Prince---let's be honest...nobody plays as many styles as Prince.This guy has an amazing catalog of music,and he covers more ground than almost anybody else.A true musical genuis who is still continuing to do some damage.

Madonna---she's the ultimate pop superstar/icon and she has handled her career with incredible skill.Forget children's books,she should write a book titled "Career Advice for Up and Coming Artists".She has amazing longevity and never has trouble re-inventing herself and staying relevent.She's what Michael Jackson could have been,if he had not self-destructed the way he has.In addition to making great pop/dance music for 23 years,she impresses me because she has a purpose,a mission,a point she wants to make.Too many of today's pop artists have no substance,no message behind the music.Madonna is arguably the hardest-working woman in pop music.She's getting ready to go on tour,and it will be her third tour in less than five years.

Michael Jackson---I've been a fan of his since his Jackson Five days.He has made some truly outstanding music throughout the years,and at one time,he used to be am amazing performer too (who could ever forget his "Motown 25th Anniversary performance?).Also,he is responsible for some of the most incredible music videos of all time.But the problem is,it seems as if he is bending over backwards to destroy his rich legacy.These days,when people speak of him,they don't even mention the music! His numerous scandals,his freakish appearance,and his odd behavior gets all the attention.Prince and Madonna will soon be on tour,selling out arenas and keeping the focus on their art.Sadly,this is not the case with Michael anymore.

Janet Jackson---I like her,but I have to place her at Number four.She's a great pop artist and is sexy as hell but I have to admit,I'm not really into her recent music.I love 'Rhythm Nation' though.

Just sent you the first one , I wonder how long you it will take until you start to hate me

dag said:

double co-

xperience319 said:

Janet is just as good as peroformer as the rest of them and deserves to be metioned if my memory serves me right Janet was getting better reviews than Madonna back in 2001.

1) Mj
2) prince
3) Janet
4) Madonna
[Edited 3/6/06 10:17am]

Madonna... Icon, Legend, Role Model, Superstar, still relevant after 23 years, famous amongst the famous
Prince... Musician beyond compare
MJ...started great rose fast fell hard
JJ

shortstuff45220 said:

Wha? 2001? Whats that got to do with ANYTHING??!!!

JJ is NOWHERE near the league of P, MJ & M. I just dont see her fitting into the big 3 at all...when i think of the 3, i think of total world-wide success, selling out STADIUMS (not arena's) worldwide. Now thats a Legend.

As for her live shows...well the Janet tour was ok, then, they all looked and sounded the same after that...very dull when you get to the A4U tour...MJ is guilty of re-hashing the same concert over and over as well...

the big 4 is more like michael, madonna, elvis and the beatles

badujunkie said:

Ranking the big 4???
We should better be ranking James Brown, George Clinton, Sly Stone and Prince then I guess

hellomoto said:

the Beatles...that's the Fab Four

I honestly cannot see how Janet even belongs in that list, even though her output is arguably the most consistent one. She didn't really break any new ground, doesn't outperform any of the other three in any area, ... Mind you, I'm a fan and Janet is great. But she ain't no Icon.

Also, those ranking MJ 4th on this list don't know what they are talking about or are letting their perception of MJ the freakshow interfere with their appreciation of MJ the artist.

Prince
Prince
Prince
Prince
Madonna
Janet J
Michaéla J

sosgemini said:

Thank you for feeling the need to point that out I wasn't getting that...

badujunkie said:

SpcMs said:

are you stupid? of course janet is an icon, so is britney spears and tina turner. you might not like them but they are iconic figures. If janet had released 20+ albums like prince has she would have outsold him years ago. Her average album sales are higher than Prince's and she was the most successful out of "the big three" in the 90's, reaching n#2 or #3 (i think) as the most successful artist on billboard in the 1990's.

1.Michael Jackson
2. madonna
3.prince
4.janet jackson

these aren't the "big 4", but i'll rank them:


1. Prince. easy.


2. Madonna. again, easy.


way way way down - MJ. I liked him during his heyday, but his lurch into insantiy around the time of "Dangerous" and his continual very public journey down his own personal path of destruction has kinda soured me on him.

4. Janet. I like a few songs.... weak voice. The ONLY reason she ever had a chance to record was her famous family.

My 2 cents

interesting views on this thread

mancabdriver said:

You're absolutely correct: Janet is about as much an icon as Britney Spears is.

About everything else, you are plain wrong.

Random Edit:
[Edited 3/8/06 5:06am]

SpcMs said:

Lemme defend myself, as I'm one of the people who ranked him #4

As far as ranking them as performers - I put them in the order in which I'd go to see them. I'm not sure I could sit through an MJ show When does he sing live? How many of his lame/over-played songs are on the setlist?

