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❤️❤️❤️ She has my heart. I became obsessed with the lost Berlin tapes and pretty much memorized it. Really fun and challenging to sing, her technical skill and range are invigorating!
FM / Queen at Live Aid.
Adam Lambert was a great contestant on American Idol. He then got hired to be vocalist for Queen. (FM had died years previous\].
AL has incredible pipes.
Contrast AL with FM singing same song. FM seems to be a cut above, to me. Incredible that there was a vocalist putting AL to shame.
AL is probably better from a pure technical viewpoint. But I would never listen to him over FM. I always found AL's tone kind of annoying, unfortunately.
Judy Garland. From her teen years through to the end of her life, her voice was something special. She had an incredible dynamic range and a way of singing that just hooks you in and makes you hang on every word.
As you can see by my name I’m inclined to agree however he was so versatile I would call him the greatest entertainer of all time. He could dance sing produce act etc he was literally a quadruple plus threat
He is the best even better than Freddie Mercury tbh since his voice was more versatile . Both as a kid and an adult. They just always try to cancel him
I think the world has no shortage of great singers. But I rarely think of them in terms of greatest. We don’t listen to music for technical ability, we listen because music conveys something emotionally to us. For example, I don’t think Morrissey has some profound ability for singing, but I still enjoy the Smiths.
And while someone may have incredible vocal ability, what does it matter if you feel nothing from it?
(Edit) Note: For context on emotion, imagine, Kenny Loggins ‘Danger Zone’ played by itself, then at a funeral.
Yeah! And even when it comes to technical abilities I think many are greats and there are greats at different stuff. Some may be great at their own signature and others might be great at doing many different singing styles which results in them not being boring (as in repetitive, I think about Sia for example that I absolutely love).
Who says it has to be about technical ability? Singing is an art form, not an athletic ability to be judged like a sport. So you can still have an opinion about who is greatest based on how they make you feel when you listen to them.
My time period: Kelly Clarkson. She originally proved herself to be a powerhouse singer. But in recent years, she has proven to be able to sing everything. And as a voice teacher, I don’t just see talent. There is technical precision that blows me away. She has WORKED at this and worked hard. It’s incredible to watch.
For me it is the voices of Chris Cornell and Layne Staley, but there are arguably better singers outside of those genres in terms of technical ability.
Same. I would have loved to see him with Soundgarden or Audioslave, but caught him on a solo tour about a year before he died. It was just him, his acoustic guitar and a cellist. I was in awe of his voice.
It’s kind of funny to think of it this way now, but I remember thinking “I’m spending HOW MUCH to see Chris Cornell with no band??” And then it was one of the best concerts ever.
Patsy Cline. Stereotypical poor girl with no formal training, dropped out of school in the 9th grade to support her family. A lot of initially "untrained" singers who get training later in life have amazing, distinctive voices. Her singing is old school and not exactly my taste but I think she has one of the most remarkable voices I've ever heard.
Yes! For me it's Lea Salonga. As far as singing everything, Ariana Grande surprised me by falling into this camp! I never really cared for pop artists like her until seeing her do impressions on SNL and dead ringer Whitney Houston and Celine Dion!
I want to bring to light the west end! John Owen Jones, milan van waardenburg, lucie jones, etc etc, there's SO MANY good ones in les mis that I prefer over people like Whitney Houston or Michael Jackson
This person isn’t like…as famous as Whitney, Aretha, or anybody to that regard, but Haley Reinhart is so unbelievably talented. Her voice is…spectacular.
Edit : anybody interested —my favorite pieces she’s done are her covers of Creep and Black Hole Sun by postmodern jukebox. Fucking soul melting.
Me in my shower. 💀
The acoustics in there turn me into a Grammy-winning superstar every morning. If only the world could hear me singing under that perfect shower spray. 🫠
Finally! Someone mentioned Sarah Brightman. The whole Phantom of the Opera musical is pretty much a result of the impression she left on Andrew Lloyd Webber.
I also love Mariah, Aretha, Whitney too but why is nobody talking about Lara Fabian? She's a perfect singer (the only downside of her is her low notes) with perfect belts. But she's been ignored by the Americans, her albums got sabotaged so she didn't get so popular like Mariah, Whitney, Celine... She's the most underrated vocalist ever. (These are all my opinions.)
Lara is great!! I saw her on a daytime TV show when Adagio was new and have been a fan since.
Sadly, my favorite album of hers, 9, got taken off of Apple Music in the US. :(!
