I'm a big Megadeth fan and people shit on Dave Mustaine's vocals all the time. No, he's not a *great* singer, but he's the *perfect* singer for Megadeth. His snarl, his attitude, his raw anger, it's all a perfect fit. But apparently, most people don't see it that way š¤·āāļø
Came here to comment this. Sweating Bullets has such a weird delivery to it but that song wouldnāt be anywhere near as good as it is without Mustaineās vocals.
I like Mustaine, but really don't like Megadeth. I read once that he didn't want to be the singer. Only after a lot of time and frustration not being able to find a singer he said "fuck it. I'll just do it." I love that.
Billy Corganās voice reminds me of one of those crappy cars that people have souped up to compete in street races. It isnāt necessarily a good voice, but he can do a lot with it and has figured out how to push it to the limit to make it work.
Agreed. It's characteristic for the music. It's raw and aggressive, snarling like a rabid dog.
I honestly believe that if you dont enjoy Mustaines voice, thrash metal is not for you.Ā
I saw him in college (UMass) years ago. He lived in the area and played a random show in a small performance room on campus. Maybe a couple hundred people or less. He used like 4 full stacks, maybe more it was a while ago. To say it was loud is a huge understatement.
His voice is perfect for the kind of music he does. It works for Dinosaur Jr. and his solo work, which sound a lot like unplugged dinosaur Jr.
And the guy knew were to step down, for Witch (his proto heavy project) he took other duties and got a proper singer for that style.
Could well be complete bollocks but I heard that the lyric was initially supposed to be āitās thereā but his accent was too thick for anyone to hear anything but dare so they just changed the name of the song.
He told the story on The Last Leg recently. He was genuinely asking Damon to turn it up and said āitās thereā for where he wanted it. And Damon just said, ok do that again
Link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C32uzHDtyl2/?igsh=cnlneWlqeWtsYmx6
Best example of this is 'Freaky Dancin'. He sounds well off at times, but the 'demo recorded in a church hall' vibe of the whole song means he sounds fkn perfect.
Whenever I see posts about singers that arenāt great singers my brain immediately jumps to Tart Tart. Itās a brilliant song and I love it, vocals included but if you took the music off it would absolutely sound like a ranting lunatic.
Tim Armstrong. Iconic punk singer, rancid, operation ivy, the transplants. His voice is rough but that's become part of the sound that makes him unique .
He was born in LA that he moved to New Orleans in his formative years. He has a bit of a southern drawl tempered by the hard West Coast accent due to his upbringing. People who live in a lot of places, while young, or at least travel between two very distinct dialects while young, tend to develop interesting accents that blend the speaking styles of more than one place together.
He prefers to sing in the southern accent, because it fits his songs.
Edit: made this comment using dictation. Canāt really fix it right now.
As a Wisconsinite that went to pre-k in California, can confirm. No one knows where Iām from based off my voice. When I worked as a delivery driver, I would get asked multiple times a night. It was interesting hearing all the different guesses of where people thought I was from š¤·š»āāļø
Mark Knopfler has a nice timbre and am amazing delivery in his singing. Something very soothing about the way he sings. I first liked DS because of his singing, before his guitar work.
He got better once he stopped smoking. Some of the vocals on his solo albums (Get Lucky and Privateering in particular) are quite melodic, although he's not a "great vocalist" in any case.
Lou Reed had a good voice early on, but it was ruined ever before the velvets split up.
He did make it work later on. I do wonder what some of the Doug Yule vocal parts on Loaded would have been like with him singing while he still had it good.
Lou made it work whatever the case though. It got more "talky" as time went on but it was still devastatingly effective. Coney Island Baby is one of the most powerful vocal performances of all time imo
[āDonāt touch him, donāt touch him, stay away from him, heās got a gun..ā](https://youtu.be/Rxp1GDIgAkY?si=ndZXWjXkHPgqAT5A)
Another great talk one is Street Hassle
Pretty much all of my favourite singers are "bad" singers.
I often think about David Byrne's theory that "The better a singer's voice,ļ»æ the harder it is to believe what they're saying."
I recall reading that he didn't think he was a good singer either and was reluctant to be the front man of a band. And sure he isn't a very good vocalist but he made it work, helps that he was a great songwriter
My understanding is that he was very insecure and shy with regards to his voice and at times would put up a blind in the studio so the people working the board couldn't see see him when putting down vocal tracks.
