# Who are your favorite musicians? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 24, 2001, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700 "2001-02-24T06:05:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2001, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/1 "2001-02-24T06:05:03Z")
Currently at the top of my personal hit parade are: **Vas** (Azam Ali & Greg Ellis) **Sheila Chandra** **Loreena McKennitt** **Sally Oldfield** **Shahram Nazeri** **Sima Bina** **Nithyasree Mahadevan** **Axiom of Choice** **Enya** and after all these years I still love **Yes**. ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2001, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/2 "2001-02-24T06:40:51Z")
Morphine Skid Row GnR Jimi!!! Among others, of course. Hell…here’s my cd list: [http://www.rpi.edu/~vannem/cds.txt](http://www.rpi.edu/~vannem/cds.txt) ---
**Author:** ![OrcaChow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e47c2d/32.png) [@OrcaChow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OrcaChow)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2001, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/3 "2001-02-24T06:50:59Z")
In no particular order: The Beatles The Stones Jefferson Airplane (not Starship) The Who Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (especially Neil Young) Johnny Cash **Frank Zappa** David Bowie Sparks Blue Oyster Cult Dead Kennedys Mary Chapin Carpenter ---
**Author:** ![ThisYearsGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@ThisYearsGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisYearsGirl)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2001, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/4 "2001-02-24T18:05:49Z")
David Bowie Van Morrison Jonathan Richman (and the Modern Lovers) Zeppelin Rules!!! (Sorry, I don’t think it’s possible to casually mention Zeppelin if you really like them–you have to go all out) Jeff Buckley Elliott Smith Iggy Pop George Gershwin The Clash Patti Smith PiL Joan Baez Bob Dylan The Doors (but not Jim Morrison) Leonard Cohen Talking Heads John Lennon ---
**Author:** ![Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morrison_s_Lament)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2001, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/5 "2001-02-24T18:13:33Z")
I’m afraid I will need to kill you Thisyearsgirl 😃 My favorites include a man named Jim… no really… guess his last name? 😉 — G. Raven Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and most of the reggae greats rule too, and Dylan is god ---
**Author:** ![beckwall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2001, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/6 "2001-02-24T19:05:32Z")
Beck is numero uno (thus my screen name) Magnetic Fields (can’t remember the guy’s name, he does most of it himself) Bob Marley (anything) Nick Drake (when I just want to keep on feeling melancholic) Moby (I know, he is so “everywhere” but I still like him) Green Day (just the crunchy stuff) They Might Be Giants (not the new stuff, but “Istanbul” and “Birdhouse” era) Morissey (who doesn’t love “Girlfriend In A Coma”?) Soundtrack for “Requiem For A Dream” Ralph Vaughn Williams (classical, anything of his) ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2001, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/7 "2001-02-24T22:48:56Z")
[li]Johann Sebastian Bach[/li][sup]THE KING OF CLASSICAL MUSIC[/sup] [li]John Renbourn[/li][sup]A FINGER PICKING MASTER[/sup] [li]Davy Graham[/li][sup]ONE OF THE UNKNOWN GUITAR GREATS[/sup] [li]Andres Segovia[/li][sup]A GUITAR GOD[/sup] [li]Jeff Beck[/li][sup]STILL BLOWS THE DOORS OFF OF OTHER MUSICIANS[/sup] [li]Bert Jansch[/li][sup]A FOLK FOUNTAINHEAD[/sup] [li]Jean Pierre Rampal[/li][sup]A FLAUTIST EXTRORDINAIRE[/sup] [li]Eric Johnson[/li][sup]A SUPERB COMPOSER AND PERFORMER[/sup] [li]Junior Brown[/li][sup]JUST BECAUSE HE’S SO WEIRD[/sup] [li]Jimi Hendrix[/li][sup]MASTER OF THE ELECTRIC GUITAR[/sup] [li]Robert Fripp[/li][sup]UNRECOGNIZED INNOVATOR OF ADVANCED ROCK[/sup] [li]Pentangle[/li][sup]ONE OF THE MOST VERSATILE GROUPS IN HISTORY[/sup] [li]Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band[/li][sup]POSSIBLY THE GREATEST UNKNOWN BAND[/sup] [li]Paul Desmond[/li][sup]A MASTER OF THE SAXOPHONE[/sup] [li]Cream[/li][sup]ONE OF THE ALL TIME CLASSIC ROCK BANDS[/sup] [li]Tony McAlpine[/li][sup]A TALENT TO RECKONED WITH[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![chief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@chief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chief)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2001, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/8 "2001-02-24T23:18:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Flymaster \* > \*\*Morphine > Skid Row > GnR > Jimi!!! > Among others, of course. Hell…here’s my cd list: > [http://www.rpi.edu/~vannem/cds.txt](http://www.rpi.edu/~vannem/cds.txt) \*\* hey , i think you will like my site, check it out! our tastes are pretty similar i would say… ---
**Author:** ![Skwerl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Skwerl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skwerl)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2001, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/9 "2001-02-25T03:10:53Z")
Am I the only one who thinks of instrumentalists when they hear “musician”? Instead of bands, I’ll actually post a few musicians: Alfred Brendel (pianist) Chris Cheney (guitarist from the Living End - one of the best in music today, IMO) Mark Knopfler (another good guitarist, formerly of Dire Straits) Method Man (rapper with a cool voice) Christine Anu (another good voice) Yehudi Menuhin (the late, great violinist) Hmm…the other ones I can think of are more “artists” than “musicians” (ie, techno guys) or make pleasant music but aren’t skilled musicians. ---
