• Ella Fitzgerald
• Billie Holiday
• Les Paul
• Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
• Memphis Minnie
• Robert Johnson
• Stick McGhee & His Buddies
• The Treniers
• Sarah Vaughan
• See also: List of jazz musicians, List of blues musicians, List of ragtime musicians, List of boogie woogie musicians, List of swing/big band musicians, List of folk musicians, List of country musicians, List of popular music performers, List of gospel musicians

Early North American rock and roll (1951-1963)

• The Beach Boys, surf rock, early psychedelia
• Bill Haley & His Comets, key contributors to the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll
• Bo Diddley, transformed Mississippi blues[?] into his own thing.
• Bob. B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans
• Bobby Darin
• Bobby Day[?]
• Brenda Lee
• Bruce & Terry
• Buddy Holly
• Carl Perkins
• The Chantays
• Chet Atkins
• Chuck Berry, singer, songwriter, guitarist
• Connie Francis
• The Crystals, girl band
• David Allan & the Arrows
• Dick Dale, pioneer of surf rock, and an actual surfer.
• Dion & the Belmonts
• Dionne Warwick
• Dorsey Burnette
• Johnny Burnette
• The Drifters
• Eddie Cochran, rockabilly guitar hero, more influential in Great Britain than US.
• Elvis Presley, the King
• The Everly Brothers
• Fabian
• Fats Domino, New Orleans piano player, singer with more than 20 number one hits in the 50s
• Gene Pitney
• Gene Vincent
• Gladys Knight & the Pips
• Hank Ballard
• Hank Williams, honky tonk country
• Ike Turner, wrote "Rocket 88", led the band, produced the record
• Jack Scott[?]
• Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats, credited with "Rocket 88" in 1951)
• Jackie Wilson
• Jan & Dean
• James Brown, soul music
• Jerry Lee Lewis, pianist, singer
• Johnny Burnette
• Little Richard, pianist, singer
• Lloyd Price
• Martha & the Vandellas
• Mr. Gasser & the Weirdos
• Paul Anka
• Pat Boone
• Ricky Nelson, an early teen idol, pioneer of promoting music via TV
• The Righteous Brothers, blue-eyed soul[?]
• The Ronettes
• Ronnie Hawkins[?]
• Ronny & the Daytonas
• Roy Orbison, The Voice
• The Shirelles, girl band
• The Supremes, girl band
• The Surfaris
• The Temptations, R&B
• Tommy James & the Shondells
• See also: List of doo wop musicians, List of R&B musicians, List of girl groups, List of country musicians, List of popular music performers, List of surf rock musicians, List of soul musicians

The "British Invasion" (1963-1967)

• The Animals
• The Beatles
• Dave Berry
• The Dave Clark Five
• Gerry & the Pacemakers
• Herman's Hermits
• The Kinks
• Marianne Faithfull
• The Moody Blues
• Peter & Gordon
• The Rolling Stones
• The Small Faces
• Van Morrison
• The Who
• The Yardbirds
• See also: List of British blues musicians, List of popular music performers

Psychedelia, Progressive Rock and Early Hard Rock (1968-1974)

