Who is your all time favorite vocalist?Music 

Hmmmm...

Conor Oberst will always stay high on the list for me. While technically a pretty bad vocalist, there's few I've heard that can instill such emotion into their words. Cedric Bixler-Zavala for his old work for At The Drive-In; never have been much of a fan of Mars Volta stuff. Christopher Owens deserves a mention, as Girls is a fantastic band. I'd say Freddie Mercury, but it's both been mentioned, and should be a shoe-in.

Bernard Sumner is probably my all time favourite (at this point), though, for males; Emily Haines for the ladies.
 
SlipZtrEm
Conor Oberst will always stay high on the list for me. While technically a pretty bad vocalist, there's few I've heard that can instill such emotion into their words.
Click to expand...
This performance pretty much sums up Conor Oberst's voice. As you said, he's really not a good vocalist but there's so much emotion behind his words:

 
Mitchell Adam Lucker

The biggest influence ever in my life. He was a great person. I'm so sad that he is gone now.

RIP
 
It's hard for me to pick just one, so in no particular order...

-Chino Moreno (Deftones)
-Robert Plant (you know what band he's from)
-Zack de la Rocha (Rage Against the Machine)
-Freddie Mercury (not the biggest Queen fan but he was easily one of the greatest)
 
Danny
Hands down Amanda Palmer. A genius songwriter, a masterful vocalist and genuine unsung heroine of our time.
Click to expand...

Altough I do not think she is the best of vocalists, she is indeed everything else you say she is. She freaking rules.

Roger the Horse
Bjork
Click to expand...

Finally. It is beyond me how Björk took so long to appear in this thread. Altough, sadly, she is loosing it.

And I'd say Eddie Vedder has the coolest, most beautiful voice of the last 30 years, and he knows how to use it.
 
Don't think I have a favourite but Elvis would be on my list of greats along with Freddy Mercury, Debbie Harry, Shame McGowan (uniqueness), Pete Townsend/ Roger Daltrey and Matt Damon.
 
Maynard from tool

Layne stayle Alice in chains

Eddie vedder pearl jam

Don't know the guys name but the original lead singer from 616 undone

Lynn straight (I think that's wrong cant believe I forgot his name) from snot

The lead singer from clutch

That pretty much sums it up for me. I like some others but these guys all have their own sound.
 
Skython
Bruce Dickinson (amazing how instead of getting worse as they get older, Bruce has actually gotten better) Geoff Tate (Trace back to the 80's and be amazed by the most amazing voice on the planet), Rob Halford (nothing I can say in particular but still very good until recent) (those are the three best dramatic tenors of metal). Tobias Sammet (big range, small man), James LaBrie (That F sharp... In chest voice!?)... Now that is the end of story. :sly:
Click to expand...

Just going to put that there... Now I shall redo my post and update it...

Still those five... But now there's a few more to add... Like:
Michael Kiske (Unisonic, Helloween)
Andre Matos (Shaaman, Angra, Viper)
Bob Catley (Magnum)
Jorn Lande (Masterplan)
Russell Allen (Symphony X)
Amanda Somerville (Aina, Trillum)
Olli Hartmann (Hartmann, At Vance)
Klaus Meine (Scorpions)
Thomas Rettke (Heavens Gate)

Amazing how one band/project can bring all these together... *Cough* Avantasia. :bowdown:
 
Klaus Meine - Scorpions
Michael Kiske - Helloween
Geoff Tate - Queensryche
Rob Halford - Judas Priest
Bruce Dickinson - Iron Maiden
 
James Hetfield - Metallica.
Metallica is not my best favourite band, but when it comes to vocal, Hetfield is my all-time favourite metal vocalist.
 
Billie Joe Armstrong. Whilst his voice isn't amazing (still pretty damn good though), the songs and lyrics he has written are pure gold.
 
Louis Armstrong. Most of his songs had/have what I call "heart". Many songs today doesn't have the same "feeling" behind it, in my opinion.
 
SVT Cobra GT
Axl Rose
Click to expand...

Have you ever noticed just how much Mr. Rose's voice resembles Mr. Slash's guitar in terms of the quality, timbre, and pitch? I don't know if this was intentional or if it was purely coincidental, but now that I've heard it I can't unhear it. You go from vocals to guitar solo and it's as though the vocalist just became a guitar and then back again. It's quite a cool effect. Maybe this is well documented, I haven't gone looking for it.
 
