Once upon a time, the honour was undisputed. In the 60s, it was accepted that the Beatles were the world's greatest act. In the 70s, it was the Stones. In the 80s, it was U2's turn. Hindsight tells us, of course, that other acts had legitimate claims - James Brown, notably - but they were ignored by the white rock-and-pop establishment, writes The Guardian.
And so the title of "the greatest" became a competition between a succession of guitar bands, even as guitar rock was being left behind as any sort of pioneering force within music. But, still, people understood what the title entailed: the acts hailed as "the greatest" were those who could make a crowd of 100,000 feel intimate, who had an ability to communicate meaning far beyond the literal meaning of their songs.
But who is the world's best act these days? It's a question bands seem eager to avoid: Chris Martin last year laid claim to Coldplay being no more than the seventh-best band in the world, and even Bono doesn't appear to have been lusting for the top spot since 2000, when he announced U2's intention to "reclaim their title".
It's harder now to anoint one single act than it might have been in the 60s and 70s, when tastes were less fragmented and music had not yet fractured into so many microgenres. Still, we thought it a question worth asking - and decided to pose it not to critics, but to musicians. And not just to rock'n'roll musicians, but to rappers, pop singers, crooners, R&B singers. They were asked one simple question: "Which act, working today, is the best in the world?" They were allowed to use any criteria - there's no formula for this - and any answer was legitimate.
Hence one nod for Hugh Jackman. Some of our panel were judging on the basis of commercial success, some on the basis of how they have influenced others, but a large number decided in the same way most fans do: nominating acts that had touched them personally. The results? Well, put it this way: in 2009, there's no longer any consensus about this question...
Ne-yo: True artists nowadays are few and far between, but I'd have to say I'm a huge fan of Coldplay. Everything they do is melody, and melody speaks to everybody, be you a hip-hop head, be you an R&B guy, be you a country-and-western guy. Melody is the blood that flows through any and all musical genres. There are some songs where I have no idea what they're talking about. Chris Martin is almost saying: "OK, take these words and these melodies and determine your own adventure - what does it mean to you?" That's the question he's asking with the songs, as opposed to trying to force meaning on you.
Busta Rhymes: And Coldplay, they're young too, and they're fucking incredible to me. I would love to do a record with them - I'm a super Coldplay fan. Put that all the way out there!
Shontelle: It's between Coldplay and U2, but I'd go for Coldplay, who just keep getting better. I've liked them since Yellow, and then fell in love with them, both musically and as people: I met them a long time ago through my mum, who's the marketing coordinator of the Caribbean region for Virgin Atlantic, and they played cricket with us! They've got all these great rock songs and then they remix Jay-Z - that's what makes them connect. Hip-hop people, R&B people, rock'n'roll people - they all love Coldplay. They're constantly being sampled and interpolated into other music, which is indicative of how wide they reach.
Lemar: There's no strings attached with Coldplay: it's just them, good musicians, at the top of the game. Even though they are so popular, it's not oversaturation - you don't turn on the TV and see ColdplayColdplayColdplay. It's not about the media, it's not about anything but good music and a good band. They write great songs, then go and perform them for the people. And to me, that's an inspiration.
More on this at the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks mimixxx]
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