• 13th Floor Elevators, psychedelia
• Aerosmith, early heavy metal
• The Allman Brothers Band, early country rock, jam band
• Aretha Franklin
• Badfinger
• The Band, folk and rock and roll fusion
• Big Brother & the Holding Company
• Black Sabbath, early heavy metal
• Blue Cheer, early heavy metal
• Blue Oyster Cult, early heavy metal
• Bob Dylan, folk music
• Buffalo Springfield
• The Byrds, country rock
• Canned Heat
• Captain Beefheart
• Chic
• Cream
• Creedence Clearwater Revival, country rock
• Crosby, Stills and Nash (and Young)
• The Cult
• David Bowie, glam rock
• Deep Purple
• The Delfonics
• Don McLean
• Donna Summers
• The Doors, hard psychedelia, forerunner of heavy metal
• Dusty Springfield
• The Eagles, country rock
• The Electric Light Orchestra
• The Electric Prunes
• The Fabulous Thunderbirds
• The Faces
• The Flying Burrito Brothers, country rock
• Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention
• Funkadelic, funk
• Genesis, progressive rock
• Gram Parsons, country rock
• The Grateful Dead, psychedelia
• Harry Nilsson
• Hot Tuna
• Humble Pie
• Iron Butterfly, psychedelia, early heavy metal
• James Brown, soul music, early funk
• Janis Joplin
• Japan
• Jefferson Airplane, psychedelia
• The Jesus and Mary Chain
• Jethro Tull
• Jim Croce
• Jimi Hendrix, psychedelia
• Joan Baez
• Johnny Cash, country music
• Joni Mitchell, folk music
• Kansas
• King Crimson, early heavy metal, progressive rock
• Kris Kristofferson
• Labelle
• Led Zeppelin, heavy metal
• Love
• The Meters
• Moby Grape
• The Monkees
• Moving Sidewalks
• Nick Drake
• Nirvana
• The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
• Pink Floyd, progressive rock, pioneer of the concept album
• Roxy Music
• Simon & Garfunkel, folk music
• Sly & the Family Stone
• Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
• Steppenwolf
• Stevie Ray Vaughan
• The Stooges, early punk music
• T. Rex, glam rock
• Traffic
• The Velvet Underground
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, reggae
• Willie Nelson
• Yes, progressive rock
• See also: List of surf rock musicians, List of psychedelic musicians, List of R&B musicians, List of hard rock musicians, List of country rock musicians, List of progressive rock musicians, List of popular music performers, List of soul musicians

Return to Basics: punk, metal, disco and dance music and other trends (1975-1988)

• 3rd Bass
• AC/DC
• Aerosmith, heavy metal
• Afrika Bambaata, early rap
• Alice Cooper
• The Bee Gees, disco
• Billy Joel, pop music
• Blondie
• Bob Marley, reggae
• Bon Jovi
• Bryan Adams
• Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band
• Budgie
• Buju Banton
• Camper Van Beethoven
• The Clash, punk music
• Coolio
• Culture Club, late glam music[?]
• The Damned
• Danzig, heavy metal
• David Allen Coe
• David Bowie, glam, early electronic music
• Dead Kennedys, punk music
• Dead Milkmen[?], punk/pop
• Depeche Mode, New Wave
• Donna Summer, disco
• Duran Duran, New Wave
• Elvis Costello
• Elton John
• Eric Clapton
• The Cure, Goth music
• The Fall
• Funkadelic, funk
• Guns 'n Roses
• Hank Williams, Jr.
• Hüsker Dü, alternative rock
• The Indigo Girls
• The Jam, punk rock
• Jimmy Buffett
• Kool & the Gang, disco
• Kiss, heavy metal
• Kraftwerk
• Labelle, disco, glam
• Meat Loaf
• Metallica, heavy metal
• Midnight Oil
• Minor Threat
• The Misfits
• The Modern Lovers
• Mötley Crüe
• New York Dolls
• Ozzy Osbourne
• Parliament, funk
• Patti Smith
• Peter Tosh, reggae
• The Plasmatics
• Poison
• The Police
• Queen
• The Ramones, punk music
• Red Hot Chili Peppers, funk, heavy metal, punk music
• REM
• Rick Springfield
• Rush
• The Sex Pistols, punk music
• The Slits
• The Scorpions
• Sonic Youth
• Talking Heads
• Television
• Thin Lizzie, heavy metal
• Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
• Tom Waits
• U2
• UFO
• Uriah Heep
• Van Halen
• Van der Graaf Generator
• The Violent Femmes
• Wham!
• Wishbone Ash
• Whitesnake, heavy metal
• X, punk music
• See also List of forerunners of punk music, List of musicians in the first wave of punk music, List of musicians in the second wave of punk music, List of heavy metal musicians, List of progressive rock musicians, List of alternative rock musicians, List of folk musicians, List of funk musicians, List of popular music performers, List of soul musicians

