125 GREATEST SINGERS OF ALL-TIME

The following is a list of whom I consider to be the 125 (approximately) most consistently enjoyable/creative rock or soul singers of all-time, listed in alphabetical order along with the band they are associated with (if any; note that in some cases I listed the band first and then the singers if more than one singer was selected from a specific band; other times I just listed the band) and their most essential singing performance (song or album). In some cases I couldn’t think of a particular song but included the artist to reward an overall body of work. Every one of these guys and gals are worth hearing, though I’d hardly call this list definitive.

Greg Allman (Allman Brothers Band, solo) - “Whipping Post”
The Band (Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko) - “When I Paint My Masterpiece,” “I Shall Be Released,” “It Makes No Difference”
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
The Bee Gees - “Nights On Broadway”
Jon Por Birgisson (Sigur Ros)
Bjork - "Venus As A Boy"
Bobby "Blue" Bland - "Lead Me On"
Colin Blunstone - "Time Of The Season"
Bono (U2) - “Promenade”
David Bowie - “Heroes”
James Brown - "Lost Someone" (live)
Jeff Buckley - "The Last Goodbye"
Tim Buckley - "Song To The Siren" (Monkees TV version)
Eric Burdon (The Animals) - “House Of The Rising Sun”
Solomon Burke - "Don't Give Up On Me"
Kate Bush - “Wuthering Heights”
Richard Butler (Psychedelic Furs) - “Pretty In Pink”
The Byrds - “Mr. Tambourine Man”
Terry Callier - "Lean On Me"
Karen Carpenter (The Carpenters) - “We’ve Only Just Begun”
James Carr - "Dark End Of The Street"
Johnny Cash – “I Walk The Line”
Ray Charles - “Georgia On My Mind”
Euros Childs (Gorky's Zygotic Mynci) - "Patio Song"
Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) - “Where Did You Sleep Last Night”
Joe Cocker - “With A Little Help From My Friends”
Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Temple Of The Dog, Audioslave, solo) - “Mind Riot”
Sam Cooke - “You Send Me”
Burton Cummings (The Guess Who) - “No Time”
Ian Curtis – “She’s Lost Control”
Roger Daltrey (The Who) - “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
Ray Davies (The Kinks) - “Celluloid Heroes”
Brad Delp (Boston) - “More Than A Feeling”
Sandy Denny - "Who Knows Where The Time Goes"
Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) - “The Number Of The Beast”
Ronnie James Dio (Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio) - “Stargazer”
Dion - "The Wanderer"
Udo Dirkschneider (Accept) - "Son Of A Bitch"
Nick Drake - “Northern Sky”
The Drifters (Clyde McPhatter, Ben E. King, Johnny Moore, Rudy Lewis, etc.)
Jeremy Enigk (Sunny Day Real Estate, solo)
The Everly Brothers (Don and Phil) - "All I Have To Do Is Dream"
Jay Farrar (Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, solo) - “Anodyne”
Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction) - “Classic Girl”
Bryan Ferry (Roxy Music, solo)
John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival) - “I Put A Spell On You”
Aretha Franklin - “I’ll Never Love A Man The Way I Love You”
Liz Fraser (Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, Massive Attack) – “Teardrop”
Peter Gabriel - "Solsbury Hill"
Liam Gallagher (Oasis) - "Slide Away"
Art Garfunkel (Simon & Garfunkel) - “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
Marvin Gaye - “Let’s Get It On”
Beth Gibbons (Portishead) - “Sour Times”
Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) - “Child In Time”
David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) - "Wish You Were Here"
Al Green - “I’m Still In Love With You”
Rob Halford (Judas Priest) - “Victim Of Changes”
Emmylou Harris - Wrecking Ball
Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues) - "Nights In White Satin"
Don Henley (The Eagles, solo) - “Boys Of Summer”
James Hetfield (Metallica) - “Fade To Black”
Toots Hibbert (The Maytals) - "Pressure Drop"
The Hollies (Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, Tony Hicks)
Georgia Hubley (Yo La Tengo) - “Blue Line Swinger”
Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders) - “Kid”
