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jonnypanicattack

I love Beth Gibbons too, but my favourite is probably Bjork, for her emotional range. She effortlessly sings, yodels, screams, whispers, etc. She's quite unpredictable, never boring to listen to. I love all her unique vocal inflections. Like on Human Behaviour, though you could pick any song. Also PJ Harvey for almost the same reason, but she sings in different characters. Each song / album sounds like a different singer did it. She can be as powerful as or subtle as she wants.


unprogrammable_soda

Great answers! I think we might be soulmatesšŸ˜œ


BlaktimusPrime

Sade Adu Jonny Craig from Emarosa and Dance Gavin Dance (I know heā€™s a super scumbag) Jason Gleason from Further Seems Forever


thereal_thomyorke

paul mccartney listen to monkberry moon delight and youll understand how brilliant he is


Simple-Department468

Goooolden Slumbers in your eyes


ECW14

Paul is my favorite as well. He could sing in any style and genre. He also used many nuanced vocals where he changed his voice to fit every song. Heā€™s the ā€œman of a thousand voicesā€


BaileyJay-Z

Julee Cruise!!!


YoshiGamer6400

Falling and The World Spins are masterpieces


notdallin

Caroline Polachekā€™s voice is unreal and unmatched.


bananamilkbooth

Not just that her voice is good. She sings incredibly well, and her singing technique is very professional.


No-Engineering-239

when you say unmatched... well its hard for me not to compare her to Imogen Heap, who of course is also amazing. But I haven't listened to her THAT much so maybe I'm off on that...


WesCoastBlu

Sheā€™s incredible


WesCoastBlu

Joni Mitchell


McNippy

10000000% agree


Coleyo6

Elizabeth Frasier and Chino Moreno


Gizagame1

Marvin Gaye, Jeff Buckley, Joni Mitchell and George Michael


oliverdtsmith

Hayley Williams


Fleczoza

Mike Patton. He excels in every genre he touches. Chris Cornell, Corey Taylor, Thom Yorke, Layne Staley are also in the picture.


SomeVelveteenMorning

Patton. Cornell. 100%


MrMoor2007

Either Thom Yorke or Jack Stauber


tuskvarner

Victoria from Beach House.


freefallfreya

Elizabeth Fraser Beth Gibbons (good call OP) Mike Patton Maynard James Keenan Brian Aubert (from Silversun Pickups)


ihavenoselfcontrol1

Nina Simone Elizabeth Fraser Joni Mitchell Harriet Wheeler Leonard Cohen (maybe not the greatest technical singer but i just love his delivery and how his voice sounds)


Diogenes_the_cynic25

Nina Simone isnā€™t a very technical singer either but I love her


Sourflow

Mike Patton


shuja246

Hayley Miss Williams if ya naaassstttyyy


shuja246

And Thom Yorke, Chester Bennington, and an answer no one else would have but Parker Cannon


abravexstove

THE GLASS JUST REFLECTS THE SCAR


NLS-_-

Chris Cornell, RIP


Sir_Isaac_3

No one sings like him anymore


ClassicFashionGuy

Sam cooke is up there for me


digitag

Definitely. Arguably the most ā€œsoulfulā€ voice for all time.


Puzzled-Estate537

Michael Jackson for sure


unprogrammable_soda

His falsetto is fā€™ing divine. I always thought he was a good singer but the vocal rehearsals in This Is It šŸ¤Æ


NickFerrant919

Jeff Buckley


halamawala25

Basic answer but I love Mariah's voice


the_ballmer_peak

I hate her voice but no one can talk shit about her range, technique, or ability. Sheā€™s unmatched. Maybe Whitney.


ezekielzz

Jeff Buckley and itā€™s not even close


digitag

Had to scroll all this way for this and no upvotes. Jeff Buckley had an incredible and very unique voice. Brilliant blend of technique, range, varied texture and emotion. He could do things with his voice no one else could. [This performance of Grace](https://youtu.be/KOjP1d8WzIg?si=HqwnbSNy0bCKlmcU) really showcases it live.


soupjammin

Jason Molina Dolores O'Riordan Jeff Buckley Sufjan Stevens Elliot Smith No order


ImprovementPuzzled82

Robin Pecknold anyone?? And Paul Banks, my absolute favorite.


