Who has/had the best voice of any front man in rock history?

[11 Bravo]

Freddie Mercury was great, but my list begins and ends with Burton Cummings.

[Nickster]

1. Freddie is way up there on my list. WTH is Burton Cummings?

[11 Bravo]

3. Lead singer of the Guess Who.

You owe it to yourself to check him/them out.

[samdogmom]

4. Guess Who, Bachman Turner Overdrive ring a bell? n/t

[Nickster]

6. Heh, I just googled it.:-) Thanks. Oh and BTW, 11Bravo.....

You're crazy! The all time greatest?? The ALL TIME Greatest? I don't think so.

[11 Bravo]

13. Entirely possible, but I'll wager I'm not the only one.

[Nickster]

20. It's probably a generational thing. The Guess Who was just a *bit* before

my time.

[11 Bravo]

25. That's probably the nicest way I've ever been called an old fart.

(Which, by the way, I am!)

:)

[Nickster]

27. Heh, heh,heh. Hey, I gotta have some love for a fellow Army "grad".

Although, I'm kinda scared to ask how old you are, because I'm probably not that far behind!:-)

[11 Bravo]

51. 55. Ouch, it hurts to even type it.

[Nickster]

67. Ok, you really are an old fart then! LMAO. That was mean, I'm sorry

well.....}( I used to have an LT that was an 11 Bang Bang and I used to have great fun giving him hell, so you must have just brought it out in me.

Peace Brotha!

[driver8]

105. He isn't crazy...maybe you're crazy!! Ever think of that?

Burton Cummings is an excellent choice.

Freddie Mercury is right up there with him, however.
If Axl Rose wasn't such a douche bag, he might be up there, too.

[RedStateShame]

2. Would Brian Wilson count?

Or was he not upfront enough to be a "front man?"

[samdogmom]

8. Carl Wilson had the better voice, imo. n/t

[Dees]

75. Yes, in my opinion, he did have a better voice than brother Brian.

I think Carl's voice (R.I.P) was one of the five best in rock music.

[Nostradammit]

5. Burton Cummings - Guess who - was my first thought

But, my answer might be different on almost any given day.

[11 Bravo]

9. I was sitting at the keyboard listening to "Talisman" ...

and decided I had to start a thread.

[Nostradammit]

39. Their live album is still one of my faves

I like all different kind of music, from many different eras, but when they were in their prime they were the very definition of rock and roll. Cummings voice is everything I'd want in my lead singer - ballsy, bluesy, raspy-clear and pitch perfect.

[BlooInBloo]

7. Axl Rose, imo. Freddie Mercury might be my 2nd.

[borlis]

86. If Axl Rose has the best voice, then

I should be a singer. I don't see (or hear) it. Sorry. Freddie had a good voice though.

[6000eliot]

92. Axl Rose=chalk on a blackboard!

[borlis]

93. How about nails on a chalkboard?

[6000eliot]

94. Something unbearably annoying.

[Nevernose]

88. Unique? Yes. Best? No.

Though unique is definitely important, and I loved GnR, I've gotta go with Freddy.

[mzteris]

142. ewwwww,,,,,,,,

He sounds like a dentists drill!

[Aiptasia]

10. Depends on the singing style/vocal range

Freddy Mercury had a pretty good falsetto range, but Rob Halford of Judas Priest blows him away.

Janis Joplin wins my vote for female rock vocalist. The tambre of her voice was just so unique.

[Mythsaje]

14. Halford's high on my list too...

And Geoff Tate.

As far as women goes, I have to vote Benatar or Amy Lee. Benatar for power, Amy Lee for pure clarity.

[Mythsaje]

11. Too many to choose from...

Cummings and Mercury were great, no doubt about it. But there are so many others who could go on that list. Tate, Halford, Bach, to name a few. Gillan and Dio as well, for that matter. Cummings might have been the best EARLY voice, but there have been so many since worthy of note.

[Hubert Flottz]

12. Jim Dandy!

[RedStateShame]

15. But as long as we're naming others....

The rest of my top 5 would be Roger Daltrey, Paul Westerberg, Bob Pollard, and Bon Scott.

