Best female vocals on CD

Susana Baca, Peruvian singer/musicologist, latest is "echoes de sombros" or something like that. She's a wonderful singer, has great material, ideas, and it's well recorded.

I love Abbey Lincoln's record "Wholly Earth." She's a real acquired taste. In her 70's now, and gets more idyosyncratic by the minute. But she's a gem, I reckon, and this record features her w/a superb ensemble (including the great vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson). Not everybody's cup of tea, but worth checking out. With its sneak intro and gorgeous playing, her rendition of "If I only had a brain" is charming/heartbreaking/funny.

cecilia bartoli and ruth ann swenson and without a doubt "famous blue raincoat" or "the hunter" both by jennifer warnes. tim2x

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Anything by Loreena McKennitt. In particular her CD's The Visit, and The Mask And The Mirror. These discs have remained in my rotation for years. The unusual & authentic instrumentation (celtic & middle eastern) mixed with her clear powerful voice spinning mythic tales, makes for very enjoyable listening even after an untold number of playings. Not to mention the are very high quality recordings with an amazing soundstage.

This is a great thread because I'm seeing a lot of singers I've never heard of before, and is giving me the chance to discover new aural mistrsses.

Nothing in my life I've heard better than female voices from France. From generation to generation they take turns upto now and feels like they're somehow connected:
Edit Piaf, Guliette Greco, Mireille Mathieu, Francois Hardy, Patricia Kaas...