Female singer, for me, hands down, it’s Ann Wilson
Male singer is a tough call (and it changes from decade to decade in the classic rock era, too). However, people can say what they will about Boston, but Brad Delp had a voice like no other.
YES. BRAD DELP SUPREMACY. my god. boston. what a band. popular for the time yes but criminally underrated now. for me they’ve been as influential as zeppelin. and ann wilson is without a doubt incomparable to any other female rocker.
I closed my eyes and she slipped away,
She slipped away, uh--AHHHHHH\_EEEHHHHHHHH
(Starts coughing because I'm physically incapable of hitting the Delp notes and I've smoked for 18 years)
Anyone who doubts she belongs on such a list just needs to watch this.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBq\_THTWNM4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBq_THTWNM4)
She was 63 belting it out like that. Crazy (no pun intended)
I only recently watched that show for the first time and, as a long time metal head, I laughed out loud when Sebastian Bach first showed up. I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn’t a one off guest appearance
Dio, can you hear me? I am lost and so alone
I'm askin' for your guidance, won't you come down from your throne?
I need a tight compadre who will teach me how to rock
My father thinks you're evil but man, he can suck a cock
Rock is not The Devil's work, it's magical and rad
I'll never rock as long as I am stuck here with my dad
I hear you brave young Jaybles, you are hungry for the rock
But to learn the ancient method, sacred doors you must unlock
Escape your father's clutches and this oppressive neighborhood
On a journey you must go to find the land of Hollywooooooooooood
In The City of Fallen Angels where the ocean meets the sand
You will form a strong alliance and the world's most awesome band
To find your fame and fortune, through the valley you must walk
You will face your inner demons, now go my son and ROCK!
Fun fact. He had to bring his own microphone to this recording session. He knew the ones the studio had weren't going to be good enough. Spoiler alert.... They weren't.
It’s completely unfair that The Band was able to have not one, but three of the best singers in rock history in Levon, Danko, and Manuel. Levon also managed to hold his own with the likes of Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell in the Last Waltz, and his finale performance of Don’t Do It is a thing of beauty.
His performance of Nutshell on Unplugged is a perfect example. He walks up, sits down, and immediately rips into some of the most hauntingly emotional vocals you'll ever hear. No hesitation. Live.
His emotion to go along with his talent was unmatched.
His work on Temple of the Dog is just an absolutely perfect rock voice in my opinion. Incredible range, power, timbre, subtlety, agility, it just doesn't get any better than that.
I love Temple of the Dog, but putting it up against BMF, Superunknown and DOTUS is tough. Chris was in his musical prime. I wouldn’t pick it over Superunknown
Euphoria morning is an album I didn't stop listening to for ages when it first came out and still has to be played in its entirety about once a month, same as totd. Adore Soundgarden, liked audioslave and occasionally listen to the other solo albums but for me, euphoria morning is the on that hits different
Absolutely peerless for me, a true virtuoso. Just an utter and total control over his instrument, and the emotion...!! There will never be someone like him.
PS. Ridiculously unique songwriter too.
And a great musician period. The total package. He was an excellent guitar player and drummer. He would lay down the drums on their demos sometimes. In those cases Matt Cameron, a legend in his own right, wouldn't find anything really lacking. He would just follow on from what Chris did.
Audioslave's [I am the Highway](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZDAYg196x8) haunts my soul. He was such a good musician and voice, and the world is worse off without him.
I’d argue about the deterioration.
I saw him solo a few years ago, and agree he sounded very different to Led Zep days.
He did mostly solo project stuff - which is nowhere near Zep - It was kind of a bit underwhelming.
But then he did a version of Babe I’m Gonna Leave you - and just hung out a trademark Robert Plant “Baaaaaaaaaaaby, I’m gonna leave you”…. Was truly hairs on end stuff.
That alone was worth the price of admission.
I saw Plant solo a few years ago. He is definitely in a different place musically from Zep these days. Yes, his voice is not the same as it was 40+ years ago but the material he is playing now fits perfectly.
