Music lovers have been left jaw-dropped at the omission of Luther Vandross, Diana Ross, Chris Brown, Brandy, Alicia Keys, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, Toni Braxton, Gladys Knight, and Anita Baker (among others) from the top 10 of Billboard’s latest countdown – ‘The 75 Best R&B Artists of All Time.’
And though expected hitmakers like Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston decorated the top 10, the order of their ranking left some thinking the music Bible hit quite the critical sour note.
As we previously reported, staff of the mag’s official website created the index in honor of Black Music Month and ordered their picks by “industry achievements, game-changing influence, enduring generational/cultural impact, vocal prowess, body of work, and career longevity.”
Now with the final 10 unveiled for Juneteenth (June 19), look inside to see where your favorites of the last crew landed.
Billboard’s ’75 Best R&B Artists of All Time’
Top 10
1. Stevie Wonder
2. Aretha Franklin
3. Michael Jackson
4. Beyonce
5. Whitney Houston
6. James Brown
7. Prince
8. Mariah Carey
9. R. Kelly
10. Marvin Gaye
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Beyonce we get it, you can do it all. Now please return to return to your R&B / Funk / Pop / Ballads routes. R&B especially. Thank you !!!
Beyonce doesn’t have any good R&B album. She’s a pop Icon. And she’s definitely not a good Artist.
Aaliyah should be there instead, all her albums are great and shifted the genre and she’s a better artist and unique style.
While you’re a dusty mess who clearly loves to hate and live negatively!!
Suck it up buttercup 🖕🖕🖕
Beyonce is the only one on the list that uses 200 producers and 3000 writers for each song on her albums. She’s the Macdonald’s in this top ten of Michelin restaurants. She used to be a great performer though.
“Dangerously in Love” and “4” are great R&B albums. Those are her two most strictly R&B albums. The others include a lot of R&B hits as well.
Beyonce got good R&B hits but not a good R&B album
She’s not a good artist, Aaliyah is 10 + levels than her
even Solange is like 6+ levels than her
also Kelis and of course Janet Jackson
Yur DELUSIONAL,
I promise u loose rap & refuse WOULD NOT have made it on Dangerously in Love or 4 tracklist… not even as a bonus track 🤣
Delusional 🤣
Fix yur ears
Aaliyah 2nd album was good but other 2 were MID as is loose rap 🤣
Are these ppl rnb or just black artists?
Anyway this is nothing official, just a bunch of random staff giving their opinion. Keep it moving, nothing to see here…
Wait until they find out she’s stolen most her music and is married to a sexual predator.
I bet they know but still push and promote her for money.
Yes we love the QUEEN!!!! 😍🥰
It’s impossible to put these artists in a complete order that will please everyone. BUT, this is a respectable top 10 in my opinion. My absolute favorites, Prince, Beyoncé, Marvin, & Aretha, are all included in the top 10; I love & still listen to the rest of the top 10 as well … so I can’t complain. I also love Rick and Teena, but I realize those are just personal preferences, they didn’t have the same level of hits as some of the others.
CORRECTION: One complaint, I wish they would have omitted R. Kelly…ugh, yuck…will never view his music the same. I’d push him down the list and pull up Chaka! Other than that, my original thoughts stand.
Trapped in the closet alone makes rkelly worthy of his position on this list.
Agreed. So gross.
#1 Whitney Houston
#2 Mary Blige
#3 Missy Elliot
#4 Aaliyah
#5 Beyoncé
Stevie Wonder & Aretha Franklin are both OVERRATED as hell. 🤣 🤣 🤣
Aside from the top 2 and James brown, this top 10 rank is solid.
Bs. Beyonce over MC, Whitney, AND Marvin Gaye? Get outta here. She’s not on the level of ANY of those people in the top 10.
DELUSIONAL 💯
Agreed. I don’t support people married to rapists.
If theses haters would stop with all the negativity always being about Beyoncé not a good artist and really step back and see the true articulation of this person who in my opinion is well place and should be in top 5 . Beyoncé work ethics is so undeniable and no-one I mean no-one can match and has match her.like or or not, the truth is the truth, she deserves all accolades and should be honor
Columbia records Crack the whip on her She is under Contract what else do you expect she can be sued if she don’t perform and Whitney didn’t have to dance
Beyoncé is not under contract any more with Sony
Parkwood/Columbia. She still has to pay Columbia They run her like a s**** racehorse 🐎🐎🐎
Ew. R Kelly is a sexual predator who hurt numerous women. Why does hollyweird and black culture promote sexual degenerates??
The FORCE that was Prince.
Prince should have been #2 right behind Stevie Wonder. The man was a songwriter. Composed his own music. Arranged his own music. Even PRODUCED his own music. Craaaaaaaaazy!!!!!!
Then played all of the instruments!
Incomprehensible.
The hits were do good he had the entire pop culture in a chokehold.
#1 one song
#1 album
#1 movie
In America
I love Whitney Aretha they are the 2 biggest vocalists of ALL time. But no one besides Stevie could do what Prince could.
PERIOD.
OVERRATED
Wait a minute! Im a Beyonce fan and Im not stupid enough to place her above Prince? The Prince? The one man band are they crazy? Above James Brown? Yhe Godfather of Soul? The man who inspired Michael Jackson? and Prince? She cant even produce like Prince and R kelly! She cant create those hits she created. She snd most tjose others have to call others for that and they just sing.
And above the greatest vocalist of all time Whitney Houston ?
And what dimwit doesn’t have Chris Brown at least #10 or 11 or top 15. He us the singke greatest performer in our history. When I saw mid Usher in the top 20 i knew the decision makers were nuts. Usher can rven begin to compare to Chris Brown or the Luther Vandross! Most of the top 10 is right but Beyonce. But the Chris brown mishap? Usher placement is hilariously out of place his fam must be on the voting team.
Im glad my name isnt behind this embarrassment.