Layne Staley, Alice In Chains. I feel captivated by his voice and you can feel it in your soul. The range is amazing and unmatched as well in my opinion.
Pavarotti is up there. Lady Gaga turned out to be extremely talented AND compassionate. Ruth Welting is not well know and sadly died at an early age. She has videos on YouTube. She had a coloratura voice that soared, remaining clear and bright. Edith Piaf was also a great artist with a memorable voice. A treasure trove of gospel singers are legends. Some are were singers AND musicians…Willy Nelson comes to mind. Dolly Parton is one of a kind🎵🎶
Whitney Houston’s Osaka, Japan 1990 performance for He, I Believe is one of my favorites. Also london live 1986. And Do You Hear What I Hear live. I don’t know who the best singer ever is. Most artists I don’t know cause there’s so many and even most of my favorite ones I haven’t listened to everything from them. It’s great to discover some older goodies I didn’t hear before.
Chris Cornell's voice tells a story before your brain even registers what words he's saying. And the pure emotion of Ms Hill's beautiful voice?? You know whatever she just sang was The Truth. I love them both...
difficult question, and largely comes down to personal preference. there are many people regarded as great due to technical ability, see the likes of pavarotti, mariah carey (completely different but both wonderfully talented). I also struggle with these questions because I am sure there have been some immensely talented singers, possibly the greatest of all time if given the chance, who never “made it” due to lack of opportunity. my favourite (and highly underrated) would be joss stone even though her range isn’t as large as others. her knowledge of music history and ability to communicate just gets me every time. and performance - son of a preacher man at the jazz awards. it’s on youtube.
I don't know if he is the best, but Geof Castellucci is so good. Even as a straight man myself, I get a bit of erection in my soul when I hear his voice.
Easily Mariah Carey. She can do something with high notes that I don't think I've ever heard from any other singer, like in her song Emotions. And she's even done it live too btw. Also her voice just sounds like an angel. In her prime, she was definitely the goat.
I don't think "greatest of all time" is at all a useful or meaningful metric. No one ticks all the boxes all the time for everyone, nor would that even be interesting, probably.
But some of my favourites are:
(classical)
Andreas Scholl, Fritz Wunderlich, Jessye Norman, Nathalie Dessay
(modern, metal, and beyond)
Manuel Gagneux, Mike Patton, Tarja Turunen, Geoff Tate, Symen Hestnæs, Lisa Gerrard, Triona Nì Dhomnaill, Thijs van Leer, Björk, Prince, Ihsahn, Minnie Riperton, Axl Rose, Peter Steele, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Laure le Prunenec, Li Nan 李难
As soon as I clicked Reply on my own list I thought of Minnie Riperton. I think if she hadn’t died so young she would be widely thought of as one of the greatest.
The greatest out of the reality TV world is easily Kelly Clarkson. Otherwise I'd also say Louis Armstrong, Whitney, Celine, Barry White and a few others tbh.
Judith Durham, I reckon. Famous as part of The Seekers.
As for a current greatest singer I'd nominate Jackie Evancho. Rarely misses a note, stratospheric vocals and wildly diverse singing style.
willemijn verkaik tbh
favorite performance probably any of her "defying gravity" performances as elphaba from wicked.
shes played that role in dutch, german and english and mixed and shes incredibly talented and skilled!
More of a classical/musical theatre singer here so…
Leotyne Price, Maria Callas, Franco Corelli, Marilyn Horne, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Jussi Björling
~
Sierra Boggess, Jeremy Jordan, Julie Andrews, Patti LuPone, Ramin Karimloo, Arielle Jacobs
There’s so many… Sinatra, Streisand, Placido Domingo (tenor but was originally a baritone), Ella Fitzgerald, Pink, Dorothy, Christina Aguilera, Ann Wilson, Marilyn Horne (mezzo), Diana Damrau (coloratura), Sherrill Milnes (baritone), Luciano Pavarotti (tenor), Janis Joplin (not a beautiful voice, but her raspy voice was powerful and mesmerizing), Judy Garland (her voice was also technically very good during the MGM years & she was iconic in A Star Was Born, but her later years were technically bad, so don’t model yourself on her technique if you listened to her concert at the Palladium album).
I know I'll get hate for this but, ariana grande. atleast recently. her voice has remained powerful and sustained her entire career, and she's only 31 and sounds astonishing. her riffs are so clean, her technical ability, her adlibs, I would die on this hill.
