Better than Hikki...

[Uemarasan]

... or Ayu or Namie or whatever Z-grade J-pop artist you've discovered with too much time on your hands. Kidding about the last part!

Okay, so I just wanted to bait people with the title of the thread.

Since people around here can't seem to get enough of the reliable science of comparative J-pop, I thought it would be interesting to make a thread on how you would rank ALL (well, most of) the J-pop artists that you know of. Why invite potential flamings with negatively-inclined Ayu-focused threads in an Ayu forum? The world can be very silly at times.

Here's my list:

For me, Ayu and Hikki are musical equals. Enough said. In my opinion, the Ayu and Hikki debate (or any fan-invented debate between two artists) is boring, futile, stupid, and an utter waste of time. I'd rather spend my time liking both artists.

The only artists I personally find better and more important than Ayu and Hikki are Hibari Misora, Momoe Yamaguchi, Yumi Matsutoya, Southern All Stars, and Boowy.

I think everyone else is at the same level as Ayu and Hikki. Artists like Seiko Matsuda, Akina Nakamori, B'z, Mr. Children, Pizzicato Five, Ringo Shiina, X Japan.

Ringo Shiina would have been better than Ayu and Hikki if she just continued her solo career. Tokyo Jihen was a step down.

Namie Amuro I would rank the same as Glay, L'Arc En Ciel, Globe, Ken Hirai, Dreams Come True, Chage and Aska, Smap, Spitz, Tomoyasu Hotei, and Zard.

Ken Hirai could also potentially be a great J-pop artist. I think the next album will have a lot of say about his musical legacy. Among the newer generation, I think Ai Otsuka has the most potential to be an important artist. Planetarium and Love Cook were real breakthroughs.

I wish Mika Nakashima would return to the musical direction she found with Love.

For all the new Koda Kumi converts who are wondering, I would put her alongside Ami Suzuki and Tomomi Kahala. There are a lot more artists whom I would rank higher: Every Little Thing, Judy and Mary, The Yellow Monkey, The Alfee, Candies, Luna Sea and such.

So, all in all, my list goes:

1. Hibari Misora, Momoe Yamaguchi, SAS, Yuming, Boowy
(these are more artists I respect and appreciate than actually love listening to)
2. Ayu, Hikki, Seiko Matsuda, Akina Nakamori, B'z, Mr. Children, Pizzicato Five, Ringo Shiina, X Japan
(these are the artists I actually like)
3. Namie, Glay, Laruku, Globe, Ken Hirai, Chage and Aska, DCT, Smap, Spitz, Tomoyasu Hotei, Zard
(I generally appreciate most of their stuff)

There are a lot more J-pop artists I haven't heard enough of to include, so sorry about that. Yosui Inoue, Yutaka Ozaki, Miyuki Nakajima, Mariya Takeuchi, to name a few.