011 4:25 pm

The top two have proven that, despite starting out as kids, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson could successfully transition into successful and influential adult musicians.

Stevie was truly revolutionary in his style and flourished despite his blindness and Michael really broke all boundaries with his persona, appealing to a very wide range of fans

All in all, glad such legends came out on top

by **GUS** » Sat Dec 24, 2011 4:55 pm

Gotta love Stevie! MJ : well deserved #1!

by **NothingFails** » Sun Dec 25, 2011 1:53 am

Lewis17 wrote:
NothingFails wrote:MJ's latter music IMO isn't as strong as his peak period, but as a whole, he never really made a bad album. HIStory and Invincible are decent albums, they just can't compete with Off The Wall or Thriller. "Weak" MJ is still better than a lot of artists' "strong" albums.
I agree Invincible is a decent album ~ under-rated by most people IMO.

I'm with HAL9000 on HIStory, however ~ I think it ranks as my favourite MJ album (the disc of new songs, that is). It's certainly his most personal album, and I think if it had been released as a one CD album, rather than an expensive 2CD set, it would have sold 25+ million.

I'm actually surprised (and somewhat disappointed) that HIStory Continues hasn't been reissued on its own, without the greatest hits CD (which has been released on its own, of course, and sold very well). Maybe one day we'll be treated to a one CD remastered version, with a bonus CD of unreleased tracks (hey, it's Christmas ~ I can dream ).

Half of HIStory is brilliant (Earth Song, Stranger In Moscow, HIStory, Scream, Childhood, etc..), but there's a few songs on it that I would consider among my all time least fave MJ songs (DS, Money, Come Together, not that fond of You Are Not Alone to be honest either) that it does keep it a little below the four albums that the GH disc compile IMO.

But I fully agree that Sony should release the new material disc as its own standalone like they did the hits disc. When MJ's sales skyrocketed after his death, even Blood On The Dance Floor spent more time back on the chart than HIStory in the aftermath, and its all because of the ridiculous $25-30 pricetag on it. Had the new disc been separated as its own release as well, I think catalog sales would be far better for it. When HIStory came out in 1995, it was kind of a good idea because people were still in the process of updating their records and tapes to CD so those who hadn't yet bought Thriller or Bad on CD had the hits disc to tie them over, but now most people have all those hits either on the regular albums, or on Number Ones/The Essential or something that the new album is rather left unattended.

by **JSparksFan** » Mon Dec 26, 2011 7:20 am

Congrats to MJ on the #1 position. I grew up listening to the King of Pop and despite the controversy that surrounded his name in the mid-00's, I always loved him and he'll forever hold a place in my heart as one of my all-time favourite artists.

Stevie Wonder is great. I am not as familiar with his work as I should be but "I Just Called To Say I Love You" is amazing, one of the best songs from the 80's.

by **HAL9000** » Mon Dec 26, 2011 10:17 am

NothingFails wrote:Half of HIStory is brilliant (Earth Song, Stranger In Moscow, HIStory, Scream, Childhood, etc..), but there's a few songs on it that I would consider among my all time least fave MJ songs (DS, Money, Come Together, not that fond of You Are Not Alone to be honest either) that it does keep it a little below the four albums that the GH disc compile IMO.

"Money" is definitely one of the most quoted poems/songs in MJ fan communities and this in itself speaks of the brilliance of the song.

Topic of human greed and materialism is common in music, but MJ here masterfully gets to the essence of human behavior and song is especially sharp in the context of leeches and "journalists" which surrounded him all his life. D.S. is a statement and I love how Michael plays with pronunciation to get the name of that worthless piece of [censored]. Of course D.S. is not a song that people will listen at a wedding or a party or you'll hear on radio but it is an important to Michael, and regarding sound it is very interesting (IMO). Not one of my favorites, but (dis)liking someone's artistic expression is only one form in a vast array of forms in which I/you can evaluate a piece of art. For artist, his work serves as a means of expression and communication. HIStory (his story) is a real, true, pure Michael Jackson with his thoughts and views. Michael incorporated himself into 77 minutes of pure art, through a variety of musical genres and styles. He covered a range of topics from the most personal to the general such as discrimination, destruction, materialism, corruption, media manipulation... Subjectively speaking, HIStory is a rollercoaster of emotions, anger, rage, pride, nostalgia, sadness, sorrow, joy, irritation, anxiety, frustration ... and some songs are simply food for thought. HIStory is definitely less accessible and radio friendly than his previous works but artistically it is absolutely brilliant album. In my book, HIStory is the ultimate master-piece.

by **Wayne** » Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:52 pm

Can somebody please un-sticky this?

Website · by **Shorty** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 12:45 am

04wayne wrote:I enjoyed Adam Lambert's debut very much, I like that he had an almost free reign to be as flamboyant as possible. And obviously, the fact that he was so openly gay and free with his sexuality appealed to me immensely.

To this day, I think Music Again is one of THE best tracks of the year. And I can still just about listen to his album from start to finish. I'm anticipating his return to music! I know Megan likes him a lot so look forward to reading what she has to say about him

I know the countdown is way over and Adam charted at #20, but I was just reading it and I saw this :lol:

I do indeed love Adam! He would have been my #1 if I'd voted

I absolutely ADORE him. He's easily the most talented Idol contestant ever, his music is creative, he writes his own material, he's an amazing live performer and oh yeah... he's hot :lol:

I know he's gay, but I can dream :lol:

His debut album is one of my favourite albums, and I love EVERY single track from beginning to end, and "Soaked" is such a superb track, it's so theatrical and just plain epic

For me, Adam = love.

by **Plym** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 4:50 pm

FANTASTIC Top 10! So great to see Stevie get massive recognition on UKMix!

