25 Greatest American Idol Contestants

We stan for American Idol around here and the new season is less than a month away. Big changes are underway for season 8 all of which we like, except they'll only be cutting the audition phase one week, do we really need three weeks of auditions. We will have extensive Idol coverage on this site so to gear up for the new season we'll be ranking the best and worst from Idol's first 7 seasons. Today we'll start big ranking the greatest idols that have appeared on the show. This is based on album sales, singles, and performance on the show.

1.Kelly Clarkson-She's the biggest seller and has had the most hit singles, add in her amazing performances like "Stuff Like That There" and "A Moment Like This" and she's the top idol ever.

2.Carrie Underwood-She will surpass Kelly Clarkson in sales within the next month, she has 3 Grammys, and 7 #1 Country singles including the Pop smash "Before He Cheats". She also has one of the greatest perfomances in AI history with "Alone".

3.Jordin Sparks-She may not have sold a million copies yet, but she's has had hit after hit, like her worldwide smash "No Air". Her outstanding performances like "I(Who Have Nothing)" and "Broken Wing" helped her place high on our list.

4.Fantasia Barrino-Love her or hate her, you can't deny "Summertime" and "I Believe" were two of the greatest performances in the history of the show. She has also sold over 2 million albums and dominated the R&B singles charts with "When I See U" and "Truth Is".

5.Ruben Studdard-Ruben was one of the most consistent performers in the history of Idol. "A Whole New World" and "Superstar" helped him take the Idol crown. He has sold over 3 million albums since Idol.

6.Tamyra Grey-What we would've given for a Kelly v. Tamyra showdown. She was the picture of perfection on season one excluding "New Attitude", her ellimination is aruguably the biggest shocker ever.

7.Kimberley Locke-So the question you may be asking yourself is how the hell does she outrank Daughtry? The answer is we feel Kimberley was what Idol is all about, she started slow, landing in the bottom 3 numerous times but she fought against Simon and his negative and the lack of votes and became a force to be reckoned with. We feel the fight and growth Kimberley displayed puts her ahead of Daughtry.

8.Chris Daughtry-His debut album has sold nearly 4 million albums, it was the #1 album of 2006. It produced 5 hit singles, and earned him 4 Grammy nominations. While on Idol he had showstoppers like "Hemorrhage" and "I Walk the Line" his cocky attitude was a deterrent to many and may have been the reason for his early exit.

9.Clay Aiken-He wasn't our cup of tea or Simon's but there's no denying Clay is one of the biggest names to come from this show. Add in his 5 million records sold and outstanding renditions of "Bridge over troubled water" and "Solitaire" and you have the 9th greatest contestant ever.

10.Bo Bice-How is this guy not a superstar? He dominated season 4(sorry Carrie), he has too many amazing performances to list, he'd easily be top 5 until you factor in his post Idol career.

11.David Archuleta-"Imagine" and "Angels" helped him overcome horrible renditions of "With You" and "We Can Work it Out". His debut album is currently a best seller, and "Crush" was a smash hit single. It's hard to imagine this guy is only 17!

12.Blake Lewis-Many of you may be outraged to see Blake outrank Elliott, D. Cook, and Melinda, but hear us out. Blake was the most innovative contestant ever on the show. He took risks with his arrangements which set the groundwork for David Cook's road to victory. He may not have had the best voice but he had originality and style that made him intriging, it's a shocker his debut album never took off.

13.Elliott Yamin-We admit he should be higher but we did this on a point system and this is where he ended up. He had just one bad performance("Open Arms") which was more Clive Davis's fault. "Wait for You" was a huge hit and his album did respectable. And who could forget his loveable personality and his adorable mother. Of course who doesn't remember his rendition of "A Song for You"

14.Jennifer Hudson-Many like to rewrite history and make it seem as if Jennifer Hudson breezed through Idol, but us true Idol fans remember J.Hud only had 3 great performances. She left too soon, but I doubt she cares now. She's an Oscar winner, Grammy nominee, she has a gold album and a #1 single.

15.Paris Bennett-Brillant voice that would've probably dominated any other season, she just happened to be on the toughest season in the history of the show.

16.David Cook-He had us from "Hello", Cook became the first rock winner of the show and has a resume of great performances that is only rivaled by Bo Bice, his debut album is a huge seller even though "Light On" hasn't taken off.

17.Taylor Hicks-He was unique and likeable and somehow won. He had some brillant moments("You Send Me"), but his career stalled from the moment his debut album dropped.

18.LaToya London-The forgotten diva, she barely made a mistake through her run and how does America reward her? They let Jasmine Trias rank higher, good job.

19.George Huff-He was loveable, had a huge voice, and brillant performances like "Take Me to the Pilot".

20.Melinda Doolittle-How is Melinda so low? No album basicially, on our point scale Melinda would've been top 10 but without any type of post career this is as high as she goes. "My Funny Valentine" helped her become one of the most popular contestants ever and many consider her the best.

21.Nadia Turner-Missunderstood is the only way to describe the reason Nadia got the boot so early. She was one of the most edgy and interesting contestants to ever take the stage.

22.Carly Smithson-Carly was outstanding but there is a such thing as too much pre-season exposure. Carly had to endure controversy about her previous record deal and Simon, who turned on her mid-season. Her amazing performances of "Crazy on You" and "Here You Come Again" weren't celebrated enough and she left too soon.

23.Michael Johns-He was pretty much all hype but his shocking ellimination is a defining moment in Idol and he was necessary to this list.

24.Brooke White-She was one of the most original contestants and a breath of fresh air. Her "Let it Be" performance alone would put her on this list.
25.Jason Castro-"Hallelujah" enough said!