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1.
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Bruce Dickinson - The Talisman and Cross Eyed Mary (Technically close to perfect, extremely powerful, great vibrato control, wide range and great at conveying emotions. Not to mention his amazing stage presence. As of now my all time favorite singer.) |
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2.
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Damian Wilson - The Druids Turned to Stone Live (Mainly known for his very natural, controlled and emotive high singing. Also one of the most consistent live performers I know, regularly putting the studio versions to shame when performing them live.) |
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3.
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Geoff Tate - Take Hold of the Flame (Maybe the technically most proficient rock/metal vocalist I'm aware of. Wide range and sounds amazing at both ends of it. Extremely powerful and resonant voice.) |
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4.
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Lzzy Hale - Still of the Night live and Slave to the Grind Live (Possibly the most powerful female voice I've heard in popular music, crazy sustained 5th octave belts and screams with a rasp and distortion technique that draws comparisons to Dio. She's overall very similar to Dio although quite a bit more aggressive in her approach. Unfortunately often somewhat tame in the studio and on their own music at least compared to their covers and live performances.) |
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5.
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Hansi Kürsch - Age of False Innocence (Extremely powerful and unique voice over which he has excellent control. He frequently uses his wide range and versatility to create majestic vocal harmonies on studio recording, though he is predominantly known for his powerful gritty baritone belting.) |
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6.
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Fabio Lione - Nessun Dorma live and Highway Star Live (Capable of pulling off some extremely powerful operatic belts, probably best emphasized in his live performance of Nessun Dorma. He also often employs a chestier Dickinson'esque belting technique as well as a lighter mix for his 5th octave notes, thou especially nowadays he often opts for using his whistle register instead which is one of the cleanest and most controlled I've heard from a metal singers.) |
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7.
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Midnight - Red Sharks and Masque of the Red Death (Insane and very agile highs. His mid register was incredible at conveying emotions and still sounded great. This man's delivery and phrasing was something else. He could convey everything from anxiety, emotional pain, frustration, desperation and elation and sometimes all of those at the same time.) |
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8.
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Mike Mills - Wuthering Heights and Everybody Dies (Extremely wide range and he sounds very controlled and powerful at both ends of it. He is also able to pull off a plethora of different vocal styles, ranging from light head voice wailing over powerful operatic belting as gritty rock vocals. One of the most impressive and versatile singers out there today.) |
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9.
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Messia Marcolin - At the Gallows End (Now People who complain about Dickinson's or Michael Kiske's excessive use of vibrato are probably going to want to stay away from this one. He has expert control over his range and can utilize it to great effect to create an eerie or epic atmosphere.) |
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10.
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John Arch - Valley of Dolls and Flight of the Icarus (Very high natural voice placement. As a result he has extremely agile highs and though sparingly used, his mid range is surprisingly good, however he never really did any low singing at all. In terms of phonation technique, range and power he is actually rather on the average side of things, however he has created and sung some of the most challenging, intriguing and unique vocal melody lines I've ever heard. Still sounds as good nowadays as he did 30 years ago and is still an incredibly consistent live performer. I just wish he'd put out more music.) |
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11.
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Ian Gillan - Child in Time and Fighting Man (Pretty much the original metal vocalist, possess a very distinct voice, great range and one of the most powerful upper 5th octaves I've ever heard from a male singer.) |
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12.
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Ronnie James Dio - Stargazer (If you look up powerful in a dictionary this man's name will be the definition, also incredibly consistent, charismatic and versatile singer, with some of the best subtle distortion technique I have ever heard. Also a very radiant performer, always looked like he had a good time on stage and he made sure everyone in the audience had a good time as well by the end of the show.) |
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13.
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Warrel Dane - Veil of Disguise and Solitude (Really, really wide range and technically great as well as very emotional. Very versatile as he has excellent command over everything from soft clean mezza voce high singing over powerful banshee wailing as well as technically better King Diamod'esque falsetto wails. Also he always had an extremely powerful and boomy low register which he started exploring more as he got older.) |
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14.
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Brittney Hayes - Tonight We Ride (Super powerful 5th octave belts and a very "noble" dramatic voice that would allow comparisons to Dickinson, Dio and Tate.) |
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15.
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Rob Halford - Dreamer Deceiver/Deceiver and Painkiller (Not as technically good or powerful as a some of the other singers on here but one of the most versatile singers I know of. He has such a rich pallet of sounds and vocal effects to choose from. And a while his range is much like Freddie Mercury's often blown out of proportion, it is quite wide and back in the day he sounded amazing at both ends of it. If someone is gonna be called the Metal God Rob Halford is certainly not a bad choice.) |
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16.
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Klaus Meine - Sails of Charon and Always Somewhere (Making nasal singing sound good since 1965, very versatile and distinct voice. While his nasal timbre paired with his comfortable heady approach to high singing often make his voice appear rather soft and thin, he can pull off some extremely powerful and resonant singing if he wants to. He's capable of singing some powerful heavy metal as well as lighter ballads. Also even nowadays still probably one of the most consistent live performers on this list.) |
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17.
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Glenn Hughes - Burn live and Highway Star (Master of the tenor falsetto who got technically better and better the older he got. Still sounds almost as good in his 60s as he did back in the 1970s/80s, actually even better since he has gotten a lot more powerful and developed a surprisingly solid low register while actually gaining some notes on the high end.) |
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18.
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Michael Kiske - Keeper of the Seven Keys (Another technically great vocalist with a wide range. In his lower and mid range he is very similar to Tate but with lighter highs. Also even in his youth he had surprisingly powerful lows considering his very light, agile and easy upper-mid and high range.) |
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19.
