Who do you think?

Question

Who would you say are the top 10 singers of all time? (dosen't have to be in order)

Mine:
Maynard
David Gilmour
Lennon
Peter Steele
Reznor
Robert Plant
Eric Clapton
Jim Morrison
Sinead O'Conner
Dolores O'Riordan (the cranberries)

Answer 1

Not in order
Freddie Mercury
Klaus Meine(Scorpions) Both by far
Then
Mariah Carey
Aretha Franklin
Ozzy Osbourne
Celin Dion
John Lenon
Frank Sinatra
Jim Morrison

Answer 2

Elvis
Enrico Caruso
Elton John
Barbara Streisand
Nat King Cole
Pearle Bailey
Freddy Mercury
Roy Orbison
Patsy Kline
Neil Diamond

Answer 3

Aretha Franklin
Chaka Khan
Beyonce'
Marvin Gay
Celine Dion
Mariah Carey
Luther Vandross
Sheryl Crow
Mary J. Blidge
Gladys Knight

Answer 4

Jewel
Mariah Carey
John Fogerty
Elton John
Billy Joel
Steve Perry
Celine Dion
Bob Segar
Eddie Vedder
Alanis Morisette

Answer 5

Otis Redding
Steve Winwood
Steve Perry
Eddie Veddar
Louis Armstrong
Janis Joplin
David Draiman (an amazing singer, Disturbed)
Robert Plant
Peter Gabriel
Freddie Mercury

GREAT QUESTION!!!

Answer 6

Of all time? Do you mean from a North American perspective or a worldwide perspective? (See my answer to http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AsP7iNiXhXDGw0i0ioMDOXzsy6IX?qid=20060909151956AAk7AB8 for details of what I mean.)

There's one additional factor: the music genre. Classically trained singers are trained to project their voices, because operas were written long before the microphone was invented and the singers needed to be heard over the orchestra. Nowadays some classical singers use microphones, but generally only for large-scale concerts, where the point of using mikes is to improve the balance between the singer and the orchestra.

Non-classical singers, however, use microphones because their voices are *not* trained for projection, and in any event they wouldn't be easily heard over amplified guitars, drum kits and so forth even if they were so trained. These singers learn or develop what is called "microphone technique". An example of this is pronouncing the letter P, which is called a "plosive" consonant. When you pronounce the sound of this letter at times when it begins a word or syllable, you form a small buildup of air behind your lips and then suddenly release it, and singers with good microphone technique will minimize the intensity of that release. If they don't, the audience will hear the singer do what's called "popping their P's"--creating a loud, low-frequency "pop" in the speakers with too intense a release of that air. Popping P's can damage speakers over time.

With all that in mind, here's my top ten:

Kira (not the one of "I'll Be Your Angel fame, but another one based in Hamburg, Germany; see http://www.kira-online.de ; she's got the loveliest voice I've ever heard, and I'm speaking as a professional musician myself)

Luciano Pavarotti (when he was in his prime)

Julie Andrews (mainly before her operation. I've heard her sing after the operation and yes, she's got something of a raspy voice now, but I don't think that should stop her. Look at Jack Klugman--he lost a vocal cord to cancer, but that hasn't stopped him from acting)

Andrea Bocelli (one of the few classical singers who successfully adapt the classical style to pop music; I don't think Placido Domingo's style, for example, worked too well for John Denver's "Perhaps Love")

Whitney Houston (a powerhouse of vocal technique if I ever heard any)

Dolores O'Riordan (from the Cranberries; she uses her vibrato to great effect)

Enya (she has incredible precision when doing vocal overdubs. Listen, for example, to the final chord on "Orinoco Flow"--all three vocal tracks cut out at precisely the same time)

Billy Murray (1877-1954; one of the most popular singers in the early decades of the 20th century; he had a strong tenor voice with incredibly good enunciation and a more conversational delivery than was common with bel canto singers of the era; his vocal style worked well with early recording technology until the rise of the electric microphone in the 1920s)

Barry Gibb (especially considering he and his brothers never had any formal music training)

And of course, every singer on the planet owes some debt to the first person in history who ever sang. No one knows this person's name, but without this person's example, no one would have followed it.

Answer 7

Bono
Bob Dylan
David Gilmour
Mark Knopfler
Eric Clapton
John Lennon
Montserrat Caballe (Opera)
Enrico Caruso (Opera)
Luciano Pavarotti (Opera)
Placido Domingo (Opera)

Answer 8

My list:

Bradley Nowell (Sublime)
Benjamin Kowalewicz (Billy Talent)
Joe Brown (A Static Lullaby)
Darius Rucker (Hootie and the Blowfish)
Jakob Dylan (Wallflowers)
Nathan Morris (Boyz II Men)
IIO
Garth Brooks
Eddy Vedder (Pearl Jam)
Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace)

There are more but these people are up there on my fav list!

Answer 9

JEFF BUCKLEY
Matt Bellamy
Thom Yorke
David Bowie
Tom McRae
Brian Molko
Jenny Lewis
Ed Harcourt
Nick Cave
James Dean Bradfield

If there are any of these guys you haven't heard, I suggest you check them out IMMEDIATELY :)

Answer 10

freddie mercury - for his musical genius
steven tyler - for his unique style
peter cetera - for his voice quality
cher - for everything
mariah carey - for her depth and range
aretha franklin - for her soul
ozzy osbourne - for just being ozzy
robert plant - for his staying power
david coverdale - for his versatility
and last but not least patsy cline - for that velvety voice