- Oct 1 Charles Aznavour [Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian], French-Armenian singer-songwriter ("She"; "Monsieur Carnavel"; "Tin Drum"), dies at 94
- Oct 2 Geoff Emerick, British sound engineer and record producer (Beatles; Elvis Costello), dies of a heart attack at 72
- Oct 3 Bent Lorentzen, Danish orchestral, electronic, and opera composer, dies at 83
- Oct 4 John Tyrrell, British musicologist (Leoš Janáček; The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians), dies at 76
- Oct 5 Bobby Notkoff, American rock and blues violinist (Crazy Horse; The Rockets), dies at 80
- Oct 6 Montserrat Caballé, Spanish bel canto operatic soprano, and unlikely pop star (with Freddie Mercury - "Barcelona"), dies at 85
- Oct 12 Takehisa Kosugi, Japanese violinist and experimental music composer (Group Ongaku; Taj Mahal Travellers), dies at 80
- Oct 13 Annapurna Devi [Roshanara Khan], Indian classical surbahar (bass sitar) player, and music teacher, dies at 91
- Oct 18 Randolph Hokanson, American concert pianist and teacher (University of Washington, 1949-84), dies at 103
- Oct 24 Darijan Božič, Slovenian composer and conductor, dies at 86
- Oct 24 Tony Joe White, American blues and swamp rock singer ("Polk Salad Annie"), and songwriter ("Rainy Night In Georgia"), dies of a heart attack at 75
- Oct 24 Wah-Wah Watson [Melvin Ragin], American session guitarist in Motown's Funk Brothers (Temptations - "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone"), dies at 67
- Oct 25 Sonny Fortune [Cornelius Fortune], American jazz saxophonist, dies at 79
- Oct 27 Murray Khouri, New Zealand classical clarinet player (Australia Ensemble), writer, and broadcaster, dies at 77
- Oct 28 Richard James Gill, Australian conductor and music educator, dies from cancer at 76
Kendrick Lamar
Eminem
XXXTentacion
Tupac Shakur
Nicki Minaj
Coolio