My list of top singers - please rip it apart!

My choice for the best Rock singer in the world who no one's ever heard  of is Joey Cerisano!

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - January 26 2020 at 03:00

The way I see it you you need to break up singers into their categories - Rock (Prog), Jazz, Pop, Folk and Country. Pop singers basically have more powerful voices that go over the top of the instruments while the rock singers have more natural voices that blend in with the instruments. To me Jon Anderson is the ideal Prog singer because he sings in a higher octave that gives extra clarity to the instrumentals while he sings. As for the rest I think it comes purely down to personal taste. You can get technical and dismiss a voice like Bob Dylan or John Lennon which aren't exactly natural voices, but if you listen to a Bob Dylan song or a John Lennon song without their voices, you just don't get the same effect when someone else is singing their songs. Also when you get a singer who crosses boundaries with his voice it can be a bit jarring and turn you off the singer, but it doesn't make that singer any less of a singer. For instance Tim Buckley starts off a folk singer then turns to jazz and experimental. You don't know where he's going with it mostly because it's puzzling and a bit like taking a journey. Nevertheless he's a great singer but easy to dismiss when you start comparing singers. Most people prefer Jeff Buckley to Tim Buckley. It's not easy comparing singers. It's easier comparing one instrumentalist to another instrumentalist. 

Edited by iluvmarillion - January 28 2020 at 21:48

Fischman wrote: .

Many thanks for your detailed response! It seems you'd keep ~10 singers from my list, so I'll just focus on differing opinions here.

First off, I must say my set of criteria isn't too precise, there might be some discrepancies, but I generally favor singers who made it BIG. In general, I believe that majority of gifted musicians don't ever make it, so it's possible that every state has dozen(s) of vocalists more skillful than McCartney or Springsteen. But I only included top notch superstars - and just a few guys short of that status who make up the difference with I N S A N E voice (David Byron!).

If I made a list of "top guitarists" and focused on "skill" alone, it would be full of names such as Garsed, Govan, Vetterli, Jarzombek or Josh Christian... and while it's fine, they didn't brought as many people to play the guitar as, say, Jimi Hendrix.

With that in mind:
Ozzy, Tyler, Rose, Gabriel are McCartney could be removed from the list, perhaps. It comes down to taste and what I really consider impressive at the end of the day.

OSBOURNE. We all know why he's here: it's mumbling, it's ugly, but god damn isn't that distinctive? Hardly anyone sang like that in 1970. Influence off the charts, but I agree he's lacking the chops.

TYLER. Aerosmith isn't my thing, but he deserves some recognition. Could be left out without remorse, but needs a mention!

SPRINGSTEEN. Limited range, but a landmark voice for me, instantly recognizable, charismatic, important piece of music history. Bonus points for not aging at all, his 2017-19 live recordings sound as good as his younger self, and he turned 70! Very rare feat imho. Probably no other singer on my list holds up as well as Bruce does.

ROSE. Already dealt with him earlier.

GABRIEL. Certainly delivered some of my favorite vocals ever, the Supper's Ready finale, Carpet Crawlers, Cinema Show, "why don't you touch me?", his solo stuff... but I agree the voice is about to crack on some occasions and he doesn't have tools to roar like Coverdale. He makes up the difference as a lyricist, stage performer, emotional and thoughtful interpretations. vERY difficult to remove, but I see your point.

MCCARTNEY. Excluding The Beatles entirely is a tall task ;) My favorite is George, but I picked Paul because he probably had the most impressive vocal reprotire in the band. Am I a huge fan? Not really, but they were terrific as a unit. Possible cut.

PERRY. Don't care if it's syrupy and saccharine (IT IS), but his skills blows anyone outo f the water... almost anyone. I don't listen to Journey really, but when I do, I feel he could sing anything with ease, had a great ear, awesome vibratos, always connected the dots. A keeper.

JON ANDERSON. Voice out of this world, can be dropped a few spots down the list, but stays here.

DIO. Don't have a problem with putting him at #2.

MERCURY. Yes, his flamboyance is sometimes off-putting and distasteful, but I can't reject the dexterity and control. Should be in TOP 10 no matter what.

PLANT. Ultimate mix of volcanic voice, banshee wails, romanticism and delta blues. Don't know anyone more influential than Percy, he's my number 1. Especially 1968-72/73 Plant is something else.

IAN ANDERSON AND JOHN WETTON. Similar cases to Peter Gabriel, aren't they? I'd love to put Ian somewhere here - if you checked my profile you'll see I only review Jethro Tull and Mike Oldfield - but I need more reassurance on that.

DICKINSON AND TATE. Definitely fit "TOP20 metal singers", if I ever do it. Especially Tate, largely forgotten these days, but Operation Mindcrime is a testament of fantastic heavy metal singing.

I think a list like this has to include more singers than the people that come from the classic rock era. Obviously, a top 10 or even 20 will have many different variations. Just too many singers to include. 

Blacksword wrote: richardh wrote: ^ one of the reasons Chris Thompson is so great imo is for the MMEB covers of Springsteen and Dylan songs (not to mention Bob Marley and Paul Weller!) Ah yes, Chris Thompson. A fine singer, I forgot to add him to my list. Wonderful voice. I don't think MMEB ever made a 'killer' five star album, but they came close on occasion. Solar Fire, Nightingales & Bombers and The Roaring Silence, are all solid four stars.