Cobain, Vedder, Cornell or Staley?

clairenordon wrote:

whoever said scott weiland has got to be having a laugh. any 4 of those guys farts could out do his musical talent. he's a passable singer and i love purple but as far as i know, he dont write.

For leaving lanegan off, i berate the original poster

My list:

Cornell: best technical singer and songwriter overall and level as a live performer with eddie (both good and bad respects) getting better as a lyricist, he has written some v accessible stuff as well as cryptic. (say hello to heaven and the whole totd thing, anyone?)

also, the whole, he doesnt sing like its 1992 thing is getting really old, hes lost the top end of his range thats all. and the person who said hes too into himself-he's happier these days after beating alcohol addiction and depression, going through a divorce after longest relationship in his life,etc. sorry if you wanted him not to do that. you re confusing arrogance with contentment and confidence.

vedder: I love his voice, his lyrics are better than Cornell's and he's level as performer. As songwriter and vocalist, Cornell outdoes him though. I wonder what solo efforts would be like...

Cobain: Brilliant songwriter, adequate/chilling voice, wished he d realised his potential. the michael stipe collaboration would have been excellent. Great performer too. he is different to the other 3 though-nirvana had v little in common with other seattle bands soundwise after bleach. Its possibly unfaor to compare him.

Staley: Good voice, better performer, not much of a songwriter but when he did write them, you wanted more. Gets extra points for Mad season and unplugged. that was the nuts.


If id have included lanegan the man would be #2 behind cornell. Consistantly exciting and accurate performer, written very underated songs both with trees and solo. his voice is so good he can whore it out to people like greg dulli and josh homme. lyrics are poignant and varied too. He has this cool factor that the others dont-pretty inexplicable, anyone know what i mean?

well thts my 2ps worth

jack_bass_player wrote:

vedder > staley > cornell >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> cobain

PearlStripes wrote:

Cobain>Vedder>>>Staley>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>Cornell

I agree

Primarily due to incredible song writing.

Duder5k wrote:

Agreed. I'd say Cornell's performances on Badmotorfinger, TOTD, and Superunknown were pretty damn good. I also like SG the most out of all those Seattle bands, so I'd say SG/Cornell is my personal fav.

But I see a lot of people here bashing Nirvana. You only need to hear that Unplugged performance to know that he was right up there with the other 3.

Benzor wrote:

Vocal Ability: Cornell, Vedder/Staley, Cobain

As far as vocal talent goes this is not close. Chris Cornell could do things that no one else could do. Listen to Slaves and Bulldozers and Jesus Christ Pose. The first time I hard these back to back I was literally speechless. Best 10 minutes of vocals in the history of music. He hits notes that I didn't even think could be hit.

Lyrics: Vedder, Cornell, Staley, Corbain

Vedder has written some of the greatest lyrics of all time. As a band I would put Alice In Chains close if not next to Pearl Jam lyrically but Cantrell wrote a large portion of Alice's lyrics so thats why I didn't put Staley higher.

Stage Presence: Vedder, Staley, Cornell, Cobain
Eddie Vedder is one of the great live front men ever. The way he connects with the crowd, his little modifications to songs on the fly, his great tags, and uncanny ability to make every show a unique and special experience make him my favorite singer of all time when it comes to live shows.

Personal Preference: Vedder, Cornell/Staley, Cobain
Overall Eddie Vedder is my favorite singer from the 90's. While he may not have the best singing ability (that would be Cornell or Jeff Buckley) he has a great combination of amazing lyrics and unrivaled stage presense that puts him above anyone else. As far as vocal ability alone, Cornell is one of the best singers ever. Personally the only person that can even compete with Cornell's voice is Jeff Buckley. Staley is one of the most underrated singers of the 90's. He is often remembered more for being a drug addict then a great singer. He might not have had the lyrics of Vedder or the voice of Cornell but he could evoke emotion like no other singer I have ever heard. Listen to Nutshell if you don't know what I'm talking about. As for Cobain, I'm not a Nirvana hater, in fact I like Nirvana. However, he is not even close to being on the same level as the 3 unless you count writing catchy guitar riffs that anyone with any guitar knowledge could play.