2 Theodor W. Adorno
One of the most prominent intellectuals of the 20th century, Theodor Adorno was a pioneer of the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory and despised the culture industry. Born to a singer mother, the German sociologist grew up amid music and could even play Beethoven on the piano by 12.
3 Robert Christgau

4 Molly Meldrum

5 E. T. A. Hoffmann
E. T. A. Hoffmann was a German author, jurist, artist, composer, and music critic. His stories served as an inspiration and laid the foundation for The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach. The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is also based on Hoffmann's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Hoffmann is among the most influential authors of the Romantic Movement.
6 Harvey Pekar

7 Carl Maria von Weber

Carl Maria von Weber was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and conductor. A significant musical figure in the Romantic era, he played a key role in the development of the German Romantische Oper (German Romantic opera). He also made significant contributions to vocal and choral music. He was a music critic as well and wrote music journalism.
8 Armond White

9 John Hammond

10 Erin McNaught

Erin McNaught is an Australian actress, model, television personality, and presenter. McNaught achieved both fame and notoriety when she represented Australia in the 2006 Miss Universe competition where she was one of the most controversial participants. Over the years, Erin McNaught has also taken part in charity campaigns, such as UK's Fashion Targets Breast Cancer.
11 Guido of Arezzo

12 Adolphe Adam

13 Stephen Thomas Erlewine

14 Paul Dukas
Best known for his masterpiece The Sorcerer's Apprentice, French composer Paul Dukas was admired by both conservative and progressive French musicians. Born to a pianist mother, Dukas had begun composing while recovering from an ailment at age 14. Shortly before his death, he destroyed most of his manuscripts.
15 Paul Le Flem

16 Gabriel Marcel

17 Janet Maslin

18 David Fricke

19 Stanley Crouch

20 Henry Gauthier-Villars

21 Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji

22 Simon Reynolds

23 Cesar Cui
Cesar Cui was a Russian composer best remembered for his association with a group called The Five, which worked to create a national style of classical music. Also a well-known music critic of his time, Cui worked hard to promote the music of other Russian composers, especially the works of his co-members from The Five.
24 Paul Morley

25 Greil Marcus

26 Ellen Willis

27 Dave Marsh

28 Nick Kent

29 Remo Giazotto

30 Kelefa Sanneh

31 Heinrich Schenker

Heinrich Schenker was an influential music theorist whose works have had a significant impact on subsequent musical analysis. Based on his theories, a method of analyzing tonal music was developed; the method is now called Schenkerian analysis. Heinrich Schenker's approach was explained in a three volume series titled New Musical Theories and Phantasies.
32 Charles Rosen

33 Marcia Davenport

34 Sacheverell Sitwell

35 Nik Cohn

36 Olga Samaroff

37 Eduard Hanslick

38 Willi Schmid

39 Harold C. Schonberg

40 Tikhon Khrennikov

41 François-Joseph Fétis

François-Joseph Fétis was a Belgian composer, musicologist, and teacher. He is also counted among the 19th century's most influential music critics. Apart from musicology, Fétis had a profound influence on music theory as well. As a writer, François-Joseph Fétis is also known for his massive compilation of biographical data which remains a prominent source of information today.
42 Géza Csáth

43 Charles Wakefield Cadman

44 Stanley Sadie

A Cambridge alumnus, Stanley Sadie later not only became a popular music journalist, writing for publications such as The Time and editing The Musical Times but also edited the Grove Dictionary of music. He also headed the Royal Musical Association as its president and wrote predominantly on Mozart and Handel.
45 Wilfrid Mellers

46 Johann Cochlaeus

47 Augusto de Campos

48 Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg

49 Jeannette Thurber

50 Reginald De Koven