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Tom Mallicoat - Immune (Pretty much a tenor version of Geoff Tate. Great very resonant, effortless, agile and powerful highs.) |
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20.
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Peter Hammill - Childlike Faith in Childhood's End (Extremely versatile, emotional and powerful voice that can go from very soft falsetto singing to extremely powerful and ferocious sounding belts. He can also pull of some of the most powerful and natural lows I've heard in popular music. Easily my favorite prog rock vocalist.) |
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21.
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Chris Cornell - Jesus Christ Pose (Very powerful and expressive singer. He was probably the answer to what it would sound like if you combined Glenn Hughes' timbre and technical proficiency, Dio's Power and charisma and Robert Plant's delivery style.) |
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22.
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Mark Boals - As Above so Below (Very charismatic performer with a wide range and surprisingly resonant and powerful and agile high register.) |
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23.
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Maxim Beaulieu - Children of the Sea and Make Them Fear Us (Maybe the best voice I have heard in thrash metal, he sounds a bit like Joey Belladonna fused with Klaus Meine and Ronnie James Dio.) |
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24.
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John Yelland - The Philosopher King (Did I say Hansi Kürsch's voice was unique? Well I guess I was wrong. This man sounds a lot like him, so much so that I initially thought Kürsch was doing guest vocals, but he has a bit more of a tenorish voice compared to Hansi's baritone and is probably a bit less technically refined. He also occasionally likes to use his great sounding high mixed wailing, though it is unfortunately used rather sparingly.) |
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25.
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John Lawton - Ride The Sky (Powerful Klaus Meine meets Dio type of vocalist) |
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26.
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Robert Plant - Black Dog (By no means a technical master, but he still possesses a very distinct, charismatic and influential vocal style. Also one of the most charismatic live performers of all Time.) |
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27.
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David Byron - Bird of Prey (Wide ranging, charismatic and versatile voice.) |
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28.
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Tim "Ripper" Owens - Scream Machine and The Ripper (Let's just say there's a reason he was chosen as Rob Halford's replacement.) |
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29.
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Ralf Scheepers - 18 Years (Great range, super powerful, technically great. Somewhat of a Michael Kiske meets Painkiller era Rob Halford approach to his highs, if that makes any sense. Can also pull of some insane whistle register notes and some of the strongest lows in the genre.) |
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30.
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Chuck Schuldiner - Painkiller (The man who made me like Death Metal vocals. Some decent growls, but where he really shines are his crazy, powerful almost inhuman 5th octaves screeches and screams, also capable of doing some decent Rob Halford'esque clean singing.) |
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31.
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Phil Mogg - Rock Bottom and Queen of the Deep (Small range, not particularly powerful and technically average, so why is he on the list? Simply because he has one of the most energetic, emotional and passionate voices I've ever heard.) |
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32.
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Ted Neeley - Gethsemane (Pretty cool high singing. Incorporated more low and grittier singing as he got older. Even now at 73 he can still consistently pull of the G5 in Gethsemane.) |
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33.
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Freddie Mercury - Bohemian Rhapsody (What favorite vocalists list would be complete without him. While I think he is a bit overrated (Don't get me wrong I think he is a great singer, just nowhere near as good as some people make him out to be), he had a very distinct voice that was almost unparalleled in conveying emotions, also very versatile.) |
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34.
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Mike Howe - Badlands (Quite unique sounding technically proficient and versatile singer.) |
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35.
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Dan McCafferty - Love Hurts and Miss Misery (Imagine a technically better, more powerful Brain Johnson with a wider range and an even crazier distortion technique.) |
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36.
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King Diamond - Abigail (Apart from his incredible range and to a lesser extend versatility there's really not much of an argument to be made for this man being a great singer, but his vocals can create an eerie atmosphere like almost no one else's.) |
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37.
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Todd La Torre - Queen of the Reich, Red Sharks (Technically good singer with a decent range and expressiveness, really proved what he's made of by joining Crimson Glory and Queensryche and performing some iconic Geoff Tate and Midnight songs.) |
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38.
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Biff Byford - Strangers in the Night (Another very charismatic and consistent singer, usually stays in his comfortable range, but he can also pull off some great 5th octave wails. Great frontman as well.) |
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39.
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Steve Perry - Don't Stop Believing (Very easy high register, super charismatic, both as a singer and a performer and very consistent being able to sing upper 5th octave notes in his late 60s like most people can't in their 20s.) |
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40.
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Glenn Danzig - Mother (Very soulful, warm voice with an Elvis meets Jim Morrison approach to singing.) |
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41.
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Paul Di'Anno - Remember Tomorrow and Wrathchild (Very underrated singer, technically good, powerful, wide range and quite versatile. Even today his voice is in great shape for a man of his age and especially lifestyle. Unfortunately however, sometime after he had to leave Maiden he went full garage punk singer and apparently developed somewhat of a "fuck it" attitude towards using proper technique and hitting the right notes. Nowadays it's almost like he is deliberately singing out of tune, which is very frustrating because the voice is actually still there.) |
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42.
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Roger Taylor - Bohemian Rhapsody and Modern Times Rock and Roll (The man with the dog whistle voice, as he was described by Freddy Mercury. Could pull of some insane upper 5th and even lower 6th octave falsetto notes, while also being able to pull off some decent low singing. Has a Robert Plant'esque approach to mid range singing although a bit more technical, while less distinct and in my opinion lacking emotion.) |
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43.
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Frank Sinatra - I've Got the World on a String and Ol' Man River (As a crooner obviously a small range but pretty much perfect technique and phrasing, very smooth, powerful, emotional and effortless voice as well.) |
I dare you. 