[RandiFan1290]

16. Not sure who is the best

but I gotta give some love for Steve Perry from Journey :)

[bluethruandthru]

79. Steve's my pick! n/t

[dionysus]

17. Morrison

[DBoon]

41. I'd say so too

nt

[nutsnberries]

44. he was the first one in my mind too...

we are talking Jim, right? :shrug:

[wildhorses]

46. Van or Jim?

:shrug:

[dionysus]

53. Jim!!

there's no contest in my book

[wildhorses]

57. how odd, it is NO contest in my book either

and I say Van

[nutsnberries]

58. hahahahahaaa, this coming from dionysus....

post a pic... i wanna see if you look like Jim :)

[nutsnberries]

64. i've taken many a swim in jim morrison's voice.

Let's swim to the moon, uh huh
Let's climb through the tide
Penetrate the evenin' that the
City sleeps to hide
Let's swim out tonight, love
It's our turn to try
Parked beside the ocean
On our moonlight drive
Let's swim to the moon, uh huh
Let's climb through the tide
Surrender to the waiting worlds
That lap against our side
Nothin' left open
And no time to decide
We've stepped into a river
On our moonlight drive
Let's swim to the moon
Let's climb through the tide
You reach your hand to hold me
But I can't be your guide
Easy, I love you
As I watch you glide
Falling through wet forests
On our moonlight drive, baby
Moonlight drive
Come on, baby, gonna take a little ride
Down, down by the ocean side
Gonna get real close
Get real tight
Baby gonna drown tonight
Goin' down, down, down


:)

[PassingFair]

18. Male: Freddy, no contest...

Female: Annie Lennox (debatable as I'm not sure she qualifies as "rock")

[LisaM]

19. More Burton Cummings fan? Rock on! I LOVE HIM.

I love him, and I love Roger Daltrey.

[LSparkle]

49. I agree with you on both

I think Cummings was great, and Daltrey's screams on "Won't Get Fooled Again" are giving me chills right now as I imagine them ...

[nashville_brook]

21. lou reed

[azmouse]

22. David Lee Roth

Van Halen was never the same when he left.

[dysfunctional press]

23. Tommy Bolin

just sayin'...

[skyblue]

24. Tom Waits, Lou Reed, Otis Redding.

Worst Voice: Jim Morrison. Too much attitude.

[Caution]

26. Robert Plant. Hands down. End of discussion.

[wake.up.america]

37. The Best - Robert Plant. Nobody approaches him. Nr.2 Daltry pales...

in comparison.

[dpbrown]

66. Agreed

Amazing

[NoSheep]

99. I'm tied between Jagger and Plant. Why do I have to pick one?

:freak:

[kwassa]

113. I never liked Plant's voice, which is why I wasn't a Zep fan.

[lpbk2713]

28. Joliet Jake

[phylla]

29. Freddie, definitely Freddie

[Monk06]

134. No contest. From Wiki....

Freddie Mercury possessed a very distinctive voice. Although his speaking voice naturally fell in the baritone range, he also maintained tone in the tenor range <3>. His recorded vocal range spanned nearly four octaves (falsetto included), with his lowest recorded note being the F2 and his highest recorded note being the D6, according to the standard C scale <4>. His highest recorded head voice note was the F5 <5>.

In addition to vocal range, Mercury often delivered technically difficult songs in a forceful and powerful manner. As a example, while the average top 10 pop song contains 3 to 7 chords, Bohemian Rhapsody contains 60 different chords <8>. Bicycle Race contains over 20 chords as well as complex metre changes (the bridge is in 3/4 while verses and choruses are in 4/4).

On the Freddie Mercury box set, opera singer Montserrat Caballé commented that, "He was not only a popular singer, he was a musician, that could sit at the piano and compose. He discovered a new way to bring different music styles together. He is the first and only person to have done this."

[Jed Dilligan]

30. Rob Halford

Amazing range and clarity. Of course, you don't always want an opera singer in your rock music. Shane McGowan, whose voice is crud, is a great singer too!

