I was at Leadbelly's Swarthmore College performance which Don Firth mentioned in a previous thread and remember being impressed by the powerful personality - as well as the physical power - of the man.
I was also impressed by the folks who sponsored (some have said exploited) him and made a music genre, otherwise obscure, avaliable.

I also agree that ratings of best, top 40, 10 worst, etc., are useless. The performers and performances are there. If you like them, listen; if not, go elsewhere. Have you ever noticed how the media speaks only in superlatives - newscasts, weather channels,reviews? - Charles