My favorite singer is Lisha.

Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers:

"Little Too Late" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Vp703DMeVjE

Cover - Van Morrison "Days Like This" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv-FvVOZ4xQ&list=UUFs8r4BIvDJhq0ZxUOM7Tng&index=7

Cover - Funkadelic "Can You Get To That" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRbpF9GoK24&list=UUFs8r4BIvDJhq0ZxUOM7Tng&index=22

Hey, Van Morrison's aging well, judging by that video....

Thaks for the Nicki Bluhm recommendation; I've not heard of her before.

Here's a twosome I hadn't heard until Channel 4's (UK) series 'Music on 4: Abbey Road Studios in Session':

Apparently they're Swedish, though you certainly wouldn't guess that from their accents. They sound a bit like a subdued answer to the Indigo Girls and are called 'First Aid Kit':

For fans of Wailin Jennys, I noticed a recommendation in one of the user comments on Youtube.

I do prefer Wailin Jennys, but this group is definitely well worth a listen:

Copper Wimmin'

This artist reminds me a bit of Dar Williams...

Alela Diane:

Sybylle Baier:

(note: this is rather subdued; not uplifting, stylistically)

Strange, but searching this thread did not turn up any results for Carole King. This classic singer-songwriter does not deserve to be overlooked, so without further ado...:

WARNING: this is cheezy 70s!  But... no harm in paying a little respect to some 70s songstresses (please note that I'm not posting these in relation to the songs, per se, but in relation to the voices of these vocalists so no need to flame me, OK?). It's worth bearing in mind that many of the present-day recommendations in this thread will be looked upon as cheezy in 30-35yrs from now. Time is a strange thing.

So, with that said...

Anne Murray:

Rita Coolidge:

Elkie Brooks:

Rose Royce:

Roberta Flack:

...and there are some superb stripped-down center-channel rips of Karen Carpenter here:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/522812/the-best-female-vocals-your-favorite-female-singers/660#post_7921058

One from the 1980s - Elaine Paige & Barbara Dickson:

and incidentally, Amy Winehouse did a cover of Carole King's 'Will You Still Love me Tomorrow':

+1

I have several female vocalists that I really like :-

1 Beth Hart..........probably tops them all

2 Melissa Etheridge

3 Anouk

4 Tina Dico

5 Dana Fuchs

6 Layla Zoe

7 Janis Joplin.

Another brilliant vocalist who seems to have got overlooked in the passage of time is Jeanne French and finding any material is like looking for gold dust.

If anybody knows where or has any CD's they would sell please let me know.

Some other favourites that are close behind are Brandi Carlile, Michelle Malone, Lisa Mills, Chi Coltrane, Emmylou Harris and Christine Collister.

i like Sarah Jaffe, Melody Gardot, and Beth Gibbons (Portishead), i'd be grateful if anyone could recommend me some singers to check out :)

My new discovery - Anja Plaschg a.k.a. Soap&Skin:

Apparently she writes the music as well... Kinda-warning: crazy video and music.

Just dropping in, haven't read the thread FYI

I like Mary Travers. Peter, Paul and Mary is a group that has a nice place in my heart :)

I'm not much of a female vocals guy anyway though.

I'm gonna go with Patti Smith :)

@ everyone else; please excuse the inclusion of some male artists in this reply. It's not my intention to polute/dilute/derail the thread. This is just a one-off, specifically in response to request for artist suggestions, as per quote below:

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreaming Of A Better ... 

i like Sarah Jaffe, Melody Gardot, and Beth Gibbons (Portishead), i'd be grateful if anyone could recommend me some singers to check out :)

Re' Melody Gardot, you might like Stacey Kent. Not exactly the same, but... well, just check her out and make up your own mind:

Also check out Rumer:

Re' Beth Gibbons, I don't have a specific suggestion for anyone similar, but, on the Portishead side of things, I highly recommend you take a listen to John Martyn's cover of 'Glorybox' - it's absolutely superb:

       I used listen to Portishead, Morcheeba, and Massive Attack a lot, during my university days... memories... If you haven't heard Morcheeba or Massive Attack, you might find enough of their sound in common with Portishead's 'trip-hoppy' sound:

Hoover:

Axiom Funk (feat. Bootsy Collins):

Nightmares on Wax:

Re' Sarah Jaffe, you might try Julia Stone:

Laura Marling:

Amy Mann:

Patti Rothberg:

and, although they are male artists, you might like Ray LaMontagne:

Damien Rice:

Paulo Nutini:

Ryan Adams:

David Gray:

And, of course, there's Lana Del Ray, though she seems to attract strongly polarised love/hate opinions from the listening public, so she may not be your cup of tea:

Or Paloma Faith:

If I think of any others, I'll let you know. To be honest, I didn't find it particularly easy coming up with suggestions for the 3 artists you mentioned, because all three of them have quite a unique sound.