U2 frontman Bono and Belfast's Van Morrison were named among the greatest singers of all time in a list by music magazine Rolling Stone.
Morrison, whose hits include Brown Eyed Girl and Days Like This, rated extremely favourably with the judging panel, named at 37 in the 200-strong list.
"To experience the height of Van Morrison's vocal genius, you have to get beyond the words," the magazine's reasoning reads.
Further back the list, Bono is named in the 140th spot, praised for pushing his voice to "every extreme".
The pair are joined by famed musicians spanning the past 10 decades, whom the magazine describe as having "shaped history and defined our lives".
The list is made up of vocalists who made or continue to make "popular music for the masses" given the magazine's "purview is pop music writ large".
"In all cases, what mattered most to us was originality, influence, the depth of an artist's catalogue, and the breath of their musical legacy," the list's introduction states.
Stars of the Broadway stage like Barbra Streisand (147) are joined by Noughties pop-icons like Christina Aguilera (141). Some inclusions could spark debate, such as Ozzy Osbourne at 112, while others like Freddie Mercury (14) and Whitney Houston (2) are likely to be universally accepted.
The top spot, however, went to the 'Queen of Soul' Aretha Franklin.
The magazine hailed Franklin as a "force of nature", "a work of genius" and "a gift from the heavens".
"Her artistry is the greatest achievement of American music, if not American history.
"...As long as you live, you'll never hear anything like Aretha Franklin," the magazine adds.
The top 2o singers of all time, according to Rolling Stone were:
- Aretha Franklin
- Whitney Houston
- Sam Cooke
- Billie Holiday
- Mariah Carey
- Ray Charles
- Stevie Wonder
- Beyoncé
- Otis Redding
- Al Green
- Little Richard
- John Lennon
- Patsy Cline
- Freddie Mercury
- Bob Dylan
- Prince
- Elvis Presley
- Celia Crus
- Frank Sinatra
- Marvin Gaye
The full list can be read here.
