If you're going to reach for the cheese, you better stick your whole arm in. So of course, Marvin Lee Aday, or Meat Loaf, got his start in musical theater. His craft's always involved feeding the back row with a dramatic style that presaged The Boss's rock melodramas. While such ambition inevitably falls short more often than not, its best moments are transcendent. His overblown operatic manner has become his signature, and his utter lack of shame is what sells it. —Chris Parker