I just don't think I'd enjoy a live show by him @ this point...

I debated putting Michael 4th as far as live performers go but I think I put him 3rd. When I was younger it was the big deal to see MJ live largely because it was always so hard to get tickets. But over the years as I've seen more and more performers live Michael's concerts started to drop lower and lower on my favorite list of concerts. No doubt he is a great live performer but I like live vocals, performers who connect and react to the audience, spontaneity and some variation in the music and production. I realized a lot of the hype I was feeling was just that I was seeing a legend but I've seen smaller shows from lesser known artists that were more satisfying.

JackieBlue said:

I've never seen MJ in concert before and I don't think I would go see him these days.I'm afraid it would be like watching a trainwreck

He hasn't toured in years and he doesn't seem physically able to do a tour.I think he would be struggling just to hit the notes,and I wouldn't want to see that.

DavidEye said:

Oh don't worry, he doesn't sing live for the most part

1. Prince- Far and away the most talented musically without question.

Prince is also more "live" than the others when in concert. Prince's shows are 1000 times more spontaneous than the others. Meaning, when you see Prince on tour, his shows change from concert to concert-it's not always the same show. Once you've seen MJ's "Bad", you've seen the routine for songs like "thriller" that he does to this day.

Prince can do the pop star thing like the others (who is a better dancer is higly debatable) but he doesn't usually rely heavily on choreography, dat music, an prerecorded vocals for his shows. He plays instruments better than any of the other 3 without question-but he doesn't need to.

2. MJ- the Elvis Presley of my generation. He is maybe the most famous person on Earth. He made MTV what it is and changed pop music marketing forever. He is a genius, but like Elvis, he has payed a price for his immense fame and success. In the end, I say "Fuck the Eagles, Thriller is the best selling album ever world wide." Not that sales matter, Mj's magic is more than record sales. He is a cultural phenomenon-for better or worse.

3.Madonna- what can you say? More famous for how she does it than what she does. The Queen of Pop? The best marketer in pop music? She's still got it and she knows how to jump on trends and make them global. Her music is nice, but she's not a stellar musician or even singer. You cannot deny her cultural impact and importance. If Marilyn Monroe and Elvis had a kid-it would be Madonna.

4. Janet- Michael's little sister. Owes a lot to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and maybe even Paula Abdul. Would she still be where she is without Jimmy and Terry? Maybe. I don't think she really deserves to be up there with Prince, Madonna, and MJ. She's good, but so is Mariah Carey.
[Edited 3/8/06 6:57am]

CalhounSq said:

I can (somewhat) understand what you are saying, but the question was not who would put on the best live performance at this moment in time, it was to rank 'the big 4'.

I have no problem with people ranking Prince in front of MJ, or with people ranking MJ in front of P. Madonna IMO is good and even innovative on many levels, but aside from her marketing genius, I cannot see her as a musical 'genius'. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
But when it comes to Janet (although I like her better than Madonna and think her output up to The Velvet Rope is truly great), she simply doens't compare to P or MJ, and I think she would be the first to agree with this. Two questions:
* Do you think Janet would have been as famous without her big brother? And how is her output influenced by Prince's or MJ's music?
* In what aspect was Janet in her prime better than MJ or P in their primes?

CalhounSq said:

I think the problem with MJ is that over the last 15 yrs or so he sees himself first and foremost as a dancer as opposed to a singer and therefore he tries to reproduce his videos on stage therefore forgeting about the singing. He can get away with it because he now as the kind of fanbase who are so much more interested in his dancing as oppose to his singing.

I know someone who has seen MJ live at 3 stages of career. The first time was when he was only 14 and with his brothers. The second time was during the Truimph tour also with his brothers(She says that was definetly one her best concerts ever, this a lady that has been to many concerts) and the third time was during the Dangerous tour, which she felt was very sterile and not as half as good as the concerts he did with his brothers.
[Edited 3/8/06 10:43am]

Prince
MJ
JJ
Madonna

Even though I like them all I place Prince above the rest!!

Sorry didn't mean to post twice!!
[Edited 3/8/06 12:18pm]

Today.....

Prince

Then everyone else. Not because I'm a fan but Usher,Timberlake, all have Michael Jackson type of shows NOW..Back then, hands down MJ, he set the gold standard for those type of shows....No one can touch Prince today..he can move a small venue just as well as an arena show....
[Edited 3/8/06 16:55pm]

Prince (Great musician & performer overall. He blows them all away)

Michael Jackson (Many up & coming young artists are still trying to dance like him)

Maddonna (Seems to keep making everyone still wanna see what she is going to do next)

Janet Jackson (I think she is not a top 4 artist. Yeah, she has a few good albums & all but her streak has ran it's course)