20 best and worst singers of all-time

This is for all non-EC or peripheral-EC topics. We all know how much we love talking about 'The Man' but sometimes we have other interests.
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Mike Boom
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Post by Mike Boom »

Quote:
an out of tune incoherent slurring drunk


which also describes 90% of the posters here
I take (hic) offensh to thish (hic) remark! I love you guyyysss!!!!! (hic) (stumble).
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cosmos
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Post by cosmos »

Colin Blunstone is a pretty brilliant singer.
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pophead2k
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Post by pophead2k »

Definitely agree on Blunstone, Cosmos.

I just realized today that I think Lindsay Buckingham is an incredibly underrated singer.
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Tim(e)
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Post by Tim(e) »

Best:

EC - when I hear him doing things like God Give Me Strength, it makes me realise just what an amazing voice he really does have
David Bowie - he just makes it all seem so effortless
Solomon Burke
Van Morrison
Peter Gabriel
Roy Orbison
Adrian Belew - people think he is just a guitarist, but teh boy can really sing!
Grace Slick - pre Starship
Neil Finn
Mark Seymour
Johnny Cash
Hank Williams
Patsy Cline
Bjork
Annie Lennox
Neko Case
Brian Setzer
Jeff Buckley

Technically not great, but I like:
Nina Hagen
Tom Waites
Peter Garrett
Neil Young
Robert Wyatt
Kevin Coyne
Bon Scott
Bob Dylan
Tim Buckley

Worst - not necessarily bad, but I can't stand:
Axl Rose
Freddie Mercury
Celine Dion
Mariah Carey
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mood swung
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Post by mood swung »

hello, Tim(e)!!

how did this vocal atrocity fail to get a mention? Christina Aguilera. Must she do every trick in her repetoire on every single song. It's like she has a checklist.
Like me, the "g" is silent.
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BlueChair
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Post by BlueChair »

IMHO, Christina Aguilera is the perfect example of an incredible singer who tries to be too fancy and normally works with shoddy material. Have you heard her version of "Mother" on that recent John Lennon tribute for Darfur? Surprisingly good.
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mood swung
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Post by mood swung »

Agreed. She has an incredible voice, but no understanding of the word subtlety.


(it is a word, ain't it?)
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StrictTime
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Post by StrictTime »

Very much agreed. I've been opining this to my friends for months at least, and well, I guess they're just too cool to admit she's got a killer voice.

And agreed that Celine Dion makes my ears bleed.

I think Joni Mitchell's (back in the day anyway, I don't know about now, haven't heard it) got a great voice. I don't know if it's good per se, but I do love to listen to it.
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colrow26
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Post by colrow26 »

ok my choice of 20 best would go something like this

EC
Paul weller
Bowie
John Lennon
Morrissey
Marvin Gaye
Rod Stewart (70-75)
Liam Gallagher
Betty Lavette
Stevie Wonder
Sam Cooke
Steve Marriott
Kate Bush
Curtis Mayfield
Donald Fagen
Smokey Robinson
Aaron Neville
Elliott Smith
Richard Butler
Fiona Apple

Worst

Freddie Mercury
Meat Loaf
Tina Turner
Axl rose
Mark E Smith
Ian Brown (live....dreadful..on disc it somehow works???)
...I want him to hurt...
sabreman
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Post by sabreman »

Some others.

Chicago singers = really great!

Jerry 'Iceman' Butler (Chicago)
Curtis Mayfield (Chicago)
James Brown
Al Green
Billy Ekstine
Bobby Lester (AMAZING Moonglows Lead!) (Chicago)
Jacky Wilson
David Ruffen
Clyde Mcphatter (original Drifters)
Donny Hathaway (Chicago)
Gene Chandler (Chicago)
Cleve Duncan (Penguins Lead!)
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Jack of All Parades
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Re: 20 best and worst singers of all-time

Post by Jack of All Parades »

Will have a go- as Otis said at the top of the thread this can often be fun- no particular order:

Best-

Levon Helm- just pure 'unconscious' singing
Jeff Buckley- perhaps the most gifted stylist with a choir's range of his generation
Gram Parsons- get past the idiosyncrasies and he always makes me ache
John Lennon- map the perfect singer[temperament, emotion, and feeling] and it is him
Paul Simon- the voice I have always wanted
Jim James- the only contemporary male singer who consistently holds my ear
Morrissey- his ability to handle a phrase only rivals Sinatra for my ears
Neil Young- what he can do with his limited tools still amazes me
Elvis Costello- yes, underrated and, when he can suppress the power ballad impulse, most effective
Van Morrison- I do not think there is anything he cannot sing and not make it worth your while
Solomon Burke- my favorite R& B voice
Howlin Wolf- my second favorite R&B voice
Marvin Gaye- my third favorite R&B voice
Joni Mitchell- at least until she became an embittered old timer- my favorite jazz singer
Laura Nyro- about time she was put in the Hall- her voice is life itself
Anita O'Day- amazing what a little heroin will do
Kelly Willis- her voice is ear honey===smooth and sweet and tasty
Bebel Gilberto- my second favorite female jazz vocalist
Aretha Franklin- she can sing the phone book and I will listen
Chrissie Hynde- my alltime favorite female rock voice- perhaps rock voice in general

three honorable mentions:
Rod Stewart[pre 1976] Hollywood and riches have spoiled him but he never failed me early on
Greg Allman- I just react to his voice whenever I hear him perform- I believe him when he sings
Dwight Yoakam- his voice just makes me smile and want to dance

as to the worst, yes this is a good start-

20 WORST
Axl Rose
Bernard Butler
Davey Graham
Heather Small
Clifford T Ward
Dido
Phil Collins
J Lo
Rod Stewart since 1972
Simon Le Bon ('Where do you start? Honking, straining gutbucket, who yodelled some of the worst nonsense ever to reach the top 10, and somehow made it even worse.'!!!)
Meat Loaf
Chris Martin
Keith Richards
James Blunt
Kelly Jones (Stereophonics)
David Clayton Thomas (Blood, Sweat and Tears)
Fred Durst
Madonna
Tony Hadley
... and the worst of all:
Mariah Carey
"....there's a merry song that starts in 'I' and ends in 'You', as many famous pop songs do....'
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Jeremy Dylan
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Re: 20 best and worst singers of all-time

Post by Jeremy Dylan »

Hard to quantify the worst, but I suspect they mainly live in Western Australia.

However, the best (and not necessarily in order):

20. Sarah Buxton
19. Roy Orbison
18. Rodney Crowell
17. Johnny Cash
16. Sam Moore
15. Buddy Miller
14. Robert Plant
13. Jim Lauderdale
12. Levon Helm
11. Sam Cooke
10. Nick Lowe
9. John Lennon
8. Elvis Costello
7. Al Green
6. Ella FItzgerald
5. Neil Young
4. Frank Sinatra
3. George Jones
2. Joni Mitchell
1. Otis Redding
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