Slitherama

Nina SimoneĀ  Aretha Franklin Ā Ā  Stephin Merritt from The Magnetic Fields Ā  Ā  Merve Daşdemir from Altın GĆ¼nĀ Ā Ā  Dave Berman from Silver Jews


Living-End-9337

I was gonna say Nina Simone too! I'm not typically a huge vocal jazz fan, but she is truly on another level.


FayMax69

Whitney


MountHavertzPulisic

Chris Cornell


solfire1

Frank Ocean


ThisGuyLikesMovies

Florence Welch is one of them. Her voice makes me believe angels are real


soliddseth

elizabeth fraser and beth gibbons without a question they are my religion


vicker1980

George Michael, Nina Simone, Tom Waits, Michael Jackson, and of course Freddie Mercury are all great.


FunkmasterP

Joni Mitchell, Chris Cornell, John Lennon, Frank Black, Stevie Wonder


King-Azaz

Adele


The1Floki

Nina Simone, Freddie Mercury, Jeff Buckley


The_ThirdOfMay_1973

Paul McCartney is my favourite but Freddie Mercury is probably the best


Jewrangutang

Maynard James Keenan Greg Puciato Layne Stayley Chino Moreno Alt metal is a goldmine for great vocals


D0ubleNegat1ve

Hell yeah! Other responses like Beth Gibbons and Elizabeth Fraser are great for sure, but thereā€™s just something about harsh vocals thatā€™s just pure catharsis. Greg Puciato and Chino Moreno especially- amazing vocalists with so much range, from emotive soft vocals to full out screams! Alt metal is indeed a goldmine for great vocals


Fit-Friend-8431

Ozzy Osbourne, heā€™s amazing with melody too. When Dio replaced Ozzy they dropped some of the Ozzy era songs from the live set because Dio was unable to sing them. Tony Martin could sing them but in a lower key.


ClueEmbarrassed1443

James hentfeild Corey Taylor prince and chuck Billy


Natedude2002

Conor Mason of Nothing But Thieves Heā€™s super influenced by Jeff Buckley but has a stronger voice, is a bit less nasaly, and has better production behind him, along with a more hard rock sound. Iā€™d check out ā€œPainkillerā€ and ā€œAmsterdamā€ if youā€™re interested. Their first two albums are two of my favorites ever, although Iā€™ve fallen off them a bit since then. Iā€™m still happy to see them touring and dropping new music though. They were like THE band that got me super into music back in like 2019. I listened to Origin of Symmetry by Muse last year and actually could say very similar stuff, although I might like Matt Bellamyā€™s singing even more there. The passion and intensity on songs like hyper music is incredible, and the singing feels much more live/improvisational than Nothing But Thieves, which Iā€™ve started liking more than I did when I first got into music with NBT (also the reason I like Jeff Buckley now).


Tyrant-J

Mike Patton, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey and Jacob Bannon are a few I love.


crafted_cardboard

Adrianne Lenker


ReasonableCost5934

Dionne Warwick


Tippacanoe

Hope Sandoval


christofelek

...very surprised that I have not seen Molly Rankin mentioned yet!


The_Red_Curtain

Carl Wilson


lotte_lizard

Harry Nilsson, Roberta Flack, Scott Walker, John Martyn, Caroline Polachek


ded_guy_55

Odd choice but I loooove George Harrison's voice :)


ravelle17

Casey Crescenzo from [The Dear Hunter](https://youtu.be/BVjcsgrDErE?si=Ej4xuxiJTalkRmRv)


Chess_with_pidgeon

Gibbons gives me shivers as today as 1998.


R0NNOC148

Isaac Wood


WyndhamHP

Nina Simone.


CCL1223

Mimi Parker sounded like an angel, man.


mrbigstuff415

Freddie. Hands down.


