Thank you, Alexis Petridis. You have saved me thousands of hours of listening to Rock & Roll and presented me (and everyone) with a ranked list of musicians. The real thing can be found here: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/apr/19/what-no-whitney-the-biggest-rock-roll-hall-of-fame-snubs-ever-ranked
Since the quantity of music I listen to can be measured in minutes per year, it could take many months for me to hear all of these 20 (or 27) musicians. A few months ago, I actually binge listened to a YouTube collection of 1960s popular music. Never again. It took close to two weeks for my tinnitus to recover.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is located in Cleveland. Rather than wasting time finding out more about it, you would be better off learning something about Ahmet Ertegun, and why he was a pivotal figure in American music. Yes, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will be tied in. Here is a good place to start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmet_Ertegun
20. Björk
19. Lee “Scratch” Perry
18. Suicide
17. Larry Williams
16. Black Flag (Also mentioned: Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys)
15. Derrick May
14. Roberta Flack
13. Love
12. Depeche Mode (Also mentioned: The Cure)
11. Eric Be & Rakim
10. Whitney Houston
9. The New York Dolls
8. Kate Bush
7. Captain Beefheart
6. Iron Maiden (Also mentioned: Judas Priest)
5. Johnny Burnette
4. Gil Scott-Heron
3. Gram Parsons
2. Kraftwerk (Also mentioned: Can, Neu! Trans-Europe Express)
1. Chic
Full disclosure: Cleveland shares the same lake, Erie, with notable other locations, including Essex County, Ontario. Cleveland has a soft spot in my heart. I visited it from Christmas 1967 to New Year’s day 1968, attending a convention of the Student Christian Movement. Ohio was the second US state I ever visited. (Washington was the first, located less than half-an hour driving from my childhood house.) For those interested in the minutiae of my life in the subsequent fifty years I have visited two additional US states, Oregon, also in 1968 and California, in 2015.
Confession: I am aware of listening to the following on the list: Björk, Black Flag, Roberta Flack, Depeche Mode, Whitney Houston, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Kraftwerk, Can, Neu! and Trans-Europe Express. Neither Roberta Flack nor Whitney Houston have made in onto my personal Top 1 000 list of favourite musicians.