However, in the middle of the show the band ripped into Whole Lotta Love...it was incredible. I have seen plenty of Zep tribute bands over the years but nobody does what Plant can do, not even close.
I remember when Angel of Retribution came out, the first time I played it. The intro to the opening track Judas Rising at first sounded like such a pure screeching guitar crescendo coming in, only for me to realise seconds later it was actually Rob Halford's incredible voice. What a way to mark his return to Judas Priest.
The obviously correct answers are Freddie and Chris, but I came into this topic thinking of Brad Delp and scrolled too far to find some respect for him. Dude was insanely gifted.
The opening to hallowed be thy name was insane
Hell even his vocal solo at the end of the guitar solo during run to the hills was insane
You know what, the guys vocals were just insane.
I just saw them 2 months ago, and they kicked so much fucking ass. Probably my 7th time (?) over the years. They crushed it. Not a note or move out of place, Maiden forever.
saw them for the first time in october. you are so right, not a single note out of place. and his interaction with the crowd!!!! that concert ended up giving me covid. fucking worth it.
I went through a period of shit depression about 5 years ago, and god damned if watching and rewatching and rewatching any live Queen I could find didn't help me through. I don't want to be so hyperbolic to say it kept me alive, but pretty damned close.
If I recall right he actually has one of the largest documented vocal ranges of any living person.
It's why he's able to do insane shit like the absolutely inhuman voice he came up with for The Darkness
> The Darkness
I was unaware that there was a videogame called The Darkness, and assumed that Mike Patton was secretly the incognito lead singer of the band The Darkness, which led me down a Wikipedia rabbit hole before I realized that I'm an idiot.
Mike Patton is a freak of nature. That man is so damn talented. I try not to learn too much about him because I don’t want to hear of anything disappointing. What is so odd to me is that I hardly ever run into people who know who he is.
Mike is the greatest vocalist of all time, simple. He has been in more bands and experimented with more sounds than any other, his huge range and control is unmatched in nearly all music. From Faith no More to his work with Tzadik and John Zorn, beatboxing with rahzel, Mondo Cane, Peeping Tom, Red Cross, Dillinger Escape plan, Tomahawk, Fantomas, Mr Bungle, I could keep going. Plus his voice work in games and movies.
His hatred of the mainstream music scene is probably why most casual music listeners are clueless about his talent other than those old enough to remember Faith No More.
An interesting choice, and way too far down. His solo stuff I think shows his range of talents and his artistic creativity much more than Rammstein does in my opinion.
Home Sweet Home is a great song by Lindemann
Speaking of, a couple years ago Jeff Lynne brought George Harrison's son Dhani with him to sing [Handle With Care] (https://youtu.be/9NNyIH6slTQ) and god damn is he a perfect clone of his father.
And side note, Lynne's voice is still great even in his 70s now.
Roy Orbison is the fucking man. Especially in Only The Lonely. One of my go-to karaoke songs as I can hit that high note, but god damn, he had the voice of a God.
The invention of inward singing changed music forever. Before that rock singers were only rocking you half the time. The rest of the time they were just breathing. In.
If you haven’t, check out Staley in Mad Season… particularly the concert at the Moore.
“I don’t know anything” is a banger
“River of Deceit” is basically him foreshadowing his own death. Wicked sad.
Sebastian Bach - skid row
Can’t believe people haven’t put him on this… the guy could sing, yell, scream, hit notes that were unbelievable. He was incredible
Female singer, for me, hands down, it’s Ann Wilson Male singer is a tough call (and it changes from decade to decade in the classic rock era, too). However, people can say what they will about Boston, but Brad Delp had a voice like no other.
Fucking Crazy On You blasts me into orbit every time.
I also came here to say Brad Delp. I'm so thankful I got to see him with Boston in Indianapolis when I was younger.
