The Top 10 Artists That Have Gone Solo

You can't deny the success and influence of Ronnie James Dio. Made famous in both Rainbow and Black Sabbath, but his solo work is some of my favorite. "Rainbow In The Dark", "Holy Diver", "We Rock", "Last In Line" and so many more great songs in the Dio library. It was a sad day when we lost one of the greatest voices in rock and heavy metal.

Though he seems more focused on movies these days, Rob Zombie is still one of the best heavy metal performers out there. After White Zombie broke up in 1998, Mr. Zombie didn't waste much time getting a record out there. His solo debut Hellbilly Deluxe sold over 3 million copies in the US alone and produced 3 big hits. He has always had a certain sense of humor when it comes to his work, and that is something that all of his fans enjoy.

One of the greatest guitar players ever, he made his name in The Yardbirds and Cream. The created some great stuff with Derek & The Dominos and finally he went solo. His riffs are recognized world wide and aspiring guitar players wish they could emulate his flawless delivery. Eric Clapton has recently admitted that he can't play as well as he use to, and I think it takes a big person to do something like that. He has battled his demons, but he continues to sell out shows and gain new fan the world over year after year.

Probably most well known for being the drummer for The Eagles, Don Henley had himself quite to the solo career in the 80's. The Boys Of Summer is one of the best songs in rock music. Just think, if The Eagles had never broken up we may not have had this song. He is back with The Eagles now and making a ton of money doing so, but we can't forget the solo work of Mr. Henley.

One of the most iconic voices in rock music. Robert Plant continues to rock crowds, and you can just ask Mrozek about that. Since Zeppelin split in 1980 Plant has been keeping busy and exploring different areas of music. He had great success with country artist Alison Krauss and is now off doing his own thing again and his fans just keep coming. We wish he would reunite with the guys in Zeppelin, but that doesn't look to be happening anytime soon.

He may have gotten started in Genesis, but his solo career carried him even further. He has not only sold millions of albums around the world, but he has been part of several movie soundtracks as well. Who can forget him at Live Aid. He performed at London then jumped in a plane to perform at JFK. Now that is some dedication. He can't perform anymore, but thanks to 'The Hangover' we'll always have Mike Tyson's rendition of "In the Air Tonight".

Sting is one of a kind. The Police are one of the greatest bands of all time, so when Sting decided to leave in 1983 we all thought he was crazy. Little did we know he was going to go on to become one of the greatest solo artists ever. He has incorporated so many different styles into his music, it's hard to put a label on him. We do however know that he is good at sex. So he has that going for him too.

I don't think that when the Beatles broke up in 1970 anyone thought that Paul McCartney was going to be able to go on as well as he did. His solo work is some of the best and not only am I a huge Beatles fan, but I am also a huge McCartney fan. He continues to be one of the biggest concert draws in the world and puts out new material all the time. Sad that we can never see him get back together with the guys, but he still breaks out Beatles tunes live.

When Ozzy split with Sabbath, I don't think anyone thought that this guy was going to sell out stadiums on his own. Boy were they wrong. One of the god fathers of heavy metal, Ozzy continues to tour and record music. He is also responsible for making the public known to 2 of the greatest guitar players ever in Randy Rhodes and Zakk Wylde. He may be more well known to some for his solo work these days than his stuff with Sabbath.

Hard to argue with this one. Transcendent among music genres, Michael Jackson is the most successful artist to break off into a solo career of all time. Beloved for his work in his family band the Jackson 5, his solo work blew all of that away. I think sometimes people forget that MJ started off in a band. I never got a chance to go see him live, but I'm sure it would have been quite the experience. I don't think there is a person out there that doesn't love at least a dozen of his songs. Without a doubt Michael Jackson is the greatest solo artist of all time.