Favorite singers of all time?

Brad Delp from Boston

 

Glad to see I'm not the only one who loves Paul Stanley's voice, too!

 

Bob Dylan
Billie Holiday
Amalia Rodrigues
Edith Piaf
Frank Sinatra

 

Frank, Ella, John Fogerty, Joni Mitchell, Eva Cassidy, Tony Bennett, Elvis Presley, Linda Thompson, Freddie Mercury, Dusty Springfield, Elton john, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon, Nat King Cole

 

Ronnie James Dio -I think Dio brought a renaissance sensibility to metal. And I mean that in the true sense of the word, not the way people typically use it to describe a style. Rather, I mean, he brought a sense of diversity to the music. You can sing about dragons and demons, but you can also tap into history and philosophy.

Bruce Dickinson - The Human Air-Raid Siren. Just through his vocals alone, Maiden reached epic heights they NEVER could have achieved with Paul Di Anno. I know that's an opinion that some people might take umbrage with, but I calls em like I sees em. Nothing against Di Anno, those first 2 Maiden albums are nothing short of great, but Dickinson took Maiden to much better places.

Rob Halford - You wanna talk about range? No one has range like Halford. He can give you a gruff hard rock sound, but also a glass shattering scream. If you listeing to Breaking the Law and Painkiller back to back, you'd never know it was the same singer. Not to mentioned the fact that he, and the others in Judas Priest were the first ones to really proudly fly the flag of heavy metal. Sabbath may have pioneered the genre, but Priest pioneered the culture.

Ian Gillan - I'm not sure if Gillan was the first hard rock vocalist to employ the operatic style, but he certainly put it on the map and paved the way for guys I've already mentioned, like Dio, Halford, Dickinson and many others.

Robert Plant - Probably imitated more than ANY other hard rock vocalist. I can't tell you how many singers who, the first time I heard them, thought for a moment there WERE Robert Plant. That's happened more than a few times. A couple that come to mind are Billy Squire and Jack Russell.

David Gilmour - Most of the guys on this list are high flying, hard sounding vocalists. But Gilmour is one of the few soft sounding vocalists I really love. His vocals match his guitar playing style like a glove and it's a style that has an ethereal quality to it.

Aaron Stainthorpe - When I first started listening to death and doom metal, I had a hard time getting past the harsh guttural vocals. It's not really the case anymore for the most part (although in instances where it's REALLY guttural and garbled, like Cannibal Corpse, I still don't dig it). One of the ones to get me over that hump was Aaron Stainthorpe. He sings in both the clean and guttural style and both fit whatever My Dying Bride are conveying at that time. His clean style perfectly conveys a sense of personal loss and despair, while his guttural style perfectly conveys a sense of impending doom.

King Diamond - King Diamond's falsetto will pierce your soul.

Tom Araya - No one can get my adrenaline pumping like Tom Araya. No one.

Russell Allen - Like their name would indicate, Symphony X is a very symphonic, classical sounding band. And Russell Allen's vocals are the perfect balance of classical sensibility and hard-edged metal.

Layne Staley - Such and eerie and bemoaning style. Especially when they starting layering the vocals on Dirt. And when he and Jerry Cantrell harmonized? Enough to send shivers down your spine.

 

No order

- Steve Perry
- Dio
- David Coverdale
- Ian Gillan
- Phil Collins
- David Gilmour
- Alex Ligertwood
- Gregg Walker
- Brad Delp
- Bob Seger
- Bob Dylan
- Gino Vannelli
. Michael McDonald
- Daryl Hall
- Fred Mercury
- Klaus Meine
- Roger Hodgson
- Elvis Presley

 

15, as OP requested (alphabetical order):-

Alice Cooper
Bob Dylan
David Ruffin
Dusty Springfield
Glen Campbell
Iggy Pop
Jake Burns
Jayne County
Joey Ramone
John Lennon
Levi Stubbs
Little Richard
Mick Jagger
Millie Jackson
Patti Smith

 

Mel Blanc

 

Louis Armstrong
Helen Merrill
Linda Ronstadt
Dusty Springfield
Lauryn Hill
Stevie Wonder
Chris Cornell
Paul McCartney

 

Top ten in no particular order.