Woah, necro-bump...but there's not a dang thing wrong with that and I'd not have known about the thread without it.

No way I can narrow it down to one, so here's a bunch (by no means a complete list) in no particular order:

David Baerwald (David & David "Ain't So Easy")
Peter Gabriel (Big Blue Ball "Whole Thing")
Tony Carey (Planet P Project "Tranquility Base")
David Sylvian ("When Poets Dreamed Of Angels")
David Bowie (Tin Machine "Amazing")
Nick Cave (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds "As I Sat Sadly By Her Side")
Boz Scaggs ("Georgia")
Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens "Wild World")
Tim Buckley* ("Song To The Siren")
Jeff Buckley* ("Lilac Wine")

*Good genes, but both gone far too young.

Nina Simone ("Lilac Wine")
Rickie Lee Jones ("Company")
Tori Amos ("Precious Things")
Aimee Mann ("Pavlov's Bell")
Dolores O'Riordan (Cranberries "Dreams")
Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane "Today")
Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs "Jubilee")
 
Ian Gillan............In a class of his own.

Paul Rodgers.........Awesome singer.

Phil Mogg.............Highly underrated.

Glenn Hughes..........Amazing agility.

Bon Scott..........Raw singing at its best.

Ozzy Osborne.........Unique & deceptively tricky.

Ronnie Van Zant.......Too cool for school.

Joe Lyn Turner.........All round great singer.

Lou Gramm........Probably the greatest radio friendly rock singer of them all.
 
My all time favourite vocalist is Bruce Dickinson, but these 2 are hot on his heels.

Johnny Gioeli (Axel Rudi Pell's singer)



Floor Jansen (Nightwish)



And I just love this vocal coach reaction video to Hallowed Be Thy Name.



And an honourable mention goes to Marco Heitala (also of Nightwish) who has a great voice whilst not being a lead singer.
 
Just off the top of my head; Edith Piaf, Leonard Cohen, Freddy Mercury, Serj Tankian, Elizabeth Fraser, Beth Gibbons, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Jim Morrison, Alanis Morisette, Tina Turner, Sivert Høyem, Sissel Kyrkjebø, Lauren Hill, Peter Gabriel, Rebecca Pidgeon, Diana Krall, Eddie Vedder, Chris Cornell, Nick Cave, Annie Lennox, Morten Harket...

Yeah, I could go on for a while. It's impossible to pick an all time favourite - it depends entirely on where I am in time and space, both figuratively and literally speaking.

Danoff
Have you ever noticed just how much Mr. Rose's voice resembles Mr. Slash's guitar in terms of the quality, timbre, and pitch? I don't know if this was intentional or if it was purely coincidental, but now that I've heard it I can't unhear it. You go from vocals to guitar solo and it's as though the vocalist just became a guitar and then back again. It's quite a cool effect. Maybe this is well documented, I haven't gone looking for it.
Click to expand...

I've never thought about it before but now that you mention it, yeah, I totally get what you're saying.
 
Last edited:
I cannot believe on the female side in rock that Ann Wilson of Heart is not mentioned as she is one of the most powerful female voices to ever walk on a stage period.
She was in her mid 50's in the video with Underwood and in her other 2 videos posted here was in her 60's age wise when these videos were shot and still belting it out.

As shown in the 2nd video until I saw this I did not realize Carrie Underwoods voice was so powerful either.





 
VFOURMAX1
As shown in the 2nd video until I saw this I did not realize Carrie Underwoods voice was so powerful either.
Click to expand...

Carrie underwood has an amazing voice, she's an absolutely phenomenal singer. Here's the same song on American Idol:

 
I have to give it up for China Crisis frontman Gary Daly. I was listening to his recent solo release early this morning and then put on my favorite CC album, Flaunt The Imperfection*, which was produced (and features as keyboardist) the other half of Steely Dan...Walter Becker.

China Crisis - Strength Of Character

*How great is that album title?

And since I mentioned him above, I think Walter Becker also deserves credit for his vocal chops.

Walter Becker - Girlfriend
 

Latest Posts

Back