Who's your top 10 singers of all-time?

[ssBaldy]

In no particular order. Probably not really my top 10 since it is very difficult to choose, but those are people who spring into my mind when I think of someone with outstanding singing ability.

Sinatra
Freddie
Dio
Plant
Tarja Turunen
Jorn Lande
Devin Townsend
Pavarotti
Whitney
Aretha Franklin

 

[ssBaldy]

Freddie Mercury
Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys)
Viktor Tsoi (Kino)
Egor Letov (GrOb)
Corinne Bailey Rae
Corpsegrinder (Cannibal Corpse)
Cat Power
Michael Stipe (REM)
Peter Steele (Type O Negative)
Tom Waits

Interesting list.
Do you really admire Tsoi and Letov for their singing ability?

 

[HaulParris]

Interesting list.
Do you really admire Tsoi and Letov for their singing ability?

Good question. While neither had a huge range, both had something to say and sang it like they meant it, in a time and place where expressing yourself could land them in jail. I was too young to catch Kino (I was 9 when Tsoi died), but I got to see Letov three times (twice with GrOb and once solo), and I cherish those memories. Their music has made an impact on me that few other singers have, and I honor them.

 

[ssBaldy]

Good question. While neither had a huge range, both had something to say and sang it like they meant it, in a time and place where expressing yourself could land them in jail. I was too young to catch Kino (I was 9 when Tsoi died), but I got to see Letov three times (twice with GrOb and once solo), and I cherish those memories. Their music has made an impact on me that few other singers have, and I honor them.

Agreed they made an impact. I would say they both were good frontmen, not singers. Letov is also highly regarded as a poet.

 

[HaulParris]

Agreed they made an impact. I would say they both were good frontmen, not singers. Letov is also highly regarded as a poet.

True.

I took a look back at your top 10 - good stuff; I was in a band that covered Nightwish's "Passion & The Opera" about 20 years ago.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

I'll just go my favourite vocalists, not necessarily "the best" but ones I like (no particular order)

Robert Plant
Rod Stewart
Ozzy
Dio
Bruce Dickinson
John Tardy
Layne Staley
Neil Fallon
Eddie Vedder
Chris Cornell

 

[Madmick]

Hmm, I'd have to think about that.

Barbara Streisand, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sam Cooke, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Freddie Mercury, Daryl Hall, Annie Lennox, The Righteous Brothers (Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield), Andrea Bocelli, Edith Piaf, Karen Carpenter, Michael Jackson, Michael Buble, and Adele are all names that come to mind.

Maybe one of the most undermentioned singers in these conversations-- though perhaps not underappreciated-- is Morten Harket; simply because his band was a one-hit wonder. But his range was incredible, and that wasn't the only song he could sing.


Chris Martin is criminally taken for granted simply because he is so accessible and popular. Easily one of the greatest voices of our generation. Recall the song that vaulted his band to superstardom.

 

[witt1021]

Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden is the best singer of all time. His range is from opera to metal. No one has his range.

 

[Madmick]

A woman not afraid to show her age, and yet her voice is ageless. Don't smoke. Don't wither your body with drugs. Maybe you could also be great like this into your 8th decade on the planet.