Who is the GOAT of all time in music?

[NeonPilot]

Not "your favourite" - the actual greatest. Influence, catalogue, longevity, impact. You can only pick one. No safe answers, no lists

[VB]

There is no GOAT, it depends on genre

[Steady Dylan]

Most people just pick who they grew up with

[BlueFalcon]

Influence matters more than popularity

[Cheeky Kernel]

Cannot disagree with that. People forget that pressure affects players differently and the better sides handle it better.

Cannot wait for the game to settle it

[Inland Aidan]

I tried that and hit a problem at the second stage. Should be fine if you take your time.

[DeepInlet]

Picking one is almost impossible because music has too many different ways to measure greatness. If the criteria are influence, catalogue, longevity and cultural impact, Michael Jackson has one of the strongest cases.

The amount of artists who copied his style, studied his performances or changed their approach because of him is massive.

You do not have to be a fan to recognise the size of that legacy.

[Quiet Depot]

The answer changes depending on what you value most. For songwriting alone, people could argue for Paul McCartney or Bob Dylan.

For innovation, you could bring up David Bowie. For vocal ability, Freddie Mercury enters the conversation very quickly.

The problem with choosing one GOAT is that music has too many different playing fields

[QuantumToken98]

A strong argument can be made for The Beatles. Their influence on popular music is almost impossible to overstate.

They changed how albums were made, how artists wrote songs and how musicians thought about the studio.

Plenty of bands after them were basically standing on their shoulders.

[Phil80]

My vote would go to Stevie Wonder. The combination of songwriting, musicianship and creativity is ridiculous.

He was making groundbreaking records while playing multiple instruments and pushing production ideas forward.

People sometimes forget how much he changed the possibilities of pop music.

[QuantumLeap34]

Michael Jackson probably wins the global impact argument. There are artists who are famous, and then there are artists whose name is known almost everywhere on Earth.

Thriller was not just a successful album, it became a cultural event.

Very few musicians have reached that level.

[Megan95]

Queen deserves a mention because Freddie Mercury had a rare ability to connect with huge audiences.

Lots of singers have great voices, but very few can command a stadium the way he could.

The man could probably walk onto a stage and make a crowd of 100,000 people follow a hand movement

[BookerT_99]

Going with Bob Dylan for me. The voice might be an acquired taste, but the writing changed what popular music could talk about.

A lot of modern artists who focus on lyrics owe something to him.

Sometimes influence is not about sounding like someone, it is about opening a door nobody knew existed.

[ElectricVector]

The funny thing about GOAT debates is that everyone secretly tries to sneak their favourite in wearing a fake moustache and calling it "objective"

That said, there are a few names who have arguments beyond personal taste.

The shortlist is probably bigger than people want to admit.

[Jonathan_Repetto]

Prince is a serious contender. The guy could sing, write, produce, play multiple instruments and put on an incredible live show.

The amount of talent packed into one person was almost unfair.

He was basically a one-man band with a guitar and an endless supply of ideas.

[FrostDrifter]

The safest answer is probably that there is no single answer, but the most defensible picks are the artists who changed the rules rather than just played the game well.

Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Prince, Stevie Wonder and others all have that argument.

Choosing one feels a bit like asking which planet is the best one. You can pick, but everyone knows the solar system is doing a lot more work than one member

[Caitlin_69]

If longevity matters most, I would look at artists like The Rolling Stones. Staying relevant across decades is incredibly difficult.

Many musicians have one amazing era. Very few can keep attracting audiences for generations.

Time is a brutal test.

[Daemon82]

Elvis Presley will always be part of this conversation too. Whether people like it or not, his impact on popular music and culture was huge.

He helped bring a new style of music into the mainstream and became one of the first true global music superstars.

The debate gets complicated because history has many turning points.

[Serpent]

Personally I struggle to move past The Beatles. They had a relatively short recording career compared with some legends, yet the amount of change they caused was enormous.

They went from catchy early pop songs to experimental albums that influenced entire generations.

That kind of evolution is rare.

[CarlosBuddle]

A lot of people forget the producer side of music history too. Someone like Quincy Jones had a huge impact on what modern popular music sounded like.

His work with Michael Jackson alone would be enough for many people to put him in the conversation.

Behind-the-scenes influence still counts.

[NeuralSeer63]

There is also a case for Madonna. Her influence on pop performance, image and reinvention is enormous.

She understood that being a pop star was not just about making songs, it was about creating a whole cultural presence.

That approach shaped countless artists who came after her.

[Neuer]

The GOAT might depend on whether you are judging the artist or the performer. Someone can write incredible songs but not dominate a stage, while someone else can become a global icon through performance.

Comparing Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Elvis Presley and others becomes almost impossible because they changed different parts of the industry.