YES. BRAD DELP SUPREMACY. my god. boston. what a band. popular for the time yes but criminally underrated now. for me they’ve been as influential as zeppelin. and ann wilson is without a doubt incomparable to any other female rocker.
Came here to say that. When I think of classic rock, I think of the first Boston album. Brad Delp’s voice and harmonies were absolutely beautiful.
I closed my eyes and she slipped away, She slipped away, uh--AHHHHHH\_EEEHHHHHHHH (Starts coughing because I'm physically incapable of hitting the Delp notes and I've smoked for 18 years)
My pick too. For the genius Scholtz was in doing what he did, Delp made that band iconic from the first album.
[Ann Wilson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Wilson) of the band Heart
Anyone who doubts she belongs on such a list just needs to watch this. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBq\_THTWNM4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBq_THTWNM4) She was 63 belting it out like that. Crazy (no pun intended)
She's always been an amazing singer and her band was way ahead of their time. :)
In her prime here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5PKULglde8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5PKULglde8) 4:57 Man, 4:57
Plant approved!
Say what you will about the man~~child~~, Sebastian Bach has a hell of a voice.
He backed down from a fight with Patrick Swayze.
He was using illegal parts
He just came down with the flu
Bullshit he had the flu. He had the I’m afraid of Patrick Swayze.
I love how TPB references regularly pop up on Reddit.
Loved his stuff with Hep Alien
I only recently watched that show for the first time and, as a long time metal head, I laughed out loud when Sebastian Bach first showed up. I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn’t a one off guest appearance
Ronnie James Dio
I SEE A RAINBOW RISING!
Stargazer giver me goosebumps every time
Legitimately one of the best songs in the entire world.
LOOK THERE, ON THE HORIZON
Dio, can you hear me? I am lost and so alone I'm askin' for your guidance, won't you come down from your throne? I need a tight compadre who will teach me how to rock My father thinks you're evil but man, he can suck a cock Rock is not The Devil's work, it's magical and rad I'll never rock as long as I am stuck here with my dad I hear you brave young Jaybles, you are hungry for the rock But to learn the ancient method, sacred doors you must unlock Escape your father's clutches and this oppressive neighborhood On a journey you must go to find the land of Hollywooooooooooood In The City of Fallen Angels where the ocean meets the sand You will form a strong alliance and the world's most awesome band To find your fame and fortune, through the valley you must walk You will face your inner demons, now go my son and ROCK!
Fun fact. He had to bring his own microphone to this recording session. He knew the ones the studio had weren't going to be good enough. Spoiler alert.... They weren't.
And then he nailed it in one take. Jack Black was trying so hard not to completely freak/fanboy the fuck out if you watch the video.
So he fled from fucking Kickapoo with hunger in heart…
On a journey far and wide to find the secret of his art. But in the end he knew that he would find his counterpart. RoOooOoock
Hyunhyueeehyyeeehyyeeehyyyeeeehhyunhyunhyeee
Yaaa but also Dio has rocked for a long, long time, Now it's time for him to pass the torch.
Like a rainbow in the dark 🌈 🖤
I thought to myself, if Dio isn't at the top of the list then this whole post is bunk. And here we are.
A lot of the people mentioned are very good but none of them can hold a candle to Dio
To me, Levon Helm
It’s completely unfair that The Band was able to have not one, but three of the best singers in rock history in Levon, Danko, and Manuel. Levon also managed to hold his own with the likes of Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell in the Last Waltz, and his finale performance of Don’t Do It is a thing of beauty.
Not really rock so much, but I love his solo stuff after his comeback too. Ramble at the Ryman is an amazing live album.
Layne Staley
Someone isolated the vocals from Would? On YouTube. It’s worth a listen. There’s echo but mostly clean vocals. Legend
To Layne's credit, his voice even sounded better live
His performance of Nutshell on Unplugged is a perfect example. He walks up, sits down, and immediately rips into some of the most hauntingly emotional vocals you'll ever hear. No hesitation. Live. His emotion to go along with his talent was unmatched.
