# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/121 "2011-02-20T11:15:09Z")
> [@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. I mentioned Tom Waits earlier. For me, he does have a beautiful voice, but that’s always going to be subjective. Now, as for perfect, I’m not sure there is an objectively perfect voice. Sure, in theory there could be someone who could sing everything from baroque to black metal brilliantly, but in the real world they don’t exist, so we’re left with people who sing particular songs perfectly. For me, Tom Waits, Bruce Springsteen, and the others I mentioned all do that. I’d be interested to hear any criteria people have for an objectively perfect voice, though. ---
**Author:** ![dawson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@dawson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dawson)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/122 "2011-02-20T18:14:13Z")
> [@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? Thanks for the link to Adele. I’d never heard of her before here in Canada, but I’m not exactly on the cutting edge of the music scene. the girl has some pipes, very poweful voice! ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/123 "2011-02-20T19:14:08Z")
Maastrich writes: \> She’s big in Europe and UK now, has she reached the US yet? You mean aside from being the musical guest on _Saturday Night Live_. having a top 10 album, and winning a Grammy for Best New Artist?: > **[Adele](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adele_(singer))** > > Adele Laurie Blue Adkins MBE (/əˈdɛl/; born 5 May 1988), known mononymously as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She is known for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and songwriting. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a record deal with XL Recordings. Her debut album, 19, was released in 2008 and spawned the UK top-five singles "Chasing Pavements" and "Make You Feel My Love". 19 has sold over 2.5 million copies in the UK and was named in the top 20 best-s... ---
**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:** [February 20, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/124 "2011-02-20T20:07:45Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > 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. > [@Shooby](#): > > 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. > [@Stoid](#): > > 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. Well, as I said, I figured it would be not objective, but It’s still fun to see people’s responces, (such as **Olives** ’ Cathy’s Clown link – what an offbeat cover! thanks for posting that!) in my defence, I left some of my favorites off my list, and included one I never listen to at all! ---
**Author:** ![koufax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@koufax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koufax)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/125 "2011-02-20T23:33:03Z")
I can’t believe that nobody has mentioned the GREAT Dusty Springfield! Or have they? I think I read all of the threads and did a search and I don’t see her name. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjydOI4MEIw) ---
**Author:** ![MJinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@MJinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MJinks)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/126 "2011-02-21T00:23:16Z")
I can’t believe nobody has mentioned [Elton John](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgBzy0-7B-4&feature=related). Whenever his songs are on the radio I have to stop what I’m doing, turn up the volume, close my eyes and just listen. I absolutely love a sweet Irish accent. [The Corrs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5DF-l7sVrI) are my favourite pop band by far. As a matter of fact The Corrs [instrumentals](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpXAtVLuw1E&feature=related) are just as beautiful as their early vocals. Their later, more mainstream/generic pop songs were a let down though. ---
**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 21, 2011, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/127 "2011-02-21T01:09:01Z")
Good call. [Andrea Corr](http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&q=andrea+corr&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1600&bih=799) is superhot, too. ---
**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 21, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/128 "2011-02-21T01:42:35Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > Does Azam Ali (Niyaz & Vas) count as popular music? > [@Maiira](#): > > I came to this thread to say this, so it can’t be THAT unpopular. Should include a [link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zejbRH1QMnA). ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/129 "2011-02-21T05:53:05Z")
MJinks writes: \> Whenever his songs are on the radio I have to stop what I’m doing, turn up the \> volume, close my eyes and just listen. Remind me if I’m ever in a car that you’re driving to turn off the radio and any CD or cassette player. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/130 "2011-02-21T09:29:46Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > 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 with all this. There are singers whose voices best serve the music they are singing, yet are not remotely beautiful or perfect (Tom Waits being an excellent example of this). There are singers with beautiful voices who bore me to tears (as in Mariah/Whitney/Christina/Babs). Who you name depends on what your criteria are. _De gustibus non est disputandum._ ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/131 "2011-02-21T12:21:35Z")
\*\*Allison Krauss’ \*\*voice is incredible – like a glass or clean, cold water. She narrowly edges out Sinead O’Conner because O’Conner occasionally gets nasally. **Steve Perry** could also belt it out or reign it in. And he didn’t fall into the trap many singers with great ranges do, by making the song a forum for showing off their singing prowess vs. using it to tell a story. When he sings, “Lying beside you, here in the dark, feeling your heart beat with mine.” you can hear that he **gets** the song, both musically and emotionally. He doesn’t sing, “Lying beside you-oo-oo-oo-OOOOOO-ooo-oooo, here in the daaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaa-AAAA-aaaa-rk” just because he can. Yeah, I’m looking at you Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera. ---
**Author:** ![MJinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@MJinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MJinks)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/132 "2011-02-21T13:23:13Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Remind me if I’m ever in a car that you’re driving to turn off the radio and any CD or cassette player. Elton John is perfect for funerals. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/133 "2011-02-21T14:06:29Z")
> [@MJinks](#): > > Elton John is perfect for funerals. Only if they’re for a friend. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/134 "2011-02-21T14:17:46Z")
> [@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. I’ll have to agree with this. And I paid $200 to see Leonard Cohen a few months ago. He can barely talk good let alone sing, bur his concert was awesome. I have long admired Waits for his ability to craft songs around his stunted vocal abilities and own most of his stuff, but he ain’t got no voice. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/135 "2011-02-21T14:33:25Z")
And I should add that you are all ignorant pigs because no-one has mentioned [Melody Gardot](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmc1XN3iVVc), best voice since Ella. I saw her live with Madeleine Peyroux and Diana Krall and she made them look childish. A quick look at her [biography](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melody_gardot) will give you a hint of how awesome she will be. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/136 "2011-02-21T14:42:52Z")
> [@BACI](#): > > kd lang sang Hallelujah on a pokey awards night thing that was telecast here a year or so back. I got goosebumps, then tears. I figured I was just tired. Saw it replayed the following morning, in the cold harsh light of day. More goosebumps, more tears. What an incredible beautiful and perfect voice. This. It affects me that way every single time I listen to it. And I listen to it a lot. I read that Leonard Cohen even believes that she does it better than anyone else (even himself). That’s some pretty high praise. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/137 "2011-02-21T15:09:41Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > If you want to include folk singers, how about [Jean Redpath](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WjccsBqoGE)? I am a Scotsman and was going to mention her . I was sure nobody would know her. ---
**Author:** ![canterburyales](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@canterburyales](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/canterburyales)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/138 "2011-02-21T16:23:10Z")
Considering that Laura Marling just won a Brit award for British Female Solo Artist, I figure she qualifies as popular music. Here she is backing up Johnny Flynn: [Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling - The Water - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4QQ7HYYdWw) This was my introduction to her music: [Laura Marling - Your Only Doll (Dora) - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n1zGYHt9nw) A more recent solo performance: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B41EOkqeFWs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B41EOkqeFWs) ---
**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:** [February 21, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/139 "2011-02-21T20:25:06Z")
3 pages and nobody said [David Ruffin](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRcTJ1xFwAQ&feature=related)? I don’t know about perfect, but he’s certainly one of my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727/140 "2011-02-21T21:02:59Z")
Wow, no love for Enya? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beautiful-perfect-voices-in-popular-music/571727.md?page=8)