Short answers, pulled from the story.
Rolling Stone magazine published a special issue in 2004 and another in 2005 to present their list of the greatest artists. A revised edition of the list arrived in 2011 with changes starting from the twenty-seventh position onward.
The editors asked a panel of 55 musicians, writers, and industry figures for their input. This group decided who made the final cut based on peer selection rather than choosing the names themselves.
The Beatles held the number one spot in both versions of the list released between 2004 and 2011. Bob Dylan secured the second position across all iterations while Elvis Presley took the third place every time the list appeared.
Sixty-eight artists kept their exact rank while twenty others moved fewer than two spots during the update. Carl Perkins experienced the most dramatic shift by dropping thirty ranks during this change.
Most artists on the list were active during the nineteen-sixties or nineteen-seventies and consisted primarily of American or British musicians. Exceptions included AC/DC from Australia, Bob Marley from Jamaica, Joni Mitchell representing Canada, Carlos Santana born in Mexico, and U2 coming from Ireland.