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

[cramx3]

Roy was on mine too.

What about non rock/metal/prog singers?

I had Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish on mine. I'm sure plenty of people had Taylor Swift and I'm sure Stads had Dolly Parton or someone.

Roy was on mine as well. 

I also had Alanis Morissette

[Animal]

Seeing as we are near the end, here are some names I would have thrown into the mix…

Roy Khan
Steve Hogarth
Tom Englund
Pat Benetar
Lee Douglas
George Michael
Steve Walsh
David Gilmour

I had one of those (Gilmour).  I forgot about George Michael though; great singer.

I rated Gilmour (my n. 10) and Walsh (n.23).  I thought Gilmour as the (best) singer of one of the most legendary prog bands would make the collective top 25. Not a great power, range or technique but I love the way his voice sounds (one of my greatest disappointments in music was, after falling in love with Gilmour-led live version of Shine on You Crazy Diamond, hearing the studio version with verses sung by Waters )
   

[hefdaddy42]

It's a little early.  I think Kev said he was going to reveal the other singers that didn't make it.

[Metro]

how do we know Kev didn’t put himself at #1

[hefdaddy42]

how do we know Kev didn’t put himself at #1

We'll find out tomorrow

[Metro]

[lonestar]

I had H as well as Fish. Fish was actually my #3 behind Anderson and the eventual #1.

[hefdaddy42]

 

[Animal]

Tate's voice changed over time. A lot. When he started out, his regular voice was high. Very high. I know there's this debate whether Tate was a baritone or a tenor. Some experts pointed out he was a high baritone, and his style made it so he could belt out those stratospheric notes. But he was VERY borderline between a tenor and a high baritone, especially when you heard him in the early-80s. His vocal training by the Maestro David Kyle, while enabling Tate to really sing that high all the time was jaw-dropping, it's actually been shown as the years have gone by to hurt your vocals if you keep pushing. And Tate pushed, and pushed hard. The relentless touring, particularly what they did for Mindcrime and Empire hurt him. And it took him several years to get comfortable again.

No, he's never quite been the same, but that's okay. The smoking didn't help, but when you look around at Halford, Dickinson, and some of the others, current Tate is fine for where he's at. Not one of my current favorites, but all-time, Tate set the bar for operatic metal singing in the 1980s.

I know there has already been a fair amount of betting annual salaries but still, listening to early QR stuff, I would bet my annual salary that Tate was a baritone from the beginning. If you listen to the lower parts of Lady Wore Black, it seems clear - no tenor has this type of timbre and depth in this part of their voice (imagine how Bruce would sound...or JLB). But there is no doubt smoking changed his voice later and made it even deeper, almost bassy at times. Though this ability of a natural baritone to sing really high is rare, it is not unheard of. I have heard some operatic baritones sing tenor arias and there have been quite a few rock/metal baritones who could wail really high really well - Tate was just best of them..
   You also mentioned Tate's teacher David P. Kyle - I remember reading that he was also a teacher to Ann Wilson, Layne Stanley and Chris Cornell. Listening to Wilson, I think I can hear it - I mean the same technical approach. But I am not hearing it with Stanley and Cornell.
   BTW...does the QR book you participated on cover making Tate as a singer in a greater detail? All this Tate and QR discussion here made me think about getting it (and unlike Rich Wilson's DT book, it is also available as e-book, which is a prerequisite)

[Stadler]

Roy was on mine too.

What about non rock/metal/prog singers?

I had Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish on mine. I'm sure plenty of people had Taylor Swift and I'm sure Stads had Dolly Parton or someone.

8 Hank Williams, Jr. ("The Pressure Is On", "The Air That I Breathe", "The Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line")
9 Waylon Jennings ("The Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line", "Lucille", "I Ain't Living Long Like This")

Everyone else was more or less rock until Carly Simon at #46.

Any Simon LeBon (just missed at #31) fans in the house?  How about Ben Orr of The Cars (who made my list at #25)?  "Drive" is a world class vocal.

I also had Johnette Napolitano (Concrete Blonde) at #12.  That woman can sing.

[The Realm]

2 out of my 3 certainties today, a bit disappointed we didn't see these 2 revealed tomorrow though. And I can't believe Blaze is going to rank higher than Bruce

Geoff Tate - my number 2. Just a phenomenal singer. I am also in the school that thinks his peak wasn't short. His vocals though on Mindcrime is my number 1 vocal performance of all time.

Bruce Dickinson - my number 1 and like Wolfking my number 1 music idol. Just love Bruce and not only is he a fantastic singer he is also one of the great frontmen, his stage antics and way of involving the audience in the Maiden live show are legendary.   

Only 2 left, one of these is going to be a real surprise to me that this person has ranked so high.

[wolfking]

Bruce Dickinson - my number 1 and like Wolfking my number 1 music idol. Just love Bruce and not only is he a fantastic singer he is also one of the great frontmen, his stage antics and way of involving the audience in the Maiden live show are legendary.   

I'm a guitarist through and through, but Bruce symbolises so many great things that appeal and influence me.  His voice and music is a class above the rest for me, but it's his stage presence, performances, general attitude, his constant striving to break new ground in his life doing so many different things, and his overall arrogance and couldn't give a fuck attitude.  I just dig that.

[Samsara]

IMO, #1 better be the singer who I think it is.

#2 better not be who I think it is.

[The Realm]

Bruce Dickinson - my number 1 and like Wolfking my number 1 music idol. Just love Bruce and not only is he a fantastic singer he is also one of the great frontmen, his stage antics and way of involving the audience in the Maiden live show are legendary.   

I'm a guitarist through and through, but Bruce symbolises so many great things that appeal and influence me.  His voice and music is a class above the rest for me, but it's his stage presence, performances, general attitude, his constant striving to break new ground in his life doing so many different things, and his overall arrogance and couldn't give a fuck attitude.  I just dig that.

Yes, just totally agree. Well said. I guess I should not be surprised but I honestly thought Bruce would be number 1 overall. How can you not love the guy?

[The Realm]

IMO, #1 better be the singer who I think it is.

#2 better not be who I think it is.

No idea if we have the same singers in our heads but my thoughts for the final 2 are exactly the same. I may have quite a bit to say tomorrow.

[soupytwist]

Tina Turner and Karen Carpenter 1 & 2 then!

[WilliamMunny]

Reading through this thread, I realize that many of my 'favorite' singers are far from what you'd call talented...yet, they completely move me as artists.

Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Kip Winger would've all made my top 20, and other than Kip, I'll be the first to say that those are some pretty pedestrian vocalists when it comes to talent.

[Stadler]

Reading through this thread, I realize that many of my 'favorite' singers are far from what you'd call talented...yet, they completely move me as artists.

Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Kip Winger would've all made my top 20, and other than Kip, I'll be the first to say that those are some pretty pedestrian vocalists when it comes to talent.

Hmm.  Michael Stipe was my No. 22.  I've seen REM live I think five times and he was excellent every single time. Now Thom Yorke... I may have to ask for a sobriety test! 

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Seeing as we are near the end, here are some names I would have thrown into the mix…

Roy Khan
Steve Hogarth
Tom Englund
Pat Benetar
Lee Douglas
George Michael
Steve Walsh
David Gilmour

I would suspect most of those are just outside the top 25.  Given the popularity of Marillion here I'm surprised Hogarth or even Fish didn't place.  Seeing the preference for classics I'm kind of surprised Walsh didn't make it.  Khan and Englund have to be close to being included.  Benatar is very slowly growing on me over the years.  Douglas is limited by only being a secondary lead vocalist, and only on the last few Anathema albums, but she might be in my top 75 anyway.  George Michael was great, but not really DTF's kind of music.  Gilmour goes in the Geddy category for me.  I feel like the glow from the music might permeate into his singing to some extent, though clearly not enough for him to place. 

What about non rock/metal/prog singers?

You could argue that 11 of mine have done projects that aren't really rock/metal/prog. 

[HOF]

Reading through this thread, I realize that many of my 'favorite' singers are far from what you'd call talented...yet, they completely move me as artists.

Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Kip Winger would've all made my top 20, and other than Kip, I'll be the first to say that those are some pretty pedestrian vocalists when it comes to talent.

The Kip Winger coalition could have used your vote! I had him at number 3. Was really hoping he’d get a few other votes and find his way onto the list.

[wolfking]

Reading through this thread, I realize that many of my 'favorite' singers are far from what you'd call talented...yet, they completely move me as artists.

Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Kip Winger would've all made my top 20, and other than Kip, I'll be the first to say that those are some pretty pedestrian vocalists when it comes to talent.

The Kip Winger coalition could have used your vote! I had him at number 3. Was really hoping he’d get a few other votes and find his way onto the list.

May seem like blasphemy, but he didn't rank for me.

If the countdown was based on pure sexiness though, he's number 1-25.

[HOF]

Seeing as we are near the end, here are some names I would have thrown into the mix…

Roy Khan
Steve Hogarth
Tom Englund
Pat Benetar
Lee Douglas
George Michael
Steve Walsh
David Gilmour

I would suspect most of those are just outside the top 25.  Given the popularity of Marillion here I'm surprised Hogarth or even Fish didn't place.  Seeing the preference for classics I'm kind of surprised Walsh didn't make it.

Yeah, I wondered where all the Marillion fans were in this exercise, though perhaps Fish and H split their votes.

[KevShmev]

 

*golf clap*

The joke will be on you all tomorrow when Ms. Swift is at number 1.

Oops, damn spoilers. Where is that edit button??

[Glasser]

Kev was bluffing, Paul Stanley is taking home the gold. JLB didn't rank 

[pg1067]

So I was really surprised to see the Boston dude on this list. I knew More than a Feeling and that was basically it. Seemed like a one hit wonder to me. So I decided to check out their greatest hits record. A few songs in and it's pretty damn good! I'll keep checking this out.

