Ranker is a digital media company based in California. Its site does polls on brands, entertainment, sports, and culture, and it averages 49 million unique monthly visitors. Impressive? Yes. But what’s more so is the fact they have lists ranking any number of things that readers vote on, including “The Best Musical Artists From Texas.” Posted to their site, the compilation features “artists born or raised in Texas or bands formed in Texas.”
With 3.8K votes, the list is fairly comprehensive. Artists ranging from Stevie Ray Vaughan (at number one) to Baby Bash (at number 100) and all performers from various genres in between were ranked by readers and voters. The top 20 reads like a who’s-who of the music world, let alone the Lone Star State, and some of the artists may even surprise you. Did you know Meat Loaf was from Texas?
Video: YouTube/RHINO
With over 54 million views, the video for ZZ Top’s “Gimme All Your Lovin’” has become one of their most-watched by fans the world over. Ranker’s list of the best musical artists from the Lone Star State includes the group out of Houston, which was formed in 1969 and rose to stardom and critical acclaim throughout the ’80s and ’90s. Their placement, according to voters in the poll, was number three. It’s not surprising, considering the good company they’re with. Ahead of them in the number two spot was Buddy Holly, and Stevie Ray Vaughan took the number one spot.
Janis Joplin, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Boz Scaggs, The Crickets, Freddie King, and George Strait round out the top 10 on this comprehensive list ranking everything from rockers to rappers, country to folk, and bluegrass to blues. “ Texas has a massive population, so it only makes sense for at least a few global superstars to have been born and raised within its borders,” the Ranker listing reads. There may even be some genres and sounds, singers and artists you know and love who are nowhere on this list. Remember, it’s based on the votes by Ranker readers, who may be national, if not global in nature. The only caveat was that the artists ranked here had to be born or raised within our state’s borders, and the bands had to have been formed here.