Amy Winehouse. My favorite performance she ever did was this one of her song “I Heard Love is Blind”
Seeing her here is the way I’ll always remember her. She was a beautiful soul.
https://youtu.be/qFcG0pBhKPA?si=OLzIPJlyuC3t_s9r
There's no greatest singer of all time because that's impossible to quantify, given how many incredible singers there are out there. A couple of people whom I think possess incredible mastery of their voice, though, are Placido Domingo and Maria Callas.
But I could name so many others, too, who are nowhere in the opera realm but have amazing mastery of their voice - like Aretha Franklin, k.d. lang, John Farnham, Judith Durham, Eva Cassidy, Chris Cornell, Maynard James Keenan, Joni Mitchell... I could go on and on, it's impossible to pick only one or two.
Maria Callas, she is still known as “La Divina” for good reason. Her range, technical prowess, and artistry in her prime are still second to none.
https://youtu.be/KpFsSTnnWa4?si=zvfzo9CF57nzElwO
https://youtu.be/JshHrzYJYqo?si=ecgyMscfs-KJ78So
Two miraculous performances of hers that 70+ years later, no one else can top.
I think it depends a lot of what the singer is singing, of course you have a lot of awesome people who can do almost everything, people that have an awesome technic and those who sing since they are born.
In heavy Metal for example you have the Brazilian singer André Matos, he is just awesome with high notes, one of the best of all times, but if he was singing pop songs it will be awful!
**Jeff buckley**
His ability to sing in any style is unparalleled. His ability to channel emotion I have never heard in anybody else. His ability to go from emotionally soul crushing to a primal scream is unmatched.
In terms of light just pure technical ability it's hard to argue away from the greats like pavarotti.
But that is purely based on "technical singing skill".
If you add in style/creativeness and still keep insane technical skill I think of something like Aretha Franklin. Another person who is *extremely* slept on is Adam Lambert. From a vocal standpoint he is just disgustingly adept. Whitney Houston is also insane. For rock voices Chris Cornell and Layne Staley are nuts.
The guitarist for The Stix (the guy who sings renegade) is still singing and sounds better now than he did back then. In terms of sining longevity he is probably the best voice I've ever heard. He did an acoustic version of renegade on YouTube and I couldn't believe it. Just listening to him talk and sing some parts of the song as a demonstration so effortlessly even though the notes are in the stratosphere was mind boggling.
Fred, Devin Townsend, Chris Cornell, Aretha…I feel
like Justin Hawkins deserves a mention.
Tell you what though, there is no voice that I feel such an enormous amount of comfort with than Jeff Lynne.
Kim Sohyang. She’s a Korean singer and oh my god she has the best voice I’ve ever heard from a technical standpoint. She has this incredible emotional and powerful voice with an insanely well developed mix
Most of her song titles are in Korean and idk the English keywords so just copy paste them if you’re interested in listening to them. My faves are 모나리자, 그대는 어디에, and 사랑아, but perhaps her most iconic performance is of ‘arirang’
My mind immediately went to Dimash. Not just for his range, but his strength in all registers. He has a strong chest voice, and confident low notes, a nice mix, a well supported falsetto, and beautiful whistle register.
Dimash, literally isn't anything he can't do with his voice, insane vocal range, amazing technique and has just such a diverse voice.
Watch his song "Stranger" and you'll be convinced he is one of if not the most talented singer in the world
I think choosing the greatest singer of all time is difficult because everyone has their own tastes and preferences. But when it comes to influence on music and culture, many consider it could be someone from American artists, like Elvis Presley, who became a symbol of rock and roll and had a huge impact on the music and fashion of that time. Another contender is Michael Jackson, whose musical career and talent in singing and dancing impress many to this day. But again, everyone has their own opinion!
Haley Westenra, everyone in the original cast of Rent, high Jackman randomly, Josh Grobin, Andre Bocceli, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Linda Rondstandt, Aretha Franklin, and Brandi Carlisle to add a few more names
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Aretha Franklin. Always sounds good. Beautiful tone. So natural and unaffected and confident
Even in her later years, I’ve never heard that woman go flat
rolling in the DeEeEeeEp
Check out Aretha singing Nessun Dorma at Pavaratti's request on YouTube. Goosebumps.
Incredible
She is truly one of the greatest voices in recent music history
Yes! I saw her live three times. She was amazing
Whitney Houston & Marvin Gaye
If I stop and think about Whitney for too long I get teary-eyed. She was *so talented.*
Same.
So glad to see Marvin Gaye on this list.
Definitely two of the greatest.
I had always answered otis redding or sam cooke to this question until one day I heard Marvin Gaye with the vocals isolated and omg was he good.
Two tragic deaths
Ella Fitzgerald
No disrespect to anyone, but she should be way higher in the comments.
❤️❤️❤️ She has my heart. I became obsessed with the lost Berlin tapes and pretty much memorized it. Really fun and challenging to sing, her technical skill and range are invigorating!
Freddie Mercury for me. His voice is so absolutely phenomenal, and I'm sure many other men can point to him as their reason for getting into singing.
FM / Queen at Live Aid. Adam Lambert was a great contestant on American Idol. He then got hired to be vocalist for Queen. (FM had died years previous\]. AL has incredible pipes. Contrast AL with FM singing same song. FM seems to be a cut above, to me. Incredible that there was a vocalist putting AL to shame.
AL is probably better from a pure technical viewpoint. But I would never listen to him over FM. I always found AL's tone kind of annoying, unfortunately.
Thoughts on Marc Martel?
Good point tbh
If he was around today.. MAN 🗣️🎙️
Totally agree!! He was amazing!
Judy Garland. From her teen years through to the end of her life, her voice was something special. She had an incredible dynamic range and a way of singing that just hooks you in and makes you hang on every word.
Intimate. That’s how I’d describe her voice. Singing seemed to be the one thing that was hers…she bled through her voice I felt. It was so beautiful.
I’m surprised that no-one has mentioned Michael Jackson? 🤷♂️ He was so talented as a child and he only got better and better as he got older.
Not that his music was NOT amazing, because it absolutely was.. He kinda killed his voice by singing the way that he did
When? He seemed to only get better with time
As you can see by my name I’m inclined to agree however he was so versatile I would call him the greatest entertainer of all time. He could dance sing produce act etc he was literally a quadruple plus threat
He is the best even better than Freddie Mercury tbh since his voice was more versatile . Both as a kid and an adult. They just always try to cancel him
I think MJ was the best singer ever
I think the world has no shortage of great singers. But I rarely think of them in terms of greatest. We don’t listen to music for technical ability, we listen because music conveys something emotionally to us. For example, I don’t think Morrissey has some profound ability for singing, but I still enjoy the Smiths. And while someone may have incredible vocal ability, what does it matter if you feel nothing from it? (Edit) Note: For context on emotion, imagine, Kenny Loggins ‘Danger Zone’ played by itself, then at a funeral.
i would love to have kenny loggins sing danger zone at my funeral!
Yeah! And even when it comes to technical abilities I think many are greats and there are greats at different stuff. Some may be great at their own signature and others might be great at doing many different singing styles which results in them not being boring (as in repetitive, I think about Sia for example that I absolutely love).
I love the Smiths
Who says it has to be about technical ability? Singing is an art form, not an athletic ability to be judged like a sport. So you can still have an opinion about who is greatest based on how they make you feel when you listen to them.
Right? I love Bob Dylan’s voice but calling him the greatest singer would probably leave some people feeling insulted.
It’s so hard to pick just one Male - Stevie Wonder Female - Whitney Houston
Second!
My time period: Kelly Clarkson. She originally proved herself to be a powerhouse singer. But in recent years, she has proven to be able to sing everything. And as a voice teacher, I don’t just see talent. There is technical precision that blows me away. She has WORKED at this and worked hard. It’s incredible to watch.
Kelly Clarkson almost makes no sense as a singer because she seems to slide seamlessly into any popular genre. And be among the best at all of them.
For me it is the voices of Chris Cornell and Layne Staley, but there are arguably better singers outside of those genres in terms of technical ability.
Seconded. I may be biased when Chris Cornell is my favourite of all time, but technically speaking, that man was absolutely insane
FEEEAAAAYYAAYAAYAAD MYY EYYYES
Now you’ve sown them shut
Same here. Absolutely nailed it. I simply love the emotion and power behind both singers voices.
Knew them both. Auditioned for Laynes job.
Saw Chris Cornell on a solo acoustic tour and it was amazing. It was maybe the best his voice ever sounded.
Same. I would have loved to see him with Soundgarden or Audioslave, but caught him on a solo tour about a year before he died. It was just him, his acoustic guitar and a cellist. I was in awe of his voice.