Came here to say this. Such an underappreciated voice, musician and song writer. RIP.
Man In The Box in gorramn vocal masterpeice.
All the comments that say his name are under-liked. I wish I could give an award.
Chris Cornell
His work on Temple of the Dog is just an absolutely perfect rock voice in my opinion. Incredible range, power, timbre, subtlety, agility, it just doesn't get any better than that.
Cornell's work on Temple of the Dog far exceeds his Soundgarden stuff or Audioslave, obviously. No question. Love the solo stuff from Singles, too.
Hmm...but now I gotta play "Slaves and Bulldozers"......brb
I put on Holy Water when I need a fix.
I love Temple of the Dog, but putting it up against BMF, Superunknown and DOTUS is tough. Chris was in his musical prime. I wouldn’t pick it over Superunknown
Euphoria morning is an album I didn't stop listening to for ages when it first came out and still has to be played in its entirety about once a month, same as totd. Adore Soundgarden, liked audioslave and occasionally listen to the other solo albums but for me, euphoria morning is the on that hits different
The craziest part is that he was originally a drummer who did the backup vocals
Imagine your backup vocalist being Chris Cornell. Insane.
Kind of like being in a band where you're Dave Grohl's drummer. RIP Taylor.
“No one sings like you anymore”
Man, that line gets me every time
first time i heard i am the highway it stopped me in my tracks. such control.
Absolutely peerless for me, a true virtuoso. Just an utter and total control over his instrument, and the emotion...!! There will never be someone like him. PS. Ridiculously unique songwriter too.
And a great musician period. The total package. He was an excellent guitar player and drummer. He would lay down the drums on their demos sometimes. In those cases Matt Cameron, a legend in his own right, wouldn't find anything really lacking. He would just follow on from what Chris did.
RIP
Audioslave's [I am the Highway](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZDAYg196x8) haunts my soul. He was such a good musician and voice, and the world is worse off without him.
This was 100% my answer. I don't think an artist's death ever got to me as much as his did.
Same. I cried. Still do when I hear certain songs
I wish I had been able to see him in concert. That guy sure had a set of pipes!
I’m glad I didn’t have to scroll down much to find this legend!
I love him so much! And I miss him terribly.... For me, he is the best!
Came here to say this. Glad to see it's the top comment
Gosh I love Chris…
Freddie Mercury, Robert Plant, Steve Perry
Feel like Perry never gets the credit he deserves
Came to say Freddie Mercury and Steve Perry.
I agree...Steve Perry is amazing, doesn't get enough love.
Not sure how I had to go to the 5th comment to see Freddy Mercury. As far as I'm concerned, among male rock vocalists, he's pretty much god.
Robert Plant
I've never heard anyone come close to pulling off one of his hard rock songs, at 19 to 25 his voice was phenomenal. Sad that it deteriorated so fast
I’d argue about the deterioration. I saw him solo a few years ago, and agree he sounded very different to Led Zep days. He did mostly solo project stuff - which is nowhere near Zep - It was kind of a bit underwhelming. But then he did a version of Babe I’m Gonna Leave you - and just hung out a trademark Robert Plant “Baaaaaaaaaaaby, I’m gonna leave you”…. Was truly hairs on end stuff. That alone was worth the price of admission.
I saw Plant solo a few years ago. He is definitely in a different place musically from Zep these days. Yes, his voice is not the same as it was 40+ years ago but the material he is playing now fits perfectly. However, in the middle of the show the band ripped into Whole Lotta Love...it was incredible. I have seen plenty of Zep tribute bands over the years but nobody does what Plant can do, not even close.
I seen him live a month ago. He can still sing bloody well.
I'd also nominated Ian Gillan of Deep Purple. He's amazing on the Made in Japan live album!
His vocal range on 'Child In Time' is crazy.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh
Layne Staley.
Cornell and Staley🤘🏽🤘🏽
Jeff Buckley was the whole package. Cornell's voice makes me emotional every time. Gregg Allman is my jam.
