I'm not sure if this thread has already been done but do you guys have any singers and vocalists with voices that you absolutely love? The kind of voices that send chills up your spine, swoon or put a big smile on your face? Well, here are my top 20 favorite vocalists in no particular order...
Kelly Clarkson
What can I say? She's got the golden voice and she's proven that she can pull off anything from big band to rock to country to pop. Her extremely high note ("You make me feel so aliiiiiiive") in "Natural Woman" on the first season of "American Idol" still gives me chills.
Clay Aiken
*sigh* Where do I begin? So much raw power, beauty and strength in his voice. I swear, he is the one man that can bring out the screaming teenybopper in me and he has the power to make me fall to my knees and swoon like a lovesick puppy. :lovestruc :thud
Amy Lee (of Evanescence)
Between her and Kelly Clarkson, I would kill to have her voice. She has the right balance between the husky alto sound and can reach some soprano notes. Her voice gives me the strongest of chills on "Hello"...it nearly brings me to tears just thinking of it. I also have the Live Concert CD and her voice is still incredibly spellbinding and captivating.
Freddie Mercury (of Queen)
The voice of a rock god. With the growls and unearthly high notes, his voice just flat out rocks. He will forever be missed.
Josh Groban
Another one of those classicaly trained male vocalists that makes me turn into a pile of Jello each time I hear him. I truly think there is nothing better than a man who can really sing beautifuly and Josh Groban is definitely one of them.
Stevie Nicks (of Fleetwood Mac)
As you will see later on in my list, my taste in vocals range from classicaly clear to unconventional and quirky. Stevie belongs in the latter. Even though the drugs, alcohol and cigarettes played a part in her voice, I've always thought that it was just such a unique voice that had this edginess and grittiness which just flat out rocks.
Dave Gahan (of Depeche Mode)
An incredibly captivating voice, Dave Gahan has one of those voices that remains in your head and it fits any mood of song. The stand outs for me are the softness and earnesty of "Waiting for the Night", the optimism and hope in "But Not Tonight" and the deep sound in "Clean". The more I listen, the more I love him.
Ian Curtis (of Joy Division)
Perhaps one of the most haunting voices in music as well as one of the most underrated artists in music (in my opinion at least). The pain and fear in his voice on songs like "Twenty Four Hours" make his untimely death even more tragic but his voice is the strongest on "Decades" in which he sounds like a ghost reminiscing on the past...well, that's at least what it makes me think of. He will also be forever missed.
Amanda Palmer (of The Dresden Dolls)
The one woman tour-de-force has some incredible manic energy in her voice which compliments her mad fury on the piano. Her voice is one of raw talent. Not the most classicaly trained voice but her voice contains so much power and emotion that it overwhelms you. Oh, and did I mention that she rocks my socks?
Karen O (of Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
Oh man, Karen O...when she gets into those girtty, rip roaring punk rock songs, she becomes this growling, high pitched, wild roaring little bad-ass punk girl with the sort of voice that would kick your butt then rip you to shreds (especially in "Rich", "Date With the Night" and "Black Tongue"). When a slower song like "Maps" and "Modern Romance" comes to play, she can tone it down and it does have a soft, vulnerable side to it.
To be continued in the next post...