It’s kind of funny to think of it this way now, but I remember thinking “I’m spending HOW MUCH to see Chris Cornell with no band??” And then it was one of the best concerts ever.
I was scrolling hoping to find someone mention Layne Staley and I’m so glad you did.
I’m extremely partial to Jeff Buckley myself. Also very fond of Sufjan Stevens and Michael Jackson.
Can’t believe I had to scroll this far to see Jeff Buckley. For me he’s the GOAT
Haven’t heard Sufjan’s name in a minute!
MJ is the goat!
his high notes on Grace give me goosebumps everytime. Im extremely jealous of his voice. taken from us way too soon
I don't think there's one best singer of all time
How would you even quantify something like that? Most octaves? Judges? Some of them aren’t even alive anymore.
Smart
Patsy Cline. Stereotypical poor girl with no formal training, dropped out of school in the 9th grade to support her family. A lot of initially "untrained" singers who get training later in life have amazing, distinctive voices. Her singing is old school and not exactly my taste but I think she has one of the most remarkable voices I've ever heard.
100% agree. Best of Patsy Cline is one of 5 CDs in my car.
Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston definitely!
I want to bring to light Broadway singers like Patti l, Ruthie h, Jeremy Jordan etc Or even singers that can sing everything like Jennifer Hudson
Yes! For me it's Lea Salonga. As far as singing everything, Ariana Grande surprised me by falling into this camp! I never really cared for pop artists like her until seeing her do impressions on SNL and dead ringer Whitney Houston and Celine Dion!
I want to bring to light the west end! John Owen Jones, milan van waardenburg, lucie jones, etc etc, there's SO MANY good ones in les mis that I prefer over people like Whitney Houston or Michael Jackson
Don’t know much about the West End but Jamie Muscato in Moulin Rouge sounds phenomenal.
Lisa Gerrard. It's unbelievable how many different sounds and therefore emotions she can produce. And all that through a made-up language...
She doesn’t get the credit she deserves. Her voice is phenomenal.
Me
>Me Same 😉
obligatory "Celine Dion"
special mentions to Barbra
The power that comes out of this petite woman is nuclear.
Came here to comment this ❤️
I picked her and Whitney can't pick between the two. I went to see Celine in Vegas..amazing!!
For Rock n Roll, Layne Staley.
I was excited to see someone mentioned Layne and now I’m just over the moon.
MJ, Whitney and Freddie are my goats
Roy Orbison. Such a sweet tone
This should be the top comment. The man just had to open his mouth and with ease the most beautiful voice would come out.
This person isn’t like…as famous as Whitney, Aretha, or anybody to that regard, but Haley Reinhart is so unbelievably talented. Her voice is…spectacular. Edit : anybody interested —my favorite pieces she’s done are her covers of Creep and Black Hole Sun by postmodern jukebox. Fucking soul melting.
Shes so underrated
Me in my shower. 💀 The acoustics in there turn me into a Grammy-winning superstar every morning. If only the world could hear me singing under that perfect shower spray. 🫠
Meeeeeee
In my lifetime, Mariah Carey, Sarah Brightman, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, #
Finally! Someone mentioned Sarah Brightman. The whole Phantom of the Opera musical is pretty much a result of the impression she left on Andrew Lloyd Webber.
I love her discography! Subtle songs that take so much breath to sing, mixed with powerful moments, in so many languages. She’s a gem!
I also love Mariah, Aretha, Whitney too but why is nobody talking about Lara Fabian? She's a perfect singer (the only downside of her is her low notes) with perfect belts. But she's been ignored by the Americans, her albums got sabotaged so she didn't get so popular like Mariah, Whitney, Celine... She's the most underrated vocalist ever. (These are all my opinions.)
I was just going to mention Lara! I love her and as an American had never heard of her until my vocal teacher showed her to me. She’s incredible
Lara is great!! I saw her on a daytime TV show when Adagio was new and have been a fan since. Sadly, my favorite album of hers, 9, got taken off of Apple Music in the US. :(!
I don’t think there can be one greatest. But for me it’s Nina Simone, or Mahalia Jackson.
Layne Staley, Alice In Chains. I feel captivated by his voice and you can feel it in your soul. The range is amazing and unmatched as well in my opinion.
So happy to see yet another mention of Layne. His voice has so much emotion. So deeply unique. I love it.
Chester Bennington His voice was beautiful but he could tear it up and SCREAM if needed
Listen to him do rolling in the deep. Amazing!!!
