Best female singer
 

dont care if they look hot or like crap, or what genere. Recommend me some good ones.

Bjork.

Look no further.

That is all. Carry on then!

-matt

Stevie Nicks is my all time favorite female singer.

Bjork and Shirley Manson!

Sorry, I just never got Bjork. I like the weird, depressing, sensual vibes of the trip-hop chanteuse, but Bjork just pushed too far into the creepy for me. Although, I haven't given her stuff an intensive listen, so I might eventually come back to her.

My picks:

Beth Gibbons of Portishead
Tracey Thorn of Everything but the Girl
Siobahn de Mare of Mono and Violet Indiana
Elisabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins
Dot Allison
Beth Orton

Some non trip-hop ones:

Aimee Mann
Andea Corr of The Corrs
Madonna (Yeah, I think she's pretty good. What's it to you?)
Michelle Branch and Vanessa Carlton (By now, I have probably lost all credibility. But even though they're new, their music almost a bit to poppish for my tastes, I think they have exceptional talent.)

Sarah McLachlan
Andrea Corr
Allison Krauss
Diana Krall

kristen hersh (throwing muses, solo)
pj harvey
kim deal (the breeders, the amps, pixies)
sinead o'connor

Ann Wilson of Heart
Aimee Mann
Tina Arena

:up:

Alanis Morissette!!

a couple more ...

Terri Nunn of Berlin
Trisha Yearwood

Try Norah Jones. She's all the rage here lately in the jazz world. Great voice, too.

nikka costa

julie cruise

Madonna and Shakira

Although my favorite female performers are Toni Halliday of Curve, Aimee Mann and Liz Phair. Hands down, the most powerful voice in music ever (IMO) has got to be Alison Moyet. What a set of pipes.

Can somebody explain to me how in the h-e-double-hockey sticks did this thread go 15 replies without someone saying the obvious answer... Tori Amos???

I dont know why but the high voices on shakira sound a little forced. Madonna is consitered an entertainer and not a really good singer.

Emmylou Harris
Kasey Chambers
Allison Krauss
Lucinda Williams
Be Good Tanyas

My bad. I agree she is up there. AWESOME songwriter, brilliant piano player, and great voice.

Agreed. I just started to listen to her and the album is a really unique mix of jazz and pop with some pseudo-folk and country thrown in. I'm glad the jazz community is embracing it but, other than the small jazz combo that is her band, there's quite a few on there that I think go beyond the traditional definition of jazz.

As far as "Best Female Singer", I'm not even going to get into a list as "Best" is extremely subjective. That being said, some of the ones I keep coming back to:

Martina Sorbara (just released her first album on Nettwerk in Canada and will see a US release in late-Summer, one of the finest debut albums I've heard in a very long time)
Andrea Florian (extremely talented and genuinely nice person who is an independent artist out of Toronto)
Ani DeFranco
Diana Krall

My choices:

Janis Joplin
Joni Mitchell
Beth Gibbons
Faye Wong
Tori Amos
Elizabeth Frazier

Another vote for Kasey Chambers!

Hope Sandoval - favorite

Tori Amos - lots of love

Another vote for Aimee Mann. :)

Allison Krauss has the best singing voice I've ever heard.

I'm not trying ot sound like a cliche, but her voice is what I imagine angels would sound like.

She sang Ave Maria at the Grammys a few years ago in a duet with Pavarotti. And I felt she blew him away. She had more range, more heart and above all, more soul.

Her songs are kind of hit or miss, but with that voice, who cares.

She also plays a mean fiddle.

Michael Jackson

So many people have already said my favorites, but if you want I will add my voice to these:

*PJ Harvey rocks my world
*Tori Amos is almost tied w/ PJ
*Beth Gibbons of Portishead
*I am blanking on her name, but she played w/ Tricky on Angels w/ Dirty Faces and Maxinquaye
*Fiona Apple (yes, she is temperamental, but that voice, those lyrics *sigh*)
*Alison Krauss has a haunting voice (favorite song-"It Doesn't Matter")
*Emiliana Torrini (beautiful voice)
*Etta James ("At Last"...'nuff said)
*Ella Fitzgerald (if you can't afford her collection, get The Best of the Song Books
*Bjork (my favorite cd is Post

Okay, there are undoubtedly many hundreds more, but I think I'll stop here. Good luck in your pursuit of beautiful music!

Paula Cole.

Bjork and Melora Creager. Leigh Nash is pretty good as well.

~Scheherazade

Heh, seriously though I think Hiroko Kasahara , who you've most likely never heard of is the best female artist ever! Her voice is so smooth and unlike anyone you ever heard...

http://www2.gol.com/users/arashi/hiroko.html

Gladys Knight without a doubt.

Current singers:
Bjork
Liz Phair
Aimee Mann

Singers from yesteryear:
Billie Holliday
Ella Fitzgerald
Aretha Franklin (okay, so maybe she's not that old)

And I'm probably alone on this, but I always dug Juliana Hatfield. A little girlish maybe, but it works for me.

Andalusia,

You are so not alone in liking Juliana Hatfield. I have all her cds, plus a couple from when she was w/ The Blake Babies. While her voice is good (maybe a little pop-y), the thing I like best about her is her songwriting ability. Most of her songs are quirky w/ a catchy hook, but there is meaning behind them.

So, thanks for reminding me about her :wave:

Trisha Yearwood - Country

Madonna - Pop/Dance

Charlotte Church - Classical

Diana Krall - Jazz

Eve - Rap / Hip Hop

Yeah, I know what you mean. Her songwriting is very unique, and she just loves thowing in unusual chords. By the way, she's releasing a "best of" album in June (think it's June). It's called "Gold Stars" and will include the obvious "hits" as well as some brand new songs.

-edit-

Oh yeah, saw your question about the girl who sings with Tricky. Her name is Martina, and I agree she's a great singer... compliments his music very well.

Some favorites:

Amos, Tori
Eggleston, Kat
Fitzgerald, Ella
McKennitt, Loreena
Sade
Sioux, Siouxsie
Williams, Vanessa

Grace Slick from Jefferson Airplane.
Janis Joplin
Genya Ravan from Ten Wheel Drive

I'm a big fan of female jazz singers. Although Diana Krall is very good (and so are countless others like Jane Monheit, Patricia Barber, Cassandra Wilson, Claudia Acuna, Molly Johnson, Susanne Abhuehl, etc...), one stands head and shoulders above the rest: Dianne Reeves.

"Dianne is the legitimate extension of all of the good things that have gone on before, from Ethel Waters to Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah and Carmen... She is earth mother, lover, she is the hurt child, she manages to get inside each one of those things."

Her body of work speaks for itself, but the greatest tribute to her artistry comes from the jazz musicians themselves. In the jazz circles, she is THE female jazz singer.

ani difranco
Lauryn Hill