Here Today... Gone To Hell!

In this thread you can name some singers that you think have the best voices in popular music.  They can be hard rock frontmen, hip-hop MCs, crooning pop stars, or whatever.  As long as you think they make up some of the greatest voices in popular music, they can make the list.  Here are some that I can name off the top of my head to get the list started.

Axl Rose (Guns N' Roses) - given
Chris Cornell (Soundgarden)
Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam)
Dave Matthews (Dave Matthews Band)
Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)
Alanis Morissette
Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails)
Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins)

By the way, when I say best vocalists ever I mean judging by their ability, in their prime, for vocal range, power, versatility, uniqueness, and ability to convey emotion.

Freddie Mercury (Queen)
Rob Halfrod (judas Priest)
Bruce Dickenson (Iron Maiden)

* Sebastian Bach (Skid Row)
* Axl Rose (Guns N Roses)
* Ozzy Osbourne
* Alice Cooper
* Brian Johnson (AC/DC)
* Bon Scott (AC/DC)
* Paul Stanley (Kiss)
* Bruce Springsteen
* Belinda Carlisle
* Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac)
* Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones)
* Stevie Nicks

Michael Stipe (REM)

"By the way, when I say best vocalists ever I mean judging by their ability, in their prime, for vocal range, power, versatility, uniqueness, and ability to convey emotion. "

So why did you mention Kurt Cobain then??

Guys, seriously, whether you liked Freddie Mercury or not, he really was the very best SINGER. In vocal range, power, versatility and all that crap. 'He used his voice like an instrument' it says in Classic rock magazine, and thats true. He, along with Robert Plant, are the greatest. Period.

David Draiman(Disturbed)
Corey Taylor(Slipknot)
Freddie Mercury
Rob Halford
Bruce Dickonson
Steven Tyler
Bon Jovi
The lead singer of The Who...cant think of his name right know

elvis freddie and axl

1 W. Axl Rose
2 Elvis Presley
3 Freddie Mercury
4 John Lennon
5 Ozzy Osbourne
6 Robert PLant
7 Paul McCartney
8 Steven Tyler
9 ROb Halford
10 Sting
11 Maynard Keenan

Yeah freddie was great in his prime. It was sad in the late 80's all the vocal problems he was having(adis complications). It kept them from touring after 1986. Imagine the greatest we could have if Freddie Didnt get The Aids.

Axl Rose
Corey Talor
Rob Halford
Bruce Dickinson
Seb Bach
Joe Elliott
Eminem
Freddy Mercury
Eddie Vedder
David Lee Roth
Robert Plant
Zack de la Rocha
Mike Jagger

Thats my list - Scott Weiland will be admitted once he writes a single good lyric

1. Axl Rose
2. Steven Tyler
3. Robert Plant
4. Freddie Mercury
5. Ozzy
6. Bono
7. Sinatra
8. Elvis
9. Dean Martin
10. Nat King Cole

1. Daniel Gildenl?w

2. Jeff Buckley

3. Devin Townsend

4. Yma Sumac

5. Chris Cornell

Axl Rose
Freddie Mercury
Robert Plant
Sebastian Bach
Steven Tyler
Bon Scott
Jon Bon Jovi
Paul Stanley

Y"eah freddie was great in his prime. It was sad in the late 80's all the vocal problems he was having(adis complications). It kept them from touring after 1986. Imagine the greatest we could have if Freddie Didnt get The Aids."

Excuse me, he couldnt tour because of energy not because his voice changed. Go and find the show must go on by Queen. That was recorded 1990/1991. it is a brilliant song and his best vocal performance ever. Honestly. that whole Innuendo album is Queen's best stuff as far as vocals go.
And i love Axl as much as anyone but he isnt the best singer ever.

those are all nice, but where the fuck is Jim "the lizard king" Morrison? he kicked so much ass!

I like your list Izzy - it spans the  60's to present day 8)


 :hihi:

what, roaches multiplying and tapeworm abortions arent good enough for you?  :rofl:

Your right SLASH2365...I totally forgot about Jim...he was a true badass :smoking:

I mentioned Kurt Cobain because, what he might have lacked in vocal range, he made up in power, versatility, uniqueness, and ability to convey emotion.  That's your opinion, not mine.   ;)

My top four
1. Axl Rose
2. Steven Tyler
3. Mick Jagger
4. Vince Neil - Studio voice

Shit. I forgot about Steven Tyler

there are two singers

Axl Rose and Jon Bon Jovi that are two of the greatest vocalist

axl for obvious reasons

Jon is one of the most under rated frontmen of all time

his voice is very melodic and just his own, he conveys emotion and is versatile even though he gets no credit

axl and jon are two singers that do cover songs better than the originals and that is rare

Shit. I forgot Jon as well.

