Ozzy Osbourne, Axl Rose, Rob Halford included in Rolling Stone's 200 greatest singers of all time list

Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Halford and Axl Rose
(Image credit: Getty)

Major US media outlet Rolling Stone has published a star-studded list of what it considers to be the 200 greatest singers of all time - and a host of rock and metal greats have made the cut.

The list, topped by soul icon Aretha Franklin, includes singers from across pop, rock, metal, jazz, soul, r'n'b and more, with everyone from Beyoncé to Glenn Danzig represented (albeit the latter just sneaking in at number 199).

Some of the most notable rock music frontpeople to appear include Beatles alumni John Lennon and Paul McCartney (with Lennon appearing a full 14 places higher than his Beatles bandmate), Led Zeppelin legend Robert Plant (a surprisingly low-ish entrant at 63) and heavy metal hero Ronnie James Dio, who is all the way down at 165. In fact, the list makes for somewhat slim reading for heavy metal fans, with Ozzy Osbourne the genre's highest entry at 112.

"This list was compiled [by] our staff and key contributors, and it encompasses 100 years of pop music as an ongoing global conversation," Rolling Stone explain, "where iconic Indian playback singer Lata Mangeshkar lands between Amy Winehouse and Johnny Cash, and salsa queen Celia Cruz is up there in the rankings with Prince and Marvin Gaye."

Either way, as always with these things, it'll certainly spark some debate. Check out where rock singers fared in the list below, and read the full 200 over at Rolling Stone.

12 – John Lennon
14 – Freddie Mercury
26 – Paul McCartney
32 – David Bowie
52 – Mick Jagger
63 – Robert Plant
80 – Chris Cornell
82 – Steve Perry
105 – Eddie Vedder
109 – Roger Daltrey
112 – Ozzy Osbourne
129 – Rob Halford
134 – Axl Rose
165 – Ronnie James Dio
176 – Iggy Pop
181 – Bob Seger
199 – Glenn Danzig

Merlin Alderslade
Executive Editor, Louder

Merlin moved into his role as Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has previously written for the likes of Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He is also probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.