The ranking of the 50 greatest solo artists in rock history, according to Ultimate Classic Rock

Ultimate Classic Rock magazine is no stranger to bold challenges when it comes to drawing up rankings. This time, though, it has truly outdone itself, publishing a list of what it considers the 50 greatest rock solo artists of all time.

“Whether by choice or by fate, many of the biggest names in rock have tried their hand at a solo career,” writes Corey Irwin in the introduction. “Most of these artists found initial success within a band, before leaving it in an attempt to make it on their own. For some, the move turned out to be a failure, often ending in a return to their original group. For others, though, a solo career offered the chance to explore a wider artistic freedom than before, resulting in truly memorable work. There are also rare cases of artists who went solo from the very start, never even considering the idea of sharing the spotlight with anyone else. Below we've put together our list of the 50 greatest solo artists in rock history. For this ranking we considered only the musicians' solo output, disregarding any material released as part of a band... We also included as solo artists those who, despite being backed by notable supporting bands – like Bruce Springsteen with the E Street Band or Tom Petty with the Heartbreakers – remain the primary authors of their own material. The result is a hugely valuable selection, bringing together extraordinary talents from different eras. Artists of different nationalities, ethnic backgrounds, musical genres, gender identities and religions make up our Top 50, proof of just how truly universal a language music really is.”

So here below is the ranking of the 50 greatest rock solo artists of all time according to Ultimate Classic Rock (full feature here). A list – and we feel compelled to point this out – that's rather male-dominated, much like the world of rock has always been.

50. Robbie Robertson

49. Ted Nugent

48. Peter Frampton

47. Eric Clapton

46. David Crosby

45. Sting

44. Steve Winwood

43. Ronnie James Dio

42. Stevie Nicks

41. Roy Orbison

40. Joan Jett

39. George Michael

38. Lou Reed

37. James Taylor

36. Curtis Mayfield

35. Sammy Hagar

34. Otis Redding

33. Linda Ronstadt

32. Bob Marley

31. Joe Walsh

30. Jackson Browne

29. Tina Turner

28. Alice Cooper

27. George Harrison

26. Little Richard

25. Chuck Berry

24. Peter Gabriel

23. John Mellencamp

22. John Lennon

21. James Brown

20. Elvis Costello

19. Ozzy Osbourne

18. Robert Plant

17. Paul Simon

16. Ray Charles

15. Marvin Gaye

14. Billy Joel

13. Johnny Cash

12. Elvis Presley

11. Aretha Franklin

10. Tom Petty

9. Paul McCartney

8. Bruce Springsteen

7. Elton John

6. Stevie Wonder

5. Jimi Hendrix

4. Neil Young

3. David Bowie

2. Prince

1. Bob Dylan

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