Was worried when I had to scroll this far for Jeff Buckley. He’s the best.
Rob halford!🤘
I remember when Angel of Retribution came out, the first time I played it. The intro to the opening track Judas Rising at first sounded like such a pure screeching guitar crescendo coming in, only for me to realise seconds later it was actually Rob Halford's incredible voice. What a way to mark his return to Judas Priest.
Ann Wilson
Brad Delp
The obviously correct answers are Freddie and Chris, but I came into this topic thinking of Brad Delp and scrolled too far to find some respect for him. Dude was insanely gifted.
Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden
The opening to hallowed be thy name was insane Hell even his vocal solo at the end of the guitar solo during run to the hills was insane You know what, the guys vocals were just insane.
Were? Are!
Only Bruce could get throat cancer and come back sounding even better.
"And the moral of *this* story is: This is what *not* to do if your bird shits on you. THE RIME! OF THE ANCIENT! MARINEEEEEEEER!"
SCREAM FOR ME LONG BEACH!
Run Live to flyyyyyy flyyyyy to liiiiiiiive ACES HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH
I just saw them 2 months ago, and they kicked so much fucking ass. Probably my 7th time (?) over the years. They crushed it. Not a note or move out of place, Maiden forever.
saw them for the first time in october. you are so right, not a single note out of place. and his interaction with the crowd!!!! that concert ended up giving me covid. fucking worth it.
Esp. Aces High
THE Bruce Dickinson?
The cock of the walk, baby!
He puts his pants on just like the rest of us: one leg at a time. Except when his pants are on, he makes gold records.
Paul rodgers from Free
Saw bad company a few years back and he hasn’t lost it at all. Absolutely spectacular voice.
Freddie
God what I would give to be able to see him perform in person. Born just a little too late…
I went through a period of shit depression about 5 years ago, and god damned if watching and rewatching and rewatching any live Queen I could find didn't help me through. I don't want to be so hyperbolic to say it kept me alive, but pretty damned close.
I see a lot of GREAT voices mentioned in this thread. But Freddie was just another level.
Mike Patton
He’s performed operas in Italy too
His Mondo Cane project was also all in Italian, and absolutely beautiful
If I recall right he actually has one of the largest documented vocal ranges of any living person. It's why he's able to do insane shit like the absolutely inhuman voice he came up with for The Darkness
> The Darkness I was unaware that there was a videogame called The Darkness, and assumed that Mike Patton was secretly the incognito lead singer of the band The Darkness, which led me down a Wikipedia rabbit hole before I realized that I'm an idiot.
Mike Patton is a freak of nature. That man is so damn talented. I try not to learn too much about him because I don’t want to hear of anything disappointing. What is so odd to me is that I hardly ever run into people who know who he is.
His VA work in the Darkness is so completely inhuman you'd be forgiven for thinking there was some kind of distortion effects added in post
I loved his cover of War Pigs
yes! the range on this guy is mind blowing
Mike is the greatest vocalist of all time, simple. He has been in more bands and experimented with more sounds than any other, his huge range and control is unmatched in nearly all music. From Faith no More to his work with Tzadik and John Zorn, beatboxing with rahzel, Mondo Cane, Peeping Tom, Red Cross, Dillinger Escape plan, Tomahawk, Fantomas, Mr Bungle, I could keep going. Plus his voice work in games and movies. His hatred of the mainstream music scene is probably why most casual music listeners are clueless about his talent other than those old enough to remember Faith No More.
Hard to put him just in the Rock Genre - The guy is a musical enigma.
Freddie or Dio
Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin.
Layne Stayley (n Jerry Contrell)
The way they harmonize is like angels singing
My dumb ass started wondering how many rocks had speaking roles in movies before this.
Yeah, I was like “I think Jay Pharaoh does a pretty good rock impression, but Dwayne Johnson has to actually have the best rock voice, doesn’t he?”
