🎤Most Influential Living Musicians
What counts: Lasting impact on music, culture, and the industry as judged by artistic innovation and influence on other artists
Made popular song into literature, opening territory every ambitious songwriter now works in.
added by Yourlist Editorialin 8 rankingsBob Dylan
0Melodic genius behind pop's most consequential songbook, still writing and touring at 84.
added by Yourlist Editorialin 5 rankingsPaul McCartney
0His run of classic albums and pioneering synth use set the standard for ambitious R&B.
added by Yourlist Editorialin 9 rankingsStevie Wonder
0Turned the album into a cultural event and rewrote the rules of artistic control.
added by Yourlist Editorialin 11 rankingsBeyoncé
0First rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music, bringing novelistic scope to hip-hop.
added by Yourlist Editorialin 7 rankingsKendrick Lamar
0Her open tunings and unsparing songwriting built the language of the singer-songwriter.
added by Yourlist Editorialin 2 rankingsJoni Mitchell
0Shifted artist-label power dynamics and turned touring into a macroeconomic event.
added by Yourlist Editorialin 10 rankingsTaylor Swift
0Drove hip-hop's rise to global dominance and became the blueprint for artist-as-mogul.
added by Yourlist Editorialin 5 rankingsJay-Z
0Proved the studio itself could be an instrument, influencing decades of pop ambition.
added by Yourlist Editorialin 2 rankingsBrian Wilson
0Bridged country and pop while turning her fame into a global literacy program.
added by Yourlist Editorialin 6 rankingsDolly Parton
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