Back when Prince died a few weeks ago, I found myself thinking of his musical legacy. For many, this would mean his songs, his style, his fashion. For me, however, it’s often a numerical thing. As a child of sports standings, I’ve long been a fan of rankings. If he’s a 73, she’s an 86, and he’s a 23, and she’s a 14. You know what I mean, right?
Anyhow, in my head I have this thing—Musical Oomph. It measures your musical and cultural impact, along with your talent and skills, into one (admittedly inexact) number. For example, The Beatles and Michael Jackson are a 10. Nelson is a 1, Tyga a 0. Tupac would probably be an 8, New Edition a 5, the Backstreet Boys a 3.
And Prince? Well … take a look (admittedly, I couldn’t include everyone):
THE JEFF PEARLMAN MUSICAL OOMPH SCALE:
10: The Beatles
10: Michael Jackson
10: Elvis Presley
9: Prince
9: Bob Dylan
9: Bruce Springsteen
9: Led Zeppelin
9: The Rolling Stones
9: Stevie Wonder
9: Aretha Franklin
9: U2
8: Pearl Jam
8: Ray Charles
8: Run DMC
8: Elton John
8: AC/DC
8: Marvin Gaye
8: The Temptations
8: Tupac Shakur
8: Madonna
8: David Bowie
8: Al Green
8: Jay-Z
8: Bob Marley
8: Public Enemy
8: Nirvana
8: Simon and Garfunkel
8: Guns n Roses
8: The Four Tops
8: Creedence Clearwater Revival
8: Billy Joel
8: Pink Floyd
8: Van Halen
8: Willie Nelson
8: Harry Belafonte
7: Whitney Houston
7: Barbra Streisand
7: Bee Gees
7: Metallica
7: The Beach Boys
7: Smokey Robinson
7: Eagles
7: The Doors
7: Roy Orbison
7: Rod Stewart
7: Elvis Costello
7: Curtis Mayfield
7: Tom Petty
7: The Kinks
7: Lauryn Hill
7: Joni Mitchell
7: Snoop Dogg
7: Heart
7: R.E.M.
7: Eminem
7: Green Day
7: Celine Dion
7. Rush
7: Janet Jackson
7: Diana Ross and the Supremes
7: Crosby Stills and Nash
7: Santana
7: Black Sabbath
7. Taylor Swift
7: Jackie Wilson
7: James Taylor
7: Afrika Bambaataa
7: Fleetwood Mac
7: Hall & Oates
7: The Police
7: Earth, Wind & Fire
7: Aerosmith
7: Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
7: Lou Reed
7: The Ramones
7: Eric B. & Rakim
7: Tina Turner
7: Sam Cooke
7: LL Cool J
6: Chicago
6: Notoious B.I.G.
6: Adele
6: A Tribe Called Quest
6: Lynard Skynyrd
6: The Sugarhill Gang
6: Bon Jovi
6: Gladys Knight and the Pips
6: Mariah Carey
6: Commodores
6: John Cougar
6: Beyoncé
6: Neil Diamond
6: KISS
6: Kenny Rogers
6: The Sex Pistols
6: The Carpenters
6: Parliament and Funkadelic
6: The Drifters
6: The Yardbirds
6: Journey
6: Booker T. and the MGs
6: Blondie
6: Nas
6: Beastie Boys
6: Kelly Clarkson
6: NWA
6: Barry Manilow
6: Puff Daddy
6: Cream
6: The Go Gos
6: Rage Against The Machine
6: Red Hot Chili Peppers
6: KC and the Sunshine Band
6: The Doobie Brothers
6: Chaka Kahn
6: Lenny Kravitz
6: Jefferson Airplane
6: Joe Cocker
6: Abba
6: Otis Redding
5: Nine Inch Nails
5: Patti LaBelle
5: Depeche Mode
5: Wings
5: R. Kelly
5: Kanye West