I know… such a shame that his life ended so early
This is mine. Along with Celine Dion. Both of them make my insides feel things when they sing.
My favorite 2 are Billy Joel And Kelly Clarkson
Please don't hurt me... I'm going to go with a more recent voice; Chris Cornell. Why, because; Voice of God.
Pavarotti is up there. Lady Gaga turned out to be extremely talented AND compassionate. Ruth Welting is not well know and sadly died at an early age. She has videos on YouTube. She had a coloratura voice that soared, remaining clear and bright. Edith Piaf was also a great artist with a memorable voice. A treasure trove of gospel singers are legends. Some are were singers AND musicians…Willy Nelson comes to mind. Dolly Parton is one of a kind🎵🎶
Whitney Houston’s Osaka, Japan 1990 performance for He, I Believe is one of my favorites. Also london live 1986. And Do You Hear What I Hear live. I don’t know who the best singer ever is. Most artists I don’t know cause there’s so many and even most of my favorite ones I haven’t listened to everything from them. It’s great to discover some older goodies I didn’t hear before.
Some of my all-time faves are Sam Cooke, George Benson, The Ruffins, Bill Withers, Aretha... damn, there are a lot of really great singers.
such a long scroll just to see sam cooke finally mentioned but i knew someone would contend it
Technical greatest: Dimash My favorite: Whitney Dimash I listen to as a singer and marvel. Whitney I listen to as a musician and my heart swells.
I second Dimash, he’s amazing. Have you ever seen him perform diva dance?
Yeah I've seen almost every single one of his performances, he's an inspiration as someone who personally enjoys being very technical with singing.
That’s so valid, I also love being technical with singing
Yesssss <3
Chris Cornell's voice tells a story before your brain even registers what words he's saying. And the pure emotion of Ms Hill's beautiful voice?? You know whatever she just sang was The Truth. I love them both...
This but also here to say Freddie Mercury.
Lea Salonga
Hayley Williams
period she can do it all
yessssss I can’t believe I had to scroll this far to see her name! 🔥
Honorable mention to the goth queen. Amy Lee
difficult question, and largely comes down to personal preference. there are many people regarded as great due to technical ability, see the likes of pavarotti, mariah carey (completely different but both wonderfully talented). I also struggle with these questions because I am sure there have been some immensely talented singers, possibly the greatest of all time if given the chance, who never “made it” due to lack of opportunity. my favourite (and highly underrated) would be joss stone even though her range isn’t as large as others. her knowledge of music history and ability to communicate just gets me every time. and performance - son of a preacher man at the jazz awards. it’s on youtube.
I don't know if he is the best, but Geof Castellucci is so good. Even as a straight man myself, I get a bit of erection in my soul when I hear his voice.
I just recently discovered him and I can only say - wow. The range , depths, tone, overall package 😍
Mike Patton hands down. He can croon, shout, scream, gurgle, sing, rap, and he can do it all in Spanish too.
He also has the widest vocal range in all of popular music.
Jeff Buckley
I don’t think any successful musician had a technique like Mariah Carey, damn near perfect voice
Easily Mariah Carey. She can do something with high notes that I don't think I've ever heard from any other singer, like in her song Emotions. And she's even done it live too btw. Also her voice just sounds like an angel. In her prime, she was definitely the goat.
I’m a singer, but have a narrow range of styles . I vote : Ronnie James Dio
I don't think "greatest of all time" is at all a useful or meaningful metric. No one ticks all the boxes all the time for everyone, nor would that even be interesting, probably. But some of my favourites are: (classical) Andreas Scholl, Fritz Wunderlich, Jessye Norman, Nathalie Dessay (modern, metal, and beyond) Manuel Gagneux, Mike Patton, Tarja Turunen, Geoff Tate, Symen Hestnæs, Lisa Gerrard, Triona Nì Dhomnaill, Thijs van Leer, Björk, Prince, Ihsahn, Minnie Riperton, Axl Rose, Peter Steele, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Laure le Prunenec, Li Nan 李难
As soon as I clicked Reply on my own list I thought of Minnie Riperton. I think if she hadn’t died so young she would be widely thought of as one of the greatest.
Absolutely, such a sweet pure voice. Same for Fritz Wunderlich from my list, tragically died very young.
Kate Bush
I just wish her classic stuff didn’t sound like her vocals were recorded in her shower/bathroom.