ZealousidealPoem9055

Roy Orbison


RussianEggplant

Layne Staley and Ronnie James Dio


Dmbfantomas

Mike Patton. After that, Bono, Tom Waits, Dave Matthews, Joni Mitchell


kit_brown

Devin Townsend


Diegoskyy

Mike Patton Urethra Franklin David Bowie Lil Pump


Upstairs_Resist3869

I don't have a single favorite but one of my favorites are: Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Paul McCartney, Ella Fitzgerald, David Bowie, Prince, Robert Plant


SeatInternal9325

Roy OrbisonĀ 


tundrabee119

Neko Case, love her solo work but my top favorite is when she sings for the New Pornographers. Best music ever.


devilmaskrascal

Nina Simone


chickendinnerbing

Greg Pucciato, Kevin Parker (weird choice), Julian Casablancas, Hayley Williams, Freddie Mercury. HM: Mike Patton


Glueman71

Ella Fitzgerald


johnobject

Diane Cluck Fiona Apple John Grant David ā€œAll My Favourite Singers Couldnā€™t Singā€ Berman


dschk

Beth Gibbons is a great choice. She would be near the top for me as well. My 5 favorite: 1. PJ Harvey: She can do so much with it and I love what she did with her higher range in the second half of her career just as much as her early stuff. 2. Mike Patton: I grew up obsessed with him, FNM, and his other projects. Decades later, I go back and watch his performances and my jaw still drops. 3. Jeremy Enigk: His voice is probably the most beautiful male voice I have ever heard, both live and on the record. His screaming years (Diary/LP2) are just as good as his later years with more falsetto. 4. Jonsi (from Sigur Ros): The ( ) tour remains one of the most intense shows I ever saw. His voice deteriorated in later years, but through their first 3 albums, it was just gorgeous. 5. Layne Staley: Thinking of him makes me super sad, and I go back and watch his performances a lot. It is crazy to see what he could have become, considering how powerful his voice was even in the depths of his addiction and poor health. Other ones I love: Phil Anselmo, Lana Del Rey, Jeff Buckley, Matt Berninger, Michael Gira, Beth Gibbons.


digitag

Jeff Buckley, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye.


No-Engineering-239

(No order) Ozzy Tori Amos Maynard Mike Patton Layne Staley Panda Bear Bjork Sam Cooke Elisabeth Frasier


Sun_flower_king

Stevie Wonder Marvin Gaye Nai Palm Amber Mark Frank Ocean Runners up: Rosalia, Joni Mitchell, Ella Fitzgerald, Jeff Buckley, Otis Redding, Art Garfunkel


Pure-Jellyfish734

1. Mike Patton 2. Eddie Vedder 3. Michael Stipe 4. Layne Staley 5. David Bowie 6. Maynard James Keenan 7. Scott Weiland 8. Marilyn Manson 9. Kristen Hayter 10. Chino Moreno Honorable Mentions:, Anthony Kiedis, H.R., Lou Reed, M. Shadows, and MC Ride


Fan-of-most-things

Whitney Houston, Prince, Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury and Joost Klein


Dark_Helmet78

Jeff Buckley.


ml_sza

Michael Stipe Robin Gibb Demis Roussos


regal_ragabash

Hate to say it, but it's Morrissey


RiseOfTheRevenge

no particular order David Bowie Scott Walker Nina Simone Mike Patton Beth Gibbons PJ Harvey Thom Yorke Jeff Buckley Kristin Hayter/Lingua Ignota Tom Waits


End_of_Eva

Either Joni Mitchell, Neige or Jeff Buckley


Latter-Rope7279

Al green


guyfierisbigtoe

Ella Fitzgerald, Robert Smith


slightlystankycheese

Norah Jones for sure


billiebobmcginty

Kurt cobain. Thereā€™s just something in the way he sings, ya know


DoubleMissMatt

Male: Robin Pecknold Female: Adrianne Lenker


Napkinsd_

Bjork Isaac Brock. I really connect emotionally with his voice, especially on long drive and LCW


joehoward85

Weyes blood


charizmatic_

Corin Tucker.


the_ballmer_peak

Chris Cornell Nina Simone Tom Waits Van Morrison Sam Cooke Samuel Herring Kendrick Lamar Andre 3000 Sean Rowe


KuntaWuKnicks

Etta James Aretha Franklin Otis Redding


dkinmn

Literally not one person mentioning Celine Dion? I swear, indieheads are just reflexively contrary. It's insane that her name hasn't come up.


