Plot Synopsis

This countdown covers all genres of music -- everything from rock to rap, hip-hop to pop, and punk to metal -- and the list was determined by a poll of musicians and music experts. According to VH1, who is the greatest musical artist of all-time? Will it be The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Led Zeppelin, or the Rolling Stones? The countdown includes special, rarely-seen performance footage along with brand new, totally original interviews with music's most famous faces with expert commentary from writers, critics, comedians, artists on the list, and even artists not on the list. This program has five one-hour episodes that are shown on four consecutive nights with back-to-back episodes on the first night. Here is the list: 6. Jimi Hendrix; 7. Prince; 8. Elvis Presley; 9. James Brown; 10. Stevie Wonder; 11. Bob Marley; 12. David Bowie; 13. The Who; 14. Nirvana; 15. The Beach Boys; 16. Madonna; 17. Queen; 18. Pink Floyd; 19. U2; 20. Marvin Gaye; 21. Bruce Springsteen; 22. The Clash; 23. AC/DC; 24. The Velvet Underground; 25. Chuck Berry; 26. Neil Young; 27. Aretha Franklin; 28. Elton John; 29. Radiohead; 30. Aerosmith; 31. John Lennon; 32. Black Sabbath 33. Guns N' Roses; 34. Tina Turner; 35. Johnny Cash; 36. Paul McCartney; 37. Fleetwood Mac; 38. Sly & The Family Stone; 39. The Kinks; 40. The Police; 41. Van Halen; 42. Metallica; 43. Ray Charles; 44. Joni Mitchell; 45. Al Green; 46. Ramones; 47. Jay-Z; 48. Rage Against the Machine; 49. Parliament-Funkadelic; 50. Sade; 51. Billy Joel; 52. Beyonce; 53. Little Richard; 54. Public Enemy; 55. Peter Gabriel; 56. KISS; 57. Iggy & the Stooges; 58. Cheap Trick; 59. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers; 60. Whitney Houston; 61. Cream; 62. Genesis; 63. Notorious B.I.G.; 64. Talking Heads; 65. The Doors; 66. Justin Timberlake; 67. Coldplay; 68. Otis Redding; 69. Tupac Shakur; 70. Def Leppard; 71. R.E.M.; 72. Janis Joplin; 73. Van Morrison; 74. The Cure; 75. Rush; 76. Run-DMC; 77. Lynyrd Skynyrd; 78. Judas Priest; 79. Eminem; 80. Mary J. Blige; 81. ABBA; 82. Steely Dan; 83. Earth Wind and Fire; 84. Curtis Mayfield; 85. The Band; 86. N.W.A.; 87. George Michael; 88. Bee Gees; 89. Beastie Boys; 90. Elvis Costello; 91. Green Day; 92. LL Cool J; 93. Pearl Jam; 94. Mariah Carey; 95. OutKast; 96. Journey; 97. Pretenders; 98. Depeche Mode; 99. Hall & Oates; 100. Alicia Keys. Of course this list, like all lists, generated many opinions about who should be added, who should be removed and who should be moved up or down the list. Janet Jackson, The Eagles and Backstreet Boys were identified by multiple fans as glaring omissions.