Nate Dogg just has to be in here. When appearing on numerous g-funk jams with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Tu Pac, or Warren G, Nate Dogg still always managed to drop the most memorable part of any song that he was a part of.
Certainly one of the least "showy" voices on this list, Snow Patrol's mainman Gary Lightbody is plenty unique. Mostly it is his outstanding knack for vocal melody that is almost second to none as far as contemporary bands are concerned.
Geoff Tate is a legendary progressive metal vocalist, though Queensryche was never the most progressive or metal of bands. Up until and including Promised Land though, they had never done a weak album and Tate's soaring vocals have never, ever been weak.
Speaking of soaring vocals, one is hard-pressed to find a more beautifully sounding male voice out there then Art Garfunkel's. His and Paul Simon's harmonies may be the most pleasant to the ear that have ever been performed, but Garfunkel's solo take on "Bridge Over Troubled Water"? Shit, how much more hyperbole can you toss at that one?
Here is something fun. Try keeping up with Joni Mitchell's singing when listening to one of the greatest things ever made, Blue or any of her other albums really. Impossible? You bet.
I do not own any Heart albums, though I have been meaning to fix that. I have heard all of the same jams that you have though and yeah, Ann Wilson's voice has never been short of amazing. Easily the best hard rock female vocalist of all time.
Another one who obviously had to be represented, I am not just throwing Frank Sinatra in for predictability. I own six of his albums, (not that big of a deal really, he put out like a hundred), and yeah, he falls under the "I can listen to this shit anytime, anywhere, for any length of time" category. Ideal to bump while making pasta. True story.
A little low placement some would say and for that I apologize. I do love Van Morrison. I mean Astral Weeks is a must have for every musician on earth. I have heard both Jeff Buckley and Ray LaMontagne compared to him but really, no one does or will ever sound anything quite like the man.
Yes the flute and the leprechaun dancing have always gotten most of the attention, but I have always just straight up loved Ian Anderson's voice. Another guy who nobody at all sounds like, dude nails blues, hard rock, folk, (and "heavy metal" at least once), with equal ease.
66. Ian Gillan
The only reason that Ian Gillan is so low here is because he has noticably slipped in the last few decades. Perfect Strangers
is awesome, but from that moment on, Gillan's voice and vocal
arrangements started to get increasingly lazy sounding. Which is not all his
fault really, since how the fuck could you still expect a man in his sixties
to hit "Child In Time"? That being said, nobody could touch Ian
Gillan or mark II Deep Purple back in their prime.
I have to admit that I do not really listen to the Righteous Brothers. Yet I have cheated with some of the rules I set with this list for this one, simply because their version of "Unchained Melody", for my money, is the finest vocal performance of all time. Bobby Hatfield sang it solo, so no way could I not include him based on that song alone.
The Monkees have been one of my favorite bands since the beginning of time and though Mike Nesmith is probably my favorite member, it was always Micky Dolenz while growing up. Ironic perhaps that he was a child actor, not really a singer, before getting the gig, since Mr. Dolenz has by far the best voice in the group.
I have never seen Stevie Ray Vaughan on anyone's favorite or greatest singers lists, but fuck that noise; Stevie's vocals rule. His guitar playing understandably gets all of the attention all of the time, which is hard to argue. Maybe just spending years and years as a huge SRV fan has made me just as huge of a fan of the voice behind the guitar licks as well.
How can you not fucking love this guy? A gay black man living and growing up in Georgia in the 1950s who clearly did not give a fuck who just started screaming and howling on stage? It certainly took some balls. Now in his eighties, he is still doing the same damn thing. Little Richard has always claimed to have invented rock and roll and I certainly am not going to argue with the man.
Like most people, I think my introduction to Joe Cocker was from watching Woodstock and just thinking "woah, who the fuck is THIS guy?". Cocker has made every single song he has ever covered his own, and there have been many of them. You also many not be able to get a more passionate performer on stage? John Belushi's loving tribute on SNL was certainly fitting.
Yet another guy whose albums I really need to make a point of getting, hence his criminally low ranking here. Like most of you I assume, I have been exposed to Roy Orbison's music since infancy and it is impossible to deny the man's voice was incredible. Right up until the end it was stronger than ever, which is truly unreal.
I have zero friends out there who do not bow down to the awesome that is Chris Cornell's voice. Soundgarden rules besides, but an enormous and perhaps even dominant reason for that is Cornell. I always likened his vocals to a more blues-tinged Rob Halford myself.
Uriah Heep have had no less than three excellent vocalists in their many decades as a band. John Lawton lasted for a mere three albums, (plus one still unreleased one, damn it all). Not only was he completely different than founder David Byron, but completely better. Also the singer for Lucifer's Friend, Lawton wears his rhythm and blues influences on his sleeve and that with the soaring high notes, (that he can still hit BTW), is a powerful combo to say the least.
After blindly picking up Ingrid Michaelson's Girls and Boys from an old coworker's recomendation she has become a bona fide favorite of mine. Kind of a contemporary Joni Mitchell in some respects, Michaelson's range is just incredible.
Another legend that is far too low, I know. Pretty much every R&B singer since who goes for high notes owes a debt to Al Green. I love the ache in Green's voice though, one that usually shines through during the ballads. Panty moistening stuff.
Another bluesy white boy who can out-sing almost anybody in that field, Gregg Allman is the goddamn man. I have not heard anything he has done in years, but "Midnight Rider", "Whipping Post", "One Way Out", etc. Cannot beat any of that shit right there.
I pretty much love all of the Fleetwood Mac that I have heard and I certainly love anything Christine McVie sings. A low, soft, almost raspy croon, McVie out-sung a band full of memorable singers, (though South Park was kind of right, Stevie Nicks though awesome, does sound like a goat). "Songbird" is utterly gorgeous, but there are plenty more Christine McVie sung gems out there as well.
You goddamn right. I have never actually looked up if Dee Snider gets the vocal accolades that he deserves, but have you actually listened to this guy? What a voice. Besides single-handedly writing one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time in Stay Hungry, Snider consistently wiped the floor with every other hair metal clown out there with his ass-shredding roar.
James LaBrie is one of the many reasons that Dream Theater has been one of my favorite bands for more than ten plus years now. Along with Geoff Tate, he is basically the prog-metal vocalist to judge all others by. LaBrie's range is insane and in his prime, he could hit any note his bandmate's threw at him. His voice has matured nicely over the years as well, (though his vocal melodies are not quite as flawless as they once were).
Haters gonna hate. John Mayer makes his guitar his bitch every time he plays it and does get mad props for his abilities as an axe slinger, but I absolutely love his voice as well. Dude can straight-up sing the blues as good as any white boy ever did.
