Alright, I'm not showing much originality here, but the male rock thread inspired me to do this thread. I like female vocalists much better than male vocalists, so I'm going to do a top 10: 1) Sarah McLachlan 2) Dido 3) Elizabeth Fraser (of the Cocteau Twins) 4) Lisa Gerrard (of Dead Can Dance) 5) Beth Orton 6) Kate Bush 7) Kristy Thirsk (of The Rose Chronicles) 8) Loreena McKennitt 9) Sheryl Crow 10) Liz Phair Honorable Mention: Beth Gibbons (of Portishead), Fiona Apple, Bjork, Martine (sang with Tricky), and Lisa Loeb
Living singers only... Rock: Ann Wilson Joni Mitchell Suzanne Vega Tori Amos Alanis Moirsette Jonatha Brooke R&B: Aretha Franklin Anita Baker Jazz: Cassandra Wilson Jane Monheit Diana Krall Misc: Rosanne Cash My all around favorite: kd lang - she's like buttah
I know country won't get much pub in this thread, but Martina McBride really has an amazing voice. If I had to pick one current female voice as my favorite, Martina would be my choice.
K.D. Lang!? She's got a great voice, but I'm surprised that you know her. She's from a town about 2 hours away from Calgary, and although I think she gained some international profile in the early 90's with Ingenue, I didn't think she was very well known down there. She had a Patsy Cline phase before that and before that was doing alt. country before there was alt. country with a band called k.d. lang & the Reclines. You've got a lot of western Canadian content on that list, in fact. Joni Mitchell, Diana Krall and K.D., and Heart was kind of an adopted western Canadian band. Alanis Moirsette is another Canuck. What gives with all the Can-con Jeff?
Whitney Houston Mariah Carey Their personal lives might be going down hill but they both have beautiful voices with tremendous range.
Well, I also liked Triumph, Emily Remler and Rush but you can keep Bryan Adams. Seriously, kd lang has had a tremendous amount of success in the US even if she wasn't top 10 on the charts. She is a critical darling. Ingenue is great as is Shadowland, but my favorite (and one that is in my top 30 of all time) is here last one, Invincible Summer. As for the rest, Joni has always been great. Court and Spark is an all time classic record. Diana Krall is just a tremendous jazz singer in the vein of nightclub singers like Julie London. Alanis is a GREAT singer. They are all just very talented.
I'm surprised! Home town girl makes good I guess. Another local (Calgary) female singer with a great voice is Jan Arden … I'll stop plugging the locals now.
1. Sarah McLachlan (another Canuck IIRC) 2. Gwen Stefani 3. Madonna 4. Shirley Manson (from Garbage) 5. The Cranberries lead singer (can't think of her name) 6. Abra Moore 7. Aimee Mann 8. Enya 9. Bjork 10. The Corrs lead singer
The Cranberries lead singer's name is Dolores O'Riordan, and she is a good one. She reminds me alot of the Sundays' lead singer, Harriet Wheeler (I love hearing her sing "Wild Horses"). Can't believe that I forgot about Enya...she is also in my honorable mention.
soley based on voice ...i would have to go with Sarah Brightman...i love her pop/opera tunes... Her albums, Eden, Fly, Timeless are just great. If i have to pick from pop/rock...i'll go with Sarah Mclachlan