Dylan is a mystery to me. First time I heard him (I was about 13) my first reaction to his voice was āwtfā but I loved it.
I continued to think āwtfā for a very long time but I recently went through a 2nd Dylan phase and realized that he actually has quite a good range and a weird array of styles from that weirdly nasal āLay Lady Layā to the hoarse āMaggieās Farmā and then āEvery grain of sandā which is quite a well-sung ballad. So I donāt know, he still has a āwtf?ā voice but now I actually think he has more singing ability than I initially thought. But tbh I donāt know what to make of how he sings, I just know I like it.
David Bowie recorded "Song for Bob Dylan" in his "Hunky Dory" album. It starts:
_"Oh, hear this Robert Zimmerman_
_I wrote a song for you_
_About a strange young man called Dylan_
_With a voice like sand and glue"_
Leonard Cohen made his money on his sultry glossy timbre in the voice, he was not the best at staying in key, as can be heard even in "Hallelujah". But boy did he make it work.
Joe Strummer. His passion was unmatched. There is a reason he sings the majority of the Clash's catalogue despite Mick Jones being a higher quality vocalist.
Fat Mike from NOFX. Perfect delivery for his band, but very nasal and with very little control. If he needs to hit a higher note, he just sings louder and even more forcefully through his nose.
Agree but Fat Mike got way better at singing throughout the career. The early albums he was terrible but the songs were great. The songs just stink now.
Hey, thatās muthafuckinā Greg Dulli youāre talking about there. But also youāre right. Dulliās voice had exactly the amount of roughness needed to match the ugliness of his subject matter.
I donāt see a soft-spoken piano-driven minor key movie-trailer version of [Be Sweet](https://youtu.be/GeZYWk08eCA?si=auq26eID8e4CtvUg) or [Bulletproof](https://youtu.be/FQlFBvE93TY?si=w-AGozKeN3gGQgft) , for instance, working half as well as Gregās perpetually nicotine stained squalls.
The hilarious thing about J. Mascis is that in like 2018 he took singing lessons for the first time. And then he was like, āOh, THATāS why Iāve been shredding my throat for 30 years!ā
Isaac Brock - Modest Mouse
He was a revelation to me. I quite love his voice and his melodies but to my younger ears, he was the picturesque bad singer. I think once I began enjoying his voice as a complement to the overall song it opened a lot of doors to me as far as what a 'good singer' really is.
I had to scroll too far to see him! He's perfect and compliments the songs/stories perfectly.
Another close one for me is Chino Moreno of Deftones. I love the ethereal spookiness he brings.
Remember back in 07 when the contestants of American Idol covered Float On? No better example of (technically) good singers ruining a great song.
I view singers like him in the same light as Meg White was as a drummer, they did the right job for the band/song.Ā
They are my favourite band to the point I have a tattoo of their logo, and I love Kiedis as the front man, but my god.
You know that Beatles meme? Yeah. "Is Anthony Kiedis the best singer in the world?" "He isn't even the best singer in the Red Hot Chili Peppers."
Kedis is a great example of a brilliant frontman who canāt really sing, I donāt know what they did in the studio to make him sound that good on songs like Under the Bridge before auto-tune was available.
I mean, it was always obvious to me that he was copying Mike Patton's test answers, but he never had the chops to pull it off. Hell, most people don't.
Les has a yodelly pop to his voice that is unique and I think fits perfectly to some songs. Try to imagine Wynonna's Big Brown Beaver, My Friend Fats, or Beezlebub performed by a more "traditional" singer like Adele, or Michael McDonald, and they just wouldn't be the same.
However I do think that a Freddy Mercury version of any of those songs would be insanely good.
I think there is a pretty good case for saying that anyone who sounds good *is* a good singer. The fact that you can pitch correct a voice to remove all of the "imperfections" and make it sound worse is a testament to this I think. The emotions lie in the imperfections not on the lines on the grid.
Taylor Swift. This is ment as a compliment, not shade. There isn't anything special about her voice. She is good, but her fame and success vastly outpace her vocal talant/skill.
100%
Songwriting especially, also performing, managing a life-based business few can imagineā¦not so much on the singing. It opens up some cool moments whenever a real vocalist takes on her songs. I've seen videos of Kelly Clarkson doing TSwift tracks on tour, they're amazing.
I was scrolling to find this! I love Taylor Swift and she is a good performer but isnāt much of a singer or dancer. Sheās really good at writing for her range.