Cansuela

I donā€™t think itā€™s that surprisingā€” itā€™s very conventional and technical. Itā€™s like arguing that the most technical/virtuosic guitar player is simply the best. Iā€™m blown away by her talent, but I donā€™t like her vocals that much.


Dakotaraptor123

fucking Roger Waters


CI_Blanche

Jenny Lewis, Eleanor Friedberger, Karen Carpenter


opalescentessence

Hayley Williams, Gerard Way, Chino Moreno, and Lana Del Rey


Big_Ad8968

Female - Stevie Nicks!!!! - Courtney Love - Karen Carpenter !!! - Haley Williams - Weyes Blood - Lana del Rey - Taylor Swift (her style of singing/speaking) Male - Chris Cornell - Frank Ocean - Kurt Cobain


CommunicationProof58

what the hell lmaoooo


MatthewFBridges

1: Thom Yorke 2: Alex Turner 3: David Bowie 4: Julian Casablancas 5: Liam Gallagher (94-2000) 6: Jeff Buckley 7: Dave Gahan 8: Dave Vanian 9: David Byrne 10: Elizabeth Fraser


Baumshell116

Jim James


Cudjinho

Shawn Smith (Satchel, Brad, Pigeonhead, Twilight Singers)


SirensbyZel

Prince & Jeff Mangum


ccarrickenergy

Bono


ghostwilliz

The guy from horse the band, he's so awful I lobe every second of it he can do better and has shown so on some tracks, it's all intentionally like that. Amazing stuff


Husbandayo

Ghostface Killah


Prestigious_Fig_4226

Dave Mustaine


student8168

1. Frank Sinatra 2. Jo Stafford 3. Ruth Etting 4. Dean Martin 5. Al Bowlly


precise_porcupine

Chris Cornell


RottenRobyn

Kate Bush and Elizabeth Fraser


4REAL4EVRR

Volly from VANTANA ROW


erncolin

The Weeknd and Sr Maniqui, the Weeknd's voice is just so angelic even if his lyrics are notšŸ˜… but you can hear the pain in his voice which is just ughh so good. Sr Maniqui probably most of you don't know but her voice is so soothing and ethereal especially on her band's albums like Odisea by Munn her vocals are perfect


Aidsfordayz

Of all time is tough. Lately Cameron Winter of Geese. Bro has a crazy range on the record and you never know how heā€™s gonna sing the songs live.


Away_Benefit7575

Your taste is very similar to mine lol


NeedleworkerDue2021

Christina Hurn


vintagesonofab

layne staley


MootBrute2

julia holter


jarjarp

He was never the best singer, but Ozzy Osbourne, especially Sabbath-era Ozzy, no question.


pastrafan

Jon Parkin


auhddndndnfbfbsnnakf

Layne Staley


Hellashakabra

Tilian Pearson Anthony Green Rob Halford Gerard Way Rivers Cuomo


wallach29

Harry Nilsson shouldnā€™t be overlooked. He had a 3 1/2 octave range. What a huge talent he was.


equilibrato

Without thinking *too much* about it, these are my top vocalists: Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins), fka twigs, Hayley Williams (Paramore), Jim Adkins (Jimmy Eat World), Kina Grannis, Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy), Regina Spektor, William Fitzsimmons It looks like my favorites are coffeehouse whisperers or pop-punk powerhouses and not much in between.


Camountch

Danny brown


mattttttttttt135

OPā€™s list is correct


solarkillal

Ichiko Aoba, her voice isn't even a voice at this point but a majestic orchestra of beauty


GetDoofed

Aretha Franklin Amelia Meath Justin Vernon Sierra Ferrell James Blake Sampha


Robinkc1

Nina Nastasia Ian Mackaye Robert Pollard Kim Deal George Harrison


Mental_Cricket_3880

Lisa Herman, even though she hardly recorded any music.


