Best albums of the 2000s - Rolling Stone vs The People 1: Favourite Artists

Here we look at all the artists that had more than 1 entry on either chart. I have perhaps been sloppy in conflating number of entries with popularity. Theoretically an artist could have had a single mega album that was more popular than all the others.

Here are the most popular Rolling Stone artists. The number of entries on the chart is shown in parentheses:

1. = Kanye West (4)
1. = Radiohead (4)
3. = Coldplay (3)
3. = Kings of Leon (3)
3. = U2 (3)
6. = Arcade Fire (2)

6. = Bob Dylan (2)

6. = Bright Eyes (2)

6. = Bruce Springsteen (2)

6. = Eminem (2)

6. = Jay-Z (2)

6. = Johnny Cash (2)

6. = M.I.A. (2)

6. = OutKast (2)

6. = Ryan Adams (2)

6. = Sigur Rós (2)

6. = The White Stripes (2)

6. = TV On The Radio (2)

6. = Wilco (2)

Radiohead, Coldplay and U2 come as no surprise at the top of the list. But Kanye and Kings of Leon were a bit surprising. Otherwise this is a very white and very rock oriented list.

Here is the RYM list:

1. Radiohead (4)

2. = Opeth (3)

2. = Porcupine Tree (3)

4. = Agalloch (2)

4. = Animal Collective (2)

4. = Arcade Fire (2)

4. = Johnny Cash (2)

4. = Mastodon (2)

4. = Moonsorrow (2)

4. = Neurosis (2)

4. = Pain of Salvation (2)

4. = Queens of the Stone Age (2)

4. = The National  (2)

4. = Tom Waits  (2)

Whoa! What happened? Even whiter, rockier and heavier. Radiohead still rules, but Kanye, Coldplay, Kings of Leon and U2 are out. Kanye does score 1 entry in the RYM 100 - but Coldplay, U2 and Kings of Leon don't chart at all. Its tempting to say RYM is a much younger demographic - but then Johnny Cash and Tom Waits represent the old hands. Rolling Stone is certainly much more mainstream.

Interestingly, when I looked at the 500 best albums of all time - the RYM chart was blacker and jazzier.