Music Best Solo Artist in Pop Music History

B20

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Does Lady Gaga rank anywhere in this? I'm not a fan of her stuff, but she does seem original at least.
I considered her and Justin Timberlake, but as good as they are, I think their stature is built on basically one album.
 

villain

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On the latter part, just about everyone who’s covered Bob Dylan has done it better than him. Which also underlines his genius as a poet.

Dylan even took to doing All Along The Watchtower in the Hendrix style as he thought it was better
I never thought about that, the only Bob Dylan songs i've heard have been covers
 

amolbhatia50k

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I considered her and Justin Timberlake, but as good as they are, I think their stature is built on basically one album.
Justin is a fraud. Had one or two half decent songs and built a career out of supposedly looking good, doing shit movies and dating Britney Spears. Plus he was in that abomination that was Nsync, who were basically a shit backstreet boys who themselves were, well, a boyband (at least one that did it well).

Lady Gaga is much better and unique. But of course she doesn't deserve to be anywhere in this discussion.
 

Wibble

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Bowie and Leonard Cohen probably.

MJ and to a lesser extent Prince were talented but still at the pop fluff end of the spectrum.
 

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Eckers99

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Oh I agree. Newsom is my second my favourite artist and my favourite solo artist of then all. Better than anyone we're discussing here. Her lyrical wizardly and enchanting music is other worldly. It's just that she doesn't qualify for this thread. Otherwise I absolutely adore her and will always champion her genius.

Nice to know she has another fan on the caf :)
Third fan right here! She's a marvel.
 

Wibble

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Here we go again.

RIP thread.
Not at all. You can love Oasis while admitting their unoriginality and debt to the Beatles. The Beatles and Elivis were great but not even close to peak Bowie.
 
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Stack

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Is Bruno Mars a meta meme reference that’s passed me by?
my only guess so far is that in some ways he can remind people of MJ, similar dance moves and a really great voice. So he gets mentioned as a sort of fun spin on being MJ still singing? I dont know thats all I could think of
 

Organic Potatoes

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Not at all. You can love Oasis while admitting their unoriginality and debt to the Beatles. The Beatles and Elivis were great but not even close to peak Bowie.
Bowie’s best stuff wasn’t pop though. He had a few hits, but I’d never classify him as a pop musician.

And I think you’re discounting the greatness of the last few Beatles albums.
 

Wibble

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Bowie’s best stuff wasn’t pop though. He had a few hits, but I’d never classify him as a pop musician.

And I think you’re discounting the greatness of the last few Beatles albums.
Exactly my point Bowie wasn't pop.

Peak Beatles was pop. Late Beatles was mainly less good, more pretentious pop.
 

Eckers99

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Talented but not in the same universe as many artists mentioned in this thread.
She's pretty far from being a pop star, so isn't even in the conversation. She's a damn sight more talented than some of the artists being brought up though.
 

thepolice123

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I find it curious how many people are saying Michael Jackson and that it's obvious. Of course he was hugely popular and successful, but I feel as though most people only actually know and like about 5 songs by him.
Tbh I think most people who lived through the 80s and 90s can easily name 5 songs.
 

sullydnl

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Not sure about the Bowie not being pop thing.

Aside from the Let's Dance period (where he was very much making pop music), so much of what he did from the Ziggy-era on has directly influenced modern pop to such an extent that he's basically grandfathered in.

I mean if you look at people like Lady Gaga or Madonna for example, most of the pop tropes they have traded on throughout their careers in terms of persona and presentation are derived directly from the Bowie of that time. Ditto hundreds of other pop acts since.

Put it this way: if you were writing a definitive history of modern pop music then that "Starman" appearance on Top of the Pops would be a linchpin moment.
 

UnrelatedPsuedo

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my only guess so far is that in some ways he can remind people of MJ, similar dance moves and a really great voice. So he gets mentioned as a sort of fun spin on being MJ still singing? I dont know thats all I could think of
He’s not even in the top 10,000 of all time. It’s surely a joke. It must be.
 

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Amy Winehouse would've been right up there....great jazz vocals with attitude, her own unique style and a song writer...but one great album isn't nearly enough.
 
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Spoony

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Marvin Gaye produced and wrote songs. The man was effortlessly cool and his vocals...well... they weren't bad were they? Amazing singer.
 

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And Bill Withers had probably the best vocals of the lot. Also wrote some classic songs to boot.

MJ is probably the greatest showman.
 
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UnrelatedPsuedo

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Quite upsetting that The Great Big Beg that is Drake is probably the correct answer if you poll everyone born in the last 30 years.
 

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I was going to mention Ini Kamoze...but I couldn't overlook 'extraordinary, juice like a strawberry...'.
 

Spoony

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And surely Bob Marley has to be in the mix.

In terms of influence he must be right up there.

In terms of showmanship... we're talking Jacko, Prince and James Brown.