Greatest Athletes of All Time

This is not a list of the greatest players of all time, although many of the athletes on the list may have been great players. This is a list of the greatest athletes which begs the question, what makes someone a great athlete. For the purpose of this list, athletic greatness is defined as possessing a variety of attributes that contribute to athletic prowess. These include speed, quickness, endurance, power and hand-eye coordination. That is why this list does not include specialized athletes such as marathon runners or bicyclists. While it is clear that Lance Armstrong is a master in his field, he has not proven that he could compete in other sports where more is required than pumping his thighs for hours on end.

Don't agree with the list? Vote for an existing item you think should be ranked higher or if you are a logged in, add a new item for others to vote on or create your own version of this list.

The Top Ten

1Michael Jordan
There may be a very few human beings that could keep up athletically with MJ (Bo Jackson, Carl Lewis etc. )... There are a very few human beings that might keep up with MJ's skill, coordination, and grace (Kobe Bryant, Zinedine, Roger Federer)... There are even fewer who might be able to match his mental game and competitiveness (Tiger woods, Larry Bird)... But there is no one- NO ONE-who has ever possessed all of these qualities on the level that MJ did. The Greatest Athlete that ever lived... Without a shadow of a doubt... Its Michael Jordan.
MJ is the best! There will never be another Michael Jordan. He is without doubt the greatest athlete of all time!
Mj reinvented basketball. If it wasn't for MJ, many moves, dunks, and styles wouldn't exist
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2Muhammad Ali
He's got more endurance, speed, accuracy, determination, and most importantly heart then any other athlete ever to walk the planet. Defiantly the best all around athlete. PERIOD.
If we were to show another species the strength, courage, love and intelligence that Man has, Muhammad Ali would be Mankind's Representative.
His passion, dedication, confidence, attitude... No doubt The Greatest... He should have been number 1... The Man had it all.. His fellows respected him. What more do you want
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3Jim Thorpe
Please, enough of this MJ worship! Greatest Basketball player is an acceptable choice, but this guy has never shown to be proficient at any other sport! He was a minor league baseball flop, still has a laughable handicap in golf and has never been known for lightening speed. Unlike this one sport star, Jim Thorpe, with little expert training or equipment, was voted into the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame, along with the Track & Field Hall of Fame! Thorpe also had no business playing Major League Baseball at first, but learned on the fly and finished with a respectable .252 batting average in 7 part-time seasons. Jim Thorpe was successful in three sports to Jordan's one, doing this as an impoverished ward of the government and enduring untold racial bigotry. No athlete came so far with so little! He's Jim Brown, Jesse Owens and Bo Jackson rolled into one. Hand's down the Greatest Athlete Of All Time!
Don't get me wrong, Gretzky, Jordan, Ali, and Phelps are all great at their chosen sport, and each of them could claim the top spot on a list of greatest hockey players, basketball players, greatest boxers, and greatest swimmers of all time. However, if this is a list of all time greatest athletes then Jim Thorpe undeniably takes 1st place. This guy played football, baseball, basketball, competed and won in worldclass athletics competitions, and won two Olympic gold medals in what are arguably the toughest sports contested at the Olympics, the pentathlon and decathlon. To this day we still say the olympic gold medal winner of the men's decathalon is the greatest athlete of the time. The same way we say that the Olympic gold medal winner of the men's 100m race, Ussain Bolt, is the fastest man on earth of the time. No disrespect to the Gretzky's, Jordan's, and Bolt's of the world, but their records will be broken as they broke the records of their predecessors. Thorpe, on the other hand, was a true natural, he could be the definition of "one in a million. " Although he wasn't the greatest at any single sport, no other athlete on this list comes close to his athletic resume and that is why Jim Thorpe is the greatest athlete who ever lived. Finally, I noticed that the list lacks mention of any women?! Come on people, there are some exceptional female athletes out there. Clara Hughs is pretty amazing, competing and winning medals in both the Summer and Winter Olympics!
The greatest athlete ever to come from Lawrence KS (Haskell Indian Jr. college) which is saying something since other mentionables include Wilt Chamberlain, Gayle Sayers, Jim Ryun, Danny Manning, Paul Pierce, John Riggins and others. Local legends of the man still recount tails of him drop kicking balls through the goalpost from the 20 yard line (opposing) into the wind. Winning every event he entered in a track meet after he forgot his shoes. Not to mention being good at anything he tried.
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4Roger Federer
To be consistent throughout his career is just astounding. And let's not forget the fact that he was the number one player for 237 weeks consecutively. The fact that he was dethroned after that did not stop him from getting back the top rank as he regained the position from Rafael Nadal and collected a total record of 285 weeks overall.
Roger Federer is Not only one of the best sportsman, but also the most respectful of all... Genuine, humble, passionate, dedicated, consistent and humane...
Federrer is Simply The Best. Both character & as a Tennis Player. He has the techniques to play tennis. He is my favourite. Djorkovic and Nadal are behind him
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5Sachin Tendulkar
He is a person who has played under extreme levels of expectations of a billion people of a cricket crazy nation and yet managed to maintain his excellent performances over a period of 22 years and is still going strong. His careers defines modern day cricket. He holds almost every record in the book.
This guy is nothing less than GOD... He has shown me how to live life... And wt is the meaning of passion, hardwork and consistency... I bet... No athlete can ever match his hunger to excel and performing at the same level... Fulfilling his responsibilities in the same manner he had started 22 years back when he began his international career at just age 16.. For all those guys who don't vote for him because you don't know much about him,... At whatever level you adore other athletes in this list... Do learn more about him and I bet, slowly you are gonna fall in love with a true gentleman or even the first look itself...
It is not how best athlete he is, the thing that is awesome about him is how long he remained the best athlete and obviously the best batsman. He is the best batsmen in the history of cricket. He has most number centuries in ODI and test cricket. He has most no of runs in both format of the game. It is his bad luck that cricket is not as famous as football or tennis otherwise he would have been rated as the greatest sportsman.
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6Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps is the greatest athlete of all time, as he didn't just win a gold medal in the hardest sport, he did it 8 times over. No other athlete can match his determination, mental preparedness, or physical ability.
Undoubtedly the most amazing swimmer the world has ever seen! He dominates every corner of the sport while clearly showing the world what truly makes an athlete!
Can someone say best swimmer ever. And the hardest sport
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7Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento)
All-time soccer leading scorer in history with over 1,000 goals in his career, and champion in two world cups with his native country Brazil making him the best soccer player in history over Argentinian astro player Diego Armando Maradona.
I was looking at some of the ones higher then pele and I almost dropped dead. Some I can believe like gretzky and jordan and ali and ruth but woods and federer
Pele has scored 1152 goals in 1220 games that I legendary compared to anybody else on this list he should be number one he is a pure hero to the world and especially Brazilians

