The Greatest Female Vocalist ever?

ICBM

Montserrat Caballé

Flanging_Fred

Ginger Spice!

no...

Rebecca Black!

no...

Sabrina!

oh, I don't know.  Eta James ?

Philly_Q

EricTheWeary said:

Octafish said:

NotNowJohn said:

Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn?

I do remember how she said that we would meet again some sunny day!

Just got a new album out! It's a bloody long career. 

100.  Not sure if that's her 100th album or just her age.

(Come to think of it she may well have more than 100 albums, but most of them would be rereleases/repackagings of the same few recordings) 

hywelg

Maggie Bell. Little known, in the same mould As Janis Joplin but better. Youngsters night remember her singing the Taggart TV theme, but she was the vocalist in a little known Scottish band called Stone The Crows, a band with some serious talent which unfortunately folded when Les Harvey (brother of Alex) died from electric shock on stage. 

EricTheWeary

Philly_Q said:

EricTheWeary said:

Octafish said:

NotNowJohn said:

Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn?

I do remember how she said that we would meet again some sunny day!

Just got a new album out! It's a bloody long career. 

100.  Not sure if that's her 100th album or just her age.

(Come to think of it she may well have more than 100 albums, but most of them would be rereleases/repackagings of the same few recordings) 

Don't know for certain but my mother will be 90 this year and Vera is older than her so she could easily be 100. I could google it I guess but I'm pretty sure it's her age. 

DarnWeight

Not big on the vocal-gymnastics-types myself, but if you were in that R&B/Soul/Gospel area, I'd agree that Aretha is pretty hard to beat.

Me? I like 'em quirky, and would concur with the nods for Liz Fraser and Harriet Wheeler...

...and in that mould, I'd suggest the wonderful Mary Margaret O'Hara.



Oh, and Bjork, of course.

jonnyburgo

 Blackwater side by Anne Briggs is wonderful

guitars4you

Karen Carpenter for tonality and articulation
Aretha for soul
Whitney had an awesome technique
Dionne Warwick has a sultry tender voice

Alnico

Anne Wilson.
Knocks me out every time.

Winny_Pooh

Some standouts for me

Lizz Wright is insanely good
Alison Krauss is more in tune than autotune
Paula Cole is also fantastic

for belting it out:
Aretha Franklin & hon mention to Joan Osborne

crunchman

One that sings it straight without all the silly gymnastics and warbling.

stimpsonslostson

Winny_Pooh said:

Some standouts for me


Alison Krauss is more in tune than autotune

She's great on that album with Robert Plant (kudos to him for also reining it in too). 

In a totally different style to Lisa Fischer:
I also really like Rhiannon Giddens (of Carolina Chocolate Drops & now solo)- I could listen to her all day.


Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes is good too.

Rocker

Has to be Karen Carpenter.

breakstuff

SimonC said:

Sam Brown for me.
Really sad what happened with her lost voice.

Never knew she'd lost her singing voice.Just Googled it.That's really sad,she was a great singer.

I'll second Karen Carpenter though,such a lovely voice.Ann Wilson's pretty damn good too.

Teetonetal

I'm going to add Imogen Heap and Nicola Hitchcock as well. Stunning voices.

MrBump

+ 1 for Harriet and Sam Brown, but PJ Harvey makes the hair on my arms rise.

EricTheWeary

Catching up again: Alison Krauss gets a +1 as another vocalist who just makes it seem so easy and is quite understated. She always looks like she's had too much Botox so I find her a bit off putting to look at, but there may well be a better explanation! 

I definitely went through a Mary Chapin Carpenter phase, probably not technically amazing but a lovely story telling voice that can deliver a funny line as well as a sad one. Great, great songwriter too. And I'm always up for a bit of Susan Tedeschi, rather overlooked as Mrs Derek Trucks these days , but she can hit a note or two. 

guitars4you

Imelda May takes some beating as well

Clarky

Eva Cassidy has a beautiful voice.. her tone has this amazing clarity..
I quite like Enya too.. haunting..

EricTheWeary

guitars4you said:

Imelda May takes some beating as well

Off to see her in May, sweet. I saw her years ago as an unknown support act walking out to a very unwelcoming crowd whom she completely turned around.