They do not just want to have fun. Diamonds are not their best friend. The women you're about to meet have derived their everlasting power from one place over the past fifty years: the land of rock. They were born there in a time before men. They came to us with their guitars and their pianos and their voices. These forty betties, chicks, punks, chanteuses and mad women from the hills represent the purest realization of rock and roll sexuality. Every one of them may have followed The King, but he could never match their swagger. Behold: the Forty Sexiest Frontwomen in Rock History. (Frontman fans — stay tuned.) Oh, and a couple of ground rules: one, points for longevity; and two, Madonna is trying too hard. — John Constantine
40) Allison Mosshart
What is it that's so sexy about a girl who might kill you in your sleep? Mosshart rocks the alluring androgyny embraced by the worlds of high fashion and punk rock alike, with a stage presence evoking a heroin-chic model fighting off Hemingway-caliber detox shakes. — Izzy Cihak
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39)Beth Ditto
Beth Ditto is the prime dark-horse candidate on lists like this, but what's perhaps most appealing about her, oddly, is the strong sense that she hates lists like this and generally could not care less about her perceived sexiness. The openly gay, proudly overweight Ditto carries herself with an intimidating clarity that goes far beyond mere confidence. How many of us, body types and sexualities notwithstanding, would have the wherewithal to pose nude on the cover of one popular magazine, let alone two? It might be belaboring the point to say that that's what sexiness is, but hell: that's what sexiness is. — Joe Bernardi
38) Suzanne Vega
Sure, she's best known for the world's catchiest song about domestic violence — not exactly sexy — but watch Suzanne Vega croon "Left of Center" and you'll be swept away by her sweet voice, come-hither glances, and Molly Ringwald pixie cut. You may also feel a smidge of nostalgia, something Vega herself has little time for; she's consistently followed her muse, not fame. Beauty, brains and a bohemian fearlessness score Vega her place on this list. — Nicole Ankowski
37/36)Kate Pierson/Cindy Wilson
The B-52s always sounded like a specific sort of good time, in their thrift-store-trashy way. (Think John Waters.) And kitschy sexiness surely came naturally to a band formed in a post-Flaming-Volcano jam session. With regard to the sex appeal of the band's feminine half, Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson are hard to rank. Kate may've been the more iconic one (the red bouffant, the preference for girls, the muppet), but Cindy could pull a little-girl-lost thing that — depending on your own level of perversity — either tugged your heartstrings or your loins. Or both. — Peter Smith
