Top 40 Pop Artists of All Time

Aretha Franklin holds the title of queen of soul. She is one of the most celebrated singers of all time earning 18 Grammy Awards, and she became the first woman to enter the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to singing, Aretha Franklin is a very accomplished pianist. Many of her songs stand as anthems for women everywhere.

Essential Songs

• "Respect"
• "Chain of Fools"
• "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)"
• "Spanish Harlem"
• "Think"

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Whitney Houston is sometimes referred to simply as "the Voice." Her powerful vocals led to massive pop success in the 1980s and 1990s. She was born into music with her mother, Cissy Houston, holding a career as a top studio singer. She also counts Dionne Warwick as a cousin and Aretha Franklin her godmother. She became the first artist to have seven consecutive #1 pop singles in the US surpassing the record of six by the Beatles and the Bee Gees.

Essential Songs

• "I Will Always Love You"
• "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)"
• "It's Not Right But It's Okay"
• "Saving All My Love For You"
• "Greatest Love Of All"

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Known as "the Boss," Bruce Springsteen is often considered one of the most distinctively American of rock songwriters. He is a winner of 19 Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for his powerful "Streets of Philadelphia" from the film Philadelphia. With the release of his album Born to Run in 1975, Bruce Springsteen was featured simultaneously on the covers of Time and Newsweek. It took five years for his commercial success to catch up to the critical acclaim.

Essential Songs

• "Born to Run"
• "Dancing in the Dark"
• "Streets of Philadelphia"
• "Hungry Heart"
• "I'm On Fire"

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Billy Joel is one of the most successful singer-songwriters in history. He is a member of both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. He has been a very popular concert act in recent years performing with another of the top piano playing pop stars of all time, Elton John.

Essential Songs

• "Just the Way You Are"
• "My Life"
• "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me"
• "The River of Dreams"
• "Tell Her About It"

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Prince spearheaded the "Minneapolis" sound in the early 1980s that was an arresting blend of pop, rock, funk and new wave. He has continued to pull together diverse influences from pop and rock history into a sound that is distinctively Prince. He has generated controversy throughout his career for sexually explicit material, his opinions on ownership of copyright to his works, and ongoing battles with the Warner Bros. record label. Prince's last four studio albums have quietly been top 3 hits on the US albums chart.

Essential Songs

• "When Doves Cry"
• "Kiss"
• "Raspberry Beret"
• "Diamonds and Pearls"
• "Let's Go Crazy"

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Through the massive runaway success of Saturday Night Fever and its accompanying soundtrack, the Bee Gees became disco icons although it doesn't seem that was their aim. Their career has resulted in a significant number of additional hits in a sort of baroque pop style and later R&B influenced material. Barry Gibb, one of the three brothers who made up the group, has also been a very successful producer of pop hits by other artists ranging from brother Andy to Barbra Streisand. Maurice Gibb passed away in 2003 at the age of 53.

Essential Songs

• "Stayin' Alive"
• "You Should Be Dancing"
• "Jive Talkin'"
• "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"
• "Tragedy"

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From 1974 through 1982 ABBA were the bestselling pop music act in the world. Although their success was a bit more muted in the US, they were international superstars and some consider their highly melodic, catchy songs to be the gold standard in pop music. The musical Mamma Mia based on ABBA songs has returned the group to massive sales around the world in recent years.

Essential Songs

• "Dancing Queen"
• "Take a Chance On Me"
• "Mamma Mia"
• "Fernando"
• "SOS"

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The Beach Boys were the top group recording early 1960s surf music with big hits like "Surfin' USA." Later in the decade under the leadership of the band's songwriter and producer Brian Wilson, the group explored innovative approaches to studio pop with the landmark album Pet Sounds and pop masterpiece "Good Vibrations." Unfortunately, Brian Wilson's battles with mental illness and drugs hampered the group's ability to reach its creative ambitions. However, the Beach Boys remain one of the most successful and influential pop groups of all time.

Essential Songs

• "Good Vibrations"
• "I Get Around"
• "Wouldn't It Be Nice"
• "Surfin' USA"
• "Help Me, Rhonda"

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Britney Spears was the biggest of the teen pop stars to emerge in the late 1990s. However, by the middle of the following decade it seemed her musical career may have drowned in a mass of bad publicity and personal difficulties. Britney Spears then put together one of the most phenomenal comebacks in pop music history and is more commercially and critically successful than ever before. In the past decade she has released 16 top 40 pop singles, five #1 albums and is, at the age of 27, a pop icon.

Essential Songs

• "...Baby One More Time"
• "Toxic"
• "Womanizer"
• "Oops!...I Did It Again"
• "Piece of Me"

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At a number of points in her career, Janet Jackson has threatened to surpass the achievements of her brother Michael Jackson in chart and sales success. Few artists have been more influential than Janet Jackson in the dance choreography that has accompanied many of her biggest hits. In addition to her music, Janet Jackson is also an accomplished actor.

Essential Songs

• "Escapade"
• "Miss You Much"
• "Doesn't Really Matter"
• "Nasty"
• "Rhythm Nation"

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