Top 25 Favorite Singers countdown thread! (Top 2 Revealed!!!)

[Evermind]

I would definitely have put Einar on my list, somewhere in Top 15 maybe. I like his voice a lot.

Had no idea who both Brad Delp and Layne Staley were before this thread.

[twosuitsluke]

Layne wasn't anywhere near my list, the only Alice in Chains album I own is Dirt. It's a good album but I never even considered him.

Fuck yea for Einar! This gives me some hope that a few other picks of mine may actually make this list. Einar's vocals are incredible and alongside Baard's drumming, the reason I adore Leprous.


25.
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19. Paul McCartney
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6. Einar Solberg
5. Mikael Åkerfeldt
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1.

[hefdaddy42]

I had Staley at # 19, although if I'm being honest, in retrospect I would have left him off.  What made AIC so awesome vocally was not Staley's voice alone, but the ungodly harmonies forged by Staley and Cantrell, no matter which one was singing lead at the time.  And you can't put them both in one slot.

Never heard Solberg, so I can't say.

[HOF]

I like Alice in Chains a good bit, but looking back at my big list I never actually put Staley on it (I thought I had but I guess I forgot him). Definitely a unique and powerful voice, but wouldn’t have made my top 25 at any rate. He’d be behind Vedder and Cornell from the Seattle grunge singers for me (and neither of them made my list. Vedder was a close miss though, actually had him on it initially).

I will say River of Deceit by Mad Season is a really great Staley vocal performance.

No idea on the Leprous singer, so obviously not someone I would have ranked.

[ReaperKK]

I had Staley at # 19, although if I'm being honest, in retrospect I would have left him off.  What made AIC so awesome vocally was not Staley's voice alone, but the ungodly harmonies forged by Staley and Cantrell, no matter which one was singing lead at the time.  And you can't put them both in one slot.

Never heard Solberg, so I can't say.

Well said about Layne. Layne was as good as he was because of Jerry and while he does have a very distinct voice I don't think he would've made my list, however he is at the top of the vocalist list out of the big 4 of grunge.

I saw AiC a few months back and with Jerry backing up William you could close your eyes and believe it was Layne and not William standing up there.

[lonestar]

Einar is the reason I just can't get into Leprous.

Never dug much into Alice in Chains.

0/2 on this one.

[SwedishGoose]

These two are not on my radar. So far only the first 2 are on my list.

[TAC]

I'm 0-6 so far! 

[jingle.boy]

I'm 0-6 so far! 

Same... and I pulled a 'you' this morning, as my initial reaction to the post was

[SeRoX]

0 singer so far.

I don't find last two "favorite singer", they are so ordinary for my taste.

[Lethean]

 

Both on my list.    Layne Staley at #8, and Einar Solberg at #5. 

Layne Staley is one of my oldest favorites, and certainly the combination with Jerry Cantrell was awesome, but so was his voice on its own.  I never got to see him live, but from all the videos I've watched, he was great there too.

And Einar.  I think his vocals are stunning.  I really loved Tall Poppy Syndrome but didn't yet think of him as a favorite singer.  Then with Bilateral I remember starting to think that he had a really unique voice that made the songs even better than they already were, and it built from there. The last couple Leprous albums are among my favorites, and his voice is a huge part of that.  He's gotten more consistent live too.  I think earlier he had good nights and bad nights but recently he's been on most of the times I've seen him.  I remember him absolutely killing it on Distant Bells when they did the Pitfalls live stream and he even embellished it a little and he was on fire.  Fantastic fantastic singer and I'm so glad he made the list.  I wasn't expecting him to.

[Adami]

Neither on my list. Though I dig Layne, not sure he’d ever make a top whatever for me. And I couldn’t get into Leperous. Mostly cause of the vocals.

Another 2 not on my list.

[Metro]

Layne was #25 for me. I love the first 2 Alice In Chains albums and the couple of EPs they did. Nothing else after that resonates with me, and the stuff with their new singer is just flat out boring.

I didn’t consider Einar for this list but I think he has an incredible voice. Leprous is a band I can only stand in small doses though.


