100 Greatest Singers of All Time

Yappi

Yappi

Go Buckeyes
This list is a few years old but it's making the rounds on Twitter today. What do you think?

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www.rollingstone.com

100 Greatest Singers of All Time

Rolling Stone ranks the 100 Greatest Singers: Aretha, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Bob Dylan and many more
www.rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com
 
 
I think you need to dived this by gender.

No problem w/ Aretha #1 but some of the others in the top 10 are dubious. While Bob Dylan is arguably the best lyricist of modern music his singing is thin and nasally, almost impossible to listen to at times. In my book Lennon wasn't even the best singer in his own band, I though McCartney had the better chops. And while I hated Whitney Houston's music her voice was top notch and she should have been much higher on the list, same with Annie Lennox.
 
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Mercury at 18 behind the likes of Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, and Bob Dylan. This has to be a troll list

Elvis is an easy #1 as far as pop acts go. Great sounding voice. Incredible range. Could sing anything
 
Dispute too many to list. Plus, it’s a bit overwhelming to take in all 100 at once.

Agree with ‘saders. Looks like a troll job.
 
Troll indeed.
There are some that have no bussiness on the list like Bob Dylan. There are some that are just missing... I mean on coolness and stage presence alone you would think Waylon would be on the list, somewhat unique, very recognizable and copied...

 
This really was typical Rolling Stone list, high on 60s acts and hipster critical darlings, in what world is Kurt Cobain a better signer than Patsy Cline? By the way the most overrated name on the list is Mariah Carey, she is a product of studio polishing and her live shows are uneven vocally at best. A couple underrated names on the list>

Karen Carpenter, yes the music is sappy but if you want a clean alto there is no better instrument in the 20th century than her voice.

If looking for a growling classic rock sound John Fogerty is better than most above him on this list.
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Crusaders said:
Tom Jones isn’t even on the list which is ridiculous
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And where is Bob Seger? There are some good selections here but overall I think the list is weak in where a lot of the singers are listed. I will say, Sam Cook deserves to be up there and I was surprised to see him so high. But I really think Elvis should be #1
 
Nobody from the 30's or 40's? Nobody from opera or Broadway? Yeah, I think Ella Fitzgerald, Julie Andrews, Billie Holiday, Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza, Luciano Pavarotti, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra might have a place on the list. If they wanted to say rock or pop singers then the list is more realistic, but even then there are plenty of clinkers.
 
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Purplemojo said:
Nobody from the 30's or 40's? Nobody from opera or Broadway? Yeah, I think Ella Fitzgerald, Julie Andrews, Billie Holiday, Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza, Luciano Pavarotti, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra might have a place on the list. If they wanted say rock or pop singers then the list is more realistic, but even then there are plenty of clinkers.
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Since it was Rolling Stone you would have thought it was a Rock list yet many R&B and Country singers are on it as well as old timers like Hank Williams that goes back to the late '40s. So yes, they should have included folks that sang Classical, Standards, Jazz, and Broadway but then again how do you compare a howler with incredible range like Janis Joplin with a smooth singer with limited range that accented emotion through phrasing like Billie Holiday?

 
Some from my top-tier: Elvis, Freddie Mercury, Frank Sinatra, Smokey Robinson, Don Henley, Art Garfunkel, Tom Rush
 
Crusaders said:
Tom Jones isn’t even on the list which is ridiculous
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Tom Jones, meh....Give me some Goulet.....

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Seriously, though, Freddie at 18 is a joke. Dylan, Young, Waits? Epic songwriters but singers? Yikes. Gregg Allmann way to low. The list is a dumpster fire.
 
I agree with Crusaders. This is as bogus a list as I've ever seen. I wish they would have included a criteria as to how they arrived at their choices, so perhaps it would make a little more sense as to why they listed as they did. But just from a purely vocal perspective, this list is comical. I've always loved Lennon, Jagger, and Dylan, but in the top 20? Please. I wouldn't put them in the top 50. And Lou Reed? Hell, the guy admitted he was a terrible singer.
 
bjork....are you freaking kidding me??

If you’ve ever seen any of these folks in concert then you’ll agree they should be on this BS list.

Ozzy
Maynard James Keenan
Robert Plant
James Hetfield
Lizzy Hale
 
My list would include:
Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane
Levi Stubbs of the 4 tops
Cory Wells and Chuck Negron of 3 Dog Night
Donnie Joe Brown of Molly Hatchett
 
Auggie said:
This really was typical Rolling Stone list, high on 60s acts and hipster critical darlings, in what world is Kurt Cobain a better signer than Patsy Cline? By the way the most overrated name on the list is Mariah Carey, she is a product of studio polishing and her live shows are uneven vocally at best. A couple underrated names on the list>

Karen Carpenter, yes the music is sappy but if you want a clean alto there is no better instrument in the 20th century than her voice.

If looking for a growling classic rock sound John Fogerty is better than most above him on this list.
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Agree..Karen Carpenter is angelic.
 
Phillip Wynne of The Spinners is missing; validity quickly dismissed.

Who the heck are Jeff Buckley, David Ruffin, Thom Yorke, and Toots Hibbert?
 
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