egillaxelsson

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8Lance Armstrong
Sorry, this guy cheated his way to the top and as such he should not be on ANY list.
I've played a lot of sports, including competitive cycling. I would have to agree there is no tougher sport than cycling. It is a grueling test of individual mettle, and a grand tour racer must do it 5-7 days/week. Nothing even comes close to that.

I like Lance for the reasons stated here, but I'm not convinced he is as good as Eddy Merckx. The Cannibal, as he was called, was every bit of good as Lance, Migeul Indurain, and the others, but Eddy did it without the organized teaming that today's cyclists benefit from. Eddy really defined the sport, and defined manhood.
Had cancer comes back Wins the hardest event in the planet 7 times, takes a break comes back at the age of 37 and rides a couple of great Tour de france more plus he runs marathons and has livestrong which is great of such a great athlete
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9Wayne Gretzky
The "Great One" changed the face of hockey as he brings a new era of speed, skill, and scoring touch into the game. Entered the NHL erasing almost all scoring records he quickly built the Oilers Dynasty with amazing haste. Along with his hockey sensation Gretzky is recognized for his charity work and a strong connection with the game of Hockey.
THE GREAT ONE. Enough said. He holds every important record in hockey. Arguably the toughest sport to play
No player in the history of sports has ever come close to dominating their sport like The Great One
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10Bo Jackson
Bo knows... And he's the greatest athlete ever. Ever argue at the bar over this one? The only thing anyone will ever say to shoot down Bo Jackson is the fact that his career was too short. But length of service is only one thing. His two sport versatility easily compensates for this.

Bo hit 141 hr in 2300 games, which is close to on pace with the likes of Mike Schmidt. That was before the pre 1996 hr derby style baseball too. Imagine a healthy Bo Jackson slugging 50 homers a season and hitting 500 home runs in his career. Would there be any doubt then who was the greatest ever to step on the field? That's not even counting his ridiculous range in the OF.

Oh, and that's just baseball. Hey MJ fans, you want to see athletic dominance? Watch a Bo Jackson football highlight reel. Then tell me he wasn't the best athlete ever. Had he focused on football, and stayed healthy, he'd own Emmit Smith, and Barry Sanders. Every scout agreed that he was THE BEST ever. Speed, power, balance, vision, he was THE BEST. His yards per carry are a testament to that. How about that 6.8 yards per carry average in his rookie year? Again, ridiculous.

One day the sports world will look beyond the numbers in the record books and back on to the field of play to judge performance. That was Bo's playground, and no matter what the game, you know Bo not only could do it, but he'd do it better than anyone else.

Bo is #1 all time.
OH MY GOSH! What is this dude not doing at least at number 5?! Not many can say that they're an outstanding football and baseball player, at professional l level, be amazing (at times) at both, be able to break a bat on your knee, oh and do almost the impossible by running almost completely vertical on the fence, and act like its completely normal! The thing is, I believe he would be #1 no competition if it weren't for that devastating knee injury, that basically just happened cause he was a combine of a unbelievably strong, big, and with a speed that makes you go "what the heck just happened? " Don't even get me started on his arm, getting a ball from the warning track and throwing it- accurate and fast- to home to get an amazing out, with no bounces from the ball! MJ, an outstanding athlete, yes, but did he excel at two sports, a big fat no. For me, an athlete myself, I try to be the best I can be in my sport, and yet struggle to do that in other sports, and sometimes even in my main sport. Bo could've been an amazing baseball player, if he focused hard enough and worked on that batting average, some would say for football the same. The thing is- what other athlete could've done that?
Not only did he play in two professional sports, but he was a superstar in both. On the baseball diamond, Bo had a career batting average of.250 and hit 141 home runs in just under 694 career games. In 1989 he was selected to the American League All-Star team and went on to win the game's MVP award. And that doesn't count Bo's "hobby" sport. Bo the football player won the Sugar Bowl MVP award, the Liberty Bowl MVP award and then the Heisman Trophy. Then, when he decided to play pro football, he averaged 5.4 yards per carry for his short career and was named to the Pro Bowl team. At one time, Bo was in commercials with Jordan and Gretzky and if it weren't for his career ending hip injury, he would still be regarded as deserving of that type of company.
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The Contenders

11Usain Bolt
Another cool name. And fastest man EVER
Usain Bolt is the best 200m runner ever hands down, so good he can even dominate the glamour 100m event as well. Loads more gold coming in London 2012.
I think the list is some what flawed in that Ato Boldon is ahead of Usain Bolt. Tiger Woods and Pele is definitely in the top three. We should probably base our judgement on the person influence on a global scale.
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12Paavo Nurmi
Best athlete in the Olympic Games ever! He could beat the competitors with just half the energy he had in he's body.
Nurmi won a total of nine gold and three silver medals in the 12 events in which he competed at the Olympic Games from 1920 to 1928.

Nurmi is also considered the best Olympian of all time.
It was a long time ago, but you can't argue the fact that he won the 1500, 5000 and 10000 in the Olympics. Plus he won multiple gold metals throughout three Olympic appearances.