I don't mean to pick on ya man, but you can't make a Greatest Vocalists list and not include Jon Bon Jovi.... it just can't happen. I mean it isn't right. I know it is your opinion mostly... but consider him too like Scott.

Stephen Tyler is unbelievable, he should definitely be at least top 5.

Mike Patton - Greatest ever bar-none

James Dean Bradfield from the Manic Street Preachers is also worth a mention.

When it comes to versatility, Mike Patton sure doesn't have much contest.

Robert Plant
Bruce Dickenson
Trent Reznor
Tim Armstrong
Lars Frederiksen
Mike Patton
Dan Weyandt

Oh yeah, forgot about Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits).

I think too many of you have forgotten about ROB HALFORD Listen to Unleashed in the East. That singing is incredible. It is better than the studio recorded songs! The only bad part about Halford's voice is his horrible low range on songs like Breaking the Law and You've Got Another Thing Coming. But no one can match his high voice. He is the most consistent live singer ever. There's a reason why he is known as the Metal God. It's weird how gays like Halford and Mercury have excellent high voices but mediocre low voices.

Axl's low voice on songs like It's So Easy is underrated. He also has the coolest rasp ever. He tended to falter live though. It's great how he can run and sing, but after 5 songs or so, he starts to lose it. I think he's in the top 10 greatest singers, but not #1. His skill is a frontman is greater than his skill as a technical singer.

Rob Halford is a great singer.

dont forget Bono

1. Axl Rose
2. Freddie Murcary
3. Steven Tyler
4. Jon Bon Jovi
5. David Lee Roth
6. Kurt Cobain
7. Ozzy Osbourne
8. Corey Taylor
9. David Bowie
10. Dave Ghrol

11. Weird Al Yankovic (I do think he has a good voice actually lol Seriously) :hihi:

this could be the first time i've ever agreed with you.  :beer:

Rob Halford is absolutely amazing.  Many of my friends prefer dickinson, and i used to as well,  but after listening to Victim of Changes on UITE and Hell Patrol, i'm sorry but halford truely is the metal god, and he was the origionator of the vocal style metal singers would try to copy for decades after him. 

Axl is my favorite studio singer, only because i LOVE the raspy vocals (background of breakdown  :drool:) and because his voice fits his lyrics so well


but when it comes down to who is the greatest vocalist of modern times, I think few can compare to Halford.



edit * I like halfords low voice as well! come on, Leather Rebel and Nightcrawler both have some great low vocals from halford.

I think it's close between Dickenson and Halford on the studio albums, actually. Both voices are perfect for both bands. Halford unquestionably has the better live voice (reportedly 6 octave range!), however. Dickenson must be a smoker, or used to be one, because he loses his voice too easily. Ditto for Axl.

And I know this might shock  you, but I find Painkiller overrated. The title track is brilliant, but the rest is kind of boring, at least compared to the ungodly 70's albums. Sad Wings of Destiny is my favorite, followed by Stained Class.

1. John Lennon
2. Axl Rose/Jim Morrison
3. Rob Halford/Paul Stanley
4. Freddie Mercury
5. Trent Reznor
6. Layne Staley
7. Steven Tyler
8. Lou Reed
9. David Lee Roth/Sammy Hagar
10. Ozzy

Well, Painkiller does have some serious moments of cheese, but i still love it.  I like the older priest stuff, but to me it doest match the intensity of painkiller, which is what first got me into priest

That being said i also like  Ram it Down, an EXTREEMLY underrated album.


and Dickinson probably did smoke, but on the Rock in Rio dvd his voice is amazing, he hits every not perfectly.  But he still doesn't have the incredible range of halford.

Come on the great 'warble' of Rob Plant has to make him number 1. Great voice at all levels unlike other greats. Would say Freddy, but cant really recall his voice on harder faster tracks? Need to dig some queen out! please correct me if wrong Axl is top ten i'm afraid but the best damn front man ever- no one is close to him in that department which is quite a testiment! Curt Kobain?!-please! I can sing better  ;D

What about David Coverdale ( Deep Purple, Whitesnake ) ?

James Blunt

Liam Gallagher
Ian Brown
Richard Ashcroft

Weird you like Bruce Dickinson yet you are not a big Iron Maiden fan

Anyway my list is Freddie Mercury, Axl Rose and Bruce Dickinson, these 3 man are a great influence in many rockers when they start to sing they are sometime consider as Gods, also Rob Halford which I like better than BD but people underrated him for some odd reason  :-\
About Bon Jovi, eerrr, nevermind I dont wanna go too deep in telling why I think he shouldnt be consider as a great vocal

Axl Rose
Robert Plant
Neil Young
Ozzy Osbourne
Johnny Van Zant

I don't ever remember writing that list - and a fair few of those are truly awful vocalists - i'm not sure what i was thinking :nervous:

I don't think Bruce Dickinson or Eminem are even remotely decent vocalists - i can't stand Dickinson's voice (why i don't like Maiden much), i don't like Rob Halford's voice and Emimem can't actually sing - Mike Jagger's voice annoys the hell outta me, and without fantastic production Zach de la Rocha sounds naff

I have no idea why i would have put those on a list - i'm assuming i copied and pasted someone elses responses and forgot to edit them

my OFFICIAL list

Axl Rose
Corey Taylor
Eddie Vedder
Kurt Cobian
Ian Brown
Liam Gallagher
Freddy Mercury
Joe Elliott
Sebastian Bach
Layne Staley
Roger Waters/Dave Gilmour
Vince Neal
Mike Patton
Dave Mustaine
Tupac

there's more but i can't be bothered right now...

