Here's the list. I'll add pics and more links(non-japanese) in the future.

Didn't know that Ryuichi Sakamoto would be ranked that high... I actually only know one song by him (it's "undercooled" feat. MC Sniper) and love it!

Wow, Hikki ranked pretty high.. (:

Im not suprised that Hikki rated that high, almost everyone know her.

yay!!!! Hikki ranked 24th! xDD

Wow what an amazing list !
For a second I almost thought they forgot about Utada Hikaru but I found her, she ranked 24th that's GREAT !
Agreed, almost everyone knows her.

wow.. i haven't heard of over half of the list. o_o
shows how much i know.. but then again i listen to k-pop more. :x

Luna Sea and The Alfee should be ranked higher, in my opinion.

Dreams Come True should be knocked down a bit.

Other than that, I agree with the list.

pizzicato five!
would have never guessed!

and lisa ono. thought she would be ranked higher.

surprised that there is no kinki kids. because they do sell alot of records right?

like this list because its more about their 'influence' and quality and not just popularity. (am i right? because you dont see ayumi that high up. no offence to her fans)
guess this shows how 'much' we know about the japanese's music. though you would definitely know southern all star would be number one.

can someone tell me does 'mr children' sing ballads?haha saw their album in japan and was curious (: ohh and any others who sing ballads/no rap?haha thanks

Thought Utada would've been ranked a little higher than that, but its still good. <3

They do, but I can't think of any off the top of my head.

A lot of bands and singers on that list sing ballads and don't rap, but the ones that I listen to are, The Alfee (Jrock/POP), Glay (Jrock/POP) , The Yellow Monkey (Jrock), Ken Hirai (JR&B/POP), Judy and Mary (JRock/POP), L'arc~en~ciel (Jrock), and Spitz (JPOP).

missing Supercar >:O still agree with the list though. Mainly the top 10

How did they make this? Utada Hikaru sold the most albums in Japan, etc. I'm suprised she's not #1. Maybe too much but atleast the top 5. >_>

I'm suprised Gackt isn't on the list o.o
Utada did well though *^^*

looking at the list, i realise how little i really know about Japanese pop. how was the list generated?
i would have thought that orange range would be there somewhere since they always seem to be on the oricon.

What is this list based on? sales? poll?

the list is based on influence and impact.

I've only heard of some of the top names.

I can recognised less than 10 names on the list.

Hikki has the highest selling album in Japan, but she hasn't sold the most albums in Japan.

Haha, a lot of Japanese people seem to have never even heard of Gackt before. The only person I've asked who actually knows him was my middle-aged tutor and she was like "oh... you mean that gay guy?"

-________-;;

I'm surprised Utada > X Japan, Spitz, B'z and Ayumi... and.. Namie?! o___O Wow... oh well I'm not complaining, Utada's gotta be my favourite J-pop artist ^^

I'm really surprised Kinki Kids isn't on the list. I thought with all the consecuive #1's they've had, they would've shown up. I thought Smap would've been ranked higher because they're so popular.

too me mika will always be my fave...even tho i still love her, i miss the old mika before NANA

also don't forget that this is "of all time"
not just the current pop music scene

of course oldschool legends like Southern All Stars and YMO would the highest
though I though Mr Children would have been a bit higher

i can't recognize the top ten ppl, haha wow

This is a list for JPOP artists of All Time, not current mainstream. Orange Range haven't been around long enough nor have they sold enough albums to be considered for the list.

Wee Hikki xD
And I'm not so surprised Ayumi and Namie are a little below; Hikki is more well-known than a large percentage of the people on that list. Her bilingual abilities and the whole Kingdom Hearts madness [Not to mention allegations of her mom being a crackhead] have helped her tons.

aw mika isnt on there...and i dont see miyavi either O__O

Miyavi will possibly never be on that list because he isn't mainstream. Mika Nakashima still has a few years to go.

Remember, this is a list for the Japanese musicians of all time, not current mainstream. Also, these acts are influential and I can't name any current band that has been influenced by Miyavi (He's influenced by Dir en grey and earlier Jrock acts) nor Mika.

Southern All Stars rock, i'm still playing dirty old man~saraba natsu yo~ on my winamp.

how sad, i didn't know anyone until utada hikaru showed up. i don't know enough about japanese music. there's quite a few people that i still want to listen to on that list.

