Best Male Singers of the 20th Century


There is an interesting current discussion about the best female vocalists on CD. I have my own ideas about the best male singers (any category) of the 20th Century, but would like to hear other opinions.
sdcampbell
personally same thing guides me as i posted my favorite guitarists on another thread...uniquness and style not technical proficiency...who had brought a new voicing, an new style, differnt phrasing etc? who has soul?

in no particular order, the ones who come to mind are
frank sinatra, robert plant, smokey robinson, james brown, john lennon, louis armstrong, muddy waters, marvin gaye, ray charles, ...

many of the sighted in this thread (certainly not all! and just because I have not included my list doesn't mean so...just for sake of a degree of brevity)...I find more iterations of the true pioneers, individualists. for example, i really like what's his name from Incubus: but would I put him as one of the great ones: no, he is really good, but is not someone who has really brought something unique. someone who may be getting there among current artists, I think is seal
He may not be the best "Male Singer of the 20th Century' but the latest album by Andy Bey "American Song" sure is good. Give it a listen, see if you agree.
How about Johnny Hartman or Kevin Mahogany? Just listen to "John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman" or "Monk on Monk" By TS Monk, for a couple of great examples of what these masters could do.
I will exclude Opera and Broadway singers. My list would include singers and singer song writers:
Sinatra,Crosby,Armstrong,Mathis,Sammy Davis Jr,Tony Bennett,Bobby Darin, Ray Charles,Bobby Short,Orbison,Elvis,John and Paul, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor and Billy Joel.