13Babe Ruth
Not only that but he was one of the greatest pitchers ever. No one ever credits babe for that. He was the best because, he could do both at just a high level, the most highest!
Made baseball america's national pastime did more for his sport than any other athlete.. This is evident when he hit more homeruns, than entire teams, he and ali are the most recognized athletes in the world, yes he's better than them all he's the best
Babe Ruth is better then any one else on earth. And people why do you like football it sucks.
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14Manny Pacquiao
He deserve to be one of the greatest.. In fact boxing is not an easy sport compare with others... You must have passion for it and a desire to win not only for the money and fame but for the pride of your country... Imagine this... His heart and mind is so strong... That's what you call passion
Widely recognized as one of boxing greats and not only in sports but also in various achievements like politics, as a humanitarian and as a singer etc.
He deserves to be on top because he is "awesome"... Imagine those titles around his waist...
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15Carl Lewis
Carl was the most exciting track athlete of all time. Track athletes are purest form of athleticism. His shear presence turned the competition into rubber and for 12 years he was basically the only player in the Long Jump (Minus 1 jump from Powell - who too turned to rubber at the Olympics). Speaking of Olympics. The Olympics are the biggest stage in the history of the world for athletic demonstration. Carl was the best of all times and proved it 4 straight times. His 1991 Tokyo world record win was spine chilling considering he was 'over-the-hill' by that time in sprinting. And did I mention that he was obviously a clean athlete when the rest of the sport was doping like mad. Carl, like Michael Jordan was just a step above all other greats in his sport. Remember too, the 100m sprint is the most competitive sporting event in the world. Carl was the best at this event for 8 years, and happened to make time to be even better at other events. Michael Jordan was the scoring leader for 10 years and happened to make time for golf and baseball.  Carl Lewis is the greatest athletic competitor of all times.
Pure athleticism. Beauty to behold. Beyond compare.
To measure the best athlete in the world the criteria must include speed and leap.

Lewis was the best in the world at both of these basic skills for over 10 years. No one is a better athlete.
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16Bruce Lee
Bruce lee is superhumanly fast, he's also extremely strong and powerful. He was one of the most committed and determined athletes to ever live. He is easily the most influential martial art master of all time.
He is the greatest athlete that has ever lived fast and furious, strong both mentally and physically. Now you better add him in the list or I will kill you all.
He changed the way we thought about martial arts and singlehandily showed the world that size did NOT matter when it came to being deadly. The mix of intellect, strength and speed will possibly NEVER be surpassed...
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17Sir Don Bradman
Bradman owns! Statistically he stands so far above everyone else that it is impossible for him not to be the number 1. List is biased against sports not popular in America... Also took a year off cricket once and won the South Australian open squash tournament.
As others have noted. Bradmans average over the length of his career was so far ahead of his contemporaries that they are judged against him to see how they go. So far, over 60 years after his retirement, his average score is still the benchmark all cricketers aspire to and no one can ever match. And considering that he lost 10 years of his career to world war 2, to have achieved what he did... Means that he is the greatest athlete in the world. Even Sachin Tendulkar would agree that he doesn't deserve to be above his personal hero 'The Don'.
Sir Donald Bradman the greatest cricketer of all time in the toughest sport of all time in one of the toughest periods on earth of all time. Batting Average of 99.94.06 from being perfect that's why he is the greatest to be that close to being perfect is an amazing feat.
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18Jesse Owens

he beat the nazis in Munich 8 yrs befor D-Day

Jesse owens was hard working, talented and won medals at the time when there was racism. He is a role model to all

In 1936 Jesse Owens won 4 gold medals in Germany a country ruled by the face of EVIL (Hitler) who thought the Aryan race was superior. Jesse owens overcame all the obstacles facing him and brought home the gold

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19Michael Johnson
Johnson is no doubt, the greatest track and field athlete in 1990's. He won 8 gold medals at the world championships, 4 at the olympics.
Clearly the greatest all around athlete of all time. Because if someone else can run the 200 in 19.3 seconds or the 400 in 43 seconds, then that person is the best, but there is no person!
Watched him win the Olympics and shatter the world record in the 200 - one of the most jaw dropping performances I've ever seen!
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20Bobby Orr
Beyond merely changing the game of hockey, Bobby Orr could keep control of the puck and make the other 9 players on the ice look like idiotic little kids. Noone had seen that before, or since, not even in Gretzky. His +/- record of +124 wont be broken in the next 50 years, possibly ever. He simply dominated every game, end to end, that he ever played, and often on only one good knee. Noone could touch him. The maradona of hockey in my opinion.
Watching this guy was an event. I have yet to see a hockey player enhance this game like this man did. Today our kids play this game with superior skates/equipment than dreamed of at that time. Still watch his acceleration, his puck control.
Hockey is not watched by many people, relatively speaking so Bobby Orr went unoticed outside the world of hockey. He was a remarkable athlete and did more on one leg than Gretzky did on two. I expect he could have played any sport with the same dominance. Highly underated (and unknown) by most so-called idiot sports fans.
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21LeBron James
He is 6'9, has the body of an NFL linebacker, runs like a track star, and jumps as high as anyone in the NBA. I wouldn't be surprised if he could compete in any sport at a professional level.

rmoore26

Jordan is the Greatest BB player... But Lebron is the best all round player to ever do it... Pass Magic, score like MJ, Rebound like a PF and defend like Gary Payton... did I mention he can shoot the trey and block a bball as well...?
He is not the best player but as far as being athletic, whose more athletic? Who is stronger, jumps higher or is more physical and powerful? He is a totall beast. If wins championships he will be one of the best. He at least has too win 2 championship
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22Wilt Chamberlain
The NBA was a different game at the time, but Wilt's numbers are still staggering. You know most of them but you may not be aware of his endurance as evidenced by his record career average of 45.8 minutes per game (and you thought I was going to use the number 20,000). Also, don't forget that Chamberlain ran track and recorded a sub 11 second 100-yard dash in high school.
Although I am a huge Kobe fan, I refuse to let Wilt Chamberlain not be in the top 5, much less 25. How many other 7 footers have you heard of that were one of the best high jumpers in the country. He was a dominant volleyball and basketball player, and he participated in many track and field events. In the NBA no one could guard him, because his athleticism mad him ungaurdible.
Take the 5 best years of all these folks careers and then tell me Chamberlain wasn't the greatest ever. No one, no one ever dominated their sport like he did, with the possible exception of Ruth.
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23Joe Montana

