Madonna has built an entire career on reinventing herself so often, so ingeniously and so convincingly that we're never quite sure where the persona ends and the "real" Madonna begins -- and that's the point. Her Madgesty straddles and subverts the line between authenticity and artificiality, constantly compelling us to question our assumptions. A side effect of her self-induced stylistic schizophrenia, however, is that Madonna's titanic influence on pop music has been multifaceted. In other words, the Mother of Reinvention didn't just inspire a few followers; she spawned a new heir to match every persona. In honor of her new career-spanning greatest hits collection Celebration, we present this field guide to the various and sundry Madonnas, complete with our pick for the Madonna follower who's most closely followed in each persona's footsteps.