Michael Jackson (Jackson 5, solo) - “I Want You Back”
Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones) - “Wild Horses”
Etta James - "I'd Rather Go Blind"
Elton John - “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”
Brian Johnson (AC/DC) - “Back In Black”
Janis Joplin (Big Brother and the Holding Company, solo) - “Ball and Chain”
Maynard James Keenan (Tool) - "Sober"
John Lennon (The Beatles, solo) - “Mind Games”
Annie Lennox (Eurythmics, solo) - "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)"
Darlene Love - "Christman (Baby Please Come Home)"
Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy) - “Whiskey In The Jar”
Jeff Magnum (Neutral Milk Hotel) - “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea”
Bob Marley - “No Woman No Cry”
Steve Marriott (Small Faces, Humble Pie) - “Afterglow”
Chris Martin (Coldplay) - “Yellow”
Curtis Mayfield - "People Get Ready"
Paul McCartney (The Beatles, Wings, solo) - “Let It Be”
Freddie Mercury (Queen) - “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Jim Morrison (The Doors) - “Light My Fire”
Van Morrison - “Listen To The Lion”
Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac) - "Rhiannon"
Roy Orbison - “Crying”
Dolores O’Riordan (The Cranberries) - “Dreams”
Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath, solo) - “Wheels Of Confusion”
Ben Ottewell (Gomez) - "We Haven't Turned Around"
Gram Parsons - “Hot Burrito #1”
Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas) - Angel Dust
Steve Perry (Journey) - “Don’t Stop Believin’”
Wilson Pickett - "In The Midnight Hour"
Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) - “Stairway To Heaven”
Elvis Presley - “Suspicious Minds”
Prince - “Purple Rain”
Bonnie Raitt - “I Can’t Make You Love Me”
The Rascals (Felix Caviliere, Eddie Brigati, Gene Cornish)
Otis Redding - “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long”
The Righteous Brothers - "You've Lost That Loving Feeling"
Smokey Robinson - “Tracks Of My Tears”
Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company) - “All Right Now”
Axl Rose (Guns n’ Roses) - “Sweet Child O’ Mine”
Bon Scott (AC/DC) - “If You Want Blood You’ve Got It”
Bob Seger - “Against The Wind”
Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane) - “White Rabbit”
Ronnie Spector (The Ronettes) - “Be My Baby”
Dusty Springfield - Dusty In Memphis
Bruce Springsteen - “Backstreets”
Layne Staley (Alice In Chains, Mad Season) - “Nutshell”
Mavis Staples (The Staple Singers) - "I'll Take You There"
Stuart Staples (Tindersticks) - “Tiny Tears”
Stereolab (Laetitia Sadier, Mary Hansen) - "Tone Burst"
Rod Stewart (Jeff Beck Group, The Faces, solo) - “Reason To Believe”
Michael Stipe (R.E.M.) - “Everybody Hurts”
Sly Stone (Sly & The Family Stone) – “Everyday People”
Levi Stubbs (Four Tops) - “Reach Out”
Geoff Tate (Queensryche) - "Take Hold Of The Flame"
The Temptations (David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Dennis Edwards, etc)
Linda Thompson - "The Great Valerio"
Tracy Thorn (Everything But The Girl) - “Missing”
Jeff Tweedy (Uncle Tupelo, Wilco) - “I Must Be High”
Corin Tucker (Sleator-Kinney) - “I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone”
Tina Turner - "River Deep Mountain High"
Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) - “Back In The Saddle”
Frankie Valli (The Four Seasons) - "Sherry"
Ronnie Van Zant (Lynyrd Skynyrd) - “Tuesday’s Gone”
Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) - “Alive”
Dionne Warwick – “Walk On By”
Harriet Wheeler (The Sundays) - “Where The Story Ends”
Lucinda Williams - "Right On Time"
Ann Wilson (Heart) - “Crazy On You”
Jackie Wilson - “Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher”
Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith, solo) - “John Barleycorn Must Die”
Bill Withers - "Hope She'll Be Happier"
Stevie Wonder - “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)”
Robert Wyatt - "Sea Song"
Thom Yorke (Radiohead) - “Fake Plastic Trees”
Neil Young - “After The Gold Rush”


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