THERE ARE ONLY TWO NFL QUARTERBACKS WHO HAVE WON 4 SUPER BOWLS JOE MONTANA IS ONE OF THEM

Joe Montana is the best nfl qb of all time and would have won 2 more superbowls if he had not been sent to Kansas City

24Tiger Woods

Best Athlete by far. Golf is the hardest sport to play because there is no room for error and Tiger dominated the game like no other Athlete has dominated their sport. Anyone who says golf isn't a sport is just arrogant because it takes strength, flexibility, balance, endurance, and TREMENDOUS mental strength. What Tiger Woods has done is just simply amazing.

Has been the greatest golfer at all points in his life, junior golf, amateur/college, and professional

Michael vick number 10!? You are a complete IDIOT for that one. No rings. No awards. 2 years behind bars. COOL! Ato boldon? Get out of here. Wayne Gretzky? Good, bump him behind woods. Golf is the toughest game... Ever. Tiger has damn near perfected it. Enough SAID.

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25Alexander Karelin

The most dominating athlete ever... did things his competition could only dream of. Greco-Roman wrestler who went 10 years undefeated and for the last six of those years, he never had a point scored on him!

armust

This guy should definitely be top 10, most likely top 3. He was basically undefeated till he quit, in a sport that is immensely demanding and tough. In the last 6 years he didn't even lose a single point (except the last game of his career) and no one else has ever been able to throw super heavy weight wrestlers. No one ever!

A beast and really dominant beast. I wouldn't be surprised if he would win a point or 2 against a grizzly bear as well.

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26Kobe Bryant
kobe may not be better than jordan but he is a beast! you have to admit!
Let's not get carried away with the" he's better than mj" but when he's done playing he ll be #2
81 point MJ has never done that
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27Ato Boldon

28Hicham El Guerrouj

the mile king and holder of solid three world records. very difficult to replace this king

Fell in 1996, worked hard for a second place in 2000 and in 2004 had his Olympic dream. This just in Olympics.
Exceptional athlete

He is the best athlete of all time no one can remplace him he must be number one on this list hicham est grand

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29Deion Sanders

He changed sports culture forever. Absolute monster at Football, Baseball and Track. He was said to be even better at Basketball than anything else. He should be top 10

He was AMAZING at football and baseball. He should definitely be at least fifteenth!

Yeah right. Babe Ruth was a better athlete than Deion Sanders. Ha! Deion not in the top 10 shows there is something seriously wrong with this list.

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30Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

really he is all time greats

The man who changed basketball

Had the only unstoppable shot... The old sky hook

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31Joe Louis

32Saïd Aouita

This guy opened the doors to the world of athleticism for millions of kids in the Arab world and Africa a real source of inspiration and a fantastic runner

33Derek Jeter
He's. A really good mlb player that plays shortstop for the yankees and he's a good person on and off the field

34Dan Gable

The man would wear ankle weights and used hand squeezers to college class for god sakes. He dominated the olymics, not a single point was scored on him. he worked 6-8 hours a day. 4 time undefeated HS state champion and a 2 time NCAA champion with only one loss in his college career, to a man he beat at the Olympic trials 8-1. Before his Junior high years he won a state championship in swimming for YMCA, before starting wrestling in JH. He played football and baseball in HS both of which he was very impressive at. Dan Gable is easily in the top 2 or 3 best athletes ever. He was probably the most determined and dedicated athlete as well.

wrestling hardest sport in the world bar none this guy wrestled the his whole olympic wrestling team from light to heavy and beat every1 besides the heavy who was 300 lbs and won the gold hahahahahaha wrestlings a man sport

He should be ranked much higher. Most people don't know about Dan Gable because wrestling is one of the most under-appreciated sports. The man's winning percentage is ridiculous! He lost 4 times and won 300 (or something similar to that). He was consistent. He showed up to win everyday. This guy should be top 3. Period.

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35Jim Brown
obivously a top ten all time caliber running back (may have been best ever except he stopped playing at age 30), but was also offered to pitch for the yankees, one of the greatest lacrosse players ever (in hall of fame), good track athlete (5th in national decathalon), and could have won a national championship for syracuse if there had been no rule for not allowing 3 african american players to start for a team (Brown didn't go out his senior year because he may not have started over 2 other players)

danajs24

Not only was he one of the greatest football players of all-time, but he was perhaps the greatest lacrosse player of all-time too. And he could play basketball and baseball well enough to attract the pro scouts.
Not only the greatest runningback of all-time in the NFL, but the man was the greatest lacrosse player to. And he was excellent in basketball and baseball and could have made the pros in those sports.
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36Roger Decoster

37Rafael Nadal
at the age of 24 he accomplished more than any one of that age... his speed endurance stamina statistics are all factors to him being the best athlete of all time imho. mark my words because in 15-20 years we will all remember how nadal rocked the world of tennis
Among all, I like the attitude of Nadal, the spirit, the will to win no matter how bad is the match going. I've seen this in a few (allen iverson, for example)
Best tennis player of this time, and still going strong!
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38Joe DiMaggio

39Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson-hands down! He was a hall of fame baseball player, won the rookie-of-the-year award despite the unbelievable pressure of being the first black player. Amazingly, though, baseball was only his fourth-best sport. He was also an All-American track star who set the long jump record at UCLA and was national champ in that event, he led the PCC in scoring for the basketball team and won an MVP, and was an all-american halfback. He was also a junior tennis star and excelled at table tennis! Come on! No contest!
The great Jackie Robinson what else can i say.He set the stand for american to be americans no matter if your black,white,green or purple.His number 42 is retire through out baseball.He was not only a great baseball player he was a great man

wideup

#1 no contest. Lettered in FOUR sports at a major university and was an outstanding tennis player as well. That alone is enoguh. Throw in what he had to overcome, and how he changed sports AND society (probably did more for civil rights than anyone except Martin Luther King Jr) and he should be the top choice of any intelligent human.
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40Haile Gebrselassie
he is much greater than usain bolt I don't agree him being ranked at 47
Haile Gebreselassie is the ever great man, no doubt at all, he deserves it, Best record holder, brilliantly determined man= Hile Gebresilassie, I don't why they put here...
Never lost a 10.000m race, beat several world records, beat the 2h04m barrier at the marathon. Considering he came from a very poor country and made it to the top of the world, he has to be the best athlete ever!
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41Dale Earnhardt

Nobody can repeat his performance! I think he is the best that will ever be, he knew how to do things no one else could! It's gonna take some real talent to exceed his ability's!

I haven't seen any F1 drivers in this list, not to make NASCAR less, but I think that F1 races are way more complex, where is Ayrton Senna, Schumi or Alain Prost? , come on this list is total crap

Doesn't anyone watch NASCAR? Come on- it's more than just a redneck sport. It takes guts to be in a high horsepowered vehicle for 3-4 ' hours. By the way- it's 100% REAL!

42Travis Pastrana

Not my very favorite but he's definitely the ballsiest mofo out there. #tougherthana2dollarsteak the dude is INSANE he has redefined "YOLO" more times than I can count. And why isn't Brett Favre on this list?!? He's the BEST OF ALL TIME!

He should be in the top 10 for sure. The kid won the AMA motocross outdoor national championship, AMA super cross championship and the ESPN X games all in one year. He won a outdoor event then hopped on a plane and won the gold in X-games freestyle.

43Emmitt Smith

the greatest running back of all time

44Kelly Slater
Try making a basket in the hoop. Try Making a small white ball in a tiny hole. Try Riding your bike more that 20 miles. Try making a soccer ball in the goal. Try hitting a base ball with a bat. Try Making hockey put in the goal. Most of these your average person can do and the conditions you are in are constant. The hoop stays where it is, the hole stays where it is etc, etc. Now try and get a wave that could kill most people just from drowning and ride that wave with grace and the understanding what are the endless possible ways that wave could change. Having done most all these sports surfing is by far the hardest to master and Kelly slater has mastered this sport for over 20 years, not to mention his 10 world titles.Y...
Without question one of THE greatest athletes in our planet's history. Although surfing doesn't get the recognition of other mainstream sports, it involves strength, balance, grace, style, endurance, creativity, and courage.
11 times World Champion, with 48 World Tour wins, which is the equivalent to 48 Grand Slams! And when we're talking about the World, it's not just America.. (like in Baseball) It means the whole World. Get that up ya!
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45Daley Thompson

46Cal Ripken

He played in more games consecutively than any of us can count. now tell me thats not athletic

This is guy is my hero in almsot every way. Way to go, you had an awesome career even without the highest-paying teams. You rock!

Baltimore1993

47Tony Hawk

Most Influential and progressive skate boarded of all time. He elevated the sport into the main stream all the while Becoming a household name and media icon.

48Shaun White

Best snowboarder ever and top 10 skateboarder

49Cristiano Ronaldo

Simply the best, and he still have more ten years to show his quality as soccer player! Keep counting his goals (already broke all Real Madrid's records).

The best player ever! He can do it all, whether for manchester, madrid or portugal. He is also on another level when it comes to athleticism, he is way faster and fitter than any other footballer.

The most complete Football player in world for the moment. He scores with both feet, head and also he know how to strike from free kicks and penalty spot. One of the best.

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50Leo Messi
I think Messi should be the world's best athlete for the moment. He has a blend of all footballers rated above him and his best is yet to come. His speed, ball control, and ability to trick and score are 1 of the best seen so far. Plus, his modest and non-arrogant attitude puts him at his best.
He's fast, skilled, and at the top of his sport.
Messi doesn't desreve to be out of the top 10
He has shown his superhuman capabilities time and time again.
Never failing to perform
 More comments about Leo Messi

51David Beckham

52Dan Heaton

53Henry Rono

54T. J. Yates
I don't see how he is in the discussion what about andre Johnson the beast he is not only fast but he is strong

55Zinedine Zidane

I cannot believe Zidane is not higher than Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.
Having said that, I still haven't seen Cruyff here, which says a lot.
And more generally, how come there are so few football (soccer) players when it is the most practiced (and popular) sport on the planet?

Zidane is the best soccer player of all time. Why is Christiano Ronaldo higher than him. Zidane should be above pele. He has the most skill

Zidane is the legend of football and he would be remained as a unique iconic player of all the time and no one could replace him.
Zidane is better than any other player in the world he was the most effective player of football ground.

More comments about Zinedine Zidane

56Barry Sanders
Its simply put no one has broken his record of 1,000+yrd consecutive seasons and he has the most yards per carry for a carrier(5.4). He held the NCAA single season rush record with only one year starting, he never even started 'till his senior season. He's run one of the fastest 40yrd dashes in NFL History (4.2") plus he his only 5,9 and his team sucked for every single season he played.
Theres one difference between Barry n the other guys on this team, n that is he never had a good team to prove his skills. His O-Line SUCKED but he still managed to get great runs. The fact that there were defenders in the backfield as soon as the ball was snaped, but he put up 5 yards a carry is amazing. THE BEST EVER!
Did a lot with a terrible o-line, no passing game and everybody was going after him on every play but nobody could stop him.
 More comments about Barry Sanders

57Serguei Bubka
C, mon in the olympics he sat on the back of the runway untill every one else was out and won the meet on his first jump! He truely is the best.
He should be in the top 3. His record is he broke them all, been out of pole vaulting for 12 years and his record will not be broken in our lifetime.7 world championships. Sure Armstrong should be somewhere, but Bubka is unbeaten.
Best ever, set a margin with other competitors unseen in ANY and ALL sports.