25. Layne Staley
24.
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2. Peter Gabriel
1.

[Stadler]

I had Staley at # 19, although if I'm being honest, in retrospect I would have left him off.  What made AIC so awesome vocally was not Staley's voice alone, but the ungodly harmonies forged by Staley and Cantrell, no matter which one was singing lead at the time.  And you can't put them both in one slot.

Never heard Solberg, so I can't say.

This is 100% correct; and given that Jerry has largely recreated that harmonic blend with William, while I like Layne's voice, he wasn't going to end up anywhere near my list.   

As for Elnar Solberg, isn't that that girl who's trying to save the planet from global warming?  Why is she here? 

[Samsara]

I had Layne Staley at #11. If you are a singer, or know anything about singing, you know Layne Staley was an absolute MASTER when it comes to vocal control. Or if you're too young to really know who he was, go put on those Alice records with him...or better yet, the EPs. Mad Season was another band/project of his that is an absolute MUST. He truly deserved to be this high on the list and glad DTF folks saw that.

I have to admit, however, that I don't know Einar Solberg, but now that I know he's the Leprous singer - I've always been curious about this band. But every time I check a song out, I'm not sold that they are for me. I need to take the plunge on them. Album recommendation anyone?

[cramx3]

While neither were on my list, I'm also 0-6, I'm not surprised by these choices.  AiC are definitely my favorite of the big grunge bands from Seattle in the early 90s.  BUT I've never been big into Layne.  In my mind, it's always been Jerry's band.  However, I do get that there was something about him that people loved. 

As for Einar, he's a good singer and it's not surprising to see him here because this is generally a prog audience.  I just think he becomes very repetitive if you've listened to enough Leprous that I wouldn't of ranked him (and didn't).  I think both are fine choices even if I didn't pick them.

[T-ski]

Layne had a very unique and powerful voice, nice to see he made the list.

Einar…..no, just…..no.

[Lethean]

I had Layne Staley at #11. If you are a singer, or know anything about singing, you know Layne Staley was an absolute MASTER when it comes to vocal control. Or if you're too young to really know who he was, go put on those Alice records with him...or better yet, the EPs. Mad Season was another band/project of his that is an absolute MUST. He truly deserved to be this high on the list and glad DTF folks saw that.

Completely agree, and with Mad Season you can hear him without Jerry and he was still incredible.

I have to admit, however, that I don't know Einar Solberg, but now that I know he's the Leprous singer - I've always been curious about this band. But every time I check a song out, I'm not sold that they are for me. I need to take the plunge on them. Album recommendation anyone?

This is so hard.  I love everything, so it's really hard to say.  Maybe Pitfalls?  It definitely showcases him as a vocalist.  Bilateral is my personal favorite.  Whatever you pick will possibly need some growing time though; at least that's how it's been for me.

[pg1067]

21 Layne Staley

...

20 Einar Solberg

Never even heard of these guys.  I've heard of Alice in Chains, of course, but I don't think I've heard anything other than Man in a Box, which I thought sucked balls.  Absolutely no clue about the other guy.

[bosk1]

Had Staley at #24.

What made AIC so awesome vocally was not Staley's voice alone, but the ungodly harmonies forged by Staley and Cantrell, no matter which one was singing lead at the time. 

This is true, but doesn't diminish his own abilities in my mind.  Also:

If you are a singer, or know anything about singing, you know Layne Staley was an absolute MASTER when it comes to vocal control.

[DTwwbwMP]

Next two!

21 Layne Staley
Appeared on 8 of 36 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (coz)
4 Top 10 Finishes

Outside of a few songs, I am not really an Alice in Chains fan, but I can see and hear why many have great love for his voice.  He's just not a singer that comes to mind for me when thinking of great ones.


20 Einar Solberg
Appeared on 6 of 36 lists
Highest Finish:  2 (Animal)
6 Top 10 Finishes

This is one I had to look up who it was when I saw his name appear on a few lists.  He finished in the top 10 for all six people who put him on theirs, which is why he squeezed into the top 25.   I didn't really dig Leprous when I saw them open for Haken a few years ago.

Neither came anywhere close to making my list.

[Dream Team]

Yeah those last 2 are real head-scratchers. Not in my top 500.

[pg1067]

Something tells me we have more head scratchers in our future.

