Joan Osbourne. Truly one of the most underappreciated female artists going. She has a voice that is one of the most beautiful, gale-force instruments I've ever heard in the pop idiom.
Don't know about the "most", but the Afro/Spanish singer Concha Buika deploys a smoky, sandpaper voice suffused with flamenco-like passion. Check out "La Nina De Fuego" and her collaboration with the great Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes "El Ultimo Trago".
Nina Nastasia. So much emotion and sensitivity in her voice. She's an actual folk artist. Her albums are edited on the Touch and Go and Fat Cat Record labels, usually recorded by Steve Albini.
Lady Gaga! After a long day at the widget factory, there's nothing like coming home, popping the tab on a Four Loko and letting the complex emotional nuances of her voice wash my cares away.
She is a true singer who is very highly regarded and has an excellent track record since the mid seventies. Excellent voice and vocal control. Her vocals always display her connection and emotion with the accompanying musicians/music.
She has been featured on projects with several other well know artist.
Sfar .... After rereading my question I can see the confusion . I meant the singer more than the genre . A few responders mentioned Aretha , granted she was the queen of soul , but did her voice have that warm , stirring , willowy , soul sound . She could belt it out . Surprised no one has mentioned Edda James .
Eslaudio: "four loko"?? Is that a liquid, solid or smoke?
Lithojoe: I thought I was the resident smart ass around here but evidently I have some competition.
Alright... lets get one thing straight, Aretha Franklin is the Queen of Soul. You can talk about nuances and emotional response all you want, but you are embarrassing yourself if you think anyone, man or woman, can sing more soulful than Aretha Franklin. So lets just talk about who's in second place.
Hard to argue with the choice of Aretha, but soulfulness takes a lot of different forms, and like Elizabeth said, it's not always easy to know why an artist touches us. Many good choices above. Here's another. This woman slays me:
Elis Regina http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35FPZR24djg&feature=related
I put Billie Holiday's vocals in the same elite class as Miles Davis' horn playing. Different styles for sure but, to me, they are kindred souls using different tools in different ways. But that's not why I'm posting. I'm listening to "The Essential Nina Simone" as I'm writing, and the only word that comes to mind is "Soulful".
I don't know if there's such thing a "the MOST soulful singer," but Carmen McRae is way up there. Has a way of phrasing like no other. Check out "Carmen Sings Monk."
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