Rock N' Roll Clown

Here's a list of some of the people who define the term "rock star". In my opinion the top 10 are these. Share yours and, please, follow that criteria:
charisma, showmanship, influence, sex appeal (drugs are bonus).
Note: The musicianship isn't a criteria.

10. Prince - Although he doesn't fit exactly in the "rock star" prototype, he is here because he is amazingly stylish, sex icon, ultra-controversial, and with extreme stage presence.


9. Robert Plant - The face of the 70s rock. Super-charismatic, influential and genuinely handsome.


8. Lemmy - The only real rock star among the metal musicians. Although not very handsome, he is a sex icon. A heavily-drinking and smoking tough S.O.B, he is a goddamn legend.


7. Axl Rose & Slash - The most charismatic duo in the last 30 years. Both of them fit exactly in the term "rock star". Super-scandalous, they've deserved the title "The most dangerous band in the world". With the electricity between them, Axl and Slash are one of the greatest live performers ever.


6. Steven Tyler & Joe Perry - Greatly charismatic masters of the stage, hugely influential, with heavy drug and alcohol addictions. And, of course, huge sex icons. Deservedly called "The next Rolling Stones"


5. Jimi Hendrix - Heavily drug-related, the second black man to become a sex icon, immortally influential, one of the greatest and most charismatic showmans in the history, Hendrix is maybe the most electrifying live performer ever.


4. James Brown - The baddest man to walk on the Earth. Although he doesn't fit exactly in the "rock star" prototype and what is more he is "the hardest working man in show-bussiness" which isn't that "cool", he still is the coolest man of all time. With his charisma and showmanship that can't be described with words, this man was heavily influential with his stage performances.


3. Jim Morrison - His unmatched charisma and sex appeal were only insignificant details around his persona. The Lizard King was a clown and a philosopher combined in one. Maybe the greatest frontman ever, the influence that this man had on the public was hardly comparable to anyone else's. His huge use of drugs and alcohol complete him as the "perfect rock star".


2. Elvis Presley - The most influential man of XX century, besides Hitler, was the original rock star. Everything that this man did was so cool and influential that everybody on the planet followed him. Like John Lennon said "Before Elvis there was nothing". The most charismatic man of all time, for sure, The King was and still is the biggest icon in American history. With a sex appeal comparable only to Mick Jagger's and his great drug addiction in his later years, he forms the prototype of a rock star.


1. Mick Jagger & Keith Richards - The greatest duo of all time, the immortal legends of rock n' roll are and will ever be the greatest rock stars. Their charisma, showmanship and influence are as great as those of the people above, but what makes them 1st is their longevity (an ingredient that almost none of the above-mentioned can be proud of). The grandiosity of these both men is due to the chemistry between them. Their sex appeal and drug addictions complete them as the most memorable rock stars of all time.

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joy_circumcision

If by planet you mean Anglosphere, perhaps maybe somewhat.

Based on Charisma, Showmanship, Influence, Sex Appeal, here's my top five, in no order, though I feel like the original intention of influence was to indicate that my list should be made entirely of old people, and by people I mean men because the sex appeal seems less about actual holistic attractiveness and more about sexual dominance to the exclusion of femininity (be it manifest in effeminate men or women who choose to not "act masculine"). Operating with exclusively rock and rock-oriented music, the outcome largely falls to people like those mentioned in the OP, but hopefully my alternative list can present some rock beyond the cock.

One of the most charismatic performers in the history of music, Jad Fair combines a wonderful naivete with true passion for his craft. Never afraid to subvert the expectations of his listeners, be they the hardest of punks disarmed by his pretty collaborations with Tenniscoats and other hip bands or the common listener ingesting his output with Half Japanese and being surprised by the wide range of punk styles founded by their DIY releases, Jad Fair stands out as a true master of individualistic showmanship. Influence? There's plenty - most of the DIY punk movement can be traced in part to Half Japanese's idiosyncratic unsolicited mailings of cassettes to various individuals, and many more punk artists at large cite the band as a general infuence. Sex appeal is palpable just by nature of his incredible charm and respect for the sexual and romantic needs of others.

Morrissey

Probably the most relatable of rock stars to us mophead white suburban poetry-reading types, Morrissey is the more traditional choice for best alternative rock star, largely for his unique posturing of actually aspiring to such a thing. Perhaps the only one more suited than he to intentional showmanship and scandal while subverting views on sexuality rather than exploting deep-seeded minor misogyny is David Bowie, a glaring omission from both the OP's list and my own, seeing as I was unwilling to type up a big paragraph on a person everyone here has listened to incessantly for as long as they've known of his existence, myself included.

Fela Kuti

Okay, perhaps a bit of a stretch for "rock star" material, but his influence and cult of personality are a highly comparable reference point not drenched in Western culture. Fela's creation of the entire genre of Afrobeat, utilizing various influences including rock, as well as his unique political output and dedication to his home country of Nigeria make him among the most decorated "world" musicians to ever live. A talented instrumentalist (I am aware that the OP poo poos on musicianship) as well as vocalist, Fela possesses all the great qualities of putting on a wonderful spectacle for a good reason.

As one half of the indomitable duo of Thurston and Kim (a smaller module within the larger project known as The Greatest Rock Band of All Time, Sonic Youth in professional circles), Kim Gordon acted as a frantic, terrifying singer, more akin to a Meredith Monk or a Diamanda Galas than a Debbie Harry or B-52. Her extended vocalizations and swirling instrumentation, produced in conjunction with the rest of the band's effective construction of a demented take on the Spector wall of sound, generated some of the most stirring, energetic, powerful experiences in rock music, most of which translated fairly decently to live settings.

As the founding member of twee royalty Beat Happening, Calvin Johnson established himself as the wellspring for twenty years and counting of spectacularly stripped down rock music that focused on emotive relations and a gummy aesthetic. Johnson's unique personality would catapult rock music in a direction away from the drugs and hard-ons and male obsession of the eighties. Perhaps he acts as the anti-rock star, and for that, he ranks among my favorites.

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Myklus

Gotta include IGGY POP and FREDDIE MERCURY and PERRY FARRELL.

Justthefacts

Nice list, but what's your obsession with rock stars and their addiction to substances? I understand most big rockstars took heavy drugs and lived it up and stuff, but that's hardly the reason they're rockstars.

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Rock N' Roll Clown

Oh, I think you got me wrong. Their addictions aren't that important at all, but when you say "rockstar" the picture that comes to your mind is a handsome, sexy and very entertaining man, full of charisma, with an unique style and, of course, living fast (a.k.a heavily drinking and doing drugs). So, like you said taking drugs is hardly the reason they are rockstars and it isn't that important, and that's why I put it as a bonus.

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Psy-Fi

7 of my top 10 picks were already mentioned in the first post, so I'll add some more worthy additions...

Keith Moon

Little Richard

Grace Slick

Kurt Cobain

Brian Jones

John Bonham

Janis Joplin

Syd Barrett

Arthur Lee

David Bowie

blastingas10

Im going to consider fame becuase i think it has to be considered when you say "rock star".

Hendrix
Lennon
Bob Dylan
Jim Morrison
Cobain
Elvis
Jagger
Robert Plant
Janis Joplin
Slash

The last two were the hardest part. Couldn't really think of anyone that deserved it more than them.

Vertigo

I'd have to say that for all his foibles, Bono deserves a mention. An incredible frontman in his day, influential, incredibly good lyricist and fronts a band that was, arguably, the worlds biggest band for a number of years.
Also, if you're going for sex appeal, this guy has it in abundance (according to the laydees);

Neapolitan

Big Joe Turner
Les Paul & Mary Ford
Chuck Berry
Richard Berry
Eddie Cochran
Steve Howe
Clarence White
Don Van Vliet
Link Wray
Dick Dale
Brian Ferry
David Kilgour
Johnny Ramone
William Mysterious
Bootsy Collins
Dusty Springfield
Nico
Agnetha Fältskog & Frida Lyngstad

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Myklus

Mr David Byron
Mr Bon Scott
Iggy
Freddie Mercury
Nick Cave
Scott Weiland