If you follow the strict guidelines, you'll find this a harder exercise than you think. I still have only selected one, but second guess it all of the time.
My son asked me last weekend, as he does many other music fans , that if there was a Mount Rushmore of musicians, which four musicians should be on it?
Criteria to consider (which is what makes it so tough):
Individuals, no bands.
Your consideration must include everything: talent, impact on music, impact on the world, etc.
Can (and should) include any style of music.
He dropped it on a bunch of us at a family gathering last weekend. No one came up with all four at once, but here were some smattering of names mentioned at the gathering. Beethoven, Prince (what?!), Joni Mitchell (what?!), Bob Dylan, Ozzy Osbourne, Michael Jackson, Shania Twain (what?!), John Lennon, and Paul McCartney.
My one and only pick, influenced by my other son, is Bob Dylan, but I question it every day.