Elvis Costello said The Beatles sounded "like nothing else"

Bruce Springsteen, U2's The Edge, Chrissie Hynde and Moby were on the 55-strong panel to vote for the 50 most influential musicians.

The Beatles were followed by Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley in the Rolling Stone magazine poll.

In ninth place, Aretha Franklin - who turned 62 on Thursday - was the only woman in the top 10.

The poll marked the first half-century of rock and roll, said to have started on 5 July 1954 - the day Elvis Presley recorded That's All Right at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

ROCK IMMORTALS POLL 1. The Beatles 2. Bob Dylan 3. Elvis Presley 4. The Rolling Stones 5. Chuck Berry 6. Jimi Hendrix 7. James Brown 8. Little Richard 9. Aretha Franklin 10. Ray Charles Source: Rolling Stone magazine

The Who's Pete Townshend, Art Garfunkel and ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash also took part in the vote, while other music figures wrote in praise of their chosen rock "immortals".

Elvis Costello said The Beatles sounded "like nothing else" when he first heard them in 1962.

"They had already absorbed Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers and Chuck Berry, but they were also writing their own songs," he wrote.

"They made writing your own material expected, rather than exceptional."