01
I
Island Records
Bob Marley, U2, Amy Winehouse — Chris Blackwell's visionary label championed outsiders and world music.
▲ Rising·Score +21
Music
Greatest Music Record Labels of All Time
Behind every legend is a label that believed in them — which record label has the most iconic roster and history?
Pick your favorites · Every vote moves the ranking · Results update live
02
P
Parlophone / EMI
The Beatles, Coldplay, Radiohead — EMI's flagship label shaped British pop music across seven decades.
▲ Steady·Score +16
03
XL Recordings
Radiohead, Adele, M.I.A. — the independent UK label that consistently finds the artists who define their era.
▲ Steady·Score +15
04
B
Blue Note Records
Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock — Blue Note is the most respected jazz label ever created.
▲ Steady·Score +14
05
Cash Money Records
Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj — Birdman's New Orleans label became the most dominant hip-hop empire of its era.
▲ Steady·Score +12
06
Stax Records
Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes — Memphis soul at its rawest and most honest.
▲ Steady·Score +12
07
D
Def Jam Recordings
Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Jay-Z, Kanye — Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin built hip-hop's most powerful institution.
▲ Steady·Score +7
08
I
Interscope Records
Eminem, Dr. Dre, Lady Gaga, Kendrick — Jimmy Iovine built the most commercially powerful label of the 90s and 2000s.
▲ Steady·Score +5
09
M
Motown Records
Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross — Berry Gordy's Detroit hitmaking machine defined Black American music.
▲ Steady·Score +4
10
A
Atlantic Records
Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, Ray Charles — Atlantic signed the legends that shaped soul, R&B, and rock.
▲ Steady·Score +1
11
S
Sun Records
Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis — Sam Phillips discovered rock and roll in a Memphis studio.
▲ Steady·Score +1
12
C
Columbia Records
Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson — the world's oldest and most storied major record label.
▲ Steady·Score -3
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