1. Michael Jackson
It should come as no surprise that the King of Pop won this poll by a significant margin. Michael Jackson's superhuman level of talent extended to an uncanny and utterly natural gift for dancing. On top of possessing remarkable grace, Jackson was also wildly innovative. In this clip from the Motown 25 special on March 25, 1983, the pop legend debuts the moonwalk, a backwards gliding motion which would become his signature move and one of the most famous dance techniques of the 20th Century.

2. Britney Spears
Britney Spears took a whopping percentage of the votes in this poll, clearly establishing the pop starlet as your favorite female dancer. The music video for the 2001 hit "I'm A Slave 4 U" is prime Britney, with the singer deliberately subverting her still-girlish appearance with overt, unapologetic sexuality.

3. James Brown
James Brown may be the most physical singer of all time, a man who spent pretty much every moment on stage over the course of five decades in constant motion. Brown's music developed largely in response to his dancing, with his band developing entirely new styles of funk and rhythm to suit their singer's ecstatic movements. These new beats ended up becoming the foundation of funk rock, house music, hip-hop and beyond, making Brown one of the most influential artists of all time

4. Mick Jagger
A lot of the physicality that we associate with rock stars today can be traced back to Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, whose fluid motions and sassy rooster strut set the template for the likes of Freddie Mercury, Axl Rose, Steven Tyler and countless others. This clip of the Stones performing "Jumpin' Jack Flash" circa 1968 presents Jagger in his prime, though much of the footage is unfortunately focused above his waistline.

5. Lady Gaga

Though dancing is arguably the least of Lady Gaga's many talents, it is a central component of her live performances and visionary music videos. "Bad Romance" boasts her most inspired choreography along with some of the most indelible images of the singer's career to date. The best bit is the velociraptor-like monster arm motion, one of the most instantly iconic moves of the past decade.

6. Prince
The most iconic images of Prince usually involve him playing a guitar, so you'd be forgiven if it slipped your mind that the R&B legend happens to be a world class dancer. In this incredible footage from around 1980, Prince is brought up on stage by Michael Jackson during a James Brown performance, leading the pint-sized pop genius to upstage both men with surreal, wildly imaginative moves.

7. Madonna
Madonna is entirely synonymous with dancing. If she's not singing about dancing or making music for dance floors around the world, she's dancing in videos or on stage. Just as Madonna is responsible for bringing elements of several underground dance music genres into the mainstream with her pop hits, she has done the same for several dance styles, most notably voguing in the early Nineties. It's actually sort of hard to pick just one Madonna video to showcase her dancing – we went with the clip for her early hit "Holiday" because it's so totally focused on her movement and serves as a fine example of the singer's tough-girl physicality.

8. Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson may not have the widespread cultural impact of her older brother Michael, but she is a brilliant dancer in her own right, and has arguably had a greater long-term impact on the choreography of contemporary music videos. Her 1989 video for "Rhythm Nation," in which she and a quasi-militaristic ensemble dance in some sort of urban dystopia, set the template for hundreds of videos to come in the Nineties and aughts.

9. Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger is a dance pop veteran, having started off in the girl group Eden's Crush before breaking big as the frontwoman of the Pussycat Dolls. With that group, she specialized in overtly sexy moves that borrowed elements of burlesque and pole dancing. In this video for "Poison," a single from her 2010 solo disc Killer Love, Scherzinger cuts loose to a heavy club beat provided by Lady Gaga collaborator RedOne.

10. Thom Yorke
It seems likely that many of you were being sarcastic when you voted for Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, but in any case, the elfin art rocker actually does have a totally fascinating – if entirely unconventional – style of dance. After years of shaking, twitching and stomping around like a dinosaur whenever he was not burdened with a guitar on stage, Yorke got around to showcasing his dance moves in the band's video for "Lotus Flower" earlier this year. It's a mesmerizing clip, full of bizarre moments that instantly became fodder for a number of re-edited fan videos, including this particularly funny clip in which Yorke is cut into Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan.

http://www.rollingstone.c...ke-0589996

they are becoming more irrelevant as each day passed by smh

Uh... Prince hardly upstaged MJ or JB.

I vote Davy Jones. Axl Rose got his moves from Davy.

Thank God Janet is included on the list, but putting Britney over her at #2??? Janet could have easily been top 5 if not #2, Brit would not be here without Janet. But that's Rolling Stone for you.

Not worried about Michael, I knew he would be fine.

[Edited 7/14/11 18:14pm]

Why is Nicole Scherzinger on a list with MJ and Prince, yet Tina Turner is missing?

Um.... wasn't Nicole Scherzinger hired specifically to be the "singer" while the rest of the girls handled the dancing?

errant said:

Um.... wasn't Nicole Scherzinger hired specifically to be the "singer" while the rest of the girls handled the dancing?