AlphaX

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58Maradona

You guys always focus on US athletes, and recognizing yours. In reality The planet only recognizes those athletes who move the masses world wide and of course the sport that is king of all, cause everything else is just none existing. And by the way football is play with the feet, the whole planet knows it, why don't you?

simply the best footballer of all the time. pele who?

blind_bikerz

No words can't match this skills and talent. He is best footballer of the Century.

 More comments about Maradona

59Michael Schumacher
Nobody as dominate is sports like this guy did. He should be in the top ten. I think Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Lance Armstrong and Michael Schumacher should be in the top 10 because they are/were all in a league of their own against the strongest competition of their sports!
Greatest in f1 ever
I think Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Lance Armstrong and Michael Schumacher should be in the top 10 because they are/were all in a league of their own against the strongest competition of their sports!

60Arian Foster

61Ricky Carmichael

RC is truly a great athlete and would excel in many disciplines that are fitness and finesse oriented but I feel the sport itself, despite it's documented difficulty, hinders his ranking. I just put in for Jeff Ward, RC's original mentor, who's a FOUR sport success and two sport Hall of Famer.

MJRydsFast

The goat. The best of all time.
No other athlete has ever accomplished in their sport what RC did in motocross. His win/loss ratio in unamtched, and his ten years of sheer dominance are unprecedented. The most competitive athlete of all-time.

Statistically the best athlete of all time. Who else has won every single championship they've ever competed in? NOBODY in my knowledge! I know he didn't win every supercross championship, but he did win every single outdoor championship that he entered.

 More comments about Ricky Carmichael

62Michael Vick
Not as accomplished as others, but it is amazing to watch the man play. Even when surrounded by the best athletes in all of sports, Vick still seems to be in a different class from his competitors. Inhuman speed, quickness and acceleration with a cannon of an arm; Vick has the physical potential to be the greatest player to ever step on the field.
Great, great football player. Too bad he ruined it for himself.

pauler94

Vick has the physical potential to be the greatest player to ever step on the field. If he didn't act like an * and went dog fighting

63Peyton Manning
He's the best best pocket passer their is and he always makes good decisions on the field.
Manning is a beast, he is way better than most other people on this list.

footballanytime

Guys lets be serious he should be a lot higher on this list. He is like the greatest regular season quarterback ever. He understands his surroundings and has amazing leadership. The dude was a prodigy since he was like 5. He has a superbowl ring and like a billion accolades. The guy racks up stats at record breaking pace and if you had to average all the greatest quarterbacks stats PER YEAR they don't come close to Manning's. Makes everyone around him better and with a sucky or good defense manages to win. Sure the lack of more postseason success hurts his chances at being deemed better but seriously he has achieved everything a pro QB can. He will break or come seriously close to every QB record in a lot shorter time than it took the original record holders to get there. Brady broke his record of 49 TDs by 1 but look at it like this. Manning got 49 TDs in 496 attempts while it took Brady 578 attempts for that 50. Plus Manning spread the ball around and as athletic Wayne and Harrison are they don't compare to Moss. Brady just had to chuck the ball up no matter how bad and Moss came down with it. Manning threw the ball on the spot hooking up with his receivers. Plus Dungy didn't play with a "bury them alive" run up the score mentality so Manning didn't have as many opportunities as Brady. Brady also had a much better defense so he got the ball back more often than Manning. And as finally as far as greatest QB season is concerned in Manning's record breaking season he had been taken off the field at the end of the games and his backup Jim Sorgi threw 2 scores. Think about it that's 51 passing TD's for the colts and 50 for the pats. You don't think Manning could have put up those two. In my mind Manning is the second best NFL player ever to Jerry Rice and top 50 athlete.

yougnr1116

 More comments about Peyton Manning

64Cael Sanderson

Greatest athlete ever period no athlete has even come close to matching his intensity.

If people can't realize what an amazing athlete Cael Sanderson is then they are truly blind. Cael is the best.

Cael should be way higher on the list. He's the only man to ever go undefeated in the most demanding and hardest sport out there. Most great ufc fighters have an amazing wrestling background for this reason.

 More comments about Cael Sanderson

65Tom Brady
Brady is the best quarterback in football and he does it with nobodys and cast offs
One of the most clutch players in the history of football
Brady comes way before manning! Just look at the number of super bowl rings!

66George St.Pierre
When you consider the meaning of the words "Mixed Martial Artist", you can then realize how GSP is the embodiment of the term. Training since 7 yrs old, earned black belts in 3 disciplines, works with world renowned trainers such as Freddy roach (boxing), Howard Grant (boxing), Firas Zahabi, Greg Jackson. He has trained wrestling with Olympians, Jiu Jitsu with Roger Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Braulio Estima among others. He incorporates gymnastics, track and field, strength training by Patrick Roy as well as Jonathan Chaimburg. No matter what the price or how far he has to travel, he accomplishes this and represents the sport of MMA with humbleness and class. He's more than one dimensional and lives everyday to train and become better than he was the day before. An exceptional athlete and an exceptional human being. Admiration is well deserved and will go down as one of the best ever and whose contributions will change the sport forever.
Georges St-Pierre should be way higher than this. He currently the hardest working athlete... period. He may not be a bodybuilder, but he is definitely the best all around athlete ( I think of all time) currently. GSP al the way.
He's more in shape than annyone else. He trains like a madmen. In therms of physicaland mental hability he rocks!
 More comments about George St.Pierre

67Magic Johnson

68Mike Tyson

Best most ruthless fighter and athlete ever
To live. Most talented fighter eats you children
Loved by few hated by many respected by all

QUITE POSSIBLY THE MOST DYNAMIC ATHLETE AND CERTAINLY THE MOST DYNAMIC BOXER OF ALL TIME. HE MADE BOXING INTERESTING WHEN IT REALLY WASN'T. IT'S A TRAGEDY THAT HIS LIFE AND CAREER SPIRALED SO BADLY OUT OF CONTROL.

