NME's Cool List
Year Person Top ten
2002 Robbie Williams 2nd : Fischerspooner 3rd : Shirley Manson ( Garbage ) 4th : Kelly Jones ( Stereophonics ) 5th : P. Diddy 6th : Fred Durst ( Limp Bizkit ) 7th : Keith Richards ( The Rolling Stones ) 8th : Paul Oakenfold 9th : Blazin ' Squad 10th : Britney Spears
2004 George W. Bush 2nd : Pete Waterman 3rd : 50 Cent 4th : Abi Titmuss 5th : Missy Elliott 6th : Stuart Cable 7th : Tom Chaplin ( Keane ) 8th : Justin Hawkins ( The Darkness ) 9th : Robert Kilroy-Silk 10th : Jesus
2005 Richard Bacon 2nd : David Cameron 3rd : Prince Harry 4th : Michael Jackson 's jury 5th : The Who 6th : George W. Bush 7th : Coca-Cola 8th : James Mullord 9th : Tim Westwood 10th : James Blunt
2007 Mark Ronson 2nd : Johnny Borrell ( Razorlight ) 3rd : Blake Fielder-Civil 4th : George W. Bush 5th : David Cameron 6th : Jeremy Clarkson 7th : Kate Silverton 8th : Emily Parr 9th : Newsagents who turned round a May 2007 issue of NME that displayed a naked Beth Ditto on the front cover 10th : Boris Johnson
2010 Chris Moyles 2nd : Insane Clown Posse 3rd : James Corden 4th : 50 Cent 5th : Mary Bale 6th : Axl Rose ( Guns N ' Roses )
2011 Insane Clown Posse 2nd : Ricky Gervais 3rd : Ed Sheeran 4th : Michael Pedicone ( My Chemical Romance )
Alternative lists
In conjunction with their Cool Lists , NME also often concurrently published four alternative lists to highlight the `` other end of the spectrum '' : [ 3 ] the Fool List , the Had It , Lost It list , the If Only They Rocked list , and the Cool Places list . [ 33 ] .mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbinner { display : flex ; flex-direction : column } .mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow { display : flex ; flex-direction : row ; clear : left ; flex-wrap : wrap ; width:100% ; box-sizing : border-box } .mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle { margin:1px ; float : left } .mw-parser-output .tmulti .theader { clear : both ; font-weight : bold ; text-align : center ; align-self : center ; background-color : transparent ; width:100% } .mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbcaption { text-align : left ; background-color : transparent } .mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbcaption-center { text-align : center ; background-color : transparent } .mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-left { text-align : left } .mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-right { text-align : right } .mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-center { text-align : center } @ media all and ( max-width:720px ) { .mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbinner { width:100% ! important ; box-sizing : border-box ; max-width : none ! important ; align-items : center } .mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow { justify-content : center } .mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle { float : none ! important ; max-width:100% ! important ; box-sizing : border-box ; text-align : center } .mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbcaption { text-align : center } } The British broadcaster Richard Bacon ( left ) topped the Fool List in 2005 for remarks that he made about the British indie band The Magic Numbers ( right ) during the recording of an episode of Top of the Pops . [ 28 ] [ 34 ] The Fool List ranked the `` 10 most uncool people '' , [ 33 ] and was published alongside every Cool List , with the exceptions of 2003 , 2006 and 2008 . The first list was titled the `` They Think They 're Cool ... But Are n't '' list , and was topped by British pop star Robbie Williams . NME 's Nicola Wood explained that Williams `` permanently [ tried ] to display this image of being hip and cool '' , and that his lyrics were not `` as up to date as they used to be '' . [ 3 ] Subsequent Fool List toppers have included US president George W. Bush ( 2004 ) , and broadcaster Richard Bacon ( 2005 ) . [ 8 ] [ 28 ] The 2007 Fool List was topped by musician Mark Ronson – upon finding out , Ronson remarked : `` This kind of sucks . `` [ 35 ] The Had It , Lost It list charted the people who `` used to be cool , but now are n't '' . [ 33 ] It was first published in 2002 , and was compiled with each Cool List since then . The first listing was topped by Bobby Gillespie , the lead singer of British indie band Primal Scream , for having `` chickened out '' over the title of his track `` Bomb the Pentagon '' , and instead renaming it `` Rise '' . [ 36 ] Richard Archer , frontman for indie rock band Hard-Fi , topped the list in 2007 for `` [ dressing ] like an 11-plus drop out '' . [ 37 ] [ 38 ] The final list-toppers were the British band Gallows , who were placed first on the 2011 list . Explaining the choice , NME stated : `` Without the mad ginger bloke shouting and jumping off the railings , we 're just not having it . `` [ 39 ] The If Only They Rocked list recorded the `` 10 coolest non-musicians '' , [ 33 ] and included comedians , actors , footballers , fictional characters , and cats . Its first winner , in 2002 , was Jackass star Johnny Knoxville , whom the magazine hailed as an `` extreme dude '' . [ 40 ] It has since been published alongside every Cool List except 2003 – its winners have included Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány , TV critic Charlie Brooker , and a pigeon . Italian footballer Mario Balotelli topped the 2011 listing for being `` mean , moody , [ and ] fond of indoor firework displays '' . [ 41 ] The Cool Places list was first compiled in 2003 , and comprised two separate charts : `` Cool Places in the UK '' and `` Cool Places the World Over '' , with Leeds and Berlin topping them respectively . [ 42 ] [ 43 ] The two charts were consolidated into a single `` Cool Places '' list in 2004 , which was topped by the extension housing the record collection of recently deceased DJ John Peel . [ 44 ] The Cool Places list was compiled a further two times , before being retired in 2008 .
NME Cool List is an annual listing of popular musicians compiled by the weekly British music magazine NME. The list is created each November by the magazine's writers and journalists, and is based on the 50 musicians that they consider to be the coolest. Each year's list is first announced by NME through both a dedicated issue of their magazine and their official website, NME.com - the Cool List issue often attracts high sales. The list was first published in 2002, to highlight the people who were at the forefront of the music scene - Jack White, the lead singer of American rock band The White Stripes, topped the first poll. Since then, it has been published a further eight times: it ran every year from 2003 to 2011, with the exception of 2009. Musicians such as Justin Timberlake, Pete Doherty and Laura Marling topped these subsequent listings. , the most recent artist to top NME Cool List is the American rapper Azealia Banks. Alongside the Cool List, NME also often concurrently publishes alternative lists, such as the Fool List, the Had It, Lost It list, the If Only They Rocked list, and the Cool Places list. Fool Lists have included individuals such as George W. Bush and Mark Ronson; Had It, Lost It lists have featured Bobby Gillespie and Richard Archer; If Only They Rocked lists have included the likes of Ferenc Gyurcsány and Charlie Brooker. As well as high sales, the Cool List also generates a large critical response for NME, from both journalists and members of the public: the magazine has received criticism of its lists from various sources, including music journalists, pop stars, and drugs charities.