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Top 20 Favorite Vocalists

LiftedLifted Posts: 1,638
edited February 2012 in Other Music
in the spirit of all the lists we've been doing, i figured this could be a cool one. your top 20 favorite vocalists of all time. without much thought, (not much needed) here's mine..

1. Bob Dylan
2. Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes)
3. Jim James (My Morning Jacket)
4. Neko Case
5. David Crosby (The Byrds, CSNY)
6. John Lennon (Beatles)
7. Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam)
8. Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead)
9. Michael Jackson
10. Win Butler (Arcade Fire)
11. Lauryn Hill (Fugees)
12. Jeff Tweedy (Wilco)
13. Paul McCartney (Beatles)
14. Bonnie Raitt
15. Marvin Gaye
16. Ray Charles
17. Etta James
18. Thom Yorke (Radiohead)
19. Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene)
20. Erykah Badu

Edit: let's try and note where they're from if neccessary. i've never heard of some of these people. i think most of mine are pretty obvious, but ya never know.
Post edited by Unknown User on

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    AzWickerAzWicker Posts: 1,162
    edited March 2011
    1. Anneke van Giersbergen
    2. Ann Wilson
    3. Eddie Vedder
    4. Ronnie James Dio
    5. Stevie Nicks (pre tango in the night)
    6. Crosby Stills and Nash (sometimes Young)
    7. Geoff Tate
    8. Marvin Gaye
    9. Robert Cray
    10. Eric Clapton
    11. Etta James
    12. Robert Plant
    13. Allison Krauss
    14. Steve Perry
    15. Tom Araya
    16. Chester Burnett "H'Wolf"
    17. Steve Winwood
    18. King Diamond
    19. Erik Knutsen
    20. Lauryn Hill
    21. Tom Waits
    Post edited by AzWicker on
    Ed: 2011-07-09 2012-11-04
    PJ: 2011-09-03 2011-09-04
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    HeisenbergHeisenberg Los Pollos Hermanos Posts: 4,957
    I don't know about 20 but I'm seeing 2 that would be on my list in the same night next week when Chris Cornell and William Elliot Whitmore play The Orange Peel. :mrgreen:
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    craigbcraigb Posts: 806
    1. Eddie Vedder
    2. Chris Robinson
    3. Robert Plant
    4. Neil Young
    5. Stephen Stills
    6. J Mascis
    7. Julian Casablancas
    8. Liam Gallagher
    9. Paul McCartney
    10. Stephen Malkmus
    11. Raine Maida
    12. Alison Krauss
    13. Jack Bruce
    14. Layne Staley
    15. Jerry Cantrell
    16. Nic Cester
    17. Steve Winwood
    18. Thurston Moore
    19. Kurt Cobain
    20. Keith Relf
    "Speak clearly if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall"

    Los Angeles 10.7.2009
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    Back_PedalBack_Pedal Posts: 1,171
    Axl Rose
    Eddie Vedder
    Chris Cornell
    Devin Townsend
    Claudio Sanchez
    Josh Homme
    Mikael Akerfeldt
    Billy Corgan
    Brian Aubert
    Greg Puciato
    Tommy Rogers
    Rody Walker
    Matt Bellamy
    Thom Yorke
    Isaac Brock
    Kurt Cobain
    Dave Grohl
    Layne Staley
    Chester Bennington
    Geddy Lee
    Thanks EPOTTSIII!
    "Vinyl or not, you will need to pay someone to take RA of your hands" - Smile05
    424, xxx
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    nuffingmannuffingman Posts: 3,014
    Obviously not a serious thread. No mention for Mark Lanegan :(
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    bennett13bennett13 Posts: 439
    1. Otis Redding
    2. Aretha Franklin
    3. Roy Orbison
    4. David Crosby
    5. Janis Joplin
    6. Jim Morrison
    7. Paul McCartney
    8. Freddy Mercury
    9. Bobby Whitlock
    10. Steve Winwood
    11. Ray Charles
    12. Carl Wilson
    13. Bob Dylan
    14. Howlin' Wolf
    15. Tom Waits
    16. Jerry Jeff Walker
    17. Merle Haggard
    18. Mick Jagger
    19. Big Mama Thornton
    20. Eddie Vedder
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    LiftedLifted Posts: 1,638
    nuffingman wrote:
    Obviously not a serious thread. No mention for Mark Lanegan :(

