Music

Sorry, Nickelback. Here Are the 50 Greatest Canadian Artists of All Time

From its sweet-ass health care system to its foxy nepo-baby prime minister to its absolutely banging national anthem, Canada has always had it going on. Sure, this hellish summer-wildfire shit has kind of been an unexpected plot twist — but no country is perfect, right? 

Canada has about a tenth the population of the United States, which only makes its outsize impact on the history of music that much more incredible (excellent arts-education funding, eh?). The stats here are astounding. Three of the five or so greatest songwriters who ever lived are from Canada, as is the most beloved prog-rock band, most significant country singer of the Nineties, the biggest hip-hop artist of the past 20 years, and the quintessential R&B star of our era. Get this: the greatest Americana roots rock band of all time? You guessed it: Canadian! (Well, four fifths at least.)

To honor Canada Day, here is the CanCon our friends in the Great White North deserve: Rolling Stone’s definitive rundown of the greatest Canadian artists in the history of pop music. Is every single significant Canadian musician on here? Nope. The 50 we like the most are, though. There’s a lot of Canada out there. So, please allow us to preemptively extend our sincere and respectful condolences to members and fans of the Cowboy Junkies, DeadMau5, Bruce Cockburn, Skinny Puppy, the Pointed Sticks, Voivod, Bran Van 300, Buck 65, Chilliwack, the Waekerthans, Toronto, and many other very worthy acts. But not Nickelback. We have zero condolences for Nickelback.