[Jokerman]

31. Roger Daltrey n/t

[blm]

32. Robert Plant. Jim Morrison. Robin Zander.

I also am partial to Eric Burdon.

[Rude Horner]

52. Robin Zander doesn't get nearly enough credit

Awesome voice, both on the albums (CD's) and in concert.

Like some others have said, there are way too many to choose from. Rock music is so varied that it really depends on the type of rock music. Maynard Keenan of Tool has a great voice. Sammy Hagar has a really good voice. Love Freddie Mercury. Rob Halford kicks butt. So many to choose from.

As far as females go: Pat Benetar has an incredible voice. Same thing for Nancy Wilson of Heart.

[blm]

122. A friend of mine who has engineered alot of these artists has often said

that you need to stay on top of most vocalists in the studio - tweaking here, juicing up there. He said the two vocalists that an engineer just sits back and bears WITNESS - Ann Wilson and Robin Zander.

[Rude Horner]

132. That's interesting.

Thanks for the post. I believe it! When I was a younger man, I went to a Cheap Trick show here in Madison Wisconsin. Probably one of the best concerts I'd ever been to. And I couldn't believe how incredible Robin Zander sounded live. Some artists - you hear them live and think "man, this doesn't even sound like the same singer as on the album", but Zander hit every note. Just - wow.

[blm]

137. People often forget the body of work Cheap Trick put out. They really were

the closest an American band got to being the Beatles, imo. They have a long list of catchy tunes that appeal to a wide range of listeners.

It takes going to one of their shows and realizing - Damn - they wrote that - oh yeah, that one, too....etc....

[deaniac21]

33. Roger Daltrey

[Orsino]

130. Yep. He could sing sweetly...

...or out-scream any metalhead. He did it all.

[NNadir]

34. It wasn't Robert Planet.

That's for sure.

I don't really know if it's wise to get into "best" in the case of music, since ultimately it is a matter of taste and who the listener is.

Reaching way back into Rock n' Roll history, I always loved the voices of Marty Balin, Jefferson Airplane (better than I loved Grace Slick's voice) and the voice of Jack Bruce of Cream.

At the risk of stirring up Lounge Trouble, Donald Fagen's voice has always had the wittiest sound of irony, it's like irony translated into voice.

I love Rikki Lee Jones's voice.

But the voice that has always thrilled me the most in Rock music belonged to Joni Mitchell.

[SteppingRazor]

35. Maybe Roger Daltry, Chris Cornell or Mike Patton n/t

[truebrit71]

36. Phil Lynott - Thin Lizzy

Saw them in concert waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back when....It is a performance that STILL raises goosebumps when I think about it...

[swag]

38. Oh, Mark E. Smith probably.

[leftist_rebel1569]

98. this is correct

also the winner of the best looking category as well.

[AllieB]

40. Chris Cornell from Soundgarden, Roger Daltry, Robert Plant

:-)

[SlavesandBulldozers]

126. Chris Cornell or Mike Patton. I think I'm partial to Patton.

[maveric]

42. Performance-wise, Freddie Mercury. For pure vocal talent, Paul Rodgers.

Rodgers is hailed as the "Frontmans frontman" by his peers.
But as far as artistic performance goes, Freddie M was the best!

[GirlinContempt]

43. Burton Cummings?

OMG I just died of the funny

[Rabrrrrrr]

45. Ian Gillan, Dio, and Robert Plant all tie

[KFC]

47. Brian Ferry

[AndyTiedye]

48. Jim Morrison

[borlis]

87. I love Jim's voice.

Very, very soothing. My second favorite.

[Shell Beau]

50. I was gonna say Freddie!

[no name no slogan]

54. Bryan Ferry

n/t

[nishiki]

55. Best Voice-Robert Plant & Greatest Rock Band-Led Zeppelin

[kutco]

56. Bono

for pure passion

[Dhalgren]

59. Greg Lake, Justin Hayward, Ray Thomas

[Burma Jones]

60. Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly

Voices/Styles I also like:

Muddy Waters
Robert Plant
John Lennon
Paul McCartney
Lou Reed
Patti Smith
Ian Anderson
Jon Anderson
Jimi Hendrix
Early Elvis
Joe Jackson
Kurt Cobain
David Gilmour

[Tyrone Slothrop]

61. Mike Patton/Greg Dulli

Patton has vastly more range than any other singer I've ever heard. The man can do amazing things with his voice.

