To piggyback on the thread of the best female vocals, here is the best male vocals thread. I've searched for a similar thread but only one or two popped up and the threads weren't as popular and died out which I find surprising. I like female vocals as much as the next person but male vocals just hit me harder than female vocals, especially in acoustic and rock music. Post the male vocalists that make you shiver a little inside. Here are some of mine: Jeff Buckley (amazing solo artist who died tragically- he is probably my favorite male vocalist (I could almost say his voice is transcendent) and his only studio album, Grace continues to astonish me) Morrissey (frontman of The Smiths and a solo artist, not necessarily a good singer but his voice works perfectly with Marr's jangly sound) Stuart Murdoch (vocalist of Belle and Sebastion, lovely lyricist and a great pop singer) Jeff Tweedy (singer of Wilco with a voice almost like Neil Young- I love his voice in 'Jesus, Etc.' and 'You and I') Thom Yorke (frontman and vocalist of Radiohead, his voice may be a bit too acidic and whiny for some but I find his voice beautiful and haunting)
This is my area! I tend to listen to lyrical music. Thom Yorke is ace just for being in Radiohead (my favourite bad), but his voice suits his music perfectly. Art Garfunkel- his amazing voice and Paul Simon's songs were made for each other. I'd test headphones with his voice. Freddie Mercury and a young Bono for their vocal range and the passion in the voices, even though I don't listen to much of either now. Bruce Springsteen for sounding how I think Dylan would sound if he had a 'good' voice. emotive, expressive, etc. He's special. Jeff Buckley is a fair one to add, shame he didn't produce more...
Some of my favs. Steve Winwood (Traffic, Blind Faith, Spencer Davis Group, Solo) Roger Daltry Stevie Wonder Marvin Gaye Al Green Jimi Hendrix John Lennon Curtis Mayfield Harry Nilsson Paul McCartney Steve Perry (Journey) Robert Plant Frank Sinatra
Chris Cornell (on anything he has worked on, except for Scream, that album should go not exist), Maynard James Keenan (Especially on Opiate and Undertow where he sang more naturally), Robert Plant, J. Loren Wince (Watch the emotion in his acoustic sets), Everlast (Acoustic sets), Eric Clapton. EDIT: Honestly this is almost an impossible list for me to make because there are so many. Forgot about Ian Gillian, Layne Staley, Phil Anselmo (C'mon the guy had some range on Cowboys from Hell, whether you like that style of music or not), Brent Smith (listen to some of the acoustic sets, especially the one in the guys living room - the guy won some contest). His rendition of Simple Man is one of the best I have heard outside of the original and do be able to sing that well just straight out takes talent. Add Jim Morrison to the list too, LA Woman was a great album and his bluesy style came through perfect.
Sorry, only a few off the top of my head prior to my morning coffee... Freddie Mercury Bruce Dickinson Maynard James Keenan Matthew Bellamy
It always baffles me how Freddie Mercury doesn't get more mentions when people are talking about vocalists. Skip the tracks that have terrible synths, turn up the ones with more Brian May guitar work, and cut the man some slack!
Completely forgot about Freddie Mercury. Not a Queen fan at all but his vocal talent was out of this world. EDIT: Should watch his documentary some time, he also did some opera. Actually a pretty fascinating guy.
Michael Jackson! Everyone like him. Freddie Mercury. he was an amazing pianist, and an even more amazing performer. Not only that, but he could write and sing songs of any genre in any style with no trouble at all and his voice was and still is untouchable.
