7. Amy Winehouse
When Amy Winehouse released her second studio album 'Back to Black' in 2006 there was a collective cheer from millions of music fans around the world. For half a decade the charts had been dominated by reality TV show winners and generic indie rock bands. Music required something new, a different sound, a record with genuine emotion; the world needed 'Back to Black'. The album shortly went platinum in both the UK and the USA; reminding the industry that there was still a market for artists who dared to make creative music. Sure, the charts hadn't completely washed their hands of the endless acts churned out each year by Simon Cowell; but they did become easier to ignore. Thanks to the success of 'Back to Black', the industry suddenly found room for the likes of Adele, Lana Del Rey and Emeli Sandé. As with many other artists on this list, Winehouse had a well documented heroin addiction. Though her cause of death wasn't actually the Class A drug, but instead alcohol poisoning, a coroner's inquest reviewing the casualty later revealed that the singer's blood alcohol content was higher than five times the legal drink-drive limit when she passed away.