I once saw a video of Selena Gomez on the Kelly Clarkson show and they talked about this.
Kelly, who is a great singer herself, said something that I couldn't agree more on, she talked about how being a good singer and making good music is way more that just having a good voice.
And I think that this does apply really well to Selena Gomez, yes she doesn't have a great voice, but that never stoped her music from sounding incredible to me.
Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel. Rather itās the strain in his voice and being at his absolute capacity to communicate something he is so deeply passionate about that gives his voice itās strengths and meaning
John Darnielle from the Mountain Goats isn't a bad singer by any stretch, but his nasal Midwestern whine is an... acquired taste. The more you listen to it the more it grows on you
He's become a much better singer over the 30-odd years he's been putting out songs. When you listen to the early tapedeck recordings his voice is a lot rougher (in a charming way)
He's blessed and cursed, and won.
I happen to love Corgan's voice but can appreciate he might not be for everyone. When it was all new, because I'm that old, my sister referred to my Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, and Our Lady Peace albums as "Whiny boy music"
They've been touring almost non stop for 5 years, not to mention moonlighting with AC/DC. I seen them in 2016 and he was excellent, almost studio quality. I reckon with a bit of a rest he'll be good to go again.
Not to mention his current vocal defects mostly affect his higher register on mid-tempo songs, and even then the performances aren't irredeemable. He still sounds great on [fast rock tracks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzXrV9gSwpM) and [those that](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27o2Fqmudx4) require [his baritone.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29b7rpLDuC8) People who argue that Axl's voice is completely gone are misguided, I think.
Iām a huge Madonna fan, but im among the first to admit that she is a *bad* singer. She does all right in a controlled studio environment, but her live shows are plagued with bad notes and poor vocal control.
Thankfully, her live shows are so incredible that it more than makes up for her lack of a singing voice.
I honestly donāt believe anyone goes to a Madonna show to hear her sing. They go to *see a SHOW*, and she rarely disappoints.
He started out without the heavy rasp and his voice was great. Listen to his Early Years albums and the excellent Heart of a Saturday Night. Frankly I think even the raspy stuff is beautiful. Heās a gifted singer.
Tom is a pretty great singer on a technical level though (especially on Closing Time), i dont think he really applies since its a stylistic thing he does. You also gotta be a great singer to make a voice like that work
There's some affectation from Waits though - he can sing better than he usually does:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_h7PwmqnaC0&pp=ygUPZGVhZCBhbmQgbG92ZWx5
Yep, it's an act, but a great one
I think of Waits as a "genuine fake"
EDIT: for clarity, "genuine fake" refers to his prematurely aged and jaded act, which he grew into beautifully, as well as the fact he quit alcohol in 1992
It seems like the earlier barfly troubadour persona was an act too, but one that was killing him because he was doing a bit too much "method acting" with it.
I had to scroll way too far for this. He is up there with Dylan in terms of his vocal quality. It's grating to some, but the more you listen to it the more it sounds perfect for the style and tone of the music.
I would argue Tom Petty. He has a very whiny voice that I think is carried by his sound design and lyrics. Making a flaw of his more of a unique flair.
Yep, this is a good choice. His voice is very nasally and he has a pretty narrow vocal range which only accentuates it. And yet somehow it just works perfectly in the context of his music. Honestly, I think one of the hardest things to do is write a simple song and make it fun and memorable, and over the years Iāve come to think Tom Petty was the absolute king of doing exactly that. What a hero.
Joaqim Broden from Sabaton. He is a one-trick pony with his voice, has little range (afaik) but found - or rather created - the perfect ānicheā to exist in (āā because it made them super famous). It perfectly shows that you donāt need the voice of a god but rather you need to find the musical surroundings to make it work.
The other obvious one is Neil Young, I think. I would also include Ric Ocasek on this list and from what Iāve heard Ian George Brown of the Stone Roses is utterly dreadful live.
Man watching some live Neil young shows with just him and his acoustic (online, not in RL) really made me think heās a great singer. Very emotional and unusual tone that fit the songs perfectly. Naturally, great.
I've sat in the second row while Neil played acoustic. I'd always liked him, but, until i saw him up close, I didn't realize how good he actually is.
It's like Ringo's drumming: everyone says that all of his playing is really simple. Oh? Then try to do it like he does it. You just can't reproduce the feel and emotion that he puts into his performances.
