Cosmic's 50 Top Singers Ever

[Cosmic Harmony]

As a singer myself the vocals of any song are the first thing I tune in to just naturally and while it's not the be all, end all for determining if I'm going to be interested in a band or artist it is a strong factor. When taking in a singer's voice I'm not listening for any set criteria. I'm not listening to see if they have wide vocal range or make use of various vocal techniques or even necessarily if they're immediately distinctive. What I am listening for is how well they make use of what they have in their own style. Whether that means making up for one weak point by excelling in another or if just doing whatever it is they happen to do better than anyone else. So I'll be progressively unveiling my list for who I believe are the 50 best singers ever. Some of the them rank highly among the greats and a few others may have you scratching your head but I will elaborate on just why they were chosen and maybe it'll fill in the blanks as one singer conveying another singer to an audience can.

EDIT: Now that all 50 are up here are links to each entrant so you could quickly jump to them if you so please.

1. Steven Tyler
2. George Michael
3. Linda Perry
4. Ronnie James Dio
5. Elton John
6. Mike Patton
7. Paul McCartney
8. Justin Hawkins
9. Rob Halford
10. Brad Delp
11. Ian Astbury
12. Bon Scott
13. Jennifer Hudson
14. Axl Rose
15. James LaBrie
16. Roger Daltrey
17. Meat Loaf
18. Pat Benatar
19. Ozzy Osbourne
20. Little Richard
21. Tina Turner
22. Freddie Mercury
23. Raine Maida
24. Bruce Dickinson
25. Frank Sinatra
26. Björk
27. Jeff Buckley
28. Paul Rogers
29. Eddie Vedder
30. Ann Wilson
31. David Coverdale
32. Steve Perry
33. Sharon den Adel
34. Ian Gillan
35. Michael Jackson
36. Annie Lennox
37. Shannon Hoon
38. David Bowie
39. Chris Cornell
40. Rod Stewart
41. Matthew Bellamy
42. Joe Cocker
43. Robert Plant
44. Prince
45. Otis Redding
46. Billy Joel
47. Janis Joplin
48. Karen Carpenter
49. Glenn Hughes
50. Luciano Pavarotti




This first singer seems like as good a place as any to start....

Steven Tyler


Ah yes....Steven Tyler...regardless of his recent career decisions no one can doubt that in the realm of rock he is both singer and frontman royalty. After 40 years Steven is still able to belt out with the same passion, power, and groove he had back in early 70's when Aerosmith broke out onto the scene. He has such a smokey tone and yet can still achieve such clarity, vocal range, and strength where most singers would grow hoarse and shred their vocals chords to the point eventual destruction.

Dream On (Live)


Steven Tyler, I salute you.​

 

[METALPRIEST]

Nice start!!!

 

[Soot and Stars]

This is going to be awesome! I'd much rather see a list like this that's broken down into segments and spotlighting each pick over a plain old text list any day! This will be epic!

I may copy your idea and make my own!

 

[Soot and Stars]

Ah yes....Steven Tyler...regardless of his recent career decisions no one can doubt that in the realm of rock he is both singer and frontman royalty. After 40 years Steven is still able to belt out with the same passion, power, and groove he had back in early 70's when Aerosmith broke out onto the scene. He has such a smokey tone and yet can still achieve such clarity, vocal range, and strength where most singers would grow hoarse and shred their vocals chords to the point eventual destruction.
[/CENTER]

Not to beat a dead horse but I think this stands as a great example of the highlighted above:

 

[Cosmic Harmony]

This is going to be awesome! I'd much rather see a list like this that's broken down into segments and spotlighting each pick over a plain old text list any day! This will be epic!

Glad at least someone will like it.

I may copy your idea and make my own!

Potential bandito!

George Michael

Regardless of opinions of George's genre of music and the details of his personal life (especially those involving public restrooms) there is no denying that he is an incredibly talented singer. Wham! was a cute, little warm up for George and it was obvious that he had a good voice but as when he went solo he and his voice matured and he grew into it perfectly. It is there that I believe he shines as a singer the most by leaps and bounds. He has a lot of ooomf behind his voice and has one of the most crystal clear tones that I've ever heard from a male singer. He also has so much soul that he could very easily be a gospel singer which is still such a refreshing quality for him to have in pop music.

Freedom '90 (Live and Unplugged)


When asked by people who I think would fit better with Queen than Paul Rodgers it is George Michael who I think could fill Freddie's shoes the best.
​

 

[Soot and Stars]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I think he has a great tone! I still love "Freedom" for this fact as well as the eye candy :

 

[METALPRIEST]

George does have great tone. The Freddie Mercury tribute concert was the one performance when I knew, who the ONLY true singer could POSSIBLY be, if the band was to have a new QUEEN frontman!!

 

[Cosmic Harmony]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I think he has a great tone! I still love "Freedom" for this fact as well as the eye candy :

I'd never seen the video for it before but it's certainly following that formula for those early 90's videos where the emphasis is on mostly naked models. I mean, it's George's song, not the blonde turtle neck lady or naked bath tub woman's.


But yes, that aside I think "Freedom '90" is my favorite vocal performance from George. It's such an uplifting and passionate performance.

George does have great tone. The Freddie Mercury tribute concert was the one performance when I knew, who the ONLY true singer could POSSIBLY be, if the band was to have a new QUEEN frontman!!

Agreed. I also thought Seal mixed well with Queen at that concert too. Not as well as George but still very well.

 

[Cosmic Harmony]

Linda Perry


Linda Perry is a woman who should garner so much more acclaim than she does. She tasted success briefly with 4 Non Blondes before her career slipped into obscurity with the genesis of her solo career which is a terrible terrible shame as she is an unbelievable songwriter and an even more unbelievably gifted singer. Linda is able to open her throat up and sing out with the wholeness of an opera singer in the way that her voice projects and carries but still has the grit and rawness of a top notch rock singer. She also sings with emotion and passion that is piercing on a level that I can't even describe.

Fill Me Up (Live)


If Robert Plant and Janis Joplin had conceived a beautiful baby girl together in the mid 60's then that child would have been Linda Perry.​

 

[METALPRIEST]

^^ I still love my 4 Non Blondes CD!!