Best Female Vocalist?
 

My top 3 would have to be

1. Joni Mitchell
2. Stevie Nicks
3. Tracy Thorn (Everything but the Girl)

who are your favorites and why

Three words: Billie fucking Holiday

dunno, I like the girl from Grouper a lot at the moment.

there are loads.

The lead vocalist from The Fiery Furnaces.

Oh, and I almost forgot:
http://www.mtv.com/shared/media/news...-shirt-isl.jpg

^ who is this?

I like George Pringle a lot too, mainly cuz she's hot!

(The young) Kate Bush is my favourite female singer. Her voice is entirely unique as well as her style in general. She fascinates me on most levels .. and as a teenager, she made an absolutely fantastic debut album.

Here's a treat for fellow enjoyers .. the "red dress" version of the Wuthering Heights video. ;)

Search is your friend:

http://www.musicbanter.com/general-m...ad-singer.html

Though the thread you link to is a good one, jackhammer, the way the question is posed puts emphasis on female "lead" singers in groups and, therefore, takes emphasis away (though not totally) from soloists. I like this thread because it seems to be asking 'best female volalist' despite solo or group. To Stamper's top three (who definitely top my list) and some others listed in this thread, I would add: Janis Joplin, Joan Jett, PJ Harvey, Tracy Chapman, Nina Simone, Linda Ronstadt, Patty Smith, Beth Orton, Grace Slick, and Annie Lenox. Some African singers who are some of greatest vocals on earth: Brenda Fassie, Cesaria Evora, and Angelique Kidjo. Other oldies who can't be overlooked: Bessy Smith, Etta James, Dusty Springfield, and Mahalia Jackson. And, DON'T HATE ME, although not always consistent, Janet Jackson (Velvet Rope) and Natalie Merchant (especially as lead of 10,000 maniacs and on Tiger Lily) were pretty good, too.

That's just my short list. I know I'm in the minority on this website, but I think female vocalists KICK ASS and are equal to the many male vocalists that I like, too. Thanks for this thread!

Add Bonnie Raitt, too. (And, Aretha is completely overrated!)

^^^ I must be even more in the minority on this forum

Because I think female vocalists are so much better than male vocalists


A few of my favourites:

Koda Kumi
MORE (Live in Hall)
real Emotion (Live Black Cherry tour 2007)

Ayumi Hamasaki
I am... (Live Arena Tour 2002)

Rie Fu
Life Is Like A Boat (PV)

A-mei
Na Lu Wan Qing Ce (Live)

Miliyah Kato
19 Memories (Live on Music Station)

Jolin Tsai
Wu Niang (Live)

Stefanie Sun
SuperStar (Live)

ANYWAY

I'll stop there

^^^ My dirtly little secret is that I'm more partial to female than male vocalists. But in the end, I'd rather judge each on his/her individual merits/talents.

Thanks for helping me expand my horizons beyond my obvious Western-centric (with some African continent-centric) bias in my choices. Would like to learn more about Asian artists.

I'm not not as into pop as some other genres, therefore, I liked Koda Kum (more R&B) and Rie Fu (more folk) over the others who are, in my estimation, more Asian pop. But all have good voices. Shame about Koda Kum's controversy about the >35 statement. Although it was a silly statement to make, I don't get the controversy and why this would affect record sales. But there may be some sort of cultural context that I'm missing concerning what she said. Anyway, I hope she gets back on track with her music--she seems like she could mature into a major force in her genre. Thanks for sharing.

Yeah she had a bit of controversy with that... on the bright side her newest album has charted at number 1 now :D

Koda Kumi is my personal favourite.... she is such a diverse artist.... expanding into so many different genre's and style

Ayumi's quite a bit like that actually.... her newest album is heavily Rock influenced:

talkin' 2 myself (Live)

in fact.... you'll find that most Asian artist are very very good at being versatile....it's why I love Asian music so much

But yeah.... Koda is an amazing artist.... and she very good at making a statement.... see for instance one of her newer videos:

TABOO (PV)

Yeah, see what you mean...

Yeah.... Koda Kumi is still the best though
she's just an generally awesome artist..... and she's not afraid to have some fun with it

I love the styles of Juliet Lewis and Karen Orzolek (the lead vocalist from the yeah yeah yeah's) Such amazing power and so raw and effective....

shiit son.
cramping my style?

-Stevie Nicks
-The girl From Paramore
-Katy Perry
-natasha bedingfield
-Keri Hilson
-Joan Jett
-Lita Ford
-Mariah Carey

Theres alot more that are great

Nobody listens to Lita Ford or Joan Jett.

They're just filler for chick singers lists like these.

The best female vocalist I've heard, in my opinion, is Brenda Holloway.
Possibly the most under rated vocalist too.
She was unfortunate to have a career during the Motown years and was largely overlooked due to stiff competition that was unfairly favoured at her expense.

Dunno if she's my favorite but I like Siouxsie Sioux a lot.