LOL @ the comment that Eminem is higher than 2Pac because of skin colour and then Kanye coming next.

by **Titan3510** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 5:26 pm

Plym wrote:FANTASTIC Top 10! So great to see Stevie get massive recognition on UKMix!

LOL @ the comment that Eminem is higher than 2Pac because of skin colour and then Kanye coming next.

Well...2Pac is the better rapper. And it's called versatility and self-control.

Eminem himself said "If I was black, I would've sold half."

Yet in still...I can't seem to make the sheepish grin I have on my face disappear.

Thanks for checking me, Plym.

by **Plym** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 5:39 pm

Titan3510 wrote:Well...2Pac is the better rapper.

Incorrect.

by **Titan3510** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 6:13 pm

Plym wrote:
Titan3510 wrote:Well...2Pac is the better rapper.
Incorrect.

And why am I incorrect?

by **Plym** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 9:33 pm

Titan3510 wrote:
Plym wrote:
Titan3510 wrote:Well...2Pac is the better rapper.
Incorrect.
And why am I incorrect?

Well... because 2Pac isn't the better rapper.

by **Titan3510** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 11:22 pm

Ok.

So...why do you say that?

by **Wayne** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 11:52 am

I also don't think that 2Pac is the better rapper, though I do think he's very talented.

by **Titan3510** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:46 pm

....

*looks at watch*

...so...

Are you guys going to tell me why you see Eminem as the better rapper or...am I going to have to take the silent inconclusiveness for an answer and move on?

by **Plym** » Sun Jan 01, 2012 2:40 pm

Why don't you go first and tell us why 2Pac is the better rapper?

by **Titan3510** » Sun Jan 01, 2012 11:23 pm

Plym wrote:Why don't you go first and tell us why 2Pac is the better rapper?

...ookaaaay...

Because, some of you will just use this post as a blueprint for your rebuttal, I'll be as brief as possible

Tupac was very creative and very hard-working. The man has been dead for almost 16 years now...and his mother is still releasing his music. When he got out of jail at the end of 1995, he was in the studio day in and day out, making songs. And each and every one of them had a fresh musical sound.

Eminem's actual music (the music he actually raps to AKA the instrumental) isn't all that. Tupac rapped to pretty much everything...and still had a nasty flow.

Also, Tupac was a poet: a versatile one at that. It was like he always had something to talk about: hence the unusual outpour of posthumous records. The wordplay he was often using was very clever; look at my signature for example. It makes sense too since he was into theatre and acting since his teens.

Not many rappers can flip the switch from songs like "Keep Your Head Up" and "I Get Around" and sound credible and sincere on both.

Back to the poetry aspect, Tupac wrote and rapped his lyrics in a well thought-out but very concentrated bursts. Eminem raps in an ordinary, almost prosaic fashion with loads of detail. Now, to me, I love me some prose but poetry speaks to me more because it speaks volumes without even speaking much. I could spend a couple of hours examining poetry whereas I could break down prose literature in about less than an hour.

Now, that might be the crux. Maybe some of you guys like to be entertained and Eminem is the one who can give you that kind of entertainment based on his style of lyricism.

It's just that the imagery Tupac is able to create without borderline extraneous detail is incredible. And do I need to delve into the magnitude of Tupac's social consciousness?

Not to mention, Tupac had self-restraint and he didn't feel the need to be outright childish when he had a issue with someone. Tupac knew how to be funny without being obnoxious. For example, Tupac would never make a song along the lines of killing his wife, putting her in a trunk and drive her corpse to the coast so he can get rid of it with his daughter in the car; fantasy or not, that's not even cool.

And he never had to sank to incorporating the use of shock value in order to sell records.

Now, I'm sure a lot of you may be having an :roll:

moment at me pulling the "race card" but I can't say that I particularly care. Believe it or not, race and skin color has a lot to do with being commercial and experiencing widespread success in the Western world. So, even though we're not playing poker and this is not some card game...yes, I'm pulling the damn "card."

I'm not saying Eminem is a bad rapper. He's very good at what he does (his rhymes are incredible) but I just honestly think that he's a tad bit overrated because of his skin color.

Now, I'm not necessarily knocking him for that or for anything. Eminem is not only a gifted rapper ut he has played a huge role in making hip hop accessible to large swathes of people who ordinarily would avoid the genre and its proponents as if it were the bubonic plague.

And yes, when you compare Eminem to his peers and contemporaries (Drake, Lil Wayne, Ja Rule, 50 Cent, Fabolous, Mystikal, Busta Rhymes, Vanilla Ice, Limp Biznit, Pete Nice, etc.) then yes...Eminem's the best thing since the invention of the printing press.

I just can't honestly sit here behind this computer and think he would be where he is now if it wasn't for his skin tone. Dr. Dre himself might have even passed him up because he would've been just another black dude with a nasty flow.

Now, that's just the basic rundown of my reasons.

Now...will you guys tell me why you think Eminem is much better than Tupac or should I just move on?

by **Titan3510** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 1:54 am

...I'm waiting...

by **toni_pest** » Wed Mar 21, 2012 4:49 am

Eric Clapton was #83 in this and Chris Brown was in the top 20?!?!

by **biscuits** » Wed Mar 21, 2012 9:08 am

Bob Marley was #18, so that makes him Janet's male counterpart. Could be worse!

by **Wayne** » Wed Mar 21, 2012 9:10 am

Titan3510 wrote:...I'm waiting...

I just imagine Titan sitting there, ageing and smoking a cigar waiting for Plym's response

I had fun doing this countdown, even if the males don't get as much loving as the ladies.

Ultimate Male Artists Countdown - FINISHED

Which act will miss out on the top 3? [poll closes in 24 hours!]