. Al Green

Before there was Usher, there was Al. The artist behind possibly the greatest Greatest Hits album ever, and one of the smoothest voices of all time, no record collection is complete without “Let’s Stay Together.”

2. Curtis Mayfield

Super cool. Super clean. The lyrics of “Pusherman” could’ve been better attributed than the song’s writer than of the film for which the song was written. “Superfly” may have the greatest movie soundtrack of all time, and it was composed, arranged, and performed by one of the last true musical geniuses not named “Prince.”

3, Stevie Wonder

Proving that a visual impairment can’t stop pure talent, Stevie Wonder is one of the most talented and influential musicians EVER, and, as spoken mockingly by Eddie Murphy in Delirious, “A MUSICAL GENIUS, MUTHAFUCKA,” Just try not singing or dancing along to “Outtasight” or “Sir Duke.” It can’t be done, gents.

4. Miguel

We’ll be honest; we’re not the biggest fans of Miguel’s music (mostly because we can’t name a single track of his,) but the man can throw and outfit together. Rarely a week goes by without him landing on GQ’s “Best Dressed Men of the Week” list, and that’s gotta count for something.

5. Marvin Gaye

Cut down in his prime (by his father, a minister, no less,) Marvin Gaye left a legacy that launched ten thousand careers based on his headwear alone. He gave us socially-conscious tracks like “What’s Going On” and a song inspired by his cocaine and pornography addiction (“Sexual Healing.”) Say what you want…that’s a damn good resume for a man who died at forty-four.

6. James Brown

“The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” was also, for a while, the most stylish man on the planet. There are artist that inspired, and then there’s James Brown. Practically synonymous with Black music and culture of the 1960s and beyond, Brown is definitely one of the faces on the Mount Rushmore of Soul.

7. John Legend

One of the youngest EGOT winners ever, Legend is also an Ivy League-educated Legend (not his real name, of course…but it should be,) is as cool as he is talented, often overshadowed by his charismatic wife.

6. Frank Ocean

Possibly our favorite of the “newer” artists on the list, Ocean’s “Channel Orange” album is on constant rotation in our car and on our phones. Ocean is also a bit of an enigma, with more depth than his occupation would suggest. He seems just as at home in the pages of the aforementioned GQ than any model on any of the other pages.

9. Raphael Saadiq

You younger chaps may be too young to remember the early 90s and Tony! Toni! Tone!, Saadiq’s R&B trio of our youth, but we feel that Saadiq should be one of the biggest names in music, if not just one genre. The man oozes talent and style in equal parts, and he’s got both in spades. Do yourselves a favor and just google photos of him and copy every look you possibly can.

10. Otis Redding

We saved the best for last, and they rarely get better than Otis Redding, the man who is still the gold standard for R&B and Soul Music. If you’ve never seen or heard his performance of “Try A Little Tenderness” at the Monterey PoP Festival in 1967, do yourself a favor and find a clip of it online. You’ll see a man who pours out his heart, soul, guts, and everything else he has in front of a crowd, only to die three months later. Now THAT is how you leave a legacy.