The Immortals

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine celebrated the 50th birthday of Rock & Roll by compiling a list of the 50 greatest artists of all-time calling them "The Immortals." A year later, they added 50 more to the list. Here is how they did it:

The Immortals began last year with the creation of a panel of fifty-five top musicians, historians, industry executives and critics, selected by the editors of Rolling Stone. Voters were asked to pick, in order of preference, the twenty artists they deemed to be the most significant and influential of rock's first fifty years, those whose work continues to have an impact today. More than 125 artists were named. The ballots were tabulated according to a weighted point system that was overseen by the international accounting firm Ernst & Young.

Naturally, the list is filled with performers who have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That certainly isn't surprising, but as you might suspect, given the close ties between Rolling Stone and the Rock Hall, there is a fair amount of overlap between the people who developed this list and current and former members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominating Committee (Anthony DeCurtis, Bob Hilburn, Lenny Kaye, Jon Landau, Joe Levy, Kurt Loder, Seymour Stein, Jann Wenner, etc.).

Out of the 100 Immortals, 87 are now enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And of the 13 who are not in the Rock Hall, only four are currently eligible. The rest aren't eligible for induction yet, but once they are they will be among the favorites to get inducted. See below the complete list:

The Immortals:

 By Rolling Stone

1. The Beatles
2. Bob Dylan
3. Elvis Presley
4. The Rolling Stones
5. Chuck Berry
6. Jimi Hendrix
7. James Brown
8. Little Richard
9. Aretha Franklin
10. Ray Charles
11. Bob Marley
12. The Beach Boys
13. Buddy Holly
14. Led Zeppelin
15. Stevie Wonder
16. Sam Cooke
17. Muddy Watters
18. Marvin Gaye
19. The Velvet Underground
20. Bo Diddley
21. Otis Redding
22. U2
23. Bruce Springsteen
24. Jerry Lee Lewis
25. Fats Domino
26. The Ramones
27. Nirvana 
28. Prince
29. The Who
30. The Clash
31. Johnny Cash
32. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
33. The Everly Brothers
34. Neil Young
35. Michael Jackson
36. Madonna
37. Roy Orbison
38. John Lennon
39. David Bowie
40. Simon and Garfunkel
41. The Doors
42. Van Morrison
43. Sly and the Family Stone
44. Public Enemy
45. The Byrds
46. Janis Joplin
47. Patti Smith
48. Run-DMC
49. Elton John
50. The Band
51. Howlin' Wolf
52. The Allman Brothers Band
53. Eric Clapton
54. Dr. Dre
55. Grateful Dead
56. Parliament/Funkadelic
57. Aerosmith
58. Sex Pistols
59. Louis Jordan
60. Joni Mitchell
61. Tina Turner
62. Etta James
63. Phil Spector
64. The Kinks
65. Al Green
66. Cream
67. The Temptations
68. Jackie Wilson
69. Carl Perkins
70. The Police
71. Frank Zappa
72. AC/DC
73. Radiohead
74. Hank Williams
75. The Eagles
76. The Shirelles
77. Beastie Boys
78. The Stooges
79. The Four Tops
80. Elvis Costello
81. The Drifters
82. Eminem
83. N.W.A.
84. James Taylor
85. Black Sabbath
86. Tupac Shakur
87. Gram Parsons
88. Miles Davis
89. The Yardbirds
90. Carlos Santana
91. Ricky Nelson
92. Guns N' Roses
93. Booker T. and the MG's
94. Nine Inch Nails
95. Lynyrd Skynyrd
96. Martha and the Vandellas
97. Diana Ross and the Supremes
98. Roxy Music
99. Curtis Mayfield
100. Lee "Scratch" Perry