Public v Critics...favourite artists

The public's favourite artist (based on number of entries in the 1001 favourite albums as voted at Rate Your Music) by a mile is...

Miles Davis

with 21 (!) entries.

In second position with 16 entries is John Coltrane. Followed by Dylan on 13 entries.

Ok - so is the RYM user base a bunch of bearded, cardigan wearing old fogies?

But equal on 11 entries are Frank Zappa and Neil Young.

Mingus is next with 10 entries.

Then The Beatles and Thelonious Monk with 9 each.

Hendrix and Zeppelin score 8 each to round out the top ten. Hmm - where did all those Hendrix Albums come from? The Public know their Hendrix and are up on the more obscure concert albums, in addition to the four classic studio albums, that the Public rates highly.

King Crimson pop in with 7 entries.

With 6 entries each are:
Black Sabbath
Bruce Springsteen
David Bowie
Ennio Morricone
Grateful Dead
Iron Maiden
Pink Floyd
Talking Heads
The Rolling Stones
The Who

Iron Maiden and Morricone?! This is a diverse list.

With 5 each are:

Duke Ellington
Genesis
Johnny Cash
Radiohead
The Kinks
The Velvet Underground
Tom Waits

Now things really start to open out. With four entries:

Bill Evans
Brian Eno
Death
Fela Kuti
Judas Priest
Neurosis
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
Nirvana
Ornette Coleman
Otis Redding
Ramones
Steve Reich
The Allman Brothers Band
The Fall
Van der Graaf Generator
Van Morrison

And with 3 appearances things get really interesting:

A Tribe Called Quest
Alice Cooper
Art Blakey
Bill Withers
Bob Marley
Can
Cecil Taylor
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Curtis Mayfield
Deep Purple
Ella Fitzgerald
Elvis Costello
Fabrizio De André
Frank Sinatra
György Ligeti
Herbie Hancock
John Fahey
John Williams
Joni Mitchell
Jorge Ben
Joy Division
Kraftwerk
Magma
Metallica
Morton Feldman
Motörhead
Muddy Waters
Nick Drake
Opeth
Porcupine Tree
Rush
Slayer
Sonic Youth
Steely Dan
Stevie Wonder
Talk Talk
The Band
The Doors
The Stooges
Tim Buckley
Townes Van Zandt
Wire
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Straight away its clear that the Public list is blacker, jazzier, heavier and generally more diverse than the Critics' list. Not bad things.

The table compares the two lists for artists with 3 or more entries.