Dion did quite well considering the size of the room she played – the 3,827-capacity Colosseum at Caesars Palace. It took a lot more money to see Dion ($136 average) at her Las Vegas home, and she played a lot more shows (154).

Madonna ranked third, Metallica fourth and Bette Midler’s return to the stage was the fifth-highest-grossing tour of 2004. Rounding out the top 10 are Van Halen, Kenny Chesney, Sting, Toby Keith and Elton John.

Some relative newcomers made the list, namely Usher and Josh Groban, who landed the No. 18 and No. 20 slots, respectively. This year marked Groban’s maiden voyage as a touring artist, and he is the only true freshman on the list.

John Mayer rounds out the Top 25.

Seven of the artists who made the top tours were country acts (Chesney, Keith, Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson / Martina McBride, Shania Twain, and George Strait). One could even argue Kid Rock (No. 24) and Jimmy Buffett (No. 14) could be added to that list, considering their contributions to country music this year.

With the exception of the Dave Matthews Band, the rest of the list comprises acts that fall squarely in the veteran category: Rod Stewart, Cher, Eric Clapton, Aerosmith and Phil Collins.