[Tomislav95]

I bet your lists are head scratchers

I find them both Layne and Einar great singers. Layne missed my list since I'm not a big AiC fan but I like him on some stuff I heard.
Einar was #9 for me. However, I'm surprised he made this list since his voice is acquired taste (get it? get it?). Saw Leprous live twice and he had blown me away with how powerful he sounded (expected a weaker falsetto tbh).

[The Realm]

Layne Staley - number 7 on my list. As Samsara said, anyone who knows anything about singing knows how awesome he was. In some circles his vocal control and ability, especially how he created grit in his voice is worshiped. Just a phenomenal singer and sadly lost too soon.

Einar Solberg - Einar was on my short list and for a time was in my top 25 but just didn't make the cut in the end. When I first heard Leprous I hated his voice and it really put me off the whole band but I have come to really love his vocals and the band. So maybe anyone who couldn't get into Leprous at first, give them another go.

3 out of 6 for me so far. I think that this is a really great list so far. No head scratchers from where I stand.

[cramx3]

I'm shocked people are shocked.  One of the most well liked grunge singers and one of the most well liked prog singers.  Who would have thought?!?  I mean, I didn't pick them, but it's not a surprise at all to me.

[Lethean]

I bet your lists are head scratchers

I find them both Layne and Einar great singers. Layne missed my list since I'm not a big AiC fan but I like him on some stuff I heard.
Einar was #9 for me. However, I'm surprised he made this list since his voice is acquired taste (get it? get it?). Saw Leprous live twice and he had blown me away with how powerful he sounded (expected a weaker falsetto tbh).

Nicely done.

[The Realm]

I bet your lists are head scratchers

I find them both Layne and Einar great singers. Layne missed my list since I'm not a big AiC fan but I like him on some stuff I heard.
Einar was #9 for me. However, I'm surprised he made this list since his voice is acquired taste (get it? get it?). Saw Leprous live twice and he had blown me away with how powerful he sounded (expected a weaker falsetto tbh).

Einar's falsetto is amazing. Agree just so much power and control.

[bosk1]

Not familiar with Leprous.  I've seen their name on the forum quite a bit, but hadn't listened to them.  Assumed they were some variation of death or black metal based on the name.  Surprised that they are referred to as prog.  I just attempted to give them a listen to see what they are about, but unfortunately couldn't even make it to the vocals.  Based on the video I started watching, just a few seconds in, it seems that the guitar player plays a strat.  In a prog band?  Sorry, but I just started laughing uncontrollably and had to shut the video off.  That is neither metal nor prog.  Not interested in the least.  I want that 30 second of my life back.

[King Postwhore]

Steven Wilson and Alex Lifeson used a Fender Telecaster.   

Gilmour used a Strat.

[Lethean]

I suppose I should pass on the advice that my friend likes to give: Listening should be done with your ears. Not your eyes.

[cramx3]

I know nothing about guitars themselves, I'm not sure why the brand makes a difference here or matters at all?  Maybe I need a lesson.

As for being labelled prog.  I know I called them that, and I think that's by default, but depending on the song, I could see someone labelling them as something else.  The first line on their wiki calls them a "rock" band but here's the other labels used in the same wiki:

Genres   
Progressive metal, progressive rock, avant-garde metal, alternative metal

[lonestar]

Yeah.. I'm baffled as to how the brand of guitar could affect the quality of music.

[bosk1]

Sorry, thought it would be obvious that I was joking.  (I guess the pointy guitars thread on the old forum was either not as memorable as I thought or just predates most of you)  I am a Maiden fan, after all. 

I actually listened to a couple of songs.  I see the talent.  I can see the appeal of the singer.  Neither the singer nor the band as a whole really did anything for me.  Not sure if it is a factor of just not being what I expected, or just not what I am in the mood for at the moment, or a bit of both.  Again, nothing negative to say.  Just not feeling them at the moment.

Steven Wilson and Alex Lifeson used a Fender Telecaster.   

OK, you really are NOT helping your case at all here. 

[hefdaddy42]

(I guess the pointy guitars thread on the old forum was either not as memorable as I thought or just predates most of you) 

*dim memories*