Gene Simmons isn't holding anything back when it comes to a highly controversial Rolling Stone list ranking the top 200 singers of all time ... according to the publication.

We caught up with the KISS rocker who weighed in after the magazine posted its "200 Greatest Singers of All Time" ... which snubbed a lot of music icons in the process.

Simmons tells us it's all about who's popular and who's not ... saying the whole thing is skewed and often one-sided.

Gene says the list isn't necessarily about singing, it's more about style and who has a recognizable voice.

As we reported ... folks like Aretha, Whitney, Adele, Michael, Mariah, Freddie made the list, while others like Celine Dion, Cher and even KISS were left off, sending social media into a frenzy.

Pretty Ricky vocalist Pleasure P isn't letting Rolling Stone's hot button 200 Best Singers list screw with his emotions -- mainly because it's missing one of his favs ... Anita Baker!!!

We caught Pleasure P out at LAX Tuesday ... and he tells us the worst snub in his eyes was the incomparable AB ... the Grammy-winning singing legend who has famously boasted a three octave range.

Pleasure P also made the case for Celine Dion's inclusion, who by the sheer number count, was brutally shunned from the list and angered thousands of fans on social media.

CD has 7 Diamond albums and over 250 million records sold to date -- and Pleasure, hailing from Miami himself, gave the legendary Canadian's sound an ambassador role ... as she lived in his sunny hometown much of last decade.

Pleasure P also scoffed at the notion that any particular race births superior singers, especially because the list's top 10 consisted of all African-American singers. 👀

Angelina Jolie was apparently responsible for breaking the news about her relationship with Brad Pitt, according to the founder of Rolling Stone magazine ... who attributes her for getting the bombshell shots back in 2005.

Jann Wenner's upcoming memoir, 'Like a Rolling Stone,' is full of stories about the celebs he's encountered over the years, according to Page Six ... but this one might take the cake, putting to bed a 17-year mystery on who first blabbed about Brangelina.

Jann owned Us Weekly when rumors were flying about BP and AJ being an item ... when their photographer got a tip about the two staying at a resort on the coast of Africa.

He puts it plainly -- "the tipster was Angelina." Of course, this was all going down while Brad was still married to Jennifer Aniston.

Not only did Jann's photog know where to find them, but Angelina gave specific details about their daily walks, and even where they could secretly snag a pic of them.

Jann says they finally got the proof after Angelina's tip ... adding "we had the worldwide scoop, the debut of Brangelina."

Mick Jagger might have to sit out a new tour due to illness, but he was all smiles a day after breaking the news ... an encouraging sign, to say the least.

The Rolling Stones frontman was seen hanging at his Miami Beach oceanfront home Sunday -- marking the first time he's been spotted since the band announced they were pulling the plug on their North American tour, which was set to get started in April.

He looks to be in good spirits here, which has got to be a relief to RS fans.

As we reported ... the Stones cited doctors' orders to sit Mick out, saying Mick needs medical treatment and was told to skip the tour. They also made a note that he's expected to fully recover the undisclosed ailment.

Mick released a statement of his own, apologizing to his fans ... but promising to work as hard as possible to get back to 100% so he can the stage again.

The fact that the singer was on his feet and rockin' a big old grin Sunday is at least proof that he isn't fully bedridden and feeble.

Shawn Mendes is once again shutting down rumors he's gay ... adamantly saying he isn't, after years of speculation.

The 20-year-old singer told Rolling Stone so much attention on his personal life has caused tons of stress ... particularly about his sexuality and whether or not he's gay. Shawn told RS, "I'd like to say I don't care about it, but that's not true. This massive, massive thing for the last 5 years about me being gay."

Shawn tells Rolling Stone he often analyzes his own interviews and analyzes his voice and body language to see what vibe he's giving off. He tells RS, "In the back of my heart, I feel like I need to go be seen with someone -- like a girl -- in public, to prove to people that I'm not gay."

He goes on to say, "Even though in my heart I know that it's not a bad thing. There's still a piece of me that thinks that. And I hate that side of me." Shawn, however, did admit he grew up putting glitter on his eyelids to make his parents laugh ... growing up with 15 female cousins he said he would be "braiding hair and painting nails. Maybe I am a little more feminine -- but that's the way it is. That's why I am me."

Remember ... years ago, Shawn addressed rumors about his sexuality, taking to Snapchat and saying, "I noticed a lot of people were saying I gave them a 'gay vibe' ... first of all, I'm not gay. Second of all, it shouldn't make a difference if I was or wasn't."

Charlamagne tha God and Rolling Stone have settled their beef in a charitable way ... teaming up to make a donation after the magazine printed a headline falsely accusing him of making transphobic comments.

We're told the money will go to the National Black Justice Coalition. The exact amount is unknown but we're told it's in the thousands.

The 'Breakfast Club' host had fired off a legal letter to RS demanding an apology and retraction after they picked up his July interview with comedian, Lil Duval. Duval had made headlines by alluding that he'd kill a transgender woman if he discovered he'd unknowingly slept with one. RS then ran a headline saying Charlamagne made transphobic comments, which Charlamagne called defamatory since he never made such remarks. Rolling Stone later changed the headline.

Charlamagne tha God is threatening to sue Rolling Stone if it doesn't apologize for accusing him of making transphobic comments.

