Hail the queen of rock!

Of the last 30 years (IMO):

1. Prince- able to do it all vocally Best Vocal: Still would stand all time.

2. MJ-Very rare for child stars to emerge as musical icons, but his voice is timeless. Best Vocal: Butterflies (sounds like classic MJ)

3. Freddie Mercury- Say what you want, but he had the BEST voice of almost any front man in rock history. He is missed Best Vocal: Somebody to Love

4. Bowie-Listen to the mod/hippie era (late 1960's) Glam Era (1970-73), Plastic Soul, and The Berlin Trilogy, and his voice morphed with the music. Best Vocal: Ashes to Ashes

5. George Michael-From Wham to his solo stuff, always keeps me interested vocally. Best Vocal: Jesus to a Child

Some others come to mind, but these are my picks

COMPUTERBLUE1984 said:

'ashes to ashes' is a great song, but for a good wallop of his vocal chops, i'd probably choose 'wild is the wind', 'loving the alien' or 'heroes' (especially if you can find a live version).

Anxiety said:

"Wild is the Wind" is a great song, but "Ashes to Ashes" does it for me with his vocals in the lower octaves. It creates a surreal dark effect that adds to the end story of Major Tom.

Heroes is my second fave

WILL OLDHAM aka BONNIE 'PRINCE' BILLY. His voice is unique

tommysoul said:

isn't he on the new bjork album? i think he sings the first song on it.

Tommy page's voice was quite unique for a pop singer.

i can't believe only one person has mentioned Stevie Nicks, she's one of the most obvious.

I don't think anyone mentioned Neil Young either

also, Art Garfunkel, Sinead O'Conor, and Leonard Cohen seem to have been omitted

i'd say either of the Gibb brothers but I suppose they each sound the same

i think Kate Bush has the most unique, weird, and unmistakable voices I've ever heard.

i also agree with the choices of Robert Plant, Prince and Cyndi Lauper

i almost forgot Morrisey

LOL! Some of you are just going with your favorite singer(s) and not a truly unique sounding voice.

Anxiety said:

I'd add Sweet Thing, Word on a Wing, Teenage Wildlife, It's Gonna Be Me and Subteranneans to that list. Something from Heathen too.

david bowie
natalie merchant
bob dylan
joan armitrading
stevie nicks

these are not necessarily my personal top 5 but they do, in my opinion, have incredibly unique voices. these voices are so unique that when i hear a song by any one of them, i instantly know who it is.

Think about it.

MACCA

DeepChic said:

Yeah, it's Tricky. And his former muse Martina.

kinaldo said:

not at all - they harmonize well, and their voices make for nice contrasts in songs, but Robin and Barry both have quite distinctive voices. And Barry has the range and versatility to rival Prince. The background vocal effects in Bee Gees songs are nearly always Barry.

If you have Their Greatest Hits: The Record, listen to songs where Barry sings lead - like these

To Love Somebody
Words
Jive Talkin'
Nights On Broadway
Fanny (Be Tender)
Love So Right
Stayin' Alive
Guilty
One
Alone
Immortality

Now listen to these songs Robin sings lead vocals

Holiday
Massachusetts
I Started a Joke
Love Me
Islands In The Stream

Then listen to songs where they trade off the lead vocals.

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart
For Whom The Bell Tolls

it becomes quite distinctive when they trade the lead.

Argh - I hate it when compilations clip songs - was listening while I was typing. For Whom the Bell Tolls should have never been edited.

Robin doesn't get to sing on as many of their hits, but there are some amazing Robin songs hardly anyone knows about, like Toys, The Longest Night, Rings Around the Moon, Deja Vu, Just In Case, Bodyguard

Catch the Saturday Night Fever Survivor thread!!!!! http://www.prince.org/msg/8/158232

lilgish said:

that was shameless.

Anxiety said:

A whole lot of unique, amazing voices here.

GangstaFam said:

and some serious eye wear...

lilgish said:

And sleak chic black fashions.

i want to hang out with bowie and joey!

Anxiety said:

And Ronnie!

Nina Simone
Victoria Williams
and....
Mariah
(Nobody else dare sing like that)

MendesCity said:

I thought she was Whitney the first time I heard her.

GangstaFam said:

All the crack in Bobbyland couldn't get her that high.

MendesCity said:

True. The tone isn't too dissimilar though. Mariah's more girly and Whitney's stronger. But there are some similarities.

OdysseyMiles said:

I feel you on each and every one of those choices. Each one unique in what they do.

Female

Patti Labelle
Chaka Kahn
Tina Turner
Minnie Rippleton
Whitney Houston(Before Drugs)

Male

Prince
Donny Hathaway
Steve Wonder
Luther Vandross
TTD/Sananda

Yeshua4all said: