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The Carnatic classical music tradition gained impetus in the 15th century through the works of Purandara Dasa, one of the foremost Haridasa Saints of the Vijayanagara Empire, and is also regarded as Karnataka Sangeetha Sampradaya Pitamaha (Patriarch of the Carnatic Music Tradition). This tradition has grown since and has produced numerous renowned and revered composers. The list below names the most notable composers in chronological order starting with Purandara Dasa.

• Purandaradasa (1484 - 1564 C.E.)
• Muthu Thandavar (1525-1625 C.E)
• Kshetragna (1600 - 1680)
• Bhadrachala Ramdas (1620 - 1688)
• Papanasa Mudaliar (1650-1725)
• Sarangapani (17th century)
• Paidala Gurumurti Sastri (17th century)
• Arunachala Kavi (1711 - 1788)
• Marimutthu Pillai (18th century)
• Pacchimiriam Adiyappa (18th century)
• Sadasiva Brahmendra (18th century)
• Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi (18th century)
• Tyagaraja (1767 - 1847)
• Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775 - 1835)
• Syama Sastri (1762 - 1827)
• Thanjavur Quartet (18th century)
• Iraiyamman Tampi (1782-1856)
• Ghanam Krishna Iyer (1790 - 1854)
• Veena Kuppayyar (1798 - 1860)
• Gopalakrishna Bharathi (1811 - 1896)
• Swati Tirunal (1813 - 1847)
• Mysore Sadasiva Rao (19th century)
• Anai Ayya brothers (19th century)
• Kavi Kunjara Bharati (1810-1896)
• Subbaraya Sastri (1803-1862)
• Subbarama Dikshitar (1839 - 1906)
• Neelakanta Sivan (1839 - 1900)
• Pallavi Seshayyar (1842-1905)
• Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer (1844 - 1893)
• Patnam Subramania Iyer (1845 - 1902)
• Tiruvottriyur Tyagayyar (1845 - 1917)
• Manambuchavadi Venkatasubbayyar (19th century)
• Dharmapuri Subbarayar (19th century)
• Pattabhiramayya(19th century)
• Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar (1860 - 1919)
• Mysore Vasudevachar ((1863-1961)
• Annamalai Reddiyar (1865 - 1891)
• Koteeswara Iyer (1870 - 1940)
• Harikesanallur Muthaiah Bhagavatar (1877 - 1945)
• Papanasam Sivan (1890 - 1973)
• Mayuram Viswanatha Sastri (1893 - 1958)
• Dandapani Desikar (1908 - 1972)
• Periyasami Tooran (1908 - 1987)
• Jayachamaraja Wodeyar (1919 - 1974)
• Prof. Mysore Sri V.Ramarathnam (1917 - )
• N. S. Ramachandran
• Tanjavur Sankara Iyer
• M Balamuralikrishna
• Lalgudi Jayaraman
• N. Ravikiran
• Prof. S.Ramanathan
• Tanjavur S.Kalyanaraman
• Tirupati Narayanaswami Naidu

In addition to the above composers, various Bhakti saints of medieval India also composed devotional hymns, verses and songs. These compostions, though strictly not of Carnatic or classical character, have contributed to the gradual evolution of the Carnatic musical tradition over the centuries.

• Karaikkal Ammaiyar (5th century)
• Thirunavukkarasar (7th century)
• Thirugnana Sambanthar (7th century)
• Sundaramurti (7th century)
• Manikkavasagar (10th century)
• Jayadeva (12th century)
• Basavanna (12th century)
• Akka Mahadevi (12th century)
• Allama Prabhu (12th century)
• Muthu Thandavar (14th century)
• Arunagirinathar (15th century)
• Sripadaraya (1404 - 1502)
• Vyasatirtha (1460-1539)
• Vadirajatirtha (1480 - 1600)
• Narayana Teertha (1580 - 1660)
• Annamacharya (1424 - 1503)
• Kanakadasa (1509 - 1609)
• Mahipathidasa (1611-1681)
• Vijayadasa (1682-1755)
• Prasanna Venkatadasa (1680-1752)
• Gopaladasa (1722-1762)
• Jagannathadasa (1727-1809)
• Praneshadasa (1736-1822)
• Venugopaladasa (1728-1751)
• Mohanadasa (1728-1751)
• Helevanakatte Giriamma (18th century)
• Harapanhalli Bhimavva (1822-1903)
• Sri Guru Jagananatha Dasa (1837-1918)