Ackk. My favorite power metal band and I leave out Carl. Gone is Tony Moore. Insert Carl Albert at #8.
About damn time someone listed these two (particularly Delp). Here's my list, in a *very* rough order: Brad Delp, RIP (Boston) Ray Alder (Fates Warning, Redemption) Daniel Gildenlow (Pain of Salvation) Roy Khan (Conception, Kamelot) Tommy Karevik (Seventh Wonder) Ted Leonard (Enchant) Geoff Tate (Queensryche) Freddie Mercury, RIP (Queen) Midnight, RIP (Crimson Glory) Lou Gramm (Foreigner...mostly for his *incredible* live performance) SOOOO many other great ones being left off by that "only 10" limitation... Craig
I'm only going to list the metal/hard rock singers - not going to go into all the great rock and pop singers (I mean, Freddie Mercury alone would kick everybody else off of the list) ... so, focusing on the hard rock and metal genres and not necessarily going for the best technique, but more the ones who appeal to me on a personal level: 1. Jeff Scott Soto (He's the whole package - fantastic showman, great rock'n'roll singer, very emotional, and he could sing the phone book and I'd listen) 2. Michael Kiske (As only a 17 yr old punk he came out and shocked the metal world. And now, almost 25 years later, his voice is still pure gold) 3. Buddy Lackey (Perhaps not a technically perfect singer, but he writes some of the best metal lyrics and he makes sure the point to them comes across with one heck of an emotional delivery) 4. Ronnie James Dio (duh!) 5. Robin McAuley (Robin's work on the mid period MSG albums are phenomenal!) 6. Daniel Gildenlow (such a versatile vocalist - now, if he could just quit writing stupid lyrics I'd be happy) 7. Ray Alder (double duh!) 8. Mats Leven (Mats Leven - not Levin as some wrote, haha - delivered one of the most incredible vocal performances EVER on the Abstrakt Algebra disc. Might be my #1 metal vocal performance) 9. Nils Patrick Johansson (I love this guy - he is a fantastic singer - and one of the nicest guys I've ever worked with) 10. Tony Martin (Headless Cross all the way baby - his performance on that disc made him a legend in my mind) Honorable mentions: Thomas Wikstrom (his performance on "Chapter VI" is crazy good) Ronnie Atkins (he has two voices, and both of them are killer!) Apollo (always loved his powerhouse voice) Jorn Lande (my wife is going to kill me for not putting him in top 10, but it was a close call ...) I wonder who else I forgot ...
I'm going with Milt's theory, that someone could get injured, and listing 15. And technically, a listing of a Top 15 includes a listing of the Top 10, thereby meeting the OP's request: 1. Geoff Tate 2. Eric Adams 3. Matt Barlow 4. Chris Cornell 5. Russell Allen 6. Erik Rosvald 7. Roy Khan 8. Ray Gillen 9. Ronnie James Dio 10. Lance King 11. Urban Breed 12. A.A. Nemtheanga 13. Sebastian Bach 14. Warrel Dane 15. Jeff Keith
That's a matter of personal definition. To me Queen is ROCK, pomp-rock if you will, but not hard rock.
In no particular order, for me, it's all about the singer's ability to elicit emotions from me. Floor Jansen Matt Barlow Roy Khan Jon Oliva Urban Breed Tarja Turanen Lance King Dan Swano Geoff Tate (obviously in his prime, not currently) Tom (and Carina) Englund
1. Ray Alder...above all! Ray is Godly! 2. Ray Gillen...best blues voice ever! 3. John Arch...Awaken The Guardian! Nuff said 4. Alan Tecchio...the 1st two Hades discs and Non Fiction were classics! 5. Robert Plant circa 1970-75 6. Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth 7. Jon Oliva 8. Zakk Stevens 9. James LaBrie 10. Axl Rose 11. Sebastian Bach 12. Chris Salinas 13. Midnight 14. Robert Mason (Cry of Love) 15. Eric Martin 16. James Rivera 17. Jorn 18. Lizzy Borden 19. Warrel Dane 20. John "Crabby" Corabi and my favorite vocalist, lyricist of all time(not sure if he falls in the hard rock/metal categories) Chris Robinson
01.Russell Allen 02.Jorn Lande 03.Zak Stevens 04.Tom S. Englund 05.Ray Alder 06.Jon Oliva 07.Johnny Lindqvist 08.Mike Dimeo 09.Tommy Karevik 10.Urban Breed Honorable Mentions: Tony Martin Ronnie James Dio Steve Walsh (1974-1979 he was untouchable, but his voice has aged TERRIBLY) Tobias Sammet (if I were counting "frontman" skills, he'd easily be top 10, along with Bruce Dickinson) Oliver Hartmann Glenn Hughes Dug Pinnick
Jorn Lande Ray Alder Heather Findlay Mikael Akerfeldt Daniel Gildenlow Bruce Dickinson Joey Eppard Devon Graves Andy Kuntz Fabio Lione Floor Jansen Hon Men: Erika Swinnich
This is tough. 10. Doro Pesch 9. Mikael Akerfeldt 8. Tony Martin 7. Zak Stevens 6. Ronnie James Dio (RIP) 5. Dave Meniketti 4. Bob Catley 3. Danny Vaughn 2. Jorn Lande (will probably end up at #1 through sheer volume of material) 1. DC Cooper (who has been AWOL way too long) Honorable mention: David Readman (too similar to DC Cooper to make the list), Urban Breed, Hansi Kursch, Michael Stanne, Edu Falaschi, Andre Matos.
How could I forget the ultimate Queen of Metal? Doro's vocals are amazing and she has great stage presence. She is also a very nice individual and goes out of her way for her fans. I ran into her at a movie theater one time and some kids recognized her (this was after the Dio/Yngwie/Doro tour in 2000) and she talked to them and signed something for them. I also saw some weirdo approach her after one concert and ask her to marry him - he had the ring and all. She was very nice to the guy and declined in a rather graceful manner.
MESSIAH MARCOLIN ERIC WAGNER ERIC ADAMS BRUCE DICKINSON ROB HALFORD ANDI DERIS KAI HANSEN MATTHEW BARLOW KING DIAMOND LEMMY (And yes, I am 100% serious. Deal with it)
To name just 10 is nearly an impossible task....but my personal 10 favorite in no particular order except #1 is: 10. Ann Wilson 9. Tobias Sammett 8. Michael Sweet 7. Tony Harnell 6. Geddy Lee 5. Paul Stanley 4. Rob Halford 3. Geoff Tate 2. Robin Zander 1. BRUCE DICKINSON!!!!!!
I do try, although I'm starting to run out of them at this point. Hopefully I see some more awesome ones soon.