    people do seem to be pretty obsessed with mark lanegan on this board. he wouldn't make my top 20, but i do like his voice. why don't you add him yourself?
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    Digital TwilightDigital Twilight Posts: 5,642
    nuffingman wrote:
    Obviously not a serious thread. No mention for Mark Lanegan :(

    My favourite singer in terms of just his voice :D

    1. Mark Lanegan
    2. Tom Waits
    3. Robert Plant
    4. Nina Simone
    5. Ella Fitzgerald
    6. Chris Cornell
    7. Ben Harper
    8. Chuck D (Public Enemy)
    9. Little Richard
    10. Johnny Cash
    11. Charlie 2na (Jurassic 5)
    12. Leadbelly
    13. Madeleine Peyroux
    14. Cedric Bixler-Zavala (Mars Volta)
    15. Luciano Pavarotti
    16. Till Linderman (Rammstein)
    17. Nick Cave
    18. Jerry Cantrell
    19. Eddie Vedder
    20. Buddy Holly
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    LiftedLifted Posts: 1,638
    bennett13 wrote:
    1. Otis Redding
    2. Aretha Franklin
    3. Roy Orbison
    4. David Crosby
    5. Janis Joplin
    6. Jim Morrison
    7. Paul McCartney
    8. Freddy Mercury
    9. Bobby Whitlock
    10. Steve Winwood
    11. Ray Charles
    12. Carl Wilson
    13. Bob Dylan
    14. Howlin' Wolf
    15. Tom Waits
    16. Jerry Jeff Walker
    17. Merle Haggard
    18. Mick Jagger
    19. Big Mama Thornton
    20. Eddie Vedder

    i like this list. lots of classics. people like freddy and aretha need to be mentioned in any type of "best singers" list....i'm just not a big enough fan to put them in my top 20 favorites. i'm liking the love for david crosby. sometimes i don't think people realize how amazing that guy's voice is. one of the best.
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    bennett13bennett13 Posts: 439
    Lifted wrote:
    bennett13 wrote:
    1. Otis Redding
    2. Aretha Franklin
    3. Roy Orbison
    4. David Crosby
    5. Janis Joplin
    6. Jim Morrison
    7. Paul McCartney
    8. Freddy Mercury
    9. Bobby Whitlock
    10. Steve Winwood
    11. Ray Charles
    12. Carl Wilson
    13. Bob Dylan
    14. Howlin' Wolf
    15. Tom Waits
    16. Jerry Jeff Walker
    17. Merle Haggard
    18. Mick Jagger
    19. Big Mama Thornton
    20. Eddie Vedder

    i like this list. lots of classics. people like freddy and aretha need to be mentioned in any type of "best singers" list....i'm just not a big enough fan to put them in my top 20 favorites. i'm liking the love for david crosby. sometimes i don't think people realize how amazing that guy's voice is. one of the best.


    I saw Croz with CSN a few years ago....I went with low expectations and came out of the show extremely pleased. The best part was Crosby's voice, though. He was nearly 70 years old when I saw them and I recall one extended note he hit that shook the walls of the place. Absolutely AMAZING voice!
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    No CoderNo Coder Brisbane Posts: 1,126
    Eddie Vedder
    Robert Plant
    Bruce Springsteen
    Brian Fallon
    Chris Cornell
    Ben Bridgewell
    Thom Yorke
    Jonsi
    Ben Harper
    Chris Robinson
    Johnny Cash
    Neil Young
    Max Cavelera
    Win Butler
    Annie Lennox
    K D Lang
    Neil Finn
    Damien Rice
    Chris Cheney (Living End)
    I'll ride the wave where it takes me

