Top 5 Female Vocalists of all-time

[Joe Ferguson forever]

24 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

You guys are all swimming in very shallow musical waters.  

 

[Dr. Who]

I'm certainly not nominating her for top five, but among more recent vocalists, I am fond of her vibe.

 

 

[ArdmoreRyno]

#1 on the list should be Katie Noel.

 

 

#2 Rebecca Black

 

 

[Rico]

The late, great Eva Cassidy, most beautiful voice by a landslide:

but best singer?

Shirley Manson

Joni Mitchell

Stevie Nicks

Christine McVie

 

[Toomstone.Part.Duex]

4 minutes ago, ArdmoreRyno said:

#1 on the list should be Katie Noel.

 

 

#2 Rebecca Black

 

 

#1 Rebecca Black.   By a mile!   

#2.  Jan Terri

 

#3  This lady.  Who's so good her name is unknown!  

 

[Rico]

11 hours ago, redtail hawk said:

It really is.  Cheating and adding Norah Jones, Eva Cassidy and Diana Krall to my list.  Eva sadly had a short life but well worth a listen:

 

Agreed, missed this before I posted.

[Another Fan]

Hard to say top 5 but I’d probably include her and she hasn’t gotten any recognition yet on this thread.  Funk lovers know her 

 

 

 

  

[LeGOATski]

I always liked the chick from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Could hit all the notes and make sexy sounds.

[Jauronimo]

3 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

This far into the list and no one has mentioned Billie Holiday?  Nina Simone? Etta James?  Marlene Dietrich? 

 

How about Hildegard Knef, who is incredible! Talk about recency bias! 

 

You guys are all swimming in very shallow musical waters.  

 

 

 

Thats it?  Hildegard showed off almost enough range to be in a bad Velvet Undergound cover band.

[Gregg]

It's really impossible to narrow a list like this down to 5. I thought of two others who haven't been mentioned yet in this thread. Carole King and Carly Simon. 

[ALF]

Linda Ronstadt

[Rico]

Can't forget Wendy O.

 

[SinceThe70s]

1 hour ago, Rico said:

Can't forget Wendy O.

 

 

LOL - I was thinking of making a case for her earlier. Wendy O? Aretha? Tough call.

 

On a more serious note , I'll give a shout out to Tanya Donnelly - who I know from her work with Belly.

[Dr. Who]

A great stylist. She shows the art of singing is much more than the sort of bravura performances that gain applause on American Idol and the like.

[Rico]

27 minutes ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

LOL - I was thinking of making a case for her earlier. Wendy O? Aretha? Tough call.

 

On a more serious note , I'll give a shout out to Tanya Donnelly - who I know from her work with Belly.

Meh, all Aretha did was just stand there, no stage presence at all. 

[T&C]

2 hours ago, Rico said:

Can't forget Wendy O.

 

Can't forget Mrs. Miller either...

 

 

[Joe Ferguson forever]

Eva Cassidy reminds me of her

 

So many, but Dolly has to be mentioned.  Hell, she wrote the damn song

 

Edited March 22, 2023 by redtail hawk

[Bills4everNY]

Courtney LaPlante (Spiritbox)

Johnette Napolitano (Concrete Blonde)

Annie Lennox

Ronnie Spector 

Ann Wilson 

Edited March 22, 2023 by Bills4everNY

[ExiledInIllinois]

Add:

Give a listen... This features Natalie Merchant. 

Also off "Mermaid Avenue."

Earlier work:

 

[OGTEleven]

This is obviously very subjective.  I'll go with singers who at various times have made me say wow.

 

In alphabetical order

 

Emmylou Harris

Whitney Houston

Martina McBride (way underrated, watch her God Bless America from the Rose Bowl parade)

Ruth Moody

Linda Ronstadt

 

There are a lot of honorable mentions.  I'll offer one (in hopes that someone will start a male singers thread) Natalie Cole

 

 

Edited March 22, 2023 by OGTEleven