The 'Breakfast Club' host fired off a legal letter to the magazine saying its July 31 article on Rollingstone.com, headlined ... "Janet Mock on Charlamagne tha God's Transphobic Comments," is defamatory as hell since he didn't make such comments.

Rolling Stone has since changed its headline to "Janet Mock Speaks Out Following Charlamagne tha God's Controversial Morning Show." But the DJ is still furious and he's demanding an apology, full retraction and money for damage to his reputation.

You'll recall Charlamagne had comedian Lil Duval on his show, and outrage ensued after Duval said if he ever discovered he'd unknowingly slept with a transgender woman, she would be "dying."

Charlamagne seemed to condemn the remark and reminded Duval it's a hate crime. But Charlamagne says RS took his words out of context to write a fictitious and negative story.

We've reached out to Rolling Stone, so far no word back.

Paris Jackson says Michael Jackson was murdered and there were a lot of people who wanted him dead.

Paris is on the cover of the latest Rolling Stone mag, and said all signs point to murder, adding, "It was a setup."

Without saying it, she insinuates Dr. Conrad Murray was a patsy for someone who wanted her dad dead. She says Dr. Murray caused Michael's dependency on Propofol, despite the fact that Jackson had been abusing the drug long before Dr. Murray entered the picture.

She says Michael would tell her people were "out to get him," saying, "They're gonna kill me one day."

She also has harsh words for AEG Live, which was producing Michael's tour when he died. She says, "AEG Live does not treat their performers right," adding, "They drain them dry and work them to death." She says she's "scared" for Justin Bieber because of the way they're working him.

Sorry, Adam Devine ... but you probably won't get to bang Rebel Wilson in "Pitch Perfect 2" -- the actress says her love interest in the sequel may actually be Drake.

Rebel dropped the casting spoiler while leaving a West Hollywood salon after our photog asked about Drake's Rolling Stone drama this week.

The 28-year-old actress was tight lipped on more "P.P." details ... but did say what she would have done with the popular magazine in Drake's shoes.

Drake has no business attacking Rolling Stone or Philip Seymour Hoffman because the magazine gave him advance notice it was dropping him from the cover in favor of PSH.

Sources close to Drake tell TMZ the rapper feels like he was "tricked" because ... "He only did the interview if he was going to be on the cover."

But we've learned Drake was interviewed on January 28, and the photo shoot was also completed before PSH died on Feb. 2.

A rep for RS says this happens all the time when musicians and actors die -- most recently when Lou Reed and Whitney Houston passed away.

Further, sources tell us Drake's camp was told last Friday he wouldn't be on the cover when the mag was released Wednesday. The RS rep would not say if they offered Drake a future cover.

Drake just spit on Philip Seymour Hoffman's grave ... throwing a bitch fit over losing the Rolling Stone cover to the dead actor.

Drake's hissy sesh started with a complaint about being misquoted in the latest issue regarding Kanye West's album -- but then he quickly lashes out at the mag for making a switch.

Minutes later, Drake went back to Twitter and said, "RIP to Philip Seymour Hoffman. All respect due. But the press is evil."

Actress Rachel True says Rolling Stone must've smoked themselves stupid ... 'cause they somehow left her movie "Half Baked" off their list of Top 10 Stoner Movies of all time!

Rachel -- who played Mary Jane Potman in the cult classic -- was doing some sightseeing around the Grove in LA ... and we asked where she thinks "Half Baked" ranks among the dankest weed movies.

Ms. Potman says she thinks the movie should at least be in the top 5 ... and was SHOCKED "Half Baked" didn't even make their top 10.

Here's the list according to RS:

1. 'The Big Lebowski'
2. 'Dazed and Confused'
3. 'Pineapple Express'
4. 'Cheech & Chong's Next Movie'
5. 'How High'

Lizzy Caplan says she's NOT the one holding up a possible "Party Down" comeback ... telling TMZ she's ready, willing and able to bring back the catering show ... as soon as someone calls her.

Caplan -- who played Casey Klein on the Starz show -- was at Fig and Olive in L.A. Thursday night when we asked why there's a holdup ... considering the show has developed a pretty impressive cult following ever since it went off the air in 2010.

Despite the fact she's moved on to another big show, "Masters of Sex," Caplan says she's down to find time to get the old 'PD' gang back together -- "I would love to do it."

Vanilla Ice fully admits he used to be king of the douches, but says he knows the secret to saving Justin Bieber from the same fate.

Ice -- aka Rob Van Winkle -- came on TMZ Live to talk about Miley Cyrus saying she warned Justin about being so douchey he'd become a joke, a la Vanilla Ice.

Rob doesn't disagree with her, and even shared the formula he used to turn his life around.

Listen up, Justin ... Prof. Ice is talking.

Rolling Stone's cover story about the Boston Marathon bomber just got the magazine yanked out of nearly 2,000 7-Eleven stores, and more could follow ... TMZ has learned.

The omnipresent convenient store is joining the national outrage over the mag's upcoming issue with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover, and an investigation into his life leading up to the bombing.

A rep for 7-Eleven, Inc. tells TMZ it "will not sell the Aug. 1 issue of the Rolling Stone magazine in its company-operated stores."

There are 1,700 company operated stores -- and another 5,900 franchised stores. The rep says they'll also urge those franchise owners to pull the issue.

Yesterday, CVS, Walgreens, and Stop & Shop all said they will not sell the issue either.