One of the Hanson guys LOLOLOL

:laughing: which one, though?!

I dunno which would be the best all around.

but Liz Suwandi has a nice voice.

Diana's cool...and Laurie Anderson for influence on others...

1 - Holly Golightly
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...160_AA115_.jpg

2 - Grace Slick
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...160_AA115_.jpg

3 - Rita Lee
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...160_AA115_.jpg

Amy Millan.

Martina Mcbride.
I think her music her music is okay, but dammit that woman can expel sound waves.

i like the singer from kosheen's voice

Here's my top ten:

1. Ann Wilson, Heart
2. Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac
3. Tracy Chapman
4. Annie Lennox, Eurythmics
5. KT Tunstall
6. Fiona Apple
7. Nanci Griffin
8. Chrissy Hind, Pretenders
9. Brandi Carlile
10. Bonnie Raitt

Maire Brennan
Kate Bush
Paula Cole
Sarah Mclachlan
Edie Brickell
Janis Joplin
Caroline Lavelle
Emily Haines
Debbie Harry
Belinda Butcher
Kate Rusby
Melody Gardot
Billie Holliday
Nina Simone

Just some of my faves.

I love Sarah McLachlan and Kate Rusby. I'm checking out the others. So far I really like Paula Cole.

Here's a great duet you might like:

YouTube - Sarah Mclachlan - Elsewhere (with Paula Cole)

Ooooh, now I know who Paula Cole is. I remember her from Where Have All the Cowboys Gone and I Don't Want to Wait. Off to check out her more recent stuff.

I have to add Eva Cassidy to my list. How could I forget her?

Love the harmonies and Sarah Mclachlan- yum lol.

^^So nice. Sara McLachlan is one class act. Her music comes from a very deep place inside. (Only problem is, I always feel a little depressed when I listen.) She single-handedly has helped the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) almost double their assets with commercials featuring her songs (Angel) and a new one she developed especially for ASPCA more recently. According to New York Times, people in non-profit circles simply recognize the ad featuring "Angel" as "the Ad" with no need for further explanation because it has been so effective in raising funds. Shows the power of channeling passion through music and words, and power of the female voice! Here's a vid of angel WITHOUT the sad pics of dogs and cats: YouTube - In The Arms Of an Angel - Sarah McLaughlin

Sheesh, now I feel terrible for not putting Sara M. at the top of my top ten! I grew up listening to her and have always loved her.

i'm rather partial to trip-hop, so my picks are as follows:

Skye Edwards of Morcheeba

Dido for her solo stuff and her work with Faithless

Tracey Thorn of Everything But the Girl and on the mind-blowing song Protection from Massive Attack (didn't really care for her solo stuff though...)

Shara Nelson who also worked a bit with Massive Attack (Unfinished Sympathy, Safe From Harm)

Elizabeth Fraser more vocals for Massive Attack (Teardrop)

Costanza Francavilla who worked with Tricky on his album Vulnerable

and of course the many talented vocalists who have worked with Zero 7

but my absolute favorite has to be:

Geike Arnaert of Hooverphonic, who recently left the band (:() but is now recording solo stuff (:))

also worth mentioning for their unusual (yet still beautiful) voices are:

Alison Shaw of Cranes

Melora Creager of Rasputina

and last but not least, the wonderfully talented Björk Guðmundsdóttir :)

jackhammer- my post was not spam to advertise my blog (I could do that in my signature after all). Naturally, I'd like people to engage in discussion on the matter, otherwise I wouldn't write about it. Furthermore, "Best Female Singer/Vocalist" is different than "Favorite Female Musical Act." Like I said, my favorites aren ot necessarily who I think are the best singers/artists, whatnot- and I'd think others share that.

Pianogirl75- RE your posted list- you have some good selections there. You like KT Tunstall that much? Has she had more than one studio album? I hadn't heard of her before the breakthrough.

I had Stevie Nicks/Christine McVie as honorable mentions, since I like Fleetwood Mac as a whole, and some of the great tracks happen to havea male lead on them, so....

There are a number of females in which I like more than a handful of their tracks, so I probably could do a top 50, too. hehe And again, some of these acts would not be considered among the greatest females (only ones would be Madonna abnd Donna Summer are the most acclaimed of the lot, and then Janet Jackson probably would follow).

Right now, my top 10:

10. Gloria Estefan (Miami Sound Machine)
9. Pink
8. Mariah Carey
7. Donna Summer
6. Olivia Newtoin-John
5. Whitney Houston
4. Pat Benatar
3. Cher
2. Janet Jackson
1. Madonna

And, once again, not spam, but if there's anyone genuinely interested in reading what I have top say about them (and others), feel free to check out my blog. I haven't posted my write-up for No. 1 yet. And, I may do a similar feature for male acts.

The only ones I've heard from the above list are Dido,Zero 7 and Bjork, all of which I like a lot.

Hayley william - paramore....nothing more to say!!

or the women from Within Temptation