Josh's Top 100 Singers: #100-91
It only took me 6 months after Rolling Stone produced a list of the Top 100 Singers of all time to create my own list. This list is based on my own personal preferences for singing, with high points given for uniqueness, originality, interpretation, and emotional connection to the music, all above technical skill (as any good Bob Dylan fan will tell you). And also, of course, high marks for singing music I like, because if you sing thrash metal or modern R&B or country, I have no use for you, so you can't make my list. Yes, it's pretty random, but here goes, starting from the bottom...
#100. Colin Meloy (of The Decemberists)
One of a very small number of current indie-rockers on my list, Meloy makes it because he has such a unique voice that seems to fit his oddball songwriting perfectly. He's great on both rock songs like The Rake's Song as well as the quiet ballads like Grace Cathedral Hill. Tremendous live, too.
Listen: The Decemberists, "Billy Liar"
#99. Robert Smith (of The Cure)
I like singers with voices so unique that as soon as you hear their songs, you know instantly who's performing them. Cure songs are instantly recognizable and so much fun to sing along to, because of Smith's improvisatory style. (Might be the weirdest-looking singer on my list, though.)
Listen: The Cure, "Just Like Heaven"
#98. Shawn Colvin
I don't have a lot of folkies on my list. Generally, I find singer-songwriter voices technically sound, but bland and inexpressive. (Sorry, James Taylor -- you didn't make my list.) But Shawn Colvin's voice is beautiful and expressive. And, besides her own solo work, she even sang backup on Suzanne Vega's "Luka".
Listen: Shawn Colvin, "I Don't Know Why"
#97. Tom Petty
He'd be much higher on a list of songwriters, but he's made the most out of a Dylanesque nasal twang, using it to put his stamp on a lot of great music. At this point, I think he slurs words even more than Dylan, but still, he's a great performer.
Listen: Tom Petty, "Mary Jane's Last Dance"
#96. John Kay (of Steppenwolf)
Blues singing isn't easy, and Steppenwolf are a highly-underrated blues band. Kay's blues rasp led the way, making great hits out of what were awfully simple blues riffs. He wasn't quite as good when he tried to do slow, sensitive stuff in his higher register, but he killed on hard blues like Born To Be Wild.
Listen: Steppenwolf, "Tighten Up Your Wig"
#95. Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson was a talented singer with a great range. Though most of his hits were mid-tempo laid back classics, he could also sing with a harder edge for heavier rock numbers.
Listen: Nilsson, "Everybody's Talkin'"
#94. Axl Rose
Axl Rose probably fails on the uniqueness metric. When Guns 'n Roses first came on the radio, my Mom always thought he was Robert Plant and G 'n R were Led Zeppelin. But every heavy metal singer after Led Zeppelin was copying Plant, right? And Axl was one of the better ones.
#93. Dave Wakeling (of English Beat & General Public)
Wakeling is probably a surprise pick, but he has a cool, interesting sounding voice with that wicked English accent, and his voice is pretty much the sound of 80's Ska, isn't it? The fact that he can sing these songs while also playing that ska guitar rhythm gives him huge bonus points, too.
Listen: The English Beat, "Best Friend"
#92. Murray Head
Murray Head's performance of Judas Iscariot on the original London cast album of Jesus Christ Superstar might be the single best rock vocal performance of all time. So I had to recognize him, even if he did go on to do "One Night in Bangkok".
Listen: Murray Head (as Judas), "Heaven on their Minds"
#91. Sarah McLachlan
OK, maybe Sarah McLachlan's career has come to an abrupt end, but for the couple years she ruled the AOR charts, it was all on the strength of her voice. Her voice has a richness you don't usually hear on radio, which is why she could make otherwise banal songs like "Adia" into big hits.
Listen: Sarah McLachlan, "Angel"
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