**Author:** ![tbea925](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@tbea925](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tbea925)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2001, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/10 "2001-02-25T03:31:03Z")
Bob James Chet Atkins Suzy Boggus Eroica Trio David Sandborn Chip Davis (a.k.a Mannheim Steamroller) Gilmore from Floyd Victor Borge Weird AL Miles Davis Maynard Ferguson OK…John Tesh Isao Tomita and on…and on… ---
**Author:** ![Elkman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Elkman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elkman)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2001, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/11 "2001-02-25T03:52:09Z")
My top 5: 1. Herb Alpert, with or without the Tijuana Brass 2. B.B. King 3. AC/DC 4. Blue Man Group 5. Meco (of Star Wars fame) ---
**Author:** ![hypergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@hypergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hypergirl)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2001, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/12 "2001-02-25T04:36:13Z")
The Beatles The Doors Andrew Lloyd Webber ---
**Author:** ![HomeSlice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/9d8465/32.png) [@HomeSlice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HomeSlice)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2001, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/13 "2001-02-25T04:48:14Z")
Pearl Jam Pearl Jam Pearl Jam Pearl Jam Pearl Jam Pearl Jam Pearl Jam Pearl Jam Pearl Jam ---
**Author:** ![Eo\_Echo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ebca7d/32.png) [@Eo\_Echo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eo_Echo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2001, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/14 "2001-02-25T09:00:08Z")
Journey, and by proxy Santana, which begat Journey. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2001, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/15 "2001-02-25T18:25:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ThisYearsGirl \* > \*\*David Bowie > Van Morrison > Jonathan Richman (and the Modern Lovers) > Zeppelin Rules!!! (Sorry, I don’t think it’s possible to casually mention Zeppelin if you really like them–you have to go all out) > Jeff Buckley > Elliott Smith > Iggy Pop > George Gershwin > The Clash > Patti Smith > PiL > Joan Baez > Bob Dylan > The Doors (but not Jim Morrison) > Leonard Cohen > Talking Heads > John Lennon \*\* Excellent taste **'Girl** , I think I’m in love! The only changes I’d make would be to replace Joan Baez with Aimee Mann, and add Radiohead. Cheers, Hodge ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2001, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/16 "2001-02-25T18:28:48Z")
How could I have forgotten the best composer of the 20th century?! **Duke Ellington** Cheers, Hodge ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2001, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/17 "2001-02-25T22:22:51Z")
Mind if I add a few more? **Shakti** with John McLaughlin **L. Shankar** formerly of Shakti **L. Subramaniam** **Ofra Haza** (R.I.P., she is now singing divine hymns in Heaven and her voice is putting to shame the angelic choir) **Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan** (ditto) **Anoushka Shankar** and her dad Ravi **Peter Gabriel** (and **Genesis** when he was with them) **Kate Bush** **Kitaro** With my liking for **Vas** and other World Music, [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) suggested I would like **Dead Can Dance** , but I have not heard them. Anybody think DCD is any good? ---
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2001, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/18 "2001-02-26T04:40:15Z")
Pixies Talking Heads Built to Spill Lyle Lovett Sugarcubes Jon Spencer Blues Xplosion UNREST. Wow…they were really swell. Old R.E.M. Cardigans (first album) Tortoise The Long Hind Legs (I’ve only heard one song, but it was plenty good enough to get them on the list) …there are more, but I can’t think of them all at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Amazing\_Tiki\_God](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazing\_Tiki\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazing_Tiki_God)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2001, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/19 "2001-02-26T04:59:45Z")
In no particular order they are Green Day A Perfect Circle Radiohead Staind Everclear Godsmack Korn Wheatus Live Bloodhound Gang Fuel Filter Aerosmith Nine Inch Nails Prodigy Moby ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2001, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700/20 "2001-02-26T05:57:55Z")
> [@](#): > > With my liking for Vas and other World Music, [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) suggested I would like Dead Can Dance, but I have not heard them. Anybody think DCD is any good? They’re amazing. You’ve probably heard Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance if you’ve seen Heat, The Insider, Gladiator, or the 13th Warrior. She has a very distinctive vocal style. Based on what you listed as your favorites, I’d start with the live album “Toward the Within” or “Into the Labyrinth.” Get on Napster and search for “Rakim” or “Sanvean.” Before they broke up, their Eastern and African influences came to the fore. “A Passage In Time,” is a greatest hits compilation of their earlier stuff, but it favors one album (The Serpent’s Egg) too much. And for topical purposes, a list of my favorite guitarists: **Maurice Deebank** of Felt **Roy Montgomery** **Vini Reilly** of Durutti Column **Michael Brook** and **The Edge** -fh [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-musicians/55700.md?page=2)