In alphabetical order...
Bjork - Whether she's singing in Icelandic or English, she's bizarre, unpredictable, and impossible not to listen to. Recommendations: the soaring "New World" or the glitter of "Unravel".
Holly Cole - Sultry jazz alto with a flair for reinterpretation. My Fair Lady's "On the Street Where You Live" becomes a dark stalker nightmare, and her version of "I Can See Clearly Now" is the only thing that's better than the original.
Chris Cornell - What a heavy metal voice should be. His version of Bach's "Ave Maria" is haunting, and "Jesus Christ Pose" is a master class in metal singing all by itself.
Nick Drake - Haunting and introspective. I have to go to "Pink Moon" and "From the Morning", used in commercials that make it impossible not to feel good whenever I see them.
James Hetfield - Go listen to "Kill 'Em All", then move on to "Sad But True" or "Free Speech For the Dumb" and see how James has grown into -- and mastered -- his voice. His gruff baritone can croon, or it can just as easily (sonically) punch you in the face.
Whitney Houston - After all these years, it's hard to forget, but Whitney created a playbook that everyone cribs from now, intentionally or not. She made it seem effortless. Her voice knows exactly where it has to go, and sweeps you along. Hear "The Star Spangled Banner" and you can't help but feel partriotic. And try to forget that you've heard it 5000 times, and give another listen to "The Greatest Love of All".
Annie Lennox - Never would have guessed that the orange-haired automaton from 1983 would have turned out to be one of the most soulful singers England has given us. "Why" and "Through the Glass Darkly" are perfect examples.
Barry Manilow - Gotta go with the ultimate performer. Every song is a showstopper, a musical rollercoaster that swoops through mutiple key changes and builds to titanic final choruses. And he's got the pipes to back it all up. Listen to "Can't Smile Without You" and "Weekend in New England" to see what I mean.
Freddie Mercury - He wouldn't have surgery to correct his overbite. That alone says tons about Freddie, and his belief in music over image, something that was quite rare at the dawn of MTV. He carries the arena-filling "We Will Rock You" almost totally a cappella, and his version of "The Great Pretender" rivals the classic original. He kept working right up until his death, and you can feel his conflict and dedication in songs like "The Show Must Go On".
Mike Patton - He can front the hard pop-metal of Faith No More ("Ugly in the Morning" being a prime example), and keep up with the thousand-directions-at-once style of Mr. Bungle (like the delirious gibberish of "Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz"). He can even provide the screeching of the entire zombie horde of I Am Legend. A vocalist who can truly do anything.
Prince - He's a vocal acrobat who continuously proves that he can find new things to do with his voice. The days of high-powering screeching may be over (my favorite being at the end of "Endorphinmachine"), but he can still go from a sweet falsetto to a powerful baritone without breaking a sweat (like in the recent "Dreamer"). You can just tell that he eats, sleeps, and breathes music.
Rufus Wainwright - An unconventional voice with incredible stamina. I was hooked since I heard the first two bars of the first song on his debut album ("Foolish Love"). I've heard him sing a full concert without breaking a sweat, then come back for two encores, one of which was a cappella. His songs are often operatic and sweeping, like "Go Or Go Ahead", but Rufus makes it sound easy. But try to sing along... it's *not*.
Tom Waits - You hear Tom's voice once, and you never forget its gravelly uniqueness. Even so, he has incredible range. One minute he's like a hobo who has been handed the keys to a tool shed full of musical junk (the barking "Hoist That Rag"), the next he's a late-night troubadour lingering at the piano after last call ("Grapefruit Moon"). And I defy you to listen to "Anywhere I Lay My Head" and not be convinced that you're actually listening to a man's heart breaking.
Roger Whitaker - I heard Roger on the radio for years before I actually found out what he looked like, and the kindly, mustachioed grandpa-man I finally saw on TV didn't match up at all to the soulful, smooth bass I pictured in my head when I heard songs like "I Don't Believe in 'If' Anymore" and "The Last Farewell". He's like listening to caramel.
Ann Wilson - The original powerhouse female rock voice. Forget your Benatars and your Jetts, Ann beats them all, hands down. "Barracuda" kicked down the door for women rockers, and the glorious vocal breakdown at the end of "What About Love" propped it open forever.
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