Top 11 Female Singing Voices
- CJ Tiernan
- 23 hours ago
- 7 min read
By CJ Tiernan
I am a man (I promise I think it’s relevant). Like so many green-grass observers before me, I covet that which I cannot have. Cling though I may to my falsetto-imbued youth, I simply can’t hit the high notes. In fact, given my lack of musical talent and know-how, I cannot be reliably entrusted to hit a single selected note along the open maw of a baby grand. I am, therefore, left to gape in awe at those who can. To surrender to their sonic beauty and envelop my ears in their magical majesty. Without further ado, here is my list of my Top 11 Favorite Female Singing Voices I’ve ever heard. Enjoy!
1. Whitney Houston
Accolades for Whitney Houston include arguably the greatest rendition of the nation anthem of all time and the greatest cover song of all time (see my Top 11 Cover Songs here for the deets). She also amassed 6 wins at the Grammys over a 15-year run between the mid-80s and 2000. Perhaps her most undercelebrated achievement was generating a mononym out of a name as common as Whitney. Her voice was second to none and is rightly remembered as such. Alas, drugs are so bad. She holds the dubious honor of being the highest-earning (no pun intended) posthumous female, according to Guinness World Records. She was also nicknamed “The Voice,” so I feel like there can’t be a lot of argument here. That’d be like arguing who is the grumpiest character of all time between Eeyore and Oscar the Grouch. Grouch is in the name, man! (oh wait, I forgot there was a dwarf called Grumpy).
2. Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson came to fame in America in a very American way: Reality TV. She won the first ever season of American Idol, which was an off-shoot of a British show with the same title (minus the word American). There is nothing more American than someone winning a competition and becoming famous on a show we stole from another country. She was is an American Girl (thanks, Tom Petty). Much like Whitney, she may be most famous for a cover song (her debut single was “A Moment Like This”), although I’d argue “Stronger,” “Since U Been Gone,” and “Breakaway” are better. She also wrote some bangers like “Because of You” and “Already Gone.” Now, I must confess (as we live in the age of the disclaimer): Kelly Clarkson is my celebrity crush so every time she sings a love song, I’m out here grabbing at all the hearts like a child chasing bubbles. Occasionally, she has fallen victim to the trap many great singers of the 21st Century have tumbled into: an overreliance on Auto-Tune. But one listen to a live version of her voice and you know, she is an all-time great with an all-time great voice.
3. Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga burst on to the scene like Madonna 2.0. She had elaborate costumes and all sorts of wild stylistic choices that were a less-than-subtle cry to “look at me.” And we did. Who among us doesn’t remember the meat dress? Or the giant egg? Now those seem tame compared to the annual Met Gala but back then: everyone and their mother was clutching some pearls. But when you sifted through the throng of little monsters and actually heard her voice: Holy Smokes! You can see (and defend) why she took her pseudonym from a song sung by Freddie Mercury. She’s got the pipes to back it up.
4. Adele
It’s often said that when people sing, they lose their accent. In fact, they actually call it the singing accent. Adele is so British she powers through the singing accent and comes through British on the other side. From ballads to pop, this Brit knows no bounds. Her voice is incredible and powerful and relentless and tender. If you nestled soft-serve ice cream in a basket of clouds and wrapped it in velvet, you’d get an idea for how smooth and soothing her voice is. 21 is one of my favorite albums of all time. It is, like Maxwell House, good to the last drop.
5. Celine Dion
You remember “My Heart Will Go On?” The song that captured hearts across America in 1997 (and ’98, because that boat movie was in the theater for like a year straight)? That was Celine Dion and yet it’s not even my favorite song of hers in the 90s. That title belongs to The Power of Love, which was a cover song she released a few years earlier. Sometimes people are so great at singing that they just pop over to the vocal equivalent of the candy store and say dibs.
