THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS EVER.

I excude our classic master like MOZART, BEETHOVEN, BACH. (Bach had a great influence on some bands, like PROCOL HARUM)

"THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS, WHO ARE THEY?"

You can ask WHO MADE WHO. I realize that almost every band is the inspiration of another band.
But my list is (THE NUMBERS OR RANKING ARE IRRELEVANT):
1) ROBERT JOHNSON here we can say without Robert Johnson no Chuck Berry, no Elvis, no STONES ........How many artists thit this ROBERT JOHNSON INFLUENCED? THOUSANDS OF BANDS.
2) BOB DYLAN = without DYLAN a lot of artists wouldn't be famous artists, see all the DYLAN songs covered by others.
3) THE BEATLES = without the Beatles no Kinks, Who, Oasis and hundreds more.
See the songs they wrote.
4) BILL HALEY and THE COMETS = there it started
5) SEX PISTOLS. Of course you had the RAMONES, THE STOOGES, THE NEW YORK DOLLS
6) PINK FLOYD = the pioneers of psychedelic music and their evolution.
7) BOB MARLEY
8) NIRVANA
9) BLACK SABBATH = one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time. They influenced COUNTLESS BANDS
10) JAMES BROWN is not for nothing called "THE GODFATHER OF SOUL"