“The 30 Greatest Artists Right Now”: Who Made The Cut?

 

Last week, we spied the cover of Entertainment Weekly‘s Music Issue, which surprised approximately zero percent of the population by featuring Grammy-winning powerhouse Adele on the cover — is there any possible way she wouldn’t take the top slot? (Hint: no there is not.) But in EW‘s naming of the “30 Greatest Artists Right Now,” we did find a few surprises amongst the ranks. Many of the usual suspects were named, but there’s bound to be at least one outrageous omission in such a list to get people buzzing. So who was left out? Head below to peep the list for yourself.

 

(We’ve also included the little nicknames EW gave them to give some context to their inclusion.)

Entertainment Weekly‘s 30 Greatest Artists Right Now

30. Beach House – Dreamy Indie Duo

29. Kimbra – Quirky Chanteuse

28. Calvin Harris – Dance-Floor Director

27. Gotye – Awesome Aussie

26. Beyonce – R&B Goddess

25. Florence + The Machine – Alt-Pop Siren

24. Lady Gaga – Mother Monster

23. Bruce Springsteen – Forever The Boss

22. Coldplay – Kings Of The Road

21. Azealia Banks – Hip-Hop Wild Child

20. fun. – Pomp-Rock Breakouts

19. Jake Owen – Nashville Casanova

18. Kelly Clarkson – America’s Pop Idol

17. Fiona Apple – Swoony Songstress

16. A$AP Rocky – Mixtape Prodigy

15. The Civil Wars – Americana All-Stars

14. Jay-Z – CEO Of Rhyme

13. Kanye West – Mad Genius

12. Foo Fighters – Hard Rock Royalty

11. Bruno Mars – Pop-Soul Showman

10. Rihanna – Dance-Pop Muse

9. Mumford & Sons – Platinum Folkies

8. Nicki Minaj – Radical Raptress

7. The Black Keys – Garage Gods

6. Jack White – Indie MVP

5. Katy Perry – Bubblegum Queen

4. Carrie Underwood – Country Belle

3. Drake – Hip-Hop Heartbreaker

2. Taylor Swift – Everygirl Superstar

1. Adele – Undisputed World Champion

We’re glad to see EW name recent breakout acts like Gotye, fun., and Calvin Harris amidst the ranks, plus old standbys like Fiona Apple, Coldplay, and Jay-Z, who could have made this list ten years ago and will probably still be making it a decade from now. It’s sure hard to argue with entertainers like Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and Drake rounding out the Top 5. (But frankly, we’re a little surprised that Rihanna just barely made the Top 10!) In fact, this list looks pretty much identical to the roster of Grammy nominees this year, doesn’t it?

You can probably thank Lady Gaga’s recent vow of silence for her relatively low ranking at #24 — a year ago, it’d be a different story. As for the most conspicuous absences, we can’t argue that Britney Spears has been too quiet lately to make the cut or that we still need to hear what else Justin Bieber is cooking up for his new album before he joins this lofty crew. The recent British boy band craze also didn’t really register here, did it?

One crime that struck us is the absence of Robyn, but (siiigh) we’re so used to seeing her be unrecognized, and franky, it only makes us love her more.

But where the hell is Madonna?

You know — the woman who just scored her eighth #1 album?

Yes, that Madonna. We demand a recount!