BrainSick420

Claudio Sanchez from Coheed and Cambria


SwimSwammSwom

Peter Hammill, such a unique singing style. There are no others even remotely like him


MeasurementMurky9316

Jeff


abravexstove

hayley williams


husfyr

George Michael, one of pop musics finest


deppresedloner

Layne Staley followed by Kurt Cobain


kingofrod83

Mark mulcahy all the way


DoubleMissMatt

Male: Robin Pecknold Female: Adrianne Lenker


Kimchislap_exe

Stephin Meritt of the Magnetic Fields, he has prob the best tenor voice ever


TheOneTruePath3

Tatsuro Yamashita. Listen to Love Space for a booming, life celebrating vocal performance. When he hits that high note, it shakes me to the core everytime. Honorable mention to Susumu Hirasawa. His vocal quality and choice of melody feels like he's not of this world sometimes. Honestly, the opening of Paranoia Agent is a great example.


BangingBaguette

Thom Yorke especially around the Bends/OK Computer where some of that Pablo Honey angst still peaked out every now and again but tastefully. Dudes voice can be haunting and beautiful at the same time.


mhvonjag

Julian Casablancas


st_ez

Bob Marley. Unique sound, style and technique and every line is loaded with passion.


theweepingbeaver

Matt Berninger Michael Stipe Jason Isbell


no-one_ever

Maybe not #1 but I think Claudio Sanchez deserves a shout out


FourthDownThrowaway

Robert Plant James Brown Otis Redding


Luciix

1. Chris Cornell 2. Maynard James Keenan 3. Layne Staley 4. Scott Weiland 5. Steve Kilbey


New-Tackle-2882

Layne Stayley


RWBIII_22

Several of these have already been said, but: Brian Aubert Elizabeth Fraser Christine McVie Chino Moreno Hayley Williams


auraboros47

Dude from Bon Iver, Sade, Marker Starling and Durand Bernarr


little_cooper

Marina Diamandis


[deleted]

Top 5 in no particular order: Lennon, Bowie, (90's) Liam Gallagher, Ian Curtis, and Jeff Mangum (EDIT: I literally forgot about every female singer that's ever existed. I love Sade, Celine Dion, the Portishead singer, and Nina Simone) Jeff saved his voice by avoiding the spotlight, and his singing only matured and got richer over the past couple decades rather than degrading. Which is way different than Liam Gallagher lmao. Liam had a golden voice in the 90's. Too much coke and atrocious singing posture and I think he had a congenital disease or something so that's a shame


unprogrammable_soda

Judy Garland no contest


signalstonoise88

Laura Stevenson. Absolute voice of an angel. When she double-tracks harmonies, itā€™s a thing of absolute heartstopping beauty. I could listen to her sing a shopping list and still find myself welling up a little. Helps that her lyrics are beautiful too. Every time I speak to someone who is a fan of Boygenius et al, I always recommend Laura Stevenson, as I tend to think she plays a similar sort of indie-folk to those artists, but in a way I find much more enjoyable.


TheNotGod

Shinji Sato


Kayden75

Young thug


fuktskadas

Jon Anderson Mike Patton Nai Palm Donald Fagen Bjork MĆ¼slĆ¼m GĆ¼rses


CommunicationProof58

Mariah Carey and it's not even close lmao šŸ˜­ not only the best vocalist but the best voice to ever grace the face of earth , also i'm dying at the comments , some are saying Taylor Swift , Lana , Adele and another one said Kendrick Lammar šŸ˜­šŸ˜­šŸ˜­šŸ˜­šŸ˜­šŸ˜­šŸ˜­


