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As part of the 2017 hennemusic Rock News Awards, the daily news site is counting down the Top 10 Rock News Artists of the year.

Finalists for the 8th annual hennemusic Rock News Awards are chosen by readers: winners are determined by the combined total page views of the top 50 hennemusic rock news stories of the past twelve months.

The 2017 hennemusic Rock News Awards winners will be announced on Thursday, December 21.

2017 Rock News Artist Of The Year – Top 10

10 – DAVID LEE ROTH
09 – FOO FIGHTERS
08 – JOURNEY
07 – LED ZEPPELIN
06 – METALLICA
05 – QUEEN

Rock News Artist of The Year No. 4 – AC/DC

AC/DC closed out a tumultuous 2016 by sweeping the 7th annual hennemusic Rock News Awards.

The Australian-based rockers captured the titles of Rock News Artist Of The Year and Rock News Story Of The Year after they lost longtime singer Brian Johnson over hearing loss issues while Axl Rose stepped in for the remaining European and US dates on the Rock Or Bust world tour.

With no live shows or releases planned for 2017, it was guitarist and co-founder Angus Young that made headlines with a series of guest appearances at Guns N’ Roses concerts during their Australian tour, including back-to-back nights in Sydney on February 10 and February 11, and in Melbourne on February 14.

During the tour, an unconfirmed report out of Australia suggested that AC/DC are planning to work on a new studio album with Rose, but GNR’s touring commitments throughout 2017 would make it difficult for the pair to find room to begin the songwriting process.

In March, promoters of an AC/DC concert in Seville, Spain in May 2016 were fined 15,000 euros (approx. US$16,000) over failure to supply refunds to fans who were disappointed that Johnson was replaced by Rose in the band’s lineup for the show.

Johnson surfaced in April with the launch a new 6-part series, “Brian Johnson’s Life On The Road”, on Britain’s Sky Arts channel. The episodes see Johnson in conversation with some of the biggest names in rock to discuss the realities of life as high-profile musician touring the globe.

On a short break from his tour, Rose kept AC/DC’s profile alive when he joined Billy Joel to perform “Highway To Hell” at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on May 13.

Johnson made his first return to the stage since dealing with his hearing loss issues when he joined Robert Plant at Paul Rodger’s gig in Oxford, UK on May 14 for a performance of Barrett Strong’s 1959 classic, “Money (That’s What I Want).”

Angus joined Guns N’ Roses again for a few shows on their European tour, including appearances in Hannover, Germany on June 22 and a July 12 stop in Nijmegen, Netherlands.

Rose regrouped with Billy Joel for another take on “Highway To Hell” in Minneapolis, MN on July 28, while Johnson made news by joining Muse for “Back In Black” during their August 27 headlining slot at the UK's Reading Festival.

The Foo Fighters delivered AC/DC’s 1977 classic, “Let There Be Rock”, during a session for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge series in September, while former AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd cancelled his fall solo tour of Europe due to “unforeseen last-minute circumstances and key logistical and technical issues.”

Sad news in the AC/DC family came on October 22 when legendary musician and producer George Young – and older brother of guitarists Angus and Malcolm – died at the age of 70.

Originally based in Glasgow, Scotland, most of the Young family emigrated to Australia in 1963, with George forming The Easybeats in Sydney a year later. The group scored a 1966 No. 1 hit in the members’ adopted homeland with “Friday On My Mind”, written by Young and fellow guitarist Harry Vanda.