...and the background vocals?

9. Nicole Scherzinger

smoothcriminal12 said:

9. Nicole Scherzinger

Think about this for a second.

The author of this list believes that Britney Spears is a better dancer than James Brown.

minneapolisFunq said:

Think about this for a second.

The author of this list believes that Britney Spears is a better dancer than James Brown.

No....those were the votes.

Being votes, just like I suspected and have been saying for years, Britney is the white Janet and stupid, naive consumers have fallen for her act. I met so many stupid kids when growing up who would choose Britney over Janet without knowing anything about her, idiots! And no, all were not white, they were different backgrounds.

[Edited 7/14/11 19:29pm]

minneapolisFunq said:

Think about this for a second.

The author of this list believes that Britney Spears is a better dancer than James Brown.

Thank you

minneapolisFunq said:

Think about this for a second.

The author of this list believes that Britney Spears is a better dancer than James Brown.

I didn't even have to get that far. This list is bullshit.

One of the worst lists

Are people this obsessed with GaGa they think she is in a top dancing musicians poll? over Janet & Prince?

Oh and Britney over James Brown.............

Thom Yorke i love Radiohead but the man is not what you would call a great dancer lol

And Michael over James for that matter....

But I don't want to start anything

[Edited 7/14/11 21:12pm]

HuMpThAnG said:

And Michael over James for that matter....

But I don't want to start anything

[Edited 7/14/11 21:12pm]

Without James there would be no Mike they know the truth lol

Gunsnhalen said:

HuMpThAnG said:

And Michael over James for that matter....

But I don't want to start anything

[Edited 7/14/11 21:12pm]

Without James there would be no Mike they know the truth lol

yup and Prince too for that matter

But we don't want to start anything

Madonna and Janet should be higher than LGG.

stupid list I would'nt take any notice

a bit of credit for Tina she taught Mick Jagger how to dance

I prefer MJ, but even if James was at 1 and him at 2, it wouldn't bother me.

More like:

1. JB

2. MJ

3. Prince

802 said:

More like:

1. JB

2. MJ

3. Prince

To be honest.....no....there are so many others out there that are much better than Prince.

smoothcriminal12 said:

802 said:

More like:

1. JB

2. MJ

3. Prince

To be honest.....no....there are so many others out there that are much better than Prince.

Right While Prince maybe more better than others. I definitly would not put him on a greatest dancers list. He has never done intricate choregraphy. If people think splits counts for being the greatest dancer than they obviously havent seen real dancing.

As usual Rolling Stones make these catastrophe lists. NOBODY pays attention to any of these lists because it means nothing.

I would place Nicholas Brothers, Katherine Dunham, Bojangles, Gene Kelly, Fred Astair..

Brittany Spears and Madonna OVER JANET? What the fuck is Rolling Stones smoking?

[Edited 7/15/11 6:57am]

Madonna and Ga Ga - can't dance. FACT - NO ARGUMENTS.

It seems like in any list these two are eligible for they seem to creep into even if without merit.

[Edited 7/15/11 8:40am]

mjscarousal said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

To be honest.....no....there are so many others out there that are much better than Prince.

Right While Prince maybe more better than others. I definitly would not put him on a greatest dancers list. He has never done intricate choregraphy. If people think splits counts for being the greatest dancer than they obviously havent seen real dancing.

As usual Rolling Stones make these catastrophe lists. NOBODY pays attention to any of these lists because it means nothing.

I would place Nicholas Brothers, Katherine Dunham, Bojangles, Gene Kelly, Fred Astair..

Brittany Spears and Madonna OVER JANET? What the fuck is Rolling Stones smoking?

[Edited 7/15/11 6:57am]

I was just thinking of Fred when I posted about Prince too. He was athletic and he had a few moves, but an overall dancer? No.

HAPPYPERSON said:

2. Britney Spears - ???????why so high?!?!?!

3. James Brown - why so low?!

5. Lady Gaga - why the fuck is she even on this list? She's fucking terrible.

6. Prince - =/ no comment

7. Madonna - meh

b]8. Janet Jackson[/b] - The fact that she's lower than Lady Gaga is absurd

10. Thom Yorke - Wtf?!

This list sucks. Even if it's about dancing musicians...it still sucks.

HAPPYPERSON said:

1. Michael Jackson
It should come as no surprise that the King of Pop won this poll by a significant margin. Michael Jackson's superhuman level of talent extended to an uncanny and utterly natural gift for dancing. On top of possessing remarkable grace, Jackson was also wildly innovative. In this clip from the Motown 25 special on March 25, 1983, the pop legend debuts the moonwalk, a backwards gliding motion which would become his signature move and one of the most famous dance techniques of the 20th Century.