    *BEC, Brisbane, March 1995
    *BEC, Brisbane, March 1998
    *BEC, Brisbane, November 2006
    *QSAC, Brisbane November 2009
    *EV Solo, QPAC, Brisbane March 10 and 12 2011
    *Big Day Out, Gold Coast, 19 Jan 2014
    *EV Solo, QPAC, Brisbane, 22,23 & 25 Feb 2014
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    pirlo21pirlo21 Posts: 534
    My faves, not necessarily the best...

    Chris Cornell
    Eddie Vedder
    Mike Patton
    Shannon Hoon
    Marl Lanegan
    Jeff Buckley
    Michael Stipe
    James Dean Bradfield
    Trent Reznor
    Serj Tankian
    Otis Redding
    Marvin Gaye
    Axl Rose
    Freddie Mercury
    Robert Plant
    Julian Casablancas
    ...

    bloody hell that's much more difficult than I thought!!!

    Gonna haver to leave it there for now!!!
    Cymru Am Byth

    PJ albums, at the moment!! -
    1,Vs 2,Vitalogy 3,No Code 4,Yield 5,Ten 6,Backspacer, 7Pearl Jam 8,Binaural 9,Riot Act.
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    nuffingmannuffingman Posts: 3,014
    pirlo21 wrote:
    My faves, not necessarily the best...

    Chris Cornell
    Eddie Vedder
    Mike Patton
    Shannon Hoon
    Marl Lanegan
    Jeff Buckley
    Michael Stipe
    James Dean Bradfield
    Trent Reznor
    Serj Tankian
    Otis Redding
    Marvin Gaye
    Axl Rose
    Freddie Mercury
    Robert Plant
    Julian Casablancas
    ...

    bloody hell that's much more difficult than I thought!!!

    Gonna haver to leave it there for now!!!
    Woo hoo!!! He's got a brother. :D

    My turn

    1. Mark Lanegan
    + 19 others
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    pirlo21pirlo21 Posts: 534
    Ha ha! Good spot!
    Cymru Am Byth

    PJ albums, at the moment!! -
    1,Vs 2,Vitalogy 3,No Code 4,Yield 5,Ten 6,Backspacer, 7Pearl Jam 8,Binaural 9,Riot Act.
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    he.who.forgetshe.who.forgets Posts: 4,593
    I'm shocked that no one has mentioned Frank fuckin Sinatra
    We were but stones your light made us stars
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    JDBJDB Posts: 277
    In no particular order.

    1. Axl Rose
    2. Ronnie James Dio
    3. Rob Halford
    4. Ozzy Osbourne
    5. Lemmy
    6. Tom Araya
    7. Wino
    8. Brian Johnson
    9. Nick Cave
    10. Robert Plant
    11. Freddy Mercury
    12. John Garcia
    13. Tom Waits
    14. Ian Astbury
    15. Joey Ramone
    16. Bruce Dickinson
    17. Phil Anselmo
    18. Ian Gillan
    19. Bon Scott
    20. David Lee Roth
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    ComeToTXComeToTX Austin Posts: 7,569
    without ranking i'll list my faves...

    vedder
    jim james
    lennon
    mccartney
    sam cooke
    sam beam
    mike cooley
    jason isbell
    ben nichols
    gene ween
    jay farrar
    dan auerbach
    This show, another show, a show here and a show there.
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    Jimmydean55Jimmydean55 Posts: 1,119
    Agree with most everyone on the lists, but there is one glaring omission...