Side 1 of Boston's debut is one of the single greatest album sides in rock history.  I'm a little less high on side 2 than a lot of others, but every song is at least solid.  Don't Look Back might be their best song, but the rest of the album of the same name is nowhere near as good.  Following the Don't Look Back tour, bandleader Tom Scholz got embroiled in a couple legal disputes, one of which delayed a third album, and the other of which was filed by the record company for failing to deliver the third album on time.  While all this was happening, Scholz started focusing on his amplifier and music electronics business, and half of the rest of the band moved on.  There was huge anticipation in the early '80s for a third album, which finally got delivered in 1986.  It went 4x platinum in less than six months, but it was as much of a bomb as a 4x platinum album can be.  Since then, Boston has been largely irrelevant/a nostalgia band.

Seeing as we are near the end, here are some names I would have thrown into the mix…

Roy Khan
Steve Hogarth
Tom Englund
Pat Benetar
Lee Douglas
George Michael
Steve Walsh
David Gilmour

I had Benatar and Walsh on my list (#12 and #10 respectively).  I don't know half of the rest of those names.

What about non rock/metal/prog singers?

I had Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish on mine. I'm sure plenty of people had Taylor Swift and I'm sure Stads had Dolly Parton or someone.

No non-rock singers, but I had Amy Lee and Gwen Stefani on my list.

If I had made a long enough list, I think Celine Dion, Gary Morris, Philip Quast or Idina Menzel would have been the highest ranked non-rock singer, but I don't think any of them would have cracked a top 50 list.

[KevShmev]

I should have guessed this crowd would be impatient and start discussing what we normally discuss AFTER the countdown, since any of the ones being talked about could theoretically be numbers 1 or 2 tomorrow. 

[Glasser]

I should have guessed this crowd would be impatient and start discussing what we normally discuss AFTER the countdown, since any of the ones being talked about could theoretically be numbers 1 or 2 tomorrow. 

Paul thanks the DTF for the love! 

[KevShmev]

Paul thanks the DTF for the love! 

 

[SeRoX]

I'm just very nervous... I mean what if he/she doesn't make it.

[wolfking]

I'm just very nervous... I mean what if he/she doesn't make it.

Then their career is over, effective immediately.

[bosk1]

I should have guessed this crowd would be impatient and start discussing what we normally discuss AFTER the countdown, since any of the ones being talked about could theoretically be numbers 1 or 2 tomorrow. 

Paul thanks the DTF for the love! 

That chick is kinda cute.  Does she sing?



Anyhow, when I said earlier that I was missing one of the top ones and couldn't figure out who it could be, I'm an idiot.  That person just wasn't highlighted on my list, so I read right past the name.  Pretty sure I know EXACTLY who the top 2 are (and pretty confident about the order).  But I will confirm after they are revealed.

[coz]

Tate was close to making my top 25.  No disputing that he deserves to be this high.  As far as Maiden, I was late in discovering them.  Not 'til the reunion era.  Since then, Dickinson has been inspirational.  I'd say I appreciate his solo albums as much as Maiden's output.

Where the selections have placed on my list:
20. Steve Perry
17. Bruce Dickinson
8. Geddy Lee
6. Robert Plant
5. Chris Cornell
2. Layne Staley

And selections from my 25+: Tate, Dio, Alder, A. Wilson, J. Anderson, Åkerfeldt, McCartney, Gabriel, Delp

[DragonAttack]

6. Steve Perry  #7  ‘Infinity’ and ‘Escape’ are in my Top 50 albums (they dropped off my radar from ‘Raised On Radio’ onwards). Saw Journey 3x in the 70s.
‘Winds Of March’ at the 2:18 to 2:42 mark  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMPKlejYzPM  I’ll never forgot how he nailed that in concert during the ‘Infinity’ tour. Looked over to my best friend, and both our jaws were dropped.

From ‘ For The Love Of Strange Medicine’ :  You Better Wait, Stand Up, Listen To Your Heart, Somewhere There’s Hope .  Saw that tour twice with the ex, once at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, the other at The Fox Theater in Detroit.  He still had it !!!!

5.  Ronnie James Dio NR  much respect.  Figured he'd be Top Five.

4. Geoff Tate #14  where the ‘trials and tribulations’ knocked him down several notches.  Blew me away at the ‘Empire’ and ‘Promised Land’ shows, and the HITNF one might have been my most enjoyable.  During their heydays, Freddie, Geoff, Steve, and Dennis DeYoung (along with McCartney) would be on my 'Mount Rushmore' for singers.

3. Bruce Dickinson  NR, but again, much respect, and also figured he'd be Top Five.

My only non-rocker would have been Sinatra if this list were forty (and Kev's spreadsheet could have been two miles long......)

[cramx3]

I'm just very nervous... I mean what if he/she doesn't make it.

Then their career is over, effective immediately.

Yup, done.

[WardySI]

Had Bruce at #6 for all the reasons discussed and Tate #1 again for all the reasons discussed.

When I first heard Tate on record I was immediately won over by the warmth and tone of his mid and lower registers. The highs were just the icing on the cake

I reckon my #12 will be in the Top2 however I have no idea regards the other but if I had to take a stab maybe was my #4 as am already surprised they've not featured...