# Most beautiful/perfect voices in popular music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727 "2011-02-17T18:11:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/101 "2011-02-19T04:18:49Z")
Ella Fitzgerald. And I’ll third KD Lang. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/102 "2011-02-19T09:26:02Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > For me, the list begins and ends with Christina Aguilera. > > The best pure voice I’ve ever heard. Her Grammy solo is still the single most impressive performance I’ve heard on that stage. I think it is interesting that the thread title is “beautiful/perfect” as if perhaps they are two sides of the same coin. I don’t think they are and Christina Aguilera is the perfect example of this. Technically superb? certainly. “perfect” voice? well in pop there are few better. But beautiful? She can be when she tones the skank down but her voice isn’t. Showy but shallow. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/103 "2011-02-19T09:50:20Z")
I think Christina actually shines when she uses her voice to do the opposite of “beautiful” singing, like in her songs ‘Dirrty’ and ‘Not Myself Tonight’. Given an average vocalist they would be average songs but the fact that she can _really_ sing takes them to a whole other level. Her sexual image means she can really play up the “girl with voice of angel acts like skanky ho” angle and I find that much more interesting than endless showy ballads. (Though most of her ballads are still amazing.) ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/104 "2011-02-19T10:03:56Z")
The heavy metal singer [King Diamond](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Diamond) had a very impressive range and an equally impressive delivery. I won’t try and argue that his voice is beautiful, but it was perfect for heavy metal, especially on the albums he did with Mercyful Fate. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/105 "2011-02-19T13:08:32Z")
Natalie Merchant. Her Tigerlily album is just about perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/106 "2011-02-19T15:20:39Z")
Leonard Cohen Aimee Mann ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/107 "2011-02-19T17:36:32Z")
Christina and Mariah are at the top of my list. I’m not really a huge fan of Christina or Mariah but I can’t deny that they have incredibly powerful, beautiful voices. As for my personal preference, Shakira has an [absolutely stunning](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQomxr-vhu8) voice to me. (At least, with her Spanish stuff… her English stuff sounds quite odd to me.) She can sing sweet or [rough it up](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxTQdPeWMY4). (She’s also an incredible songwriter.) In country music, Reba McIntyre. Especially ‘‘Cathy’s Clown.’’ Kills me. ETA: For dudes - Chevelle’s [Pete Loeffler](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onqa6aRHDC4) has an absolute perfect voice. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/108 "2011-02-19T17:57:48Z")
> [@Indygrrl](#): > > Leonard Cohen\ Okay, people who are posting people like Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits are going to have to explain to me how people who sound like a cat stuck in a garbage disposal have a beautiful/perfect voice, cause I’m not getting it. ---
**Author:** ![Shooby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@Shooby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shooby)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/109 "2011-02-19T20:48:14Z")
This thread is a perfect example of how stunningly subjective musical beauty is. You can’t really argue with someone that Leonard Cohen’s voice is not the most beautiful in the world, because it may very well be, for them. It’s all about hitting that sweet spot in your ears. Someone listed Colin Meloy in this thread, and I can’t think of any successful singer’s voice that grates on me more, at least among musicians that I’m somewhat positive towards. For my money I’ll go with Jeff Buckley, who has possibly the widest range of any male I know for which he can make his vocals absolutely beautiful. He can do strong and snarly just as well as soft and vulnerable, and even though I don’t like some of the songs on his album, I’m still transfixed by his voice. Neko Case gets honorable mention, as there is something incredibly powerful and rich about her singing, but she does overdo it sometimes and verges into Celine Dion territory. I can (and have) listen to her all day, though. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/110 "2011-02-19T22:09:44Z")
I didn’t notice anyone mentioning [Rumer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpuwpFnz7bw) yet. She’s like a young Karen Carpenter. Gorgeous voice. Some of my favorite voices belong to Art Garfunkel, Roy Orbison, Bowie, James Taylor, Harriet Wheeler (exquisite), kd lang, and Joan Armatrading. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/111 "2011-02-19T23:33:03Z")