69Ronaldinho

he is in the top most famous athletes in the world, how you guys rate koby better than ronaldinho!

People who don't agree. Try doing some of the stuff he makes look easy

70Walter Payton
Led his team to victories, and died a legend. Walter Payton is a good representation of not only the Chicago Bear's franchise, but the National Football League.

HonestKeil17

He was an amazing nfl rusher in nfl history and still is and will always be the best in the nfl and played in Chicago
He could have easily played two sports

waterboy51

 More comments about Walter Payton

71Pete Rose

72Landon Donovan

73Kenny Britt

74Eddy The Cannibal Merckx

The best bicycle racer of all-time. He won just about every big bike race in the world multiple times, some as many as five and seven times. He has over 400 professional career victories, before any of these fancy performance enhancing drugs.

rmeadeee

The nickname "The Cannibal" is all you need to know. Any true cyclist would say he was the best ever. Yes, even over Armstrong.

5 x tour de france, 2 x tour of flanders, 3 x paris-roubaix, 7 x milan san remo

 More comments about Eddy The Cannibal Merckx

75Larry Bird

Could look in the opposite direction, shoot the ball and be nothing but net. Now that's amazing.

76Jonah Lomu

Powerful,fast,acceleration Greatest of all time he's a legend

At his best he would dominate any contact sport. 6'5", 276 lbs, 100 metres in 10.8 seconds, the ability to break through 4 men at the same time and great skills and hand eye co-ordination. What more could you want from an athlete.

Tiger Woods, a golfer, is in the top ten and Lomu, who got offered a spot on the Dallas Cowboys- for playing an entirely different sport, is at 41? Undeniably the greatest rugger of all time, the most physically impressive athlete ever to grace this planet, and the talent to back it up.

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77Mickey Mantle

He had blazing speed, was very strong, and had great eye-hand coordination. He naturally is degraded in the ranking by his injuries and drinking, but he would have been excellent in track, football or just about anything else he wanted to do.

Nobody but nobody possessed the tremendous strength and blazing speed that Mantle had. If it hadn't had been for bad legs, injuries, and booze, he would have hit 800 home runs. He could have played pro football or basketball, exchanged punches with Marciano in the 50's as a professional boxer, been a powerlifter, or an Olympic decathlete. He was that talented. Mantle is, in my opinion, the greatest athlete ever. And he did it without steroids. Probably more fans paid to see Mantle play than any other athlete. Many fans also showed up early at the ballpark just see Mantle take batting practice. He is without a doubt the greatest clutch hitter in late innings MLB history. Mantle may be the fastest player ever and his perfect game-saving catch in the 1956 World Series is one of the best catches ever(very few center fielders ever could've made that play). Also, two players on the same team chasing Babe Ruth's homerun record (Mantle and Maris) is the second greatest athletic feat in history, only to be topped by Cal Ripken's unbelievable streak.

I cant believe they gave The Mick this rank. I believe that any knowledgeable person who saw Mickey at his best would tell you that Mickey Mantle is one of the ten greatest athletes who ever lived.

 More comments about Mickey Mantle

78Jerry Rice

The best wide receiver to ever live. They took all of jerry rices records one time, and compared them to every person who has ever played in the nfl. And there was only 7 men in all of history, who even had half.

First of all JERRY RICE IS THE GREATEST ATHLETE OF ALL TIME! Case closed. His records, someday may be eclipsed. No man showed more determination than Jerry, todays wide receivers catch the ball and fall down or try to get out of bounds(smart sometimes)Jerry would break free and score more touchdowns than any other player in the history of the game. 3 super bowl rings (super bowl MVP)more all purpose yards than any other man. A true SPORTS LEGEND JERRY RICE.

79Terry Fox
I couldn't say who the greatest living athlete is. But I would put for contention that the greatest athlete was a runner.

He didn't break any speed records.

He had one race; one challenge, and he couldn't even finish that.

He did manage to run more consecutive marathons in consecutive days than anyone else-5, 373 km in 143 days.

That is an average of 23. 3 miles per day.

On one leg.

There is in any course of human endeavor--be it art, invention or sport where some times, on a very rare occassion, one person elevates something simple, beyond its simplicity and shows us not only what one person can achieve if motivated, but rather what all of us might if we harnassed the barest echo of that resolve.

I have noticed that frequently, your country loves the winner to the exclusion of all else.

Terry Fox could not complete his race. He was completing not just agaisnt the miles, but against his own body turned traitor. In the end that cancer stopped him from finishing his race.

It weakened him to the point that he couldn't breathe.

It eventually killed him.

But it did not beat him.

And so I am always mystified why when the call goes out for the greatest athlete his name never seems to make the list.
He ran a marathon every single day. EVERY SINGLE DAY. And he did it selflessly. Pro athletes these days do what? Play a game/match of their sport for a few hours, then have a cushy break... And a fat paycheque. Terry Fox ran in rain, snow, or shine. A MARATHON EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Nobody in the history of sport even comes close.
"Perseverance" is the most important word in the world today and Terry Fox shown through this word to the people. Terry also shown the world that any athletes with disability that can compete at any level!
 More comments about Terry Fox

80Novak Djokovic

Climbing on the list of the best tennis players ever!
If he keeps winning in the next 5 years good chance of becoming best ever!

AMAZING TENNIS PLAYER! almost number 1 tennis player in the WORLD. YOU HAVE TO VOTE FOR HIM!

