Norm de Plume

I think "best voice" is at least partially subjective. Clearly someone truly abysmal like Tom Arico (linked in first post) would never be regarded as having a good voice by someone with two functioning ears, but some people love, for instance, Dylan's scratchy whine or Tom Waits's sandpaper growl. I don't especially like Dylan's voice either, but can't imagine many of his songs sounding right if sung by another vocalist.

A few more pop/rock voices I like quite a bit (in no order):
-Joan Armatrading
-Barry McGuire
-John Fogerty
-Peter Cetera
-Kate Bush
-Darren Wharton of Dare
-Tony Lewis of The Outfield
-Phil Collins
-Chris DeBurgh (much more than just "Lady in Red")
-John Farnham
-Luba
-Howard Jones
-Fish
-Steve Winwood

inri222

Nina Simone
Ian Astbury
Ron Isley

Cusm

Best is Mike Patton, I don't know if any other human has his range. Tom Yorke is one that really impressed me when I heard other singers cover Creep and could not hit the notes. I would Josh Homme up top as well.

Some of my favorites that probably belong in the worst category are Robert Smith and Tyson Meade.

ResIpsa

Al Green. I really like the Reverend's voice.

I like Stephin Merritt a lot, but for basso profundo I am going to go with Michael Gira of Swans.

I have a mancrush on Britt Daniels' voice. It's a perfect fusion of rock-rasp and indie-lisp.

Others not yet mentioned:

Grant-Lee Phillips
Kristin Hersh
Richard Butler
Jim Kerr

Phil Collins should have stuck to drumming. Insipid, bleating voice.

David Sylvian's voice annoys me because he sounds like a pretentious, bargain-store version of Bryan Ferry with added new-agey-ness. I like Japan as much as the next post-punker, but it's in spite of Sylvian's voice.

And I love Gary Numan, he is easily in my top 3 music artists, but fuck does he have a terrible voice.

Numanoid

Just kidding. His voice is quite unique and is an acquired taste, but it's great once you're used to it. Probably the same way Dylan fans feel, though I've never been able to tolerate his nasal dronings long enough to get used to it.


Best:
Midge Ure
Morten Harket
Russell Mael (Sparks)

Worst:
Billy Corgan, by far. Thank god the '90s are over.

Ringmaster

Roy Orbison had the greatest voice IMO.

Ky-Fi

That's it. A line has been crossed. I've battled people here in the religion/politics threads for years, with all kinds of vitriol and attacks in heated arguments about our morality, our humanity---indeed, our very souls. In all those battles, over all those years, I never once used the "ignore" function and put anyone on there. But you, sir, have just made the list.

Randy Miller III

I've definitely got respect for singers that stay on key and have a clear voice, so I don't know why in the hell Wayne Coyne (The Flaming Lips) doesn't bother me at all. I guess it's like how someone else mentioned Billy Corgan and Axl Rose: within the confines of a particular band, sometimes they just work.

I guess it really depends on the song or mood, but Chris Cornell (Soundgarden) and Bjork are two of my favorites. David Bazan (Pedro the Lion / solo stuff) also has a good earthy, honest voice but not much range.

Norm de Plume

If you can still read this: You hate Cetera's voice? I'm serious with the question. Maybe I'm missing something. Cetera's is one of the most distinctive voices in pop. Yes, I'm a child of the '80s and all of those glorious ballads.

Norm de Plume

What do people dislike about his voice? Is it too "flamey"?

Ky-Fi

To be honest, I don't even know enough of his work to have a valid opinion. I just know that I would rather take a beating than listen to him sing "You're the Inspiration."

stvn1974

My two favorites in Bob Dylan and Tom Waits have been mentioned. My third favorite would be Joanna Newsom.

Hiro11

I gotta say, both of their voices drive me crazy.

cdollaz

Tom Waits is one of those you either appreciate or not. He doesn't have a great voice as commonly defined, but he is one of my favorite singers, as his voice is authentic. He is an even better lyricist.

Alan Smithee

Tom Waits' voice works for the kind of songs he does. If he tried to do mainstream pop or something like that with that voice, it'd be awful.

Pharoh

Maria Callas

Mr. Flix

Best Voices:
Art Garfunkel
Adele
Morten Harket (a-ha)
Annie Lennox
Brian Wilson
Happy Rhodes (totally obscure)
Kate Bush
Michael Jackson
Lindsey Buckingham
Neil Diamond
Mary Fahl
Peter Gabriel
Sting

Worst
Billy Corgan
Natalie Merchant
Shannon Hoon (Blind Melon)
Michael Bolton
Scott Stapp
Paula Abdul
Jennifer Lopez

Also, say what you will about "Christian Rock," but Matthew Ward has one of the most amazing voices I have ever heard, anywhere:

http://youtu.be/jRElOA9bOew

Mike86

One of my personal favorites is Eddie Vedder. It seems like people love or hate his voice though. He seems to be one of the most authentic voices to me though and you can hear the passion and emotion he brings to his lyrics.

As great a talent as I think he is (or maybe was) I really think Bob Dylan's voice is awful. It was never that great to begin with but as he's gotten older it just has become more gravely and grating. Just not a pleasant voice to listen to.

Ky-Fi

My favorite male singer would probably be Mike Scott of The Waterboys. To me, his voice has the gravity and distinctiveness of Dylan or Joe Strummer, but he's a better technical singer than either of them.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/yWrkveqkkQk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Ky-Fi

Yeah, I'm fine with Dylan's voice even up through the 80's, but it's pretty rough at this point. Same thing with Siouxsie Sioux.

Supermallet

I don't think Scott Walker's got a mention yet. If you need to know where Bowie got his vocal inspiration, it's all from Scott Walker.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/zIJzTWk6bSw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Captain Beefheart had an incredible vocal range that he used to great effect in a variety of ways throughout his career.

Also while I'm sure many would disagree, Marianne Faithfull (from 1979 on) has one of my favorite voices. So lived in and world weary.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/PnIqgVeo8K4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Paff

I'm considering putting you on ignore just for mentioning that song, as it's been going through my head since I first read your post.

Ky-Fi

Sorry. Just try to drown it out by thinking of Eric Carmen's "All By Myself."

Quake1028

Some of my favorites:

Steve Perry
Freddie Mercury
Stevie Nicks

JumpCutz

Glenn Hughes