Current (1988-present)

• 10,000 Maniacs
• Alan Jackson
• Alice In Chains
• Anthrax
• Backstreet Boys
• Bad Brains
• Bad Religion
• The Beastie Boys, rap
• Beck
• Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
• Björk
• Black Star
• Blink 182
• The Bloodhound Gang
• Blues Traveler
• Blur
• The Breeders
• Britney Spears
• Canibus
• Celine Dion
• Christina Aguilera
• Clint Black
• Coolio
• The D4
• D'Angelo, soul music
• Daft Punk
• Dave Matthews Band
• The Datsuns
• De La Soul, rap
• DMX
• Dr. Dre, rap
• Echo & the Bunnymen
• Everon
• The Faint
• Faith Hill
• Fatboy Slim
• Foo Fighters
• Fountains Of Wayne
• The Fugees, rap
• Garth Brooks
• The Geto Boys
• Goldfinger, punk
• Green Day
• Guru
• Hole
• Ice Cube, rap
• Ice T, rap
• Ja Rule
• Jay-Z, rap
• Joan Osborne
• Kid Rock, rap-rock[?]
• Korn
• Lauryn Hill, rap, R&B, soul music
• Lil Bow Wow
• Lil Kym
• Lil Wayne
• Limp Bizkit, rap-rock[?]
• Living Colour
• Lords of Acid
• M.C. Hammer
• Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch
• Mariah Carey
• Mase
• Master P
• The Mighty, Mighty Bosstones, ska
• Moby
• The Mooney Suzuki
• Morissey
• Mos Def, rap
• MxPx, punk
• Nas, rap
• The New Kids on the Block
• Nine Inch Nails
• Nirvana (grunge music)
• NOFX
• NWA, rap
• Oasis
• The Offspring
• Outkast, rap
• P. Diddy
• Paul Oakenfold
• Pearl Jam, grunge music
• Pennywise
• Phish
• Pixies, alternative rock
• PJ Harvey
• Placebo
• Portishead
• Primus
• The Prodigy
• Public Enemy, rap
• Radiohead
• Rancid, punk music
• Red Hot Chili Peppers, funk, heavy metal
• Rusted Root
• RZA
• Sarah MacLachlan
• Scarface
• Sepultura
• Shania Twain
• Sinead O'Connor
• Sleater-Kinney
• The Smiths
• Snoop Doggy Dogg, rap
• The Spice Girls
• Soundgarden, grunge music
• Stereolab
• The Stone Roses
• Stone Temple Pilots
• The Strokes
• Sublime
• Superchunk
• System of a Down
• Suzanne Vega
• The Offspring
• Tool
• Tori Amos
• A Tribe Called Quest, rap
• Tupak Shakur, rap
• Underworld
• The Vandals
• The Verve
• Weezer
• The White Stripes
• Will Smith
• The Wu-Tang Clan, rap
• See also: List of heavy metal musicians, List of rappers, List of country musicians, List of Britpop musicians, List of jam bands, List of alternative rock musicians, List of electronic musicians[?], List of popular music performers, List of musicians in the second wave of punk music

Latino Rock

• Alejandra Guzman
• Big Pun
• Cypress Hill
• Enrique Guzman
• Fey
• Fiel A La Vega
• Gloria Estefan
• La Ley
• Los Chicos
• Magneto
• Mana
• Mecano
• Melody
• Menudo
• Miguel Bose
• Paulina Rubio
• Pilar Montenegro
• Ricky Martin
• Santana
• Selena
• Sepultura
• Shakira
• South Park Mexican
• Yuri
• See also: List of Latino rock musicians[?], List of popular music performers