20 best and worst singers of all-time

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Mr. Average
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Post by Mr. Average »

Best:

Johnny Hartman (dead?) then everyone else...
Lowell George (dead)
Michael Hutchence (dead)
John David Souther (artistically dead)
Lonesome Dave (Foghat...probably a gameshow host now)
Pete Townshend (chilling vocalist without the pipes...can't figure it out)
Annie Lennox (missing her ex)
Eddie Cochran (pretty sure dead)
Elvis Presley (dead)
Dave Wakeling (so cool he's hot)
Paul Weller (incredible)
Ian Anderson (beautiful voice)
Steve Marriott (dead)
David Hidalgo (the essence)
Andy Partridge (can do it all)
Flora Purim (other worldly)

Worstest of the Worst:

Stevie Nicks (septic billygoat on crack)
Axl Rose (the sound of antiseptic mouthwash aspirated into the lungs)
Sheryl Crow (no range - equalizer set to flat and the knobs are torn off)
"The smarter mysteries are hidden in the light" - Jean Giono (1895-1970)
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Who Shot Sam?
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Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Sheryl Crow is a good call. She's terrible. What about Alanis Morrisette? Maybe even worse.
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bambooneedle
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Post by bambooneedle »

Mr A - Didn't you slag Michael Hutchence as a talentless poseur or something like that once?

Kurt Cobain was the master of the monotone moan. Sorry, duotone... ughhhughhhhughhhhughhhh.... drab grey compared to the multioctave kaleidoscope of expression on offer from Mr. Rose of the haunting howl and razor rasp.
Mechanical Grace
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Post by Mechanical Grace »

I'd classify Kurt Cobain as artful, meaning he was in control of his voice within its limits (exactly the opposite of what I wrote earlier about Eddie Vedder) and used it as his own legitimate aesthetic style, same as Dylan or Neil Young, to name just two. . . Some people are fantastic musicians who know they're never going to be great singers, so they turn their voice into another sort of instrument, one whose sound they design. Some people think they are doing that but ain't cutting it, or are doing it but have chosen a crappy sound design. It's a fine and debatable line, but it seems to me you can judge a voice on how it is used.

I believe my thoughts on Axl 'Oil Can' Rose, including his strained-to-breaking and not-in-a-good-way voice (and btw I'd accuse Elvis of this in a few places as well) are already known. 8)
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Mr. Average
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Post by Mr. Average »

No, I have no recall of ever slamming Hutchence. Maybe a reference to his stupid premature death, but that has become a rather generic malady. From the first strains of INXS I revered him as a great singer and a great interpretor of song.

Axl Rose is pitiful, like finger nails on a blackboard while a fully garbed nun stands by with a wooden clicker, ready to "rap" the knuckles of the first student who made a comment about it.

Forget about the voice. He is an ass. Pretentious. Undertalented. Without the support, he is a no-talent ass clown not dissimilar, in my opinion, from Michael Bolton.
"The smarter mysteries are hidden in the light" - Jean Giono (1895-1970)
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BlueChair
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Post by BlueChair »

My two nominations for best and worst


Best:

1. Johnny Cash (not conventional, but DAMN powerful)
2. Richard Manuel (got a bit shaky toward the end, but his vocal contributions to those first few Band albums are unbelievable).


Worst (the soundalkes)

1. Scott Stapp (Creed)
2. Chad Kroeger (Nickelback)

Oh, and I have to add that I think Gwen Stefani is one of the most obnoxious voices I've ever heard.
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Mechanical Grace
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Post by Mechanical Grace »

Totally agree about Cash-- he's just what I meant in terms of knowing how to USE his voice in a fantastic, expressive way. No one like him, period.

Also I keep forgetting to add, to the Bests:

Chrissie Hynde-- fantastic combo of raw talent and inimitable, straight-on style.

If I could wake up tomorrow with anyone's singing voice I wanted, it'd be hers.
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Post by Margaret »

oily slick wrote:i'm surprised to see geddy lee hasn't shown up :)

if i ever run into james blunt, you won't have to worry about hearing him again.
Oh, please--and while you're at it, that git from REO Speedwagon has always been a blight.
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Post by Boy With A Problem »

Billie Holliday, Patsy Cline, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Ella Fitzgerald......
Everyone just needs to fuckin’ relax. Smoke more weed, the world is ending.
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oily slick
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Post by oily slick »

an alabaman who says "git". whodathunkit.

that is your "best" list BWAP :) ?
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Boy With A Problem
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Post by Boy With A Problem »

not as a noun usually, huh? though alabamans might say "git while the gittin's good"
Everyone just needs to fuckin’ relax. Smoke more weed, the world is ending.
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mood swung
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Post by mood swung »

You guys assume a lot off of two measly words. I don't think you have to take her literally. I mean, I'm not literally among the dead. I'm among the assholes, if anything - I mean in the sense of physical presence at this moment, not in cyber space, of course. She could be speaking metaphorically (which is probably the way to experience Prattville AL, imo)
Like me, the "g" is silent.
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bambooneedle
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Post by bambooneedle »

Mr. Average wrote:Forget about the voice. He is an ass. Pretentious. Undertalented.
Oh? And what does he pretend to be?
Mechanical Grace
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Post by Mechanical Grace »

Musical?


