Top Ten Rock Vocalists


Ok, for this thtead we are talking about Rock, Hard Rock, Metal and Progressive rock. (male or female)
 Try not to think too hard, it can hurt your brain!
I will post mine later today😎
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Not enough women ? Well ...
Suzi Quattro - Can the Can:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYoogY-UGio
Agnetha Fältskog - not rock really but could sing anything including rock
Jerney Kaagman - Memories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0vT-ERKSFs
Annie Haslam
Silvana Idá
Jane Duboc
Caren Carpenter RIP
Inga Rumpf
Lana Lane
Cher
Mariska Veres RIP
Elkie Brooks
..and last but not least ...
Maarit - her first album is absolutely fantastic, brilliant covers of "Delta Dawn", "A Salty Dog" and "Jumpin´ Jack Flash" :
https://youtu.be/ih9lYBsTXn8
dragunski, we have similar tastes--bob mosley in particular is a hugely under recognized white soul singer. i'd throw steve marriott on the list as well.
I'll second - Terry Reid, Bob Mosley, Jack Bruce. What about Barbara K? Sara Lov? Laura Nyro?

Not enough women on these lists.
I certainly agree that Freddie Mercury was the best!
 I think a lot of people take Robert Plant for granted Just from hearing him so much over the years, But he is definitely one of the best ever😎
I'm surprised Ronnie Van Zant hasn't been mentioned, he had an amazing voice. 
Usually these lists just turn into a list of everyone that everyone can think of.

Maybe the OP needs to do a tally?

For me, Freddie Mercury tops the list by far. He had it all. I'm not even a huge Queen fan so to me it isn't just about what I like. 

It seems popular for some to dismiss Robert Plant (and Led Zep) these days. I think it is a reaction against all the hype that was (and still is to a degree) always behind the band that tried to make them more than what they really were. But in his day Plant had extraordinary range, primal power, willingness to stray into the bizarre and he had a very clear feel for the blues without trying simply to be a blues singer. 

I think a more interesting take is the guys who don't have great voices, some who don't even have 'good' voices who are or were still epic singers. Think Geddy Lee. Even Bono to a certain extent. I love Mark Knopfler but he has almost no range at all. He always sounds the same.
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@slaw, I’ve always loved that quote, but I don’t know it’s origin. It may have come from one of the Blues shouters, perhaps Big Joe Turner himself. I got to see & hear Joe live, shortly before his death in ’85. It was at Club Lingerie on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, where he was backed by The Blasters, whose tenor sax player was Lee Allen (the bands of Fats Domino, Lloyd Price, and Little Richard). I can’t put into words what a joy that night of music was! Joe was by then in his mid-70’s, but his voice was still huge. Not just one of my Top 10 Rock ’n’ Roll singers, but Top 3, the other two being Little Richard and early Elvis.

Joe was dressed in a suit and tie (with tie pin and cufflinks), and sat on a wooden table chair (he WAS quite big, well over 300 lbs. I’d say) onstage. At a table above the dance floor sat a group of Joe’s family and friends, each with a cocktail. They looked like extras from a 1940’s movie---the men dressed just as was Joe (one in a double-breasted suit coat), the women in velvet dresses and one of those hats with an attached veil that came down over their heavily-made up eyes (I myself love eyeliner and smoke-colored mascara. On a woman, I mean ;-), and one or two a rabbit stole across her shoulders. What a trip back in time!

God given talent and ability is one thing. 
Pure grit and emotion count even more in my book! No one is right or wrong. Whoever hits you😎
Several that have not been mentioned are:
Glenn Shorrock
Brad Delp
David Pack
Chrissie Hynde
Steve Walsh

The lead singer for Heart is Ann Wilson, not Nancy. Nancy is a good singer, Ann is an outstanding singer and is very high on my list. 

Many great singers have been mentioned on this list and a top ten would be difficult to come up with.

  
Tommy Shaw -  not too shabby!
He was the icing on the cake for an already very unique, top notch band ahead of their time! Definitely a Fav of mine!😎
Can't remember if he's been mentioned but Sammy Hagar should be on the list.
  1. Eric Burdon
  2. Steve Marriott
  3. Robert Plant
  4. Eddie Vedder
There are many greats but in my mind these four stand above all others.
I prefer to think of Blues as the father of Rock 'n' Roll, Hillbilly (Country & Western) it's mother ;-) .
The only death of a musical person which brought me to tears was Richards. What a loss.
Yeah, but The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll.

When I saw this thread I was listening to "Bring It On Home To Me" from the "Too Late To Stop Now" LP. Yes, it's blues, but if that's not rock, I don't know what is. Like OP said, don't think TOO hard. Cheers,
Spencer
Agree 100% with bdp's comments about Van Morrison.  Van is the man and one of the most distinctive (and to my mind, best) vocalists in contemporary popular music.  As one of his album titles states, "Born To Sing: No Plan B".  Just not a Rock/Hard Rock/Metal/Progressive singer...more R&B.  

Oh, well, with Van Morrison you're talking about something completely different from what I thought the topic was. Van Morrison---a Rock/Hard Rock/Metal/Progressive singer? I think of him as a Soul or R & B singer, one of a handful of Brits (okay, and Scots/Irish/Welsh) who sounds like he comes by it naturally, not in a forced, self-consciously "gotta-try-to-sound-soulful" kind of way. For a real good example of Van's whiteboy soul, listen to the incredible trading of lines with Richard Manual in The Band's bitchin' song on their Cahoots album, 4% Pantomime. Really, really great. Richard Manual, another white brother who can be mentioned in the same sentence as Ray Charles, Big Joe Turner, Muddy Waters, and (almost) Howlin' Wolf (NOBODY comes close to Wolf in my book). Richard (R.I.P.) was one of Eric Clapton's favorite singers, and probably his favorite white one. Another UK singer with the same gravitas is Little Stevie Winwood ;-).  
Peter Gabriel, Van Morrison, Robert Plant, David Bowie
Rickie Lee Jones, Chrissie Hynde

It's funny but most of favorite female vocalists all seem to lean towards jazz and mellower rock/folk (e.g. Joni Mitchell)

I could list names here all day and my exclusions would still make my head explode. Cheers,
Spencer
Couple more:

Burton Cummings 
David Crosby
Chris Youlden
Paul McCartney

Really too many to list
I have seen most of the artist mentioned, live. Robert Plant and Freddie are my first 2 picks but Joe Cocker was special with all his expressions.
bdp241,294 posts06-01-2016 10:12amBrian Johnson was fine by me. But AR (I won’t even speak his name)?!

Don't speak. One pronunciation of such makes me sick(burp). ACDC is definitely out of my list now just like GnR. 
Arcam
Of course, it just seemed curious is all. Thanks for catching my miss-spelling, oh and yes I agree about the tense. 

four winds, no limitations! just anyone and everyone's opinions on the best.
No one could deny Gregg Allman, he had an awesome voice!😎
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