5: Donna Summer
5: Motley Crue
5: OutKast
5. Lady Gaga
5: Gram Parsons
5: Meat Loaf
5: Carrie Underwood
5: Phil Collins
5: Radiohead
5: The Stooges
5: Bruno Mars
5: George Benson
5: Boogie Down Productions
5: Dire Straits
5: Buffalo Springfield
5. New Edition
5: Kool & the Gang
5: Coldplay
5: Cindy Lauper
5: We-Tang Clan
5: Red Hot Chili Peppers
5: Boyz II Men
5: Linda Ronstadt
5: Rihanna
5: Huey Lewis and the News
5: Maxwell
5: Kenny Loggins
5: Def Leppard
5: Big Daddy Kane
5: REO Speedwagon
5: De La Soul
5: Duran Duran
4: George Michael
5: The Eurythmics
4: Katy Perry
4: Rick James
4: Lou Rawls
4: Foreigner
4: Dionne Warwick
4: Bryan Adams
4: Busta Rhymes
4: Gloria Estefan
4: Eurythmics
4: Britney Spears
4: Humble Pie
4: Billy Idol
4: Digable Planets
4: Pink
4: Erykah Badu
4: Missy Elliott
4: Tim McGraw
4: Arrested Development
4. Mary J. Blige
4: Christina Aguilera
4: Slick Rick
4: TLC
4: Aaron Neville
4: Morrissey
4: Scarface
4: The Pointer Sisters
4: Pat Benatar
3: Rick Springfield
3: Train
3: Kendrick Lamar
3: James Ingram
3: Black Sheep
3: Goo Goo Dolls
3: Bette Midler
3: Bell Biv DeVoe
3: DeBarge
3: Wiz Khalifa
3: Christopher Cross
3: Naughty by Nature
3: Ellie Goulding
3: Stray Cats
3: Justin Bieber
3: Kid Rock
3: Air Supply
3: Ed Sheeran
3: Menudo
3: Jodeci
3: Michael Bolton
3: 50 Cent
3: Captain & Tennille
3: T.I.
3: Toni Braxton
3: New Kids on the Block
2: Sheena Easton
2: Peabo Bryson
2: Maroon 5
2: Soul Asylum
2: Nicki Minaj
2: Jody Watley
2. Backstreet Boys
2: One Direction
2: Keith Sweat
2: DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
2. The Verve
2: Dead Milkmen
2: Ashford and Simpson
2: Tears for Fears
2: ‘N Sync
2: Drake
2: Blind Melon
2: DMX
2: Brian McKnight
2: Faith Hill
2: Live
2: Aaliyah
2: Dru Hill
2: Meghan Trainor
2: P.M. Dawn
2: a-ha
2. Ziggy Marley
2: Shania Twain
2: Faith Evans
2: Ted Nugent
2: Survivor
2: Paul Young
2: Tony! Toni! Tone!
2: Eric Carmen
2: MC Hammer
2: Matchbox Twenty
2: The Weeknd
2: Billy Ocean
2: Wilson Phillips
2: Smash Mouth
2: Vanilla Ice
2: UB40
2: Sinead O’Connor
2: SWV
2: The Osmonds
2: Paula Abdul
2: Wreckx-n-Effect
2: K-Ci & JoJo
2: Roxette
1: Tesla
1: Brandy
1: Demi Lovato
1: Joe
1: Hozier
1: Digital Underground
1: Poison
1: The Fat Boys
1: Savage Garden
1: 4 Non Blondes
1: Marc Anthony
1: Skid Row
1: Macy Gray
1: Lonestar
1: Damn Yankees
1: Tag Team
1: Taylor Dayne
1: Nelson
1: Nickelback
1: Blink 182
1: Kiki Dee
1: Creed
1: 3 Doors Down
1: Musical Youth
1:J-Lo
1: Teena Marie
1: Sugar Ray
1: Extreme
1: Kid ‘N Play
1: Snow
1: Debbie Gibson
1: Spin Doctors
1: Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
1: Ariana Grande
1: Five Seconds of Summer
1: Ricky Martin
0: H-Town
0: Tiffany
0: Wee Papa Girl Rappers
0: O-Town
0: 98 Degrees
0: Aaron Carter
0: Eddie Murphy
0: Charlie Puth
0: Tyga
