RANK IN 2014: #78 (-22)
FIRST SONG: Here I Go Again (1987)
FAVORITE SONG: Still Of The Night (1987)
FAVORITE MEMORY: Seeing David Coverdale and Lita Ford together in a 2011 episode of "That Metal Show".
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: The Book Club helping me familiarize myself with more songs/artists, plus the last song they released that I REALLY liked was "Love Will Set You Free" in 2011.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Whitesnake are a band who I feel like get dismissed because a lot of people only know “Here I Go Again”, and don’t get me wrong that is a good song but also
very overplayed. Their true banger is “Still Of The Night”! But yeah they are a very talented band, from David Coverdale’s Robert Plant-esque vocals and stage presence, to the guitar work of Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot) and Vivian Campbell (Dio/Def Leppard/ungrateful mofo). That self-titled 1987 album is badass from start to finish.
RANK IN 2014: #99 (-)
FIRST SONG: Mo Money Mo Problems (1997)
FAVORITE SONG: Mo Money Mo Problems (1997)
FAVORITE MEMORY: Getting his greatest hits album on vinyl last year at one of the stores in Saskatoon that
FreakyFlyBry took
Pipa and I to.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Unless you count the Beastie Boys (who to me are a gray area and are overall more alternative to me), Biggie is the only rapper to make the list (although his rival 2Pac came
very close). Come on, who can deny songs like “Juicy” and “Hypnotize” and “Mo Money Mo Problems”? I think that East Coast/West Coast rivalry was very childish and a bunch of crap, and all it did was cause us to lose two very talented artists prematurely. I truly believe if both of them never passed away, hip hop would be MUCH better today. And stupid f*cktwats like Drake would be laughed at and not taken seriously.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: Biggie is one of the VERY few artists on this list to have the same ranking he did on the 2014 list. I’d say what kept him consistent for me is just being such an iconic part of the 90’s and hip hop, and also getting his greatest hits on vinyl.
RANK IN 2014: #86 (-12)
FIRST SONG: I Have Nothing (1993)
FAVORITE SONG: I'm Every Woman (1993)
FAVORITE MEMORY: My friends and I singing “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” at my bachelorette party last year.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: I feel like I have come to appreciate Whitney
more in the last 10 years, so the only thing I can think of is The Book Club. You may not see the impact doing that show has had on me just yet, but trust me, you will very, very soon.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I know this is an unusually low rank for one of the most iconic voices of our era, but truthfully, I was always a casual Whitney fan and was never into her the way I was into Madonna, Mariah, Celine, etc. But there is no denying that she is nicknamed “The Voice” for a reason. The way she took Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” and made it her own. I’m a huge Linda Ronstadt fan, and she covered that song about 20 years before Whitney did, and while I do like her version, even
I prefer Whitney’s! She has so many classic songs though, of course I love “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and “How Will I Know”, but “I’m Every Woman”, “I Have Nothing”, and “Heartbreak Hotel” are just as legendary and iconic to me. I was very shocked and sad when she passed away in 2012. I was hoping she would overcome her personal struggles – and it seemed like she did for awhile during the “I Look To You” era – but sadly that was short-lived.
RANK IN 2014: #67 (-30)
FIRST SONG: You Are The Sunshine Of My Life (1973)
FAVORITE SONG: I Wish (1976)
FAVORITE MEMORY: Seeing him sing “True To Your Heart” with 98 Degrees when I was a kid.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: The list from 2014 was very biased towards the 70’s as that was the peak of my “70’s whore” era. Although I still love the 70’s, I am no longer in that phase, so a lot of the 70’s acts having lower rankings will be a common theme throughout this countdown.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Another legend, he was such an influence on so many other great artists. According to
Julian, Mariah Carey said in her book that Stevie is her favorite artist. Even before I got into a lot of older music, I had a lot of respect for him and always thought he had a fantastic voice. Definitely an artist who deserves all the praise he has ever received.
RANK IN 2014: #94 (-2)
FIRST SONG: We Didn't Start The Fire (1989)
FAVORITE SONG: We Didn't Start The Fire (1989)
FAVORITE MEMORY: Some of you may know this already, but for those who don’t – when
Unkie and I were kids we made up our own music acts and had our stuffed animals and my Barbie dolls sing them.
Unkie had an act called the Dancing Party Animals who covered a lot of the songs we would hear on WALK 97.5 In Long Island. The Dancing Party Animals consisted of Bugs Bunny, the Pillsbury Doughboy (those 2 had a Lennon/McCartney type of relationship going on), a random owl who played the saxophone, and I forgot who else. One of the songs they covered? “It’s Still Rock & Roll To Me”.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: It’s crazy to me that he has ranked so low on these lists given what a big part he was in my childhood. I’m gonna say competition is the reason why he keeps ranking so low.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Billy Joel is a Long Island icon. Because of that, and also both our parents being huge Billy Joel fans (they saw him in concert in 1987 when my Mom was pregnant with
Unkie), we were exposed to his music a lot growing up. To this day most of his hits remind me of my childhood. Also, check out the Peanuts version of “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” on YouTube when you have the chance – it’s amazing.