Woohoo i see namie amuro !!
she rocks !!

awww Ayumi Hamasaki should've been higher, but I guess nowadays her songs are not really that good. I miss the old ayumi hamasaki songs...they were the best ^^.

ehh....utada hikaru is okay, but she should've been higher as well.

dont recognize too many lists LOL but none of johnny's is up ther (as it shoudl be)

Yea Hikki's number 24!

I've only heard of a few of these -__-

I have to agree with cyberfruit about Luna Sea. I think they should be higher on the list. :x And I'm a little surprised X Japan isn't a little higher.

haha thanks (:

mr.children has quite a few hit ballad songs, the most recent one is "shirushi".. the theme song for "14-sai no haha".
i'm surprised mr.children is higher up than b'z.. not by much.. but hehe.. i love both^^

i know 34 singers/groups.. boo.. i wanna know more =_=

people are saying utada sold the most album? nah.. she sold alot.. but the southern all stars sold like.......... 200m+, compared to 20m+ of hikki's..
i love hikki- but she hasn't been around for THAT long to be all the way up at number 1 or top 10.. in a few more years, perhaps..

alsoooooo........

kamui_hime.. SMAP is there somewhere.. the group is pretty influential.. minus nakai's singing ability (or lack thereof)

I thought B'z would rank higher...but Southern All Stars has been out longer. I`m also surpirsed Mr. Children ranked higher than B'z.
I rank Hibari Misora at number #3 =) She`s like the best in enka. Pizzicato Five has left a longing impression on me, I`m always listening to their music, they are really good...and with so much work to their name, wow. Ringo Shiina, I like her and she usually has high selling releases but I don`t know...maybe she should have been on the second half of the list. Ayumi Hamasaki & Dreams Come True ranked higher than L'Arc!? Wow, I know Ayu is amazing, she is my favorite singer, so I would expect her to be high, kinda at Momoe Yamaguchi`s spot but this artist are older so senority it`s like a senority list. And if Dreams Come True is on there Do As Infinity has to be on there. *searches* NO!? That`s strange. But L'Arc has been out since early 90s, and sold many albums and recognized world wide, I think they are one of the best in Japan who deserved to be higher on the list~ good thing I didn`t complie it. MISIA did good too~ Too bad UA is at 99. T_T

Hikki's "First Love" sold 8 million copies in Japan ONLY, 10 million Asia-wide. "First Love" is still the best selling album in Japan after 8 years.

The artist who has sold the most albums is B'z and they've sold something like 40 million albums.

Why isn't that Mika Nakashima on there?? that nana girl, i like her...

So many people are confused by the lack of recent acts on this, but like others have said, this list is for ALL TIME.

Take number 18- Kyu Sakamoto- he sang what is popularly known as "Sukiyaki" (which btw, is the name of a food and not the original title which is "Ue o muite arukou" because that was too hard for english speakers to pronouce and remember) when it was released in the US in the early 1960's and is the ONLY Japanese-language song EVER to make it on the US charts. It's still played on oldies stations occasionally in Japanese alongside hits by the Beatles and the Beach Boys. And there have been TONS of covers/samples of this tune in various languages from people like: A taste of Honey, Utada Hikaru, Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick, and Bryan Adams.

So yeah, its more that just hitting #1 on Oricon a couple times that gives you a spot.

No Mika Nakashima?? I see Ayumi and Namie on there...

Oh, I get it. The list's from 2003. Boy I feel dumb.

"In 2003, HMV Japan announced that Utada Hikaru is the #24 Japanese pop artist in its survey of "Top 100 Japanese pop artists" of all-time, making her the youngest artist with the highest rank in that survey."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utada_Hikaru
http://www.hmv.co.jp/news/newsDetail.asp?newsnum=310200001

wow a lot of oldies/classic artists. Mr. Children & B'z are doing really well this year. ack RIP SLYME >_>

LOL. ditto!
XD

i don't even know who's the top 1. O____o

wow...happy end got ranked so high!
such a short lived band..but i can understand why they are so high

i wish akiko wada can be higher =T

Yeah~ L'Arc~en~Ciel and GLAY are on the list! Mr. Children are awesome too.