    Jeff Buckley
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    DiRtyFranK38DiRtyFranK38 Posts: 3,131
    not necessarily saying these are the best but these are my favorite voices (going just by voice) in order:

    1.) Eddie Vedder
    2.) Chris Cornell
    3.) Brandon Boyd
    4.) Thom Yorke
    5.) Layne Staley
    6.) Mike Patton
    7.) Caleb Followill
    8.) Bradley Nowells
    9.) Dave Matthews
    10.) Lauryn Hill
    11.) Mark Lanegan
    12.) Robert Plant
    13.) Jeff Buckley
    14.) Scott Weiland
    15.) Anthony Kiedis
    16.) Kurt Cobain
    17.) Stevie Wonder
    18.) Jim Morrison
    19.) Roger Daltry
    20.) Maynard James Keenan
    2006: Hartford
    2008: MSG 1, Hartford, Mansfield 2, Ed Solo NYC 1
    2009: London (O2), Philly 1, 2, 3, & 4
    2010: Hartford, Boston, MSG 1 & 2
    2011: Ed Solo Hartford
    2012: Philly (MIA Fest)
    2013: Worcester 2, Brooklyn 1 & 2, Hartford
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    g under pg under p Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,122
    Michael Franti
    GEDDY LEE
    Cory Glover
    Freddie Mercury
    Roger Daltry
    Ben Harper
    Bob Marley
    Chrissie Hynde
    Bruce Dickerson
    Smokey Robinson

    Peace
    *We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

    *MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
    .....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

    *The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


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    YefaYefa Posts: 1,133
    Neil Young
    Aretha Franklin
    Frank Sinatra
    Diamanda Galas
    Ronnie James Dio
    Eddie Vedder
    George Jones
    Dinah Washington
    Dax Riggs
    Marvin Gaye
    Hank Williams
    Billie Holiday
    Ian Curtis
    Mikael Akerfeldt
    Eddie Hinton
    Thalia Zedek
    Prince
    Bruce Dickinson
    Sandy Denny
    Emmylou Harris
    You see me empty, Sir, do not pause and inquire, simply assume and refill.
    - Al Swearengen

    http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com
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    sj.brodiesj.brodie Posts: 468
    craigb wrote:
    1. Eddie Vedder
    2. Chris Robinson
    3. Robert Plant
    4. Neil Young
    5. Stephen Stills
    6. J Mascis
    7. Julian Casablancas
    8. Liam Gallagher
    9. Paul McCartney
    10. Stephen Malkmus
    11. Raine Maida
    12. Alison Krauss
    13. Jack Bruce
    14. Layne Staley
    15. Jerry Cantrell
    16. Nic Cester
    17. Steve Winwood
    18. Thurston Moore
    19. Kurt Cobain
    20. Keith Relf

    Definitely agree with Alison Krauss. I'd probably have her higher on the list. A show of her's has surfaced on Zomb Torrents!

    http://zombtracker.the-zomb.com/details ... p&id=40797
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    intodeepintodeep Posts: 7,225
    No particular order

    eddie vedder- pearl jam
    neil young-csny, buffalo springfield, solo/w/crazy horse
    chris cornel- soundgarden, audioslave, solo
    issac brock-modest mouse, ugly cassanova
    jeff tweedy- wilco, uncle tupelo
    josh homme- QOTSA (guitarist in kyuss)
    mark lanegan- screaming trees, solo, twighlight singers, qotsa and many others
    jim morrison-doors
    j mascis- solo and dinosaur jr
    ryan adams- whiskeytown and solo

    Those are probably my 10 favs taking into account singing and lyrics I might as well throw bob dylan on there too.
    Charlotte 00
    Charlotte 03
    Asheville 04
    Atlanta 12
    Greenville 16, Columbia 16
    Seattle 18 
    Nashville 22
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    Mamasan23Mamasan23 Posts: 16,380
    Kinda surprised nobody's mentioned Sebastian Bach...he's got some insane pipes...gotta respect even if you hate hair metal!
    WI '98,  WI '99 (EV),  WI '00,  Chgo '00,  MO '00,  Champaign '03,  Chgo '03,  WI '03,  IN '03,  MI '04,  Chgo '06:N1 & 2,  WI '06,  Chgo '07,  Chgo '08 (EV:N1),  Chgo '09:N1 & 2,  Chgo '11 (EV:N1),  WI '11:N1 & 2,  Philly '12,  Wrigley '13,  Pitt '13,  Buff '13, Detroit '14, MKE '14, Wrigley '16: N1 & N2, Seattle '18 N2, Wrigley '18: N1 & N2, Fenway '18 N1, STL '22, St Paul '23 N2, Chgo '23: N1 & N2
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    uninnocent-uninnocent- Posts: 5,959
    Off the top of my head (I'm probably missing some other of my faves):