My personal fave, though, is Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers). His voice is my current fave.

[ceile]

76. Saw the Twilight Singers

at SXSW....well, listened from the street (sold out), and his voice gave me chills!

[SlavesandBulldozers]

127. amen to Patton. absolutely. the guy is amazingly talented.

and supremely original.

[taterguy]

62. Syd Straw, Golden Palominos

Although it's kind of a stupid question because you could only answer if you were lucky enough to see all the candidates live

[Lilith Velkor]

63. Maynard. James. Keenan

[Rude Horner]

80. See my post above

Maynard has an awesome voice. I'm a huge "Tool"/"Perfect Circle" fan.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

128. Maynard does have an amazing voice.

haven't heard much of the new one, but wow, that guy has some pipes. Live too, spectacular.

[AzDar]

65. Robert Plant, Rob Halford, Geoff Tate. n/t

[EC]

68. Greg Lake

and Boz Scaggs

[Broken_Hero]

69. Okay, I am pretty sure

I'm going to get flamed for saying this *don's asbesto's superman underoo's*...but my choice, is Keith Caputo, lead singer of Life of Agony. The band has been around since the mid to late 80's and are still together...I based my choice, on what singer, moves me the most. When i listen to Life of Agony, I just...get energized, and Caputo's wailing voice, just speaks to me, greatly.

I know, there are a TON of more famous singers out there, Ozzy, Hetfield, Axl, Dickinson...a bunch...but none of them, get to my core, as much as Caputo does...a strong second is Peter Steele, lead singer of Type O Negative...

Its hard to pick just one, but Caputo is mine...

[MichaelHarris]

70. Neil Diamond

and don't argue with me. :)

[Broken_Hero]

72. what neil??

*argue argue argue* *rabble rabble rabble*...;)

[blindpig]

71. David Bowie

Honorable Mentions to Greg Lake, Brian Ferry, Peter Gabriel and yes, Don Van Vliet.

Mad, they say I'm mad.

[DBoon]

82. Bowie has a very good voice

and it has held up well over the years

[Spider Jerusalem]

131. Especially considering that he was a three-pack-a-day smoker...

until fairly recently.

[LynneSin]

73. Robert Plant - that man just oozed sex appeal

Freddie Mercury wasn't necessarily the best singer vocally but had such amazing charsima that the entire audience, even at Wembley Stadium, felt like they were a part of the show.

[ceile]

74. Raul Malo

or maybe Chris Isaak.....they both give me goose bumps.
:loveya:

[stellanoir]

77. Jeff Buckey (RIP)

had the most astounding soulful voice ever.

Peter Gabrial, Elvis Costello, Chris Isaak, both Morrisons, Hendrix, and Bob Weir. Okay I've quirky tastes okay?

[Nostradammit]

90. Just for clarity - it's Buckley with an L

And his was one of the first to pop into my mind as well.

God help me, I wish he were still here. Imagine what his later work might have achieved?

His "Hallelujah" from Grace is one of my favorite vocal performances of all time.

[tarkus]

78. I am appalled by the lack of Geddy Lee presence here.

Or perhaps I should be appalled at my inability to read a post that is there. Either way, I don't see enough Geddy here.

[Nevernose]

89. Rush isn'tt my favorite

But Geddy Lee is a heck of a singer.

[NoSheep]

100. I've had enough Geddy already.

:D

[grannylib]

81. Boy that's tough...so many great voices! Daltry and Plant and Morrison

back in the day; Chris Cornell, Neil Finn, can't think of his name but the lead singer from Incubus...

lots of great voices.

[chaska]

83. In a metal mood? Personal fave, Graham Bonnet (Alcatraz, Deep Purple....)

I love Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale. Have to be in the mood for Dio.

