Top 1000 Artists #330-#321

330 - Live - They disintegrated rather quickly into self-parody, but at the start Live was a halfway decent grunge band with a string of above average hits.

329 - Sum 41 - I'm not sure what happened to this early 21st Century outfit, but they put together the best rap rock this side of the Beastie Boys for a few years.

328 - Ray Charles - An all-time legend and one of the creators of rock n roll, Ray Charles' music isn't usually to my taste, but it's undeniable how important it was to 20th century music.

327 - Yes - The most popular and talented of the late 70's prog rock bands that indirectly inspired the punk revolution, Yes was extremely talented, but they were far too self-indulgent to ever achieve true greatness beyond a handful of songs.

326 - Sting - Yes, the majority of his songs are trite and ridiculously dull, but he still retains the abilities as a songwriter and a crafter of great hooks that he enjoyed during his years in The Police, leading to about one truly great song per album, which is more than most artists can say.

325 - Cat Stevens - He goes by another name now and he isn't nearly the hit-maker that he was during the 70's, but during his hey-day Cat Stevens was among the finest singer-songwriters of the late 60's and 70's.

324 - Kenny Wayne Shepherd - You might think that because he's a blues rocker and uses his middle name that he's a Stevie Ray Vaughan knock-off. Well, he kinda is, but he's also a damn good SRV knock-off. His career has cooled quite a bit, but in the late 90's he was about as good as it got in this genre.

323 - Staind - They've really fallen on hard times, but for awhile Staind carved a niche for themselves as the best of the post-grunge acts that bred in the wild during the late 90's.

322 - Jet - Their second album didn't experience nearly the success as their debut, but Jet has still made a name for themselves as a top-notch Beatles and AC/DC fueled indie rock band.

321 - The Cold War Kids - They're brand new and it looks like their just about to burst onto the scene as a fantastic 60's rock revivalist band. I was going to see them in Rapid City opening for the White Stripes, but the Stripes cancelled the show.