Beywiki

THE BEST TENNIS PLAYER OF ALL TIME, HE WILL BECOME A LEGEND ONE DAY!
Federer nad Nadal will have to try much much better ;)

81Dwyane Wade

He came into the league among Lebron James Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh and he pulled himself away from the shadows and was the first among them to win a NBA ring, also winning finals MVP. He has the closest high flyer style to Michael Jordan and now even Lebron realized that Wade can do it better and joined him in Miami, so he can finally win a ring, but he will never do it on his own like Wade did. Above all this, at this point he is the best clutch player in the league, that's why when the game is on the line the ball goes to Wade not James.

He has incredible speed, agility, strength, balance, hand eye coordination, touch and was never intimidated by pressure, opponents or odds, he played through injury and carried an otherwise terrible team to the playoffs for so many years, and the heat wouldn't even come close to a championship in 06 had it no been for him.

best team player, very unselfish. Best looking too!

82John Elway

Coming out of college, Elway was the most sure thing first round draft pick in the NFL draft to date. Not bad for the best baseball pitcher to come out of college that year.

john elway is the best quarter back ever the only reason farve broke his record is because he played for way longer

big-al

83Benny 'The Jet' Urquidez

84Abdel Latif Abu Haif

the best swimmer of all times, all over the world
he's the champ

85Lawrence Taylor

Even in a team game surrounded by world class athletes, Taylor was such a presence on the defensive side of the ball that offensive coordinators were forced to scheme their game plans to account for him.

Best LB ever the only player that comes close to him is Don Hutson who is not even on this list which is hard to believe because he is one the best football players to ever play the game. Lawrence Taylor is one of the best to play to. When he injured Joe Thisman the redskins franchise was over from that point on. The people that make this list Don Hutson in the top 10 Lawrence Taylor in the top 25.

86Brian Lara
Most cricket world records for batting

87Nick Collins

88Willie Mays

Willie should be in the top ten. He could control a baseball game all by himself. Hit, field, throw, run, hit for power. A 5 tool player with no comparison.

Wow there is no question Willie should be top 5. Greatest I would say.

Fahcue

Read the latest biography of Willie Mays and see what the world thought of him. Better than Babe Ruth. There were no black players in Ruths era. Perfect physical specimen who also was a great person to all races. Played in poor hitters parks and still hit prolific home runs. Willie and Michael tied for first.

89Alex Rodriguez

Ya, he may be a guy you don't to have in your locker room, but what he does on the baseball field is amazing.

Just can't explain how good this guy is. A natural five tool player with the combination of speed, arm strength, hitting for average, power and great defense at very tough positions probably will end up as the games greatest player

Should be a lot higher on the list. Higher than Ortiz. The Peyton Manning of baseball. Killer and record breaking regular season stats but postseason failure. On average he racks up stats and accolades faster than any player in history. If he only had a ring he would be considered one of the top 10 baseball players ever. Manning got his ring, who knows A-Rod might get his soon. It's baseball, these guys could play into their late 30s maybe 40s. Plus what makes him amazing is the fact that he is clean, no roids or HGH or anyone of that. The guy lets his talent do all the work, bringing him success and failure. Hey at least if he messes up he'll mess up honestly not cheat and still mess up (so sad, LoDuca seriously-worst roid user ever).

yougnr1116

 More comments about Alex Rodriguez

90Mario Lemieux

if he hadnt of had cancer which caused him to miss so many games, the majority of the NHL's scoring records would be held by 66 not 99

Gretzky was all offense; Lemieux was as good as Gretzky in that department, but he was a complete player who could hit, defend, even fight. His cancer and back problems slowed him down tremendously; otherwise had a great shot at beating Gretzky's records for goals and points.

Mario was flat out amazing, nobody not even Gretzky could match his skill level, 160 points in 60 games... With cancer treatment in pro hockey is astonishing.

91Babe Didrikson Zaharias

She was not only a stud in track and field, she was dominant in the LPGA. In high school she was the star of her AAU team. Babe is a hall of fame track star and a hall of fame golfer. She also was an All American Basketball player. If that isn't an athelete then i don't know what is.

92Sidney Crosby

93David Ortiz

He has changed baseball all the way. Yankees suck

94Ian Thorpe

I can't imagine anyone else with so much fluidity in his body and the High points he reached in his career. I am a Big fan.

In his prime sat along side tiger and fed with ease. What he did for swimming was amazing. The greatest freestyler ever

Impeccable freestyle technique. No swimmer has been able to achieve so much in both middle distance and sprint events in one stroke.

95Shaquille O'Neal

Gave the lakers numerous amounts of championships... Couldn't shoot a free throw to save his life hack-a-shaq laugh out loud. No but seriously top 10 all time basketball players and top 25 all time athletes.

Don't know the kid, but he sounds like a good athlete. I'm a girl, so I dunno much about sports but I know him. He is a good athlete(according to 72 people I surveyed). So yeah. 'enough said. He deserves to be in top 10. There is something seriously WRONG with this list..

96Nolan Ryan
5 no hitters that all I got to say.

97Andre Agassi

He truly is an amazing player. after all that he went through, he was still number one and played tennis till 35.

One of the greats at tennis
as they say nuff said.

98Edwin Moses

THIS:
The tactics for the 400m hurdles must be run as fast as you can to ensure you win. 122 consecutive wins, nine years, nine months and nine days in the most difficult track event.

Edwin Moses is the greatest athlete of all time!

"Moses won 107 consecutive finals (122 consecutive races). He set the world record in his event four times. In addition to his running, Moses was also an innovative reformer in the areas of Olympic eligibility and drug testing."

if you know anything about sports at all, you can't neglect edwin

99Albert Pujols

He is easily the greatest baseball player the cardinals has ever had and the best baseball player in the world and my mom thinks he is hot!!!

cards5fan

Easily the greatest baseball player ever my mom thinks he is hot!!!

100Carolina Klüft

She is the best in every sport there is!

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      This list was created 7 years, 60 days ago and has been voted on over 15,000 times. This top ten list contains 273 items, has been remixed 15 times and has been blogged about 16 times.

      Updated Saturday, May 18, 2013

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