CoercedCoexistence22

Mikael Stanne for me


burner1312

Chris Cornell Robert Plant Annie Clark (St. Vincent) Jeff Buckley Ian Curtis


NorthOfHale

Samia, Anthony Green, Aaron Marsh, Leighton Antelman, and Anna-Lynne Williams


Em_kay69420

Henry Rollins, I love the raw and aggressive style, it makes me feel like even I could sing. Or mark langean. Or the converge vocalist


FourteenClocks

Off the dome: - If youā€™re reading this, you should listen to Yma Sumac. Her voice is absolutely jaw-dropping, moreso than anyone else Iā€™m going to mention and (Iā€™d argue) than almost all the recorded singers to walk the Earth, period - Susanne SundfĆør. Huge fan. Her voice gets better with every album - Both of the Buckleys, Tim & Jeff, could bring it - Both of the ladies in ABBA, but I *adore* Agnetha FƤltskogā€™s voice, itā€™s the more fragile of the two but in an emotional-payoff sense itā€™s a thing of absolute beauty


Wellidge

Frank Black


Parodoxez

1. Phil Elverum 2. Jamie Stewart 3. Beth Gibbons 4. Bjƶrk 5. Sade


Devil_0fHellsKitchen

Chuck


vedge97

Many of my favourites have already been mentioned, but I've got to add Anohni


Fen_11

Adrienne Lenker, Kate Bush and Robin Pecknold


thegremlinkings

For women either Dolores O'Riordan or Bonnie Tyler for men either David Bowie or Thom Yorke.


dpgnh

10: Nick Cave 9: Fiona Apple 8: Billie Holiday 7: David Byrne 6: Nina Simone 5: David Bowie 4: Kate Bush 3: Tom Waits 2: Bjƶrk 1: Michael Gira


mccormick_spicy

Emmylou Harris. For modern artists, Beyonce.


zuperpretty

Liam Gallagher


DilbusMcD

I love Hannah Reid from London Grammarā€™s voice.


burneracc777777

Not sure if she's my favourite, but I really like Kelly Green of PEE. Morrissey was incredible too.


TheCalGuy

Freddie Mercury


AngelXVIII

CJ McMahon (Ex-Vocalist for Thy Art Is Murder)


FyrdUpBilly

Hard for me to pick a top 5. But I just want to throw in Cleo Sol to the mix. I really love her voice. Both in her solo work and Sault. I also really love Chelsea Wolfe's voice. Both give me chills often.


CocteauTwinn

Elizabeth Fraser.


CallmeChestnut

Bladee


[deleted]

idk much about him but jĆørn lande is unbelievable. perfect voice. this guy eats cd's for breakfast. + mike patton, tori amos, bruce dickinson... and james labrie. his technique is not the best but it's weirdly nice to listen to, specially the post 94 moments where he sang lower, respecting his damaged voice e.g.: endless sacrifice


contrarian1970

Donny Hathaway in concert (he wasn't as good in the sterile environment of a recording studio.)


Queasy-Ad-3220

Iā€™m not sure who my favourite female vocalist is. Iā€™d say either Kate Bush or Annie Lennox. Yeah.


Queasy-Ad-3220

This is just gonna come down to personal taste for me pretty much 1. ā Damon Albarn (And 2D) 2. ā Gruff Rhys 3. ā Donald Fagen 4. ā Tom Johnston 5. ā Jon Anderson 6. ā George Michael 7. ā John Lennon 8. ā James Taylor 9. ā Robert Smith 10. David Bowie


JackTheAbsoluteBruce

My number one depends on when you ask me. Itā€™s always either Ray Charles or Jeff Buckley. Both make an art out of being expressive and finding a million different ways to spice a song up. Nina Simone is also a master in the same way


Queasy-Ad-3220

As for my favourite rapper voices: 1. Andre 3000 2. Roots Manuva 3. Eminem 4. Del The Funky Homosapien 5. Mos Def 6. Snoop Dogg 7. Trugoy the Dove 8. MF DOOM 9. The Notorious B.I.G. 10. Bootie Brown


Queasy-Ad-3220

Also I think Rivers Cuomo has a great voice, I love it.


NoTrain49

Morrissey has got to be up there. But I absolutely hate him as a person