6. Ann Wilson
This is the first artist on the list that was more a member of a band than a solo figure. However, if you’ve ever heard a song by the rock band Heart, you’ll back me up on this. Her voice is incredible. She had a big voice and (in the 80s, at least) bigger hair. And, she was rocking out with her sister Nancy! How fun! A family affair. I’ve always dreamed of having a rock band with my siblings and then I went and didn’t learn any instruments. Alas, these dreams go on…
7. Nina Simone
Sinnerman. That one word should be enough to jog your memory, if you don’t recognize the name. It is an incredible song. Simone, nicknamed “The High Priestess of Soul,” best highlighted the idea that there is more to singing than hitting the right notes at the right time. There is an energy and emotion you have to inject in to the performance to achieve greatness. She achieves that and more with her work. “Feeling Good” actually leaves you feeling good. Now that’s really something. Wait, can we go back for a second. “The High Priestess of Soul” is one of the sickest nicknames in history. It conjures this image of a mix of Voodoo and the blues. Glorious!
8. Stevie Nicks
Don’t be fooled by the name, Stevie Nicks belongs on this list. She not only had a stellar solo career but showed up to Fleetwood Mac just in time to foment the best run of the band’s history. Her second album with the band, Rumours (spelled the British way because some of the band members were British and the Britons don’t believe in being economical with their spelling), is widely considered one of the greatest albums of all time (7th according to Rolling Stone magazine). Worry not, dear reader, she’s not just a master of the vocal pipe organ. Stevie is a master song writer as well. She wrote "Dreams," “Landslide,” and “Rhiannon,” among other songs for both herself and others (Aw man, I should have said she showed up to Fleetwood Mac in the Nicks of time).
9. Tina Turner
Allow me to pose this little hypothetical: “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” From her days partnered up with Ike in the 60s writing and singing soul and rock, to her days in the 80s churning out pop rock, Tina Turner was an ageless, unstoppable machine of auditory glory. Nicknamed the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Turner was an incomparable voice with remarkable stage presence. She rocked and rolled her way through such a large part of history that she was able to have a 50th anniversary tour which was aptly named “Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour” (no members of the 27 Club were able to whiff that level of longevity). Turner is one of, as she sang in the late 80s, The Best.
10. Pink
If you thought that P!nk wasn’t going to show up on this list, than you M!ssundaztood the assignment. While it may have been Steven Tyler’s favorite color, Pink went the extra mile and made it her identity. Raise Your Glass to a singer who knows how to Get the Party Started and does so with a delightful mix of verve, self-deprecation, and heart. So What, you say? The f-you energy coupled with the care to release positive vibes into the world is rare and should be celebrated, as should this underrated voice. You can’t just, like, take a pill for the skills she’s got.
11. Dolores O’Riordan
Here’s another woman who couples amazing singing chops with the ability to write music. She was the chief singer/songwriter for the band The Cranberries. You may be familiar with some of their delicious jams. They were a mainstay on 90s radio with songs like “Dreams” (different than the Fleetwood Mac song, which was used, in a delightful twist, in that video with the skateboarder drinking cranberry juice), “Linger,” “Zombie,” and “Free to Decide.” The Irish singer’s country of origin was completely unbeknownst to me until well after the Y2K scare (the singing accent strikes again) but now that I know, I can’t unhear it. Mixing punk, the 90s, and Ireland created this breathtaking sound and O’Riordan’s signature voice is a big reason why. It’s almost like she’s yodeling at times. You don’t see a lot of yodeling outside of a syndicated episode of The Price Is Right.
Final Thoughts
The human voice is a magnificent marvel and isn’t it fun that men and women have (at least typically) different ranges. I love the female voice and you’ll notice that, by and large, my list isn’t loaded with present-day names. That is not by accident. I have not enjoyed the proliferation of Auto-Tune hiding voices. Plus, more and more, a lot of female pop singers sing with a mumbled cadence, throwing diction to the wind like a kicker testing the elements by sprinkling some Bermuda or Kentucky Bluegrass. I love a striped-down song, just a singer and a piano. A balladeer and a bass. A troubadour and a trumpet. A crooner and a keytar. I celebrate these artists because I love their voices; because their voices power through the monotony of a day and stop you in your tracks with an audible “Whoa!” I’m sure you have your own favorite voices that I left off the list. Please let me know in the comments if I’ve made any egregious and unforgivable errors. I left a few that just missed mine at the bottom. Thanks! Have a great day!
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