RANK IN 2014: #59 (-36)
FIRST SONG: Ordinary World (1993)
FAVORITE SONG: Invisible (2021)
FAVORITE MEMORY: The time on my countdown show when I ranted about “What Happens Tomorrow” missing the top 10 on the UK charts, which led to a weekly UK chart rant.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: Definitely competition.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Without a doubt one of the biggest bands of the 80’s. So many smash hits. And aside from whatever the f*ck their last single was, they are still making great music today. I am still completely dumbfounded that my favorite song of theirs came out THREE YEARS AGO! Technically, not even Jerry has done that (“Atone” may be my favorite solo song of his, but “Would?” by Alice In Chains is still my favorite from him overall).
RANK IN 2014: -
FIRST SONG: Semi-Charmed Life (1997)
FAVORITE SONG: Semi-Charmed Life (1997)
FAVORITE MEMORY: Seeing the video for “Semi-Charmed Life” on VH1 and MTV when I was a kid.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: Hey look! A new entry! I’ve definitely grown to appreciate them more over the years, and to this day “Losing A Whole Year” is still one of my favorite songs I’ve discovered on the Book Club.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: For a band who had such a short streak of hits, they sure didn’t f*ck around during those three years of smash hits. I loved “Semi-Charmed Life” ever since I was a kid… even if it’s not exactly a song I should’ve been listening to back then.
I always loved “Jumper” too, and “Never Let You Go”. And even recently I discovered great songs from them I’ve never heard before on the Book Club like “Losing A Whole Year” from the 1998 Yearbook and “10 Days Late” from the May 2019 “Anything Goes” episode. I definitely think this is the first example of the Book Club having an impact on this list.
RANK IN 2014: #76 (-17)
FIRST SONG: Hey Jude (1968)
FAVORITE SONG: Helter Skelter (1968)
FAVORITE MEMORY: When I was 8, my family and I went to Disney for the first time. We did everything – all the parks, the Disney Boardwalk, the Disney Cruise, etc. One night we were in Epcot and near the area where they had the UK, they had a Beatles tribute band performing. My Mom told them after their set that they were really good and the guy dressed as Paul McCartney thanked her and
I got a photo with them (I have no idea who the lady in that photo is, that’s not my Mom lol). I thought they actually WERE the Beatles and I couldn’t believe my Mom got to talk to Paul McCartney! LMAOOOOO
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: Same thing as Stevie Wonder – the 2014 list was very biased towards 60’s and 70’s acts. With that said, you’d think they would’ve had a higher ranking as I appreciate them more
now than I did in 2014, but that is where competition comes in.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Don’t come for me people! Yes, I know ranking the Beatles #93 on a favorite artists list is controversial, but even though I acknowledge the HUGE impact they have had on music and I like and respect them very much… they aren’t Grace to me. Or Lita. Or Alanis. Or Chris. Etc.
Actually it’s funny I mention Chris because the Beatles were HIS favorite band. But yeah, there is no denying the impact they have had. It’s very likely if it weren’t for the Beatles, the other 99 artists on this list would’ve never been around. It’s also very likely that if it weren’t for the Beatles, this board wouldn’t exist. Or maybe it would and we would just be collecting J.Lo albums, who knows. The point is, the Beatles are legends and you cannot deny all of their classic hits. Also, John Lennon is still Peace Boy.
RANK IN 2014: #60 (-32)
FIRST SONG: Bad Girls (1979)
FAVORITE SONG: Bad Girls (1979)
FAVORITE MEMORY: The Dancing Party Animals covered several Donna Summer hits – “Dim All The Lights”, “She Works Hard For The Money”, and most notably, “Bad Girls”. WALK 97.5 played her all the time especially on Saturday nights when they would play disco.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: Again – the 2014 list had a bias in 70’s music.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Another great singer who left us too soon. I always liked her a lot. So many classic songs, mostly from the 70’s and 80’s yes but she was still getting hits on the dance charts years later. “Stamp Your Feet” was a top 5 hit for me in 2008.
RANK IN 2014: #55 (-36)
FIRST SONG: Poison (1989)
FAVORITE SONG: Stolen Prayer (1994)
FAVORITE MEMORY: My parents sending me
this with the subject “Music icon sells houses now”.
WHAT MAY HAVE AFFECTED CHANGE IN RANK: I don’t know. I’m sure breaking up with my ex (a huge Alice Cooper fan) a year after I did the 2014 list probably didn’t help matters.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: So many classic songs. “Poison”, “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, “I’m Eighteen”, etc. My favorite from him is a 90’s deep cut called “Stolen Prayer”, and if you know who is featured on that song you will know EXACTLY why that is my favorite.
He was doing shock rock at a time where not a lot of other people were doing that, maybe David Bowie but that was pretty much it. He was definitely an influence on the 70’s glam rock scene, 80’s hair metal scene, and without a doubt Lady Gaga (who is still to come).
UP NEXT:
81. A band named after the city Grace Slick is from.
82. A 90’s pop/punk band who once caused
Pipa to waste $21.
83. A Canadian singer/songwriter who founded one of the biggest music festivals of the 90’s.
84. Before Jefferson Starship, Temple Of The Dog, and Audioslave came into the picture,
this was my favorite supergroup.
85. Cat Stevens unfortunately
just missed the list, but this band shares a name with one of his 70’s albums.
86. It’s a miracle that I still like this artist, given that someone who used to post on here who was a big fan of hers bullied me pretty badly when I first joined these boards.
87. A member of the Runaways?! No, it can’t be…
88. Hey look! An artist who JUST released new singles!
89. One word: “Sniper”.
90. A 70’s trio indirectly responsible for one of my most hated songs of all-time.