Your Top Five Solo Female Singers?

[guydarryl]

not sure if these are my top five - it changes the more I think about it and what I want at the time, but these are good:

Whitney Houston
Sinead O'Connor
Chrisie Hynde
Helicopter Girl
Jennifer Hudson

 

[Rk19]

Joan Baez
Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat
Melanie
Mary Hopkins- Earth Song/Ocean Song
Patti Smith

 

[mikecole]

1) Sheila Andrews - I am pretty sure nobody here has heard of her, but she tops my list of all time greatest female vocalists. You can hear her on YouTube though. Search for "Sheila Andrews - Diggin' and a grindin' for his Love 1979"
2) Doris Day - she looks like he could not sing like she does, but her voice is just so ridiculously good
3) Jennifer Warnes - not sure why I like her, but something about her voice draws me in every time
4) Janis Siegel - one the two female singers in Manhattan Transfer, nice ballsy vocals (not quite Mavis Staples though)
5) Johnette Napolitano - from the band Concrete Blonde
There's more, but that's my top five - although I did sneak in Mavis

 

[ciderglider]

1. Suzi Quatro
2. Joni Mitchell
3. Cristina Zihlka
4. Susanna Wallumrod
5. Roisin Murphy

 

[Cereal Killer]

Ane Brun
Agnes Oble
FKA Twigs
Gabrielle Aplin
Fanney Ósk Þórisdóttir

 

[dudywoxer]

Today so far
Christine collister
Suzanne Vega
Agnetha folksborg
K D Lang
Agnes oble

 

[spinningdeck]

So difficult to pick my favourite top five, so many great female singers out there, but here's the ones I listen to most

Emmylou Harris
Joan Baez
Janis Ian
Nanci Griffith
Mary Chapin carpenter

 

[Natara]

I know everyone has their own taste but placing Suzi Quatro above Aretha is surely a wind up c'mon.

 

[MVJ]

I know everyone has their own taste but placing Suzi Quatro above Aretha is surely a wind up c'mon.

Totally agree

 

[Joe Hutch]

Patti Smith: Horses

Joni Mitchell: Blue

Dusty Springfield: Dusty in Memphis

Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star): So Tonight That I Might See

Beth Gibbons (Portishead): Dummy

 

[Stunsworth]

Christine collister

Fantastic voice. I used to assume she would be an enormous star, but it never happened.

 

[Whaleblue]

More so than something like Top 5 Albums, I find this impossible.

Unlike albums, which somehow do, for me, have a personal rating that more or less sticks (at least week to week, if not decade to decade), the idea of rating any of the artists listed in the 70 posts above as being better or worse than any of the others is meaningless.*

So I’ll just mention one or two not already listed (apologies if I missed them)...

Christine McVi
Joan Armatrading
Haley Williams
Goldfrapp
Debbie Harry

*with very few exceptions, I like all of the artists listed.

 

[palacefan]

Very interesting to see Doris Day included among the nominations, I support that opinion, she has a superb voice.
Another singer that I enjoy but does not make my top five ( is a possibly not well known singer) Anna Ternheim of Sweden.

 

[Errol]

Doris Day's version of "Sentimental Journey" when heard once on a car radio,
made me pull over and just listen, a moment of magic.

 

[Big Tabs]

I would like to add Joni James - I have been cleaning up some 1950's singles and her voice is quite something, I had never heard of her until this week!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joni_James

 

[neil]

Dammit how did I forget about Janis Ian, Whitney Houston and Joan Armatrading. Think I need a top 10.

 

[Aural]

Anita Baker.
Emmylou, of course (since I first heard her voice on Gram Parsons' 'GP" disc!)
Mariza.
Misia.(Fado)
Marinha in Ojos de Brujo.

 

[mik_rik]

Grace Slick
Annie Haslam
Jacqui Mcshee
Elkie Brooks
Mylene Farmer

 

[sideshowbob]

Cheikha Rimitti
Sandy Denny (obvs)
Anne Briggs
Shirley Collins
Diamanda Galas

 

[rbrown]

Ella
Randy Crawford
PJ Harvey
Sinead O’Connor
Sheila Chandra