    1. David Bowie
    2. Layne Staley
    3. Ben Harper
    4. Chris Cornell
    5. Eddie Vedder
    6. Roger Daltrey
    7. Shannon Hoon
    8. Chino Moreno
    9. James Hetfield
    10. Trent Reznor
    11. Bruce Dickinson
    12. Geddy Lee
    13. Jerry Cantrell
    14. Axl Rose
    15. Saul Williams
    16. Maynard James Keenan
    17. Zach De La Rocha
    18. Scott Weiland
    19. Robert Plant
    20. Wyclef Jean

    Edited to include BEN HARPER (how could I forget him?)
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    drlovemonkeydrlovemonkey Posts: 394
    1. Eddie Vedder
    2. Ann Wilson
    3. Robert Plant
    4. Jim Morrison
    5. Geoff Tate (Queensryche)
    6. Shannon Hoon
    7. Chris Robinson
    8. Phil Anselmo (Pantera, Down)
    9. Ed Kowalczyk (Live)
    10. Jerry Cantrell
    11. Kevin Martin (Candlebox)
    12. Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace)
    13. Bradley Nowell
    14. Dolores O'Riordan (The Cranberries)
    15. Kurt Cobain
    16. Eric Burden
    17. Layne Staley
    18. Maynard Keenan
    19. James Hetfield
    20. Jeff Keith (Tesla)
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    josevolutionjosevolution Posts: 28,294
    Kermit has a great voice :lol:
    jesus greets me looks just like me ....
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    LiftedLifted Posts: 1,638
    Lifted wrote:
    in the spirit of all the lists we've been doing, i figured this could be a cool one. your top 20 favorite vocalists of all time. without much thought, (not much needed) here's mine..

    1. Bob Dylan
    2. Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes)
    3. Jim James (My Morning Jacket)
    4. Neko Case
    5. David Crosby (The Byrds, CSNY)
    6. John Lennon (Beatles)
    7. Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam)
    8. Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead)
    9. Michael Jackson
    10. Win Butler (Arcade Fire)
    11. Lauryn Hill (Fugees)
    12. Jeff Tweedy (Wilco)
    13. Paul McCartney (Beatles)
    14. Bonnie Raitt
    15. Marvin Gaye
    16. Ray Charles
    17. Etta James
    18. Thom Yorke (Radiohead)
    19. Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene)
    20. Erykah Badu

    Edit: let's try and note where they're from if neccessary. i've never heard of some of these people. i think most of mine are pretty obvious, but ya never know.

    funny what a difference a year makes. this is a nice list, but i think i would edit it quite a bit if i were to re-do it right now.
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    samjamsamjam New York Posts: 9,283
    Cool thread, this is pretty tough!! In no particular order:

    1. Eddie Vedder
    2. Paul McCartney
    3. Paul Simon
    4. James Taylor
    5. Chris Cornell
    6. Dave Matthews
    7. Michael Stipe
    8. Marvin Gaye
    9. Adele
    10. Neil Young
    11. Ben Harper
    12. Jack Johnson
    13. David Gilmour
    14. Jeff Tweedy
    15. Chris Robinson
    16. Adam Duritz
    17. John Mayer
    18. Robert Plant
    19. Layne Staley
    20. Stevie Wonder
    "Sometimes you find yourself having to put all your faith in no faith."
    ~not a dude~
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    2018: Barcelona, Wrigleyx2
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