2. Britney Spears
Britney Spears took a whopping percentage of the votes in this poll, clearly establishing the pop starlet as your favorite female dancer. The music video for the 2001 hit "I'm A Slave 4 U" is prime Britney, with the singer deliberately subverting her still-girlish appearance with overt, unapologetic sexuality.

3. James Brown
James Brown may be the most physical singer of all time, a man who spent pretty much every moment on stage over the course of five decades in constant motion. Brown's music developed largely in response to his dancing, with his band developing entirely new styles of funk and rhythm to suit their singer's ecstatic movements. These new beats ended up becoming the foundation of funk rock, house music, hip-hop and beyond, making Brown one of the most influential artists of all time

4. Mick Jagger
A lot of the physicality that we associate with rock stars today can be traced back to Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, whose fluid motions and sassy rooster strut set the template for the likes of Freddie Mercury, Axl Rose, Steven Tyler and countless others. This clip of the Stones performing "Jumpin' Jack Flash" circa 1968 presents Jagger in his prime, though much of the footage is unfortunately focused above his waistline.

5. Lady Gaga

Though dancing is arguably the least of Lady Gaga's many talents, it is a central component of her live performances and visionary music videos. "Bad Romance" boasts her most inspired choreography along with some of the most indelible images of the singer's career to date. The best bit is the velociraptor-like monster arm motion, one of the most instantly iconic moves of the past decade.

6. Prince
The most iconic images of Prince usually involve him playing a guitar, so you'd be forgiven if it slipped your mind that the R&B legend happens to be a world class dancer. In this incredible footage from around 1980, Prince is brought up on stage by Michael Jackson during a James Brown performance, leading the pint-sized pop genius to upstage both men with surreal, wildly imaginative moves.

7. Madonna
Madonna is entirely synonymous with dancing. If she's not singing about dancing or making music for dance floors around the world, she's dancing in videos or on stage. Just as Madonna is responsible for bringing elements of several underground dance music genres into the mainstream with her pop hits, she has done the same for several dance styles, most notably voguing in the early Nineties. It's actually sort of hard to pick just one Madonna video to showcase her dancing – we went with the clip for her early hit "Holiday" because it's so totally focused on her movement and serves as a fine example of the singer's tough-girl physicality.

8. Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson may not have the widespread cultural impact of her older brother Michael, but she is a brilliant dancer in her own right, and has arguably had a greater long-term impact on the choreography of contemporary music videos. Her 1989 video for "Rhythm Nation," in which she and a quasi-militaristic ensemble dance in some sort of urban dystopia, set the template for hundreds of videos to come in the Nineties and aughts.

9. Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger is a dance pop veteran, having started off in the girl group Eden's Crush before breaking big as the frontwoman of the Pussycat Dolls. With that group, she specialized in overtly sexy moves that borrowed elements of burlesque and pole dancing. In this video for "Poison," a single from her 2010 solo disc Killer Love, Scherzinger cuts loose to a heavy club beat provided by Lady Gaga collaborator RedOne.

10. Thom Yorke
It seems likely that many of you were being sarcastic when you voted for Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, but in any case, the elfin art rocker actually does have a totally fascinating – if entirely unconventional – style of dance. After years of shaking, twitching and stomping around like a dinosaur whenever he was not burdened with a guitar on stage, Yorke got around to showcasing his dance moves in the band's video for "Lotus Flower" earlier this year. It's a mesmerizing clip, full of bizarre moments that instantly became fodder for a number of re-edited fan videos, including this particularly funny clip in which Yorke is cut into Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan.

http://www.rollingstone.c...ke-0589996

they are becoming more irrelevant as each day passed by smh

Hmmm....

RS is pop culture centric, therefore throw out a hot name(with some relevance) on the initial survey question and you are bound to get predicatable results.

Most of RS readers will not understand the magnitude of JB on the careers of Prince or MJ. MJ is right where he should be. He had a JB foundation and borrowed influences from everywhere to create a distinct style that was breath taking and merged well with the video era of music. A classic case of where the student surpassed the teacher in terms of dance.

Prince is very similar to JB in many ways and although he is not hearly as spry as he once was, a multi instrumentalist that can dance and play at the same time is something to behold.

JJ is ranked a bit low and Britney way too high. I look at JJ as the blue print for alot of the female pop artists that came after. Yeah Paula Abdul was a choreographer in her earlier work, but JJ, much like her brother, merged influences from all over to create her own style.

COMPUTERBLUE1984 said:

HAPPYPERSON said:

1. Michael Jackson
It should come as no surprise that the King of Pop won this poll by a significant margin. Michael Jackson's superhuman level of talent extended to an uncanny and utterly natural gift for dancing. On top of possessing remarkable grace, Jackson was also wildly innovative. In this clip from the Motown 25 special on March 25, 1983, the pop legend debuts the moonwalk, a backwards gliding motion which would become his signature move and one of the most famous dance techniques of the 20th Century.