Frank Sinatra
Elvis Presley
Linda Ronstadt
Billy Joel
Sharleen Spiteri
AL Jolson
Donna Summer
Karen Carpenter
Aretha Franklin
Marvin Gaye

 

The greatest male voice of all times

Tony Williams (The Platters)

 

1. David Ruffin
2. Sam Cooke
3. Otis Redding
4. Rod Stewart
5. Paul Rodgers

 

No Mike Love? Wise decision my friend.

 

Aretha Franklin
David Ruffin
Eddie Kendricks
Elvis Presley
Glenn Goins
Laura Nyro
Otis Redding
Ronald Isley
Roy Orbison
Sam Cooke

 

Burton Cummings

 

- David Gilmour
- Layne Staley
- Nick Drake
- Mark Sandman
- Leonard Cohen
- Paul McCartney

And some more I cant remember right now

 

He's in my dp

 

After being fortunate enough to have seen her live the other night, I like to throw my hat into the ring for Rhiannon Giddens.

Also worthy of special mention (to my ears anyway) would be Gillian Welch and Jeff Buckley.

 

Rob Halford, Ronnie James Dio and Bruce Dickinson were the holy trinity of metal to me.

 

Honestly, there are a lot of great singers I could list, and often it depends on the kind of music you're talking about. But, ultimately, this is the handful against which I measure all others:

Carl Wilson
Roy Orbison
Aaron Neville
Smokey Robinson
Emmylou Harris

 

Raul Malo
Chris Isaak
Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet)
Colin Blunstone
Paul Young
Agnetha Faltskog
Karen Carpenter
Linda Ronstadt
Olivia Newton-John
Cher
Billie Ray Martin

 

In no particular order my favorites:

Neil Young
J Mascis
Paul Westerberg
Eddie Vedder
Brian Wilson
Brian Eno
Sandy Denny
Grace Slick
Natalie Merchant
David Bowie
Bob Dylan
Willie Nelson
Waylon Jennings
John Lydon
Joey Ramone

 

Will elaborate later.
Gal Costa
Frankie Lee
Frank Sinatra
Johnnie Taylor
Lydia Pense
Nana Caymmi
Billie Holiday
Louis Armstrong
Ruben Blades
Dennis Brown
David Sylvian
Milton Nascimento
Mark Murphy
Aretha Franklin
Dave Wakeling

 

I see some singers there that we have in common.

Here's one that is as good as anyone else, Johnny Adams
I would add the ones below to the list.
Bobby Bland
Etta James
Brook Benton
Solomon Burke

If this song doesn't give you chills the last minute of the song, you're not alive. lol (imo)

 

Gal Costa - Brazilian singers, particularly female, can sound flat due to their lack of vibrato. You never have to worry about Gal singing on key. Just one of a million reasons to love her.
Frankie Lee - Everybody says this or that artist's records don't due them justice. Well, with Frankie, it's really true. You haven't lived until you've seen/heard him "walk the room" (sans mic) covering the Everly's 'Cathy's Clown'.
Frank Sinatra - And to think he didn't start out swinging but as a crooner. The only other person that swings as deep as Frankie is Milt Jackson on vibes.
Johnnie Taylor - It seems like every male R&B singer takes a crack at Bettye Crutcher's 'Woman Across The River' at some point. Unless their name is Johnnie Taylor, they're a damn fool.
Lydia Pense - We're talkin' 60's-70's Lydia, now. I know this is sacrilege but as far as I'm concerned, she out-Mavis Staples Mavis Staples.
Nana Caymmi - For those of you familiar with the concept of 'Saudade', Nana's voice embodies it. I describe her to the uninitiated as the Brazilian Billie Holiday.
Billie Holiday - I had to grow into her. Now I can't live without her. I'm a "late period Billie" person but as is often pointed out, she could sell a song from the jump.
Louis Armstrong - Words fail me. The book "Pops" by Terry Teachout is a lyrical read.
Ruben Blades - Looks, brains and he can sing Salsa like nobody's business. Nobody said life was fair.
Dennis Brown - The Reggae singer who was more than a vocalist. He could really sing.
David Sylvian - I've heard his voice described as an acquired taste. It didn't take me long. GF has yet to acquire, so I have to indulge when she's away. So that's what I do. "He's a sensitive boy"
Milton Nascimento - Tastefully uninhibited. Thanks, Wayne Shorter. North America owes you. Big time.
Mark Murphy - Seems like a decent chap.
Aretha Franklin - All Hail The Queen
Dave Wakeling - The Rock 'n' Ska equivalent of Dennis Brown. He can really sing.