My Personal List Of The Top 10 Awesomely Dead Rockstars

10. Jimi Hendrix

One of the greatest guitarists ever. You know, you see a lot of musicians today who are wayyyy overrated, but not Hendrix. While his career only lasted about four years, he most definitely left a mark on music history.

9. Selena

This is just a sad story. She was just breaking into the mainstream music scene when she was shot and killed - by the president of her fanclub, nonetheless! Her legacy lives though - quite literally. After all, over 50,000 people attend the Selena Vive! concert in Houston, a tribute concert, and she's racked up quite a posthumous fortune with more than 20 post-death releases and of course, the movie, "Selena."

8. Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez

Her high-pitched rap was very recognizable, and she promoted safe sex - by wearing glasses with a condom over the left lense (hence the nickname, "Left Eye"). Her legacy truly lies though, in the fact that she was 1/3 of the most successful female R&B group of all time, TLC. Over 10,000 people attended her funeral in Atlanta - I think that says something!

7. Freddie Mercury

You wanna talk about vocal talent? Let's talk about Freddie Mercury. This man had probably one of the largest vocal ranges I've ever heard in a man. At the very least, the "We Will Rock You" stomp tends to be a staple at any middle and/or high school sporting event.

6. Frank Sinatra

Ol' Blue Eyes himself - a voice of velvet till the very end. I credit this guy hardcore. Listen to his recordings from his Rat Pack days, then to recordings from his later years - his smooth voice didn't change a bit (which is more than you can say for most of today's vocally-abusive performers). Being dead hasn't hurt his career a bit, either - his music and other things associated with his name draws in millions each year.

5. Kurt Cobain

Damn, what can I even say about Kurt Cobain? This man died way before his time. Sure, he may have been strung out on heroin half the time, but Kurt & Nirvana changed the face of music forever. They represented the shift from hair metal into the alternative rock that still dominates the airwaves today. They wrote and released the anthem of the '90s teenage generation - "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Kurt may be gone, but through millions of Nirvana fans (myself included), he lives forever.

4. John Lennon

He was a Beatle, a peace activist, and no matter what other people thought, he did his own thing. (I think his marriage to Yoko Ono is true testament to that.) His killer said that he shot Lennon with the intention to "steal his fame," but I think that was backfired on Mark Chapman - Lennon's popularity has only grown since his 1980 death. In fact, his estate earned about $22 million in 2005 alone. John Lennon has truly been cemented as a counterculture icon.

3. Tupac Shakur

Tupac was once quoted as saying that he expected to die before age 30 - talk about self-fulfilling prophecy. He was just 25 years old when he was gunned down in 1996 in Las Vegas. Oh, and you wanna talk about someone who REALLY surged in popularity after their death - at the time of his death he only had four major albums to his name. Since then, about fourteen have been released, along with the movie about his life, "Tupac: Resurrection," a biopic told in his own words from journal entries, photos, interviews, poems, and of course, the music. Tupac continues to influence his succeeding generations of rappers and hip-hop icons. With over 75 million records sold, his mark on hip-hop is etched in stone - he is recognized in The Guinness Book of World Records as the highest-selling hip-hop artist of all time.

2. Elvis Presley

How could we possibly forget the King of Rock & Roll? This is definitely one rockstar who has proved to be more successful in death than in life. Graceland draws hundreds of thousands of fans each year, there are over 500 active fan clubs and 35,000 professional impersonators...oh, and each year, the Elvis Presley name rakes in about $45 million. There is even organized religion based around this rock god - namely, the First Presleyterian Church of Elvis the Divine. Not too shabby, don't ya think?

1. Johnny Cash

This isn't based on popular opinion. This is based on MY opinion, and in my opinion, Johnny Cash is the number one awesome (not to mention dead) music icon. Think about it. A career that spanned almost 50 years, over 90 million albums sold, and thanks to a 1993 collaboration (the first of many) with Rick Rubin, a resurgence in popularity that caused a whole new crop of Cash fans. I was raised on this kind of music, and everything from the laugh-inducing "One Piece At A Time" and "A Boy Named Sue" to the gut-wrenching "Hurt," and most recently, the posthumous release "God's Gonna Cut You Down" hits a spot in me. With everything from his instantly recognizable deep voice to the black clothing to the ever-famous humble introduction - "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash," The Man In Black really cut a commanding position in music history out for himself - one that I know will be there forever.