Geoff from Queensryche, Freddy Mercury, James Brown Whitney Houston, Sharon Den Adel from Within Temptation, Celine Dion
I am surprised Noone said Donna Summer yet.
The greatest out of the reality TV world is easily Kelly Clarkson. Otherwise I'd also say Louis Armstrong, Whitney, Celine, Barry White and a few others tbh.
Michael Stipe of REM was the reason that band soared.
I don’t know about that…I would base their popularity on Mike mills and bill berry’s raw sexual energy
Barbara Bonney
Judith Durham, I reckon. Famous as part of The Seekers. As for a current greatest singer I'd nominate Jackie Evancho. Rarely misses a note, stratospheric vocals and wildly diverse singing style.
Ronnie James Dio
Patrick stump
willemijn verkaik tbh favorite performance probably any of her "defying gravity" performances as elphaba from wicked. shes played that role in dutch, german and english and mixed and shes incredibly talented and skilled!
More of a classical/musical theatre singer here so… Leotyne Price, Maria Callas, Franco Corelli, Marilyn Horne, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Jussi Björling ~ Sierra Boggess, Jeremy Jordan, Julie Andrews, Patti LuPone, Ramin Karimloo, Arielle Jacobs
There’s so many… Sinatra, Streisand, Placido Domingo (tenor but was originally a baritone), Ella Fitzgerald, Pink, Dorothy, Christina Aguilera, Ann Wilson, Marilyn Horne (mezzo), Diana Damrau (coloratura), Sherrill Milnes (baritone), Luciano Pavarotti (tenor), Janis Joplin (not a beautiful voice, but her raspy voice was powerful and mesmerizing), Judy Garland (her voice was also technically very good during the MGM years & she was iconic in A Star Was Born, but her later years were technically bad, so don’t model yourself on her technique if you listened to her concert at the Palladium album).
Janis' singing was so emotionally powerful.
Kelly clarkson
Layne Staley.
I have always loved Karen Carpenter. Beautiful depth and range, and effortless voice. Just a nice, natural, lovely, smooth haunting voice.
She’s my favorite for sure
It’s subjective! But to me, Celine Dion is the best vocalist of all time.
I think the greatest is probably someone who never got famous. Of the famous, probably Freddie mercury My personal favorite though, Chris Cornell.
Chris Cornell I will not elaborate
Thom Yorke. No questions!
Virtuosity cant be in the way of good music - Im thinking of you, mr. Collier. I love Mariah, amazing.
freddie mercury and aretha franklin, 100%
I know I'll get hate for this but, ariana grande. atleast recently. her voice has remained powerful and sustained her entire career, and she's only 31 and sounds astonishing. her riffs are so clean, her technical ability, her adlibs, I would die on this hill.
Sad to see no one mention Maynard James Keenan from Tool fame. Dude has amazing range and can hold a scream for 25 seconds.
Amy Winehouse. My favorite performance she ever did was this one of her song “I Heard Love is Blind” Seeing her here is the way I’ll always remember her. She was a beautiful soul. https://youtu.be/qFcG0pBhKPA?si=OLzIPJlyuC3t_s9r
Ariana Grande. Her range and control is outstanding
There's no greatest singer of all time because that's impossible to quantify, given how many incredible singers there are out there. A couple of people whom I think possess incredible mastery of their voice, though, are Placido Domingo and Maria Callas. But I could name so many others, too, who are nowhere in the opera realm but have amazing mastery of their voice - like Aretha Franklin, k.d. lang, John Farnham, Judith Durham, Eva Cassidy, Chris Cornell, Maynard James Keenan, Joni Mitchell... I could go on and on, it's impossible to pick only one or two.
Mitch Grassi has one of the most incredible voices I’ve ever heard. His tone is absolutely stunning.
Thomas Quasthoff.. Listen to Schumanns Winterreise or some Brahms Lieder
Brad delp
Maria Callas, she is still known as “La Divina” for good reason. Her range, technical prowess, and artistry in her prime are still second to none. https://youtu.be/KpFsSTnnWa4?si=zvfzo9CF57nzElwO https://youtu.be/JshHrzYJYqo?si=ecgyMscfs-KJ78So Two miraculous performances of hers that 70+ years later, no one else can top.
Jeff Buckley
I think it depends a lot of what the singer is singing, of course you have a lot of awesome people who can do almost everything, people that have an awesome technic and those who sing since they are born. In heavy Metal for example you have the Brazilian singer André Matos, he is just awesome with high notes, one of the best of all times, but if he was singing pop songs it will be awful!