Axl Rose(duh.)
Eddie Vedder(I just like it)
Thom Yorke(Haunting at times especially on the fisrt three albums)
Sebastion Bach(Not a big Skid Row fan but he's got a great voice)
Bono(Starting to appreaciate his voice more as I get older. Also he sounds as good now as he did when he was young)
Billy Corgan(Studio voice only, sounds like shit live)
Freddy Mercury(Unbelievable. No denying talent, maybe the most talented)

Axl Rose
Eddie vedder
Adam Duritz
Thom Yorke
Perry Farrel
Freddie Mercury
Meatloaf ;D (he does though!)
Chirs Cornell
Layne Staley
Fiona Apple
Chris Robinson
Jim Morrison
Robert Plant
Elvis
Cash
Joplin
Bob Dylan (hey, it's Dylan!)

....I probably missing a few but thats good.

Stevie Wonder
Axl Rose
Freddie Mercury
Robert Plant
James Hetfield
Michael Stipe
Taylor Hawkins
Roger Daltrey
Scott Weiland
Dave Grohl
Lemmy
Bono

OMG!! Tupac gets mentioned, but no MICK JAGGER?????

He simply is the best ever, and influenced all the names said in this thread

Liam Gallagher
Steve Marriott
Roger Waters
the singer from The Cooper Temple Clause
Johhny Rotten
Richard Ashcroft
Julian Casablancas
Axl Rose
Ian Brown (although mostly rubbish live)

Good call on Joplin I totally forgot about her  : ok:

I assumed that too


Those 3 are not way better than Bruce Dickinson I can tell you that

 :beer:

Roy Orbison
Freddie Mercury
Rob Halford
Steven Tyler
Ian Astbury
Roger Daltrey
Eddie Vedder
Axl Rose
Chris Robinson
Geoff Tate

Well somebody mentioned Mike Jagger. Must be his cousin. :hihi:

I appreciate that you are a Jagger fan, but I have a hard time believing that he influenced Elvis, Johnny Cash, or Stevie Wonder

No doubt the Stones have influenced alot of bands/artists but can you honestly say Jagger's singing style has influenced alot? I don't think so. He's a great frontman but this thread is about vocalists and Jagger himself has admited to not being a great singer.

Axl Rose (because he's mr. intensity)
Freddie Mercury
Stevie Wonder
Robert Plant
Janis Joplin
Steven Tyler
steve perry
Mariah Carey
meat loaf
Otis Redding
Gladys Knight
rod stewart
Bob Marley
Elvis
Garth Brooks
Roberta Flack
Mrs. Houston-Brown
Prince
Tina Turner
And I saved the best for last....Neil Diamond!

Yes it has... It has influenced many many people, including Steven Tyler and Axl Rose

The fact is that he among his many talents, he?s a GREAT vocalist.

BTW, when did he say he was not that great as a singer? Because I cant see him saying that, as his ego is only topped by Axl?s  :hihi:

Bon Jovi is a band. Not a volcalist.

My list is...

Bruce Springsteen
Justin Hawkins (Darkness)
Mick Jagger (Stones)
Jon Bon Jovi (Bon Jovi)
Eric Clapton
Singer of Cinderella.

many many more

I'd have to say :


Freddie Mercury (Queen)


Axl Rose _goes without saying (Gun's N'roses)


John Lennon (Beatles)

and

Geroge micheal (I think he has a Fantastic voice)

And Bono (U2)

james blunt? :o

MAYNARD
LAYNE
NINA SIMONE

 My all-time favorite would be Robert Plant. Followed by:

Mick Jagger

Axl Rose

Jim Morrison

W.Axl Rose
Freddie Mercury
ROb Halford
Bruce Dickinson
James Hetfield

well, i put these five because of their singing and writing abilities.  thank you!

If your refering to my post, it was a joke which I found quite humouress because he's the most annoying singer ever

Freddie Mercury. Regardless of what anyone says.

yes Slackbladder, Freddie was great.

SHANNON HOON!

1. Axl Rose
2. Bruce Dickinson
3. Sebastian Bach
4. Layne Staley
5. Chris Cornell