Gloria Estefan ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/112 "2011-02-20T03:24:18Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Okay, people who are posting people like Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits are going to have to explain to me how people who sound like a cat stuck in a garbage disposal have a beautiful/perfect voice, cause I’m not getting it. This thread has fallen victim to what so many of these threads fall victim to: the widespread inability to distinguish any superlative (Best, perfect, most beautiful) from “what I like the most”. Happens every single time. And I’m not sure if it’s just that people think in mushy ways and dont’ really comprehend the question, or if they can’t differentiate their responses from a (relatively) objective assessment. For instance, I really cannot stand pretty much any song that Barbra Streisand has ever recorded. I dislike her arrangements and her phrasing. But I think she has an extraordinary instrument, easily in the top 5 or 10 of all time. But I find Janis Joplin to be a much more exciting, interesting, moving singer, one whose voice could never really be accurately described as “beautiful” or “perfect”. Other singers with extraordinary instruments: Mariah, Whitney, and Aguilera. All of whom are fucking boring as hell, Aguilera being the least so. I agree that kd lang has a beautiful exquisite voice, but I think she is a marginal songwriter, so I only really like to listen to her interpret other people’s music. Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits and Bob Dylan are three excellent poets and songwriters whose voices are not the point. But I don’t think there has ever been a thread like this that hasn’t been filled with people answering the question (which seems to be looking for people’s best objective assessment) by saying who or what their personal favorites are. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/113 "2011-02-20T03:32:18Z")
Oh yeah, another amazing instrument I can’t stand but is hard to deny: Celine. Barf. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/114 "2011-02-20T03:34:20Z")
> [@Chicken\_Fingers](#): > > I didn’t notice anyone mentioning [Rumer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpuwpFnz7bw) yet. She’s like a young Karen Carpenter. Gorgeous voice. > > Some of my favorite voices belong to Art Garfunkel, Roy Orbison, Bowie, James Taylor, Harriet Wheeler (exquisite), kd lang, and Joan Armatrading. Beautiful. Very old school vibe. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/115 "2011-02-20T03:46:03Z")
Does Azam Ali (Niyaz & Vas) count as popular music? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/116 "2011-02-20T04:42:47Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > I won’t try and argue that his voice is beautiful, but it was perfect for heavy metal, especially on the albums he did with Mercyful Fate. I think that may be a different thread altogether, but if we’re talking people whose voices were perfectly matched to what they performed, then Kurt Cobain has to be on the list, too. He wasn’t a great singer, but his voice worked perfectly in the context of his songs. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/117 "2011-02-20T05:40:36Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > Thanks to those mentioning [Karen Carpenter](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPmbT5XC-q0) and [Mamma Cass.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWZfKcYlefE) They weren’t on my radar, and that was my loss. > > How about [Adele’s Rolling in the Deep?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYEDA3JcQqw) She’s big in Europe and UK now, has she reached the US yet? > And _how_ could I forget [Kate Bush?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F5XHZ0NPGc&playnext=1&list=PLFCE94306B1F97572) How? Some wonderful choices in this thread, and I’ll be using it to explore new artists as well. I thought I’d throw this out there, since you’re new to Cass Elliot. The music starts about 1:30 in. https://www.youtube.com/embed/NKdknYaSHgE?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque It shows off John Denver as well. I grew up when he was popular, and I never give him any credit, or even thought about him at all. I was wrong to do that. And for Simon & Garfunkel fans, here they are performing \*Scarborough Fair \*with Andy Williams. I just love this performance. https://www.youtube.com/embed/pWyPhQkZNLw?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/118 "2011-02-20T06:18:50Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > Does Azam Ali (Niyaz & Vas) count as popular music? I came to this thread to say this, so it can’t be THAT unpopular. Along those same lines, I would also nominate [Lisa Gerrard](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p2g2WuGXwE) from Dead Can Dance. This song doesn’t quite show off the full range of what her voice is capable of, but I wanted to link to a track with just her singing (and not a ten-minute long one with a super-long introduction). “Haunting” is a good way to describe it. As for males, [Paul Robeson’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtLcELU1brA) voice is classic. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/119 "2011-02-20T06:23:03Z")
Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Torme ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/120 "2011-02-20T08:02:52Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Torme Perfect example of what I was talking about.. because as great as Billie was… it had almost nothing to do with the actual voice, which was thin and barely there. Billie was great because Billie made you feel every single line. But on a scale of great voices, Billie’s was somewhere at the bottom. Mel Torme, on the other hand…The Velvet Fog. And who cares? Hardly anyone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727.md?page=7)