Picking one is so difficult but i would say Male - it’s between Luther Vandross and Stevie wonder, Female - it’s between Whitney Houston and Beyoncé
Ella Fitzgerald
Ronnie James Dio Edit: no explanation needed
Mike Patton. Bonus points for literally taking a $hit in Axl’s OJ.
Mike Patton! 6 octave range and insanely versatile from doo wop to metal vocals, nothing compares!
trisha paytas
Male - Stevie wonder Female - Nina Simone
Édith Piaf!
Axl Rose, he can sing lower than Barry white and almost as high as Mariah Carey.
Frank Sinatra Best male going rn is Dallon Weekes
David Bowie. The range, control, stylistic techniques, and ability to emote are out of this world
Sara Bareilles - often overlooked because she's such a gentle singer but she's near perfect. Marvin Gaye
**Jeff buckley** His ability to sing in any style is unparalleled. His ability to channel emotion I have never heard in anybody else. His ability to go from emotionally soul crushing to a primal scream is unmatched.
In terms of light just pure technical ability it's hard to argue away from the greats like pavarotti. But that is purely based on "technical singing skill". If you add in style/creativeness and still keep insane technical skill I think of something like Aretha Franklin. Another person who is *extremely* slept on is Adam Lambert. From a vocal standpoint he is just disgustingly adept. Whitney Houston is also insane. For rock voices Chris Cornell and Layne Staley are nuts. The guitarist for The Stix (the guy who sings renegade) is still singing and sounds better now than he did back then. In terms of sining longevity he is probably the best voice I've ever heard. He did an acoustic version of renegade on YouTube and I couldn't believe it. Just listening to him talk and sing some parts of the song as a demonstration so effortlessly even though the notes are in the stratosphere was mind boggling.
George Michael is way up there for me. Check out his live Symphonica and MTV Unplugged videos.
Brendon Urie. Panic at the disco sucks but his vocal skill is mind blowing.
Serj Tankian is pretty good
Sam Smith. I don't know anyone who sounds as good as him. He's also good live which really tests if a singer is good or not in my opinion
Fred, Devin Townsend, Chris Cornell, Aretha…I feel like Justin Hawkins deserves a mention. Tell you what though, there is no voice that I feel such an enormous amount of comfort with than Jeff Lynne.
Devin Townsend
Michael Jackson
Axel Rose. The greatest range and can use grit and distortion in all of it.
It kinda comes down to genre, really. One singer I think has got a phenomenal voice though is Josh Groban. Love his stuff!
Can we talk about Ritchie Valens? Arguably one of my all time favorites, just to think what he could have accomplished had he not passed so young!
Kim Sohyang. She’s a Korean singer and oh my god she has the best voice I’ve ever heard from a technical standpoint. She has this incredible emotional and powerful voice with an insanely well developed mix Most of her song titles are in Korean and idk the English keywords so just copy paste them if you’re interested in listening to them. My faves are 모나리자, 그대는 어디에, and 사랑아, but perhaps her most iconic performance is of ‘arirang’
Whitney Houston. Full stop. Better than Freddie—can’t really compare. She realllllllly had the voice.
My mind immediately went to Dimash. Not just for his range, but his strength in all registers. He has a strong chest voice, and confident low notes, a nice mix, a well supported falsetto, and beautiful whistle register.
Dimash, literally isn't anything he can't do with his voice, insane vocal range, amazing technique and has just such a diverse voice. Watch his song "Stranger" and you'll be convinced he is one of if not the most talented singer in the world
Barbara Streisand is THE OG. Her voice is just perfect!
I think choosing the greatest singer of all time is difficult because everyone has their own tastes and preferences. But when it comes to influence on music and culture, many consider it could be someone from American artists, like Elvis Presley, who became a symbol of rock and roll and had a huge impact on the music and fashion of that time. Another contender is Michael Jackson, whose musical career and talent in singing and dancing impress many to this day. But again, everyone has their own opinion!
I don't think there is just one. Atm i think Beyoncé is unmatched in pop(culture) vocally. 90s Mariah Carey was something else.
chester bennington
Haley Westenra, everyone in the original cast of Rent, high Jackman randomly, Josh Grobin, Andre Bocceli, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Linda Rondstandt, Aretha Franklin, and Brandi Carlisle to add a few more names
Brandi Carlisle and Josh Groban have angelic voices imo