Are We Experiencing a Golden Age of Female Rock & Roll Artists? My 50 Favorite Female Artists of the 2000s – Part 1

Being an old geezer, you know someone who was born in the early-Sixties (too young for the Boomers yet too old for Gen X), I often hear my friends say that rock & roll is dead. And, I think that’s bull! Rock & roll is NOT dead. It’s just evolving. Let’s face it, I am NOT the person today that I was 40 years ago, so why shouldn’t the music that popular today sound like it did in that same time period. Absolutely, artists will pick up their sounds from the previous generation which had done the same. This should not be a surprise since “our” music of the Seventies and Eighties had little to do with the sound of the original artists of the beginning of this thing called rock music back in the Fifties.

What is an unsurprising change in music, which has been long overdue, is that women are arguably the dominating creative voice in music today. Finally, the lessons taught by the female pioneers in rock music have been learned and built upon to create what we are listening to today. From blues guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe and rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson through the Sixties with Aretha Franklin, The Shangri-La’s, The Supremes, Janis Joplin and the garage rock of The Shags and into the Seventies with icons such as Carly Simon, Dolly Parton, Patti Smith, The Runaways, pioneering rock group Fanny, Suzi Quatro, Pat Benatar, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks and the like. When the Eighties rolled in, women like Pat Benatar, The Go-Go’s, Madonna, Joan Jett, The Bangles, Kate Bush, Sinead O’Connor, Whitney Houston and others dominated, followed by the women of the Nineties including Salt-n-Pepa, TLC, Lil’ Kim, Britney Spears, Alanis Morissette, Sleater-Kinney, Hole, Mariah Carey and the rest. All of the aforementioned, and so many others, laid the groundwork for the gold medal work being done today in the 21st century.

I have identified 50 women artists, bands or bands led by women who are creating some of the finest music right now. But, I did not want to limit this list to only those women rockers. Therefore, I will list those who made my Honor Mention List. They are not listed in any particular order, yet they are all worth checking out.

Honorable Mention: SOBS (Celine Autumn), Kesha, TUnE-YArDs (Merrill Garbus), Tegan and Sara, Solange, Karen O. (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Regina Spektor, Demi Lovato, Mitski (Mitski Miyawaki), Soccer Mommy (Sophia Regina Allison), Japanese Breakfast (Michelle Zauner), Joanna Newsom, Grimes (Claire Elise Boucher), boygenius (Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker & Lucy Dacus), Frankie Cosmos (Greta Kline), Jennifer Hudson, Lea Michele, FKA Twigs (Tahliah Debrett Barnett), First Aid Kit (Johanna & Klara Söderberg), Esperanza Spaulding, Courtney Barnett, Babymetal (Suzuka “Sumetal” Nakamoto & Moa “Moametal” Kikuchi), Avril Lavigne, Angel Olsen, Alvvays (Molly Rankin & Kerri MacLellan), She & Him (Zooey Deschanel), Warpaint (Emily Kokal, Theresa Wayman, Jenny Lee Lindberg & Stella Mozgowa), Beach Bunny (Lili Trifilio), Amanda Shires, The Highwomen (Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris & Amanda Shires) and Tamar Berk.

50. Shakira (Laundry Service, 2001; “Whenever, Wherever,” 2001) – Latin, pop

49. Amy Lee (Evanescence) (Fallen, 2003; “Bring Me to Life,” 2003) – Metal, Hard rock

48. Rachael Price (Lake Street Dive) (Obviously, 2021; “Hypotheticals,” 2021) – Pop, R&B

47. Doja Cat (Hot Pink, 2019; “Kiss Me More” – ft. SZA, 2021) – Pop, Hip Hop, World music

46. Carrie Underwood (Blown Away, 2012; “Something in the Water,” 2014) – Country, Pop

45. Phoebe Bridgers (Punisher, 2020; “Kyoto,” 2020) – Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Folk

44. Kelly Clarkson (All I Ever Wanted, 2009; “Since U Been Gone,” 2004) – Pop

43. Carly Rae Jepsen (Emotion, 2015; “Call Me Maybe,” 2012) – Pop

42. Camila Cabello (Camila, 2018; “Never Be the Same,” 2017) – Latin, Pop

41. Florence Welch (Florence + The Machine) (Lungs, 2009; “The Dog Days Are Over,” 2009) – Alternative rock

40. Megan Thee Stallion (Good News, 2020; “Savage” – ft. Beyoncé, 2020) – Hip Hop, Pop

39. M.I.A. (Kala, 2007; “Paper Planes,” 2007) – Hip Hop, Alternative Rock, Indie Pop, Electronic

38. Maggie Rogers (Heard It in a Past Life, 2019; “Alaska,” 2019) – Rock, Pop

37. Sia (1000 Forms of Fear, 2014; “Chandelier,” 2014) – Indie Pop, Indie Rock

36. Alicia Keys (The Diary of Alicia Keys, 2003; “A Beautiful Noise” – Brandi Carlile, Alicia Keys, 2020) – R&B, Pop

35. Katy Perry (Teenage Dream, 2010; “Last Friday Night (TGIF),” 2010) – Pop

34. Miranda Lambert (Platinum, 2014; “The House That Built Me,” 2009) – Country

33. Maren Morris (Hero, 2016; “The Middle” – Zedd, Maren Morris, Grey, 2018) – Country, Pop

32. Kacey Musgraves (Golden Hour, 2018; “The Slow Burn,” 2018) – Country, Pop

31. Charli XCX (Pop 2, 2017; “Girls Night Out,” 2018) – Pop, Indie Rock

30. Cardi B. (Privacy of Invasion, 2018; “WAP,” – ft. Megan Thee Stallion, 2020) – Hip Hop, Pop

29. Lorde (Pure Heroine, 2013; “Royals,” 2013) – Indie Rock, Indie Pop

28. Nicki Minaj (Pink Friday, 2010; “Super Bass,” 2011) – Hip Hop, R&B, Pop

27. Norah Jones (…Little Broken Hearts, 2012; “Don’t Know Why,” 2002) – Jazz, Indie Pop, Indie Rock

26. Muna [Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin & Naomi McPherson] (Muna, 2022; “Silk Chiffon” – ft. Phoebe Bridgers, 2022) – Indie Pop, Indie Rock

25. The Regrettes [Lydia Night, Genessa Gariano, Brooke Dickson & Drew Thomsen] (Further Joy, 2022; “I Dare You,” 2019) Pop Punk, Indie Pop, Indie Rock

24. Wet Leg [Rhian Teasdale & Hester Chambers] (Wet Leg, 2022; “Chaise Lounge,” 2022) – Indie Pop, Indie Rock

23. Annie Clarke [St. Vincent] ( Vincent, 2014; “New York,” 2017) – Indie Pop, Indie Rock

22. SZA (SOS, 2022; “Kill Bill,” 2022) – R&B, Pop

21. Rihanna (ANTI, 2016; “We Found Love” – ft. Calvin Harris, 2010) – R&B, Pop

See you all later for Part 2: The Top 20. Peace & Love.