mtd music: Top 100 Favorite Singers 100-91

The following list features my favorite singers of all time, from all genres, no matter when or where. However, this is not a list of simply the best singers ever, otherwise, this would get very boring very fast, as everyone always comes up with the best singers, ie. Elvis Presley/Frank Sinatra/Barbara Streisand, what have you. This is simply my favorite singers of all time. The ones who have evoked the most emotion and grabbed my attention. The following are the singers from 100 down to 91.

I first heard Geddy Lee over my friend's house. He had a couple Rush albums, or should I say his Dad had a couple Rush albums. The one that really grabbed me was Grace Under Pressure, which is a concept album from 1984 about some sort of post apocalyptic world or something. Not sure. All I know is I love every single song off that album. Geddy Lee has one of the most distinct voices in rock, making Rush one of most recognizable (sound-wise) bands ever. Here is one of my favorite songs off Grace Under Pressure, "Afterimage".

Lyle Lovett certainly doesn't command the most powerful voice, but what he got, he's mastered. It's calm and cool, probably like him, and you almost feel like you're with him shooting the breeze somewhere. Or maybe in the back of class, and he's telling you what's what about somebody. I love this man's voice. And his writing is raw and rings true. I'm not just saying that because we once had the same professor in college. Here's one of my favorite Lovett songs. It's incredibly short but amazing. I thought about using "If I Had A Boat", but "Pontiac" is too good to pass up.

Sure, she's unusual. In fact, I might cancel last minute if she ever wanted to hang out. Regardless, there is no getting around it, Cyndi Lauper has an incredible voice! When I was a wee lad, growing up in New York/New Hampshire, I must have listened to She's So Unusual a million times. And when my brother taped over it with Europe's "The Final Countdown", I still managed to snag another copy of the tape somewhere along the way. Here is my favorite Cyndi Lauper song, the heart-wrenching, "Time After Time." 

Rivers Cuomo has an effortless voice, helped in large part by his bandmates, sometimes singing in falsetto, creating a symphony of blissful nerdness. Whatever it is, I love it. In contrast, at times, Cuomo can bleed for his art, and really belt something, in almost a whining crying way. Like I said, whatever it is, I love it. Some of my favorite Weezer songs are, well, anything off their album, and this one, "Pink Triangle", off their second album Pinkerton, about an unfortunate fella who's fallen in love with a lesbian. And really, who hasn't been there before?

I've loved this man's voice since the very first time I heard it, when I heard "Cult Of Personality." Soon after, Living Colour became my favorite band, even joined their fan club. Glover's voice impresses throughout each of the band's first two albums, Vivid and Time's Up. And hey, if you watch Platoon, you can see Glover, pre-Living Colour, where he plays Private Francis, one of the last ones left by the end of the film. I decided to use the album cut version of "Solace of You", a lively and fun song that shows Glover's ability through and through.

Possibly the biggest innovation in voice in contemporary music, was when Eddie Vedder burst on the scene in the early 90's, with a highly unique singing style and delivery, soon copied by such folks as Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and Darius Rucker from Hootie and the Blowfish and many more. Vedder was the first with that peculiar style and the best. Not to mention his incredible wealth of emotion that comes through in his performances, it's no wonder Pearl Jam stopped making videos so early on in their career. There isn't much emotion to be captured in a video. Although Weiland has proven to have considerable talent in his own right as a singer, when Stone Temple Pilots came out with their first single, "Plush", I actually thought it was Pearl Jam's first cut off their next album, it was so similar. In recent years, while digging for treasure on Youtube, I've been finding out Vedder has a lot of the same taste in music I have, as he often does covers of such bands as Split Enz and The La's, two of my favorites, during live performances.

The first time I heard John Fogerty was during the 80's, with the songs from his highly successful Centerfield album. And then, of course, I ventured backwards through the CCR catalog, grabbing the greatest hits albums. Fogerty sports and incredibly driving and soulful voice, capturing his vision of the Bayou and south in masterful fashion. All in all, my favorite Fogerty songs would have to be, "Old Man Down The Road", "Lodi", "Rock 'N' Roll Girls", "Fortunate One", and this one, "Long As I Can See The Light."

Tony Williams' voice is an amusement park full of soul, with ups and downs like a roller coaster, and emotion that suspends you. Tony Williams was the lead singer of the Platters, breathing life into such classics as "Only You", "The Great Pretender", "The Magic Touch", "My Prayer", and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", and many more. I don't think Tony Williams ever gets his due, but he did go into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, as a member of The Platters, even if he could have done alone, and sometimes did.  

Sublime's Bradley Nowell was a gifted singer and guitarist, with immense talent and ability. His well trained voice really drove the success of the punk/ska/rap fusion sound of Sublime. Some of these songs in particular, for me, would have to be "Santeria", "The Wrong Way", and "Get Ready". As someone who doesn't take part in recreational drugs, I might not be the best authority on Nowell's passions or the context of his music, all I know is on the surface, looking in, I saw/heard incredible talent. Nowell was extremely gifted and his music is the incarnation of that gift.

Margo Timmons' smooth and smokey voice is simply unforgettable. And in no other song is that more evident than this Cowboy Junkies classic "Misguided Angel". It's absolutely haunting and perfect. I couldn't find a nice enough live version, so here's the video version.