[RevolutionaryActs]

84. Freddie Mercury and Michael Hutchence.

IMO anyway. :)

[wake.up.america]

85. INXS rocks. Led Zep is rockier.

[RevolutionaryActs]

91. Well, those two are my favorites.

There are tons, and tons of great singers out there.

Freddie is my top choice though, he was amazing. And I think Michael Hutchence is/was highly underrated as a singer.

[wake.up.america]

109. Yep, it is all a matter of what you like. Your choices are also on my ...

list

[SoCalDemGrrl]

95. Jim Morrison, hands down

[flvegan]

96. Tim McIllrath

his voice, and what it says.

Rise Against.

[Nevernose]

97. John Lennon on "Twist and Shout"

One take.

[Common Sense Party]

101. For metal: Ronnie James Dio.

Ugly little troll, but a helluva singer.

[speedoo]

102. Frankie Lymon (of the Teenagers)... many other greats from the old days.

like the leads from the Temptations, and the other doowop groups. Frankie Valli, Dion etc.

[Dees]

119. And Johnny Maestro of the Crests and Brooklyn Bridge.

[Robeson]

103. Ian Anderson.

[driver8]

104. I was going to write Burton Cummings as soon as I saw this thread!

Great choice! That guy can sing anything.

[Alexodin]

106. I'm not wild about all of his music but Elvis had a beautiful voice.

[Peter Frank]

107. Paul Rogers... n/t

[Skittles]

108. I'd go with Freddy

but I absolutely know what you mean about Burton. Another voice I loved was Gary Puckett....

[HughBeaumont]

110. Mike Patton/Freddie Mercury tie.

Others -

Roger Daltrey
Robert Plant
Geddy Lee
Bruce Dickinson
Rob Halford
Russ Anderson

[gpandas]

111. meatloaf n/t

[radwriter0555]

117. Oooo that's right, Meat... He's got an album coming out this year with his

past producers.

Could be good.

[XNASA]

112. Either David Thomas or Robert Wyatt.

[noonwitch]

114. Freddie Mercury

Other guys have unique voices-like Morrison, Lennon, Axl, etc., but Freddie had the best voice.

Geoff Tate from Queensryche and Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden also have those kind of classically-trained vocal abilities.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

115. Michael Bolton

Ha! Just kidding! Made you open the post, huh, so you could TRASH me?

I'd say Jim Morrison or Freddy. Or Eddie Vedder.

[Phillycat]

116. 1. Freddie Mercury 2. Chris Cornell 3. Axl Rose n/t

[ghostsofgiants]

118. Dallas Green of Alexisonfire/City & Colour

Though he's technically not the front man in Alexisonfire.

Matthew Bellamy from Muse ranks pretty high for me too.

[MsAnthropy]

120. Eric Burdon of the Animals and War

What a voice!

[HEyHEY]

133. DAMN Straight!

[blm]

138. He's in my post, too. People forget how hauntingly effective his voice is

.

[bmbmd]

121. Garry Puckett

had a pretty good voice.

[Indy_Dem_Defender]

123. Flame away folks

Steve Perry - I've seen alot of people bash Journey over the years but you can't dispute this guy has a good voice, I wouldn't say the best but a dark horse.

[Taverner]

125. Yes, he does have a good voice

the band sucked when he took over, but he could sing.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

129. don't stop believin

Steve Perry. lol. I'm sorry just reading his name makes me laugh, but yeah, he's got a great voice.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

136. Yes, he does.

No flames from me.

[Taverner]

124. Jim Morrison, Roger Daltrey (and I hate the Who) and Robert Plant

Three way tie

[HEyHEY]

135. Eric Burdon

[izzybeans]

139. The Cookie Monster

He was in like 500 hundred speed and death metal bands it seems. Very prolific.

[mvd]

140. Paul Simon

Then..

Paul McCartney
John Lennon
Brian Wilson
Michael Stipe
Eddie Vedder
Bono

The list goes on..

Elvis would be #1 if in a group.

[cdsilv]

141. John Fogerty...