# 10 Best and Worst Speaking Voices **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 17, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725 "2011-04-17T15:06:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/61 "2011-04-18T18:20:32Z")
Worst: James Gandolfini I don’t know what it is about his voice but when I hear it all I can think about is wanting to punch him in the face. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/62 "2011-04-18T18:34:19Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/63 "2011-04-18T18:45:39Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > Any list that does not contain the late great Mark Lenard lacks logic. [Here’s an audio interview from 1986.](http://www.captphilonline.com/Destinies/ClassicDestinies_07_29_88.mp3) He sounds a lot like [Vincent Price.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQALLGsn-Fk) ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/64 "2011-04-18T18:48:28Z")
Best: Mel Kiper, Jr. Football fans let me know if I’m alone here, but I like to hear him talk just because he has a cool sounding voice. Worst: Pam Ward The only female football play by play announcer I know of and her voice is annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Tyrannosaurus\_Volcano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a4c791/32.png) [@Tyrannosaurus\_Volcano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tyrannosaurus_Volcano)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/65 "2011-04-18T18:58:03Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Brian Mulroney, former Prime Minister of Canada. Deep, velvet-like voice, very smooth and soothing. He has exactly the type of voice I like, aside from the fact that he is a horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible person. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/66 "2011-04-18T19:19:52Z")
For Worst Male I’d add Clay Aiken and Don Knotts to the list. ---
**Author:** ![HenryGale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b782af/32.png) [@HenryGale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HenryGale)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/67 "2011-04-18T20:10:44Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Agreed, new poster and IMO, a strange thread topic for a first time poster. :dubious: Anyway, I see Patrick Stewart came up for best male voices, but no Ian McKellan or Leonard Nimoy? If those three ever recorded something together, even something like.. I dunno, pi to a million decimal places, or the human genome, and I’d be hard pressed to ever stop listening. ETA: What,? Read ALL of the pages before I post? Why would I do that when I’m saying something failed to be mentioned?? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/68 "2011-04-18T22:35:31Z")
Elizabeth Peña, the voice of Mirage in _The Incredibles_. Astoundingly sexy. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/69 "2011-04-19T03:41:52Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I agree that he has a wonderful speaking voice. His singing voice is, at best, regrettable. I rather like his singing voice, but I will say that he does have the face for radio.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/70 "2011-04-19T04:13:44Z")
What, no love for Jennifer Tilly? And locally, there is WABE FM classical music DJ Louis Reitzius (sp unsure) a voice as smooth as 12-year-old Scotch. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/71 "2011-04-19T23:54:18Z")
Another worst female: Sarah Palin Our bedroom is just above our television room. I was asleep in bed upstairs and my husband was watching a debate between her and whichever opponent she took on a couple of years ago. Even though the sound was turned down, her nasal haranguing tones floated up through the floorboards and into my sleep and gave me nightmares. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/72 "2011-04-20T00:22:29Z")
I love Rachel Maddow’s brain, but I abhor her speaking voice. I cannot listen to her show as a result. Tim Curry and John Lithgow are two of the absolute best people you can ever hope to hear tell a story as readers of audio books. Just pure heaven. ---
**Author:** ![Tyrannosaurus\_Volcano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a4c791/32.png) [@Tyrannosaurus\_Volcano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tyrannosaurus_Volcano)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/73 "2011-04-20T01:08:23Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Another worst female: > > Sarah Palin > > Our bedroom is just above our television room. I was asleep in bed upstairs and my husband was watching a debate between her and whichever opponent she took on a couple of years ago. Even though the sound was turned down, her nasal haranguing tones floated up through the floorboards and into my sleep and gave me nightmares. I mentioned her. 😃 And I offer my condolences. :o ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/74 "2011-04-20T01:26:22Z")
Paul Keels has a better radio voice than most other sportscasters: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y1dFu6zV8M](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y1dFu6zV8M) Couldn’t stand sportscaster Jack Buck’s gravel-voice. I know Burl Ives is an Americana icon but his voice always rubbed me the wrong way. I used to appreciate Kathleen Turner’s sound back in her prime. ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/75 "2011-04-20T01:28:42Z")
Best male: Peter Coyote (I love when he narrates shows, as I believe he narrates the 100 Greatest Players series on the NFL Network) The guy who narrates Frontline (although he also narrated some idiotic show about Russia’s Roswell, but a guy’s gotta eat…).Will Lyman (I had to google to make sure.) Peter Thomas, who I’ve most recently heard as the voice on PBS saying, “Funding for Nature is provided by…” but I first heard him narrate film strips when I was in high school. Probably my all time favorite was Alexander Scourby, who narrated National Geographic specials in the 60s and 70s, although John Facenda, who narrated NFL films in the 60s and early 70s, is a giant. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/76 "2011-04-20T01:59:33Z")
Ian McShane - I like the deep, gravelly quality ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/77 "2011-04-20T03:44:07Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You seem a little shaky on the concept of ten… OK, my ten best speaking voices: Frank Muller. ```auto And my ten best speaking voices on the Simpsons: Grampa Simpson Santa's Little Helper Barney Gumble Krusty The Clown Groundskeeper Willie Mayor Quimby Hans Moleman Sideshow Mel Itchy (but not Scratchy) Gil Big Rich Texan Lance Murdock Arnie Pie Kodos Scott Christian That squeaky teen Mr. Teeny Leopold Bill (from KBBL) Freddy Quimby Mr Burns's Lawyer and, in tenth place, is... Poochie ``` ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/78 "2011-04-20T04:11:39Z")
Isaac Hayes had a great speaking voice (“Who’s the black private dick whose like a sex machine with all the chicks…”) Pretty good as Chef, too. And since I have to include Mel Blanc somewhere as both best and worst, I nominate Foghorn Leghorn and Marvin the Martian as opposite ends of the spectrum. Bad male voice - Wallace Shawn (Vizzini from Princess Bride). But of course this is amped up for comic effect. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/79 "2011-04-20T05:13:49Z")
Lee Marvin had a very nice voice. Christopher Hitchens has one. David Bowie also. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725/80 "2011-04-20T15:14:33Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > What, no love for Jennifer Tilly? None from me. Similarly, the previews for **Chasing Amy** made me dive for the mute button on the remote every time Joey Lauren Adams would speak. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-best-and-worst-speaking-voices/578725.md?page=5)