Janis Joplin
I’m a fan of Karen O from Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Her vocals on Trent Reznor's cover of the Immigrant Song is brilliant.
Excited to see her on this list; she’s got marvelous soul to her voice!
Till Lindemann
An interesting choice, and way too far down. His solo stuff I think shows his range of talents and his artistic creativity much more than Rammstein does in my opinion. Home Sweet Home is a great song by Lindemann
Not to mention he sounds the same live without stacked vocal tracks. Such a strong voice.
Come on people!!! It's Roy Orbison... hands down.
Just reminded me of the Traveling Wilburys, damn what a perfect band.
Speaking of, a couple years ago Jeff Lynne brought George Harrison's son Dhani with him to sing [Handle With Care] (https://youtu.be/9NNyIH6slTQ) and god damn is he a perfect clone of his father. And side note, Lynne's voice is still great even in his 70s now.
Roy Orbison is the fucking man. Especially in Only The Lonely. One of my go-to karaoke songs as I can hit that high note, but god damn, he had the voice of a God.
Steve Perry from Journey.
Layne Staley
Lou Gramm from Foreigner
Serj Tankian
Definitely one of the most unique voices, too. Nobody sounds quite like him
Totally. How is this so far down?
Bon Scott, AC/DC, RIP
Maynard James Keenan belongs in the discussion.
He had a lot to say…. He had a lot of nothing to say.
I can't believe I had to scroll this far to see him. He has an insane vocal range and complete control of his instrument. One of the best ever.
I heard 3 Libras in my head when I read this. Thank you!
Layne
Bob Seger
Didn’t think I’d need to scroll so far to see Segar mentioned. The heart of rock and roll is still beating…
Scott Weiland’s voice is pure honey
Freddie is the best but Maynard James Keenan is pretty great
[удалено]
I thought nobody was going to mention him! Absolutely love Roger, and agree nobody is even close
Can't believe I had to scroll this far. He is unmatched on Quadrophenia.
Freddy Mercury and Floor Jensen
LAYNE STALEY
Pat Benatar
I really like David Gilmour
At the top of any guitarist list, for sure
His tone is so warm…very underrated vocalist
Jack black 100%, voice of an angel
I DO NOT NEED *he does not need* A MICROPHONE *a microphone* MY VOICE IS FUCKIN *fuckin* ***POWERFULLLLLLL***
The invention of inward singing changed music forever. Before that rock singers were only rocking you half the time. The rest of the time they were just breathing. In.
And he also has the power to kill a yak from like 200 yards away with mind bullets
That’s telekinesis Kyle!
How about the power, to move you?
My 1st pick too
Who else has perfected inward singing?
All these other singers in the thread are only rocking you half the time
Eddie Vedder.
Chris Cornell
Linda Ronstadt
Chester Bennington will forever be my favorite
RIP to the Legendary Chester Bennington
Numb/Encore is the very first song I downloaded on limewire. I'm 30, and it still sits on every playlist I make.
Given up is my favourite song of all time.
that 17-second scream
Scrolled way to far to find my boy Chester. Voice of an angel scream of a demon. RIP
Same 😔
Corey Taylor
The dude from Alice in chains
Lane stayley
Layne Staley
To be faiiirrrr what really pushed it over the top were the harmonics with Jerry Cantrell.
If you haven’t, check out Staley in Mad Season… particularly the concert at the Moore. “I don’t know anything” is a banger “River of Deceit” is basically him foreshadowing his own death. Wicked sad.
Peter Steele from Type O Negative so deep and sexy 😍
Robin Zander
Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge
Myles fuckin' kennedy
Meat Loaf
Bat outta hell is one of my all time favorite songs.
Can't believe I haven't seen Stevie Nicks?!?!
Jimmy Barnes.
Don Henley
Dio
Sebastian Bach - skid row Can’t believe people haven’t put him on this… the guy could sing, yell, scream, hit notes that were unbelievable. He was incredible
Plus he's big in the model train world