2. Britney Spears
Britney Spears took a whopping percentage of the votes in this poll, clearly establishing the pop starlet as your favorite female dancer. The music video for the 2001 hit "I'm A Slave 4 U" is prime Britney, with the singer deliberately subverting her still-girlish appearance with overt, unapologetic sexuality.

3. James Brown
James Brown may be the most physical singer of all time, a man who spent pretty much every moment on stage over the course of five decades in constant motion. Brown's music developed largely in response to his dancing, with his band developing entirely new styles of funk and rhythm to suit their singer's ecstatic movements. These new beats ended up becoming the foundation of funk rock, house music, hip-hop and beyond, making Brown one of the most influential artists of all time

4. Mick Jagger
A lot of the physicality that we associate with rock stars today can be traced back to Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, whose fluid motions and sassy rooster strut set the template for the likes of Freddie Mercury, Axl Rose, Steven Tyler and countless others. This clip of the Stones performing "Jumpin' Jack Flash" circa 1968 presents Jagger in his prime, though much of the footage is unfortunately focused above his waistline.

5. Lady Gaga

Though dancing is arguably the least of Lady Gaga's many talents, it is a central component of her live performances and visionary music videos. "Bad Romance" boasts her most inspired choreography along with some of the most indelible images of the singer's career to date. The best bit is the velociraptor-like monster arm motion, one of the most instantly iconic moves of the past decade.

6. Prince
The most iconic images of Prince usually involve him playing a guitar, so you'd be forgiven if it slipped your mind that the R&B legend happens to be a world class dancer. In this incredible footage from around 1980, Prince is brought up on stage by Michael Jackson during a James Brown performance, leading the pint-sized pop genius to upstage both men with surreal, wildly imaginative moves.

7. Madonna
Madonna is entirely synonymous with dancing. If she's not singing about dancing or making music for dance floors around the world, she's dancing in videos or on stage. Just as Madonna is responsible for bringing elements of several underground dance music genres into the mainstream with her pop hits, she has done the same for several dance styles, most notably voguing in the early Nineties. It's actually sort of hard to pick just one Madonna video to showcase her dancing – we went with the clip for her early hit "Holiday" because it's so totally focused on her movement and serves as a fine example of the singer's tough-girl physicality.

8. Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson may not have the widespread cultural impact of her older brother Michael, but she is a brilliant dancer in her own right, and has arguably had a greater long-term impact on the choreography of contemporary music videos. Her 1989 video for "Rhythm Nation," in which she and a quasi-militaristic ensemble dance in some sort of urban dystopia, set the template for hundreds of videos to come in the Nineties and aughts.

9. Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger is a dance pop veteran, having started off in the girl group Eden's Crush before breaking big as the frontwoman of the Pussycat Dolls. With that group, she specialized in overtly sexy moves that borrowed elements of burlesque and pole dancing. In this video for "Poison," a single from her 2010 solo disc Killer Love, Scherzinger cuts loose to a heavy club beat provided by Lady Gaga collaborator RedOne.

10. Thom Yorke
It seems likely that many of you were being sarcastic when you voted for Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, but in any case, the elfin art rocker actually does have a totally fascinating – if entirely unconventional – style of dance. After years of shaking, twitching and stomping around like a dinosaur whenever he was not burdened with a guitar on stage, Yorke got around to showcasing his dance moves in the band's video for "Lotus Flower" earlier this year. It's a mesmerizing clip, full of bizarre moments that instantly became fodder for a number of re-edited fan videos, including this particularly funny clip in which Yorke is cut into Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan.

http://www.rollingstone.c...ke-0589996

they are becoming more irrelevant as each day passed by smh

Hmmm....

RS is pop culture centric, therefore throw out a hot name(with some relevance) on the initial survey question and you are bound to get predicatable results.

Most of RS readers will not understand the magnitude of JB on the careers of Prince or MJ. MJ is right where he should be. He had a JB foundation and borrowed influences from everywhere to create a distinct style that was breath taking and merged well with the video era of music. A classic case of where the student surpassed the teacher in terms of dance.

Prince is very similar to JB in many ways and although he is not hearly as spry as he once was, a multi instrumentalist that can dance and play at the same time is something to behold.

JJ is ranked a bit low and Britney way too high. I look at JJ as the blue print for alot of the female pop artists that came after. Yeah Paula Abdul was a choreographer in her earlier work, but JJ, much like her brother, merged influences from all over to create her own style.

I think this poll may have been done online. So Britney fans who are more computer savvy then JB fans would post the link on her forums to get people to vote, which explains why she is so high.