Sorry, you asked... 8)
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Mr. Average
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Post by Mr. Average »

Talented.
"The smarter mysteries are hidden in the light" - Jean Giono (1895-1970)
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bambooneedle
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Post by bambooneedle »

"When I was a Beatle I thought we were the best fucking group in the goddamn world, and believing that is what made us what we were." - Playboy interview 1980, John Lennon

Assume a virtue if you have it not - Hamlet, Shakespeare
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Mr. Average
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Post by Mr. Average »

It occurs to me that this tread died entirely too son. There are so many weak vocalists out there masquerading as golden throats. Sure, one persons meat is another poison, but some of the harmonics that skither through the larynx and leapfrog the true and false vocal folds are not just poison, they are carbon monoxide/cyanide/arsenic cocktails that have been perfectly package in propoganda and hyperbole..."hey, maybe he is just singing it odd to interpret the song, lke the other 11 songs before it...maybe. Heck, if Geraldo like 'em, they must be good"

On the second Stanley Clarke album, self-titled, he does what so many briliant jazz musicians INSIST that they must do...sing on a song or two. Some of the most brilliant jazz and jazz fusin recordings have been damaged almost beyond repair by this almost always misguided practice.

I think his version of Vulcan Princss may be the worst recorded volcal by a noteworthy jazz artist in modern history. It is genuinely painful

Stanly Clarke - "Vulcan Princess"

By the way, the remainder of the album is Brilliant Like Jan Hammers' "Oh Yeah"...brillaint until the singing...
"The smarter mysteries are hidden in the light" - Jean Giono (1895-1970)
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Gillibeanz
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Post by Gillibeanz »

OK! riot time! :lol: In no particular order.........


Best:-

Whitney Houston
Kate Bush
Garry Christian
Matt Monro
John Lennon
Roger Daltrey
Joe Cocker
Simon & Garfunkel (bit of a cheat - 2 in one there!)

Worst:-

Lucinda Williams
Mariah Carey
Rod Stewart
Shane Macgowan
Michael Bolton
Bjork
Johnny Rotton
Ozzy Osbourne
Bonnie Tyler
The artist formally known as Prince
Michael Jackson
Bob Dylan
COME ON YOU SPURS!!
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Boy With A Problem
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Post by Boy With A Problem »

Gillibeanz wrote:OK! riot time! :lol: In no particular order.........

Here - I fixed it for you :)

Best:-

Lucinda Williams
Kate Bush
Garry Christian
Matt Monro
John Lennon
Roger Daltrey
Joe Cocker
Simon & Garfunkel (bit of a cheat - 2 in one there!)
Shane Macgowan
Johnny Rotton
The artist formally known as Prince
Bob Dylan


Worst:-

Whitney Houston
Mariah Carey
Rod Stewart
Michael Bolton
Bjork
Ozzy Osbourne
Bonnie Tyler
Michael Jackson
Everyone just needs to fuckin’ relax. Smoke more weed, the world is ending.
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oldhamer
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Post by oldhamer »

trying to think of artists not mentioned yet....I love Paul Carrack's voice. And Nick Lowe's now, he's rather soulful. And I've never liked Thom Yorke's voice, though I realise that's heresy in certain quarters. It's just too whiney for me.
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Otis Westinghouse
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Post by Otis Westinghouse »

Boy With A Problem wrote:[Here - I fixed it for you
Apart from repeating the travesty of judgement that sees the heavenly-voiced Bjork remain in worst.
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Gillibeanz
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Post by Gillibeanz »

Will somebody please explain how on earth Shane Macgowan can be one of the best singers of all time? The man is an out of tune incoherent slurring drunk! :roll:
COME ON YOU SPURS!!
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mood swung
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Post by mood swung »

an out of tune incoherent slurring drunk


which also describes 90% of the posters here, who know what they like and like what they know. :lol:
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Who Shot Sam?
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Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Gillibeanz wrote:Will somebody please explain how on earth Shane Macgowan can be one of the best singers of all time? The man is an out of tune incoherent slurring drunk! :roll:
His voice is perfect for the songs he is singing. A bit like Tom Waits.
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oily slick
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Post by oily slick »

i'm certain he and djork understand each other.
I'm not concerned about the very poor.
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