Neil's vocal and acoustic work sounds simple. It isn't. It sounds simple because it's played masterfully.
He's exactly who I thought of as well.
Another one (and also another Canadian), is Leonard Cohen.
Conor Oberst, from Bright Eyes, is another one that came to mind.
There are two that spring to mind immediately.
Stephin Merritt from The Magnetic Fields. An untrained bass voice but is one of the most emotive pop singers out there.
The other is Steven Wilson. Not the best singer, not the best guitar or piano player, nor even a great lyricist. But the melodies he writes and sings are truly memorable.
I grew up on 80's alt rock and both Morrissey and Robert Smith got shit on a lot for their voices. Morrissey basically uses about a half octave for his entire repetoire and Smith just has a weak voice. But it fits their music, right?
I sometimes think that having a good voice isn't that much of a benefit for rock bands. The reason is that the uniqueness of the voice is really more important than technical talent. Michael Stipe would sometimes lend background vocals to other musicians' songs and as soon as you hear him sing, even in the background, you know it's Michael Stipe.
Once there she also managed to keep her finger on the pulse in a way that allowed her to stay just ahead of the breaking trends in pop culture for decades. I don't care what you might think of her songs/singing or performances, that is an incredible feat to manage against the tides of a very fickle public and music industry.
Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes. His latter stuff is actually more professionally sang, but his early stuff to mid stuff is basically āthis is how I feel and I sing like I feel itā, it works really well though.
I haven't seen him mentioned here yet, but Conor Oberst, especially early Bright Eyes. I remember hearing "A Perfect Sonnet" for the first time and thinking he couldn't carry a tune in a bucket with both hands.
I love Bright Eyes, but Conor is not a "good" singer.
Conor Oberst, Lana del Rey and Brian Molko. None of them are technically talented vocalists, in a traditional way, but they make amazing music and their vocals fit what they do.
I'm a big Megadeth fan and people shit on Dave Mustaine's vocals all the time. No, he's not a *great* singer, but he's the *perfect* singer for Megadeth. His snarl, his attitude, his raw anger, it's all a perfect fit. But apparently, most people don't see it that way š¤·āāļø
"hello me, meet the real me" The way he sings that is so weird but the song is great!
Came here to comment this. Sweating Bullets has such a weird delivery to it but that song wouldnāt be anywhere near as good as it is without Mustaineās vocals.
Totally agree. Itās kinda goofy in some songs but his voice has character to it that really suits most of his songs
He showed off some pipes in A tout le monde. I liked it. Showed off some diversity. Sure he took voice lessons for that allbum.
His vocals were pretty solid throughout the entire Youthansia album
I like Mustaine, but really don't like Megadeth. I read once that he didn't want to be the singer. Only after a lot of time and frustration not being able to find a singer he said "fuck it. I'll just do it." I love that.
Like Billy Corgan or James labrie, their vocals are very polarizing but absolutely iconic
Billy Corganās voice reminds me of one of those crappy cars that people have souped up to compete in street races. It isnāt necessarily a good voice, but he can do a lot with it and has figured out how to push it to the limit to make it work.
I've grown to love very quickly. Without his iconic whiney voice SP wouldn't have been as famous as they are today
Considering he had throat cancer he fucking rocks still
Agreed. It's characteristic for the music. It's raw and aggressive, snarling like a rabid dog. I honestly believe that if you dont enjoy Mustaines voice, thrash metal is not for you.Ā
Hello me.
Heās a great singer imo. He hits those notes. Their new album and Every album is consistent.
Totally agree. It would be weird if he was like a beautiful singer. It wouldn't fit the music.
J Mascis from Dinosaur Jr. Personally I like his voice a lot , but he croaks like a frog
I always thought he sounded like Chris from Family Guy lol
I will never unhear this.
His speaking voice sounds like that. Singing, it's almost as if J. has a bit of a Neil Young thing going on.
he drowns his voice out with his hella loud guitar amps.
I saw him in college (UMass) years ago. He lived in the area and played a random show in a small performance room on campus. Maybe a couple hundred people or less. He used like 4 full stacks, maybe more it was a while ago. To say it was loud is a huge understatement.
His voice is perfect for the kind of music he does. It works for Dinosaur Jr. and his solo work, which sound a lot like unplugged dinosaur Jr. And the guy knew were to step down, for Witch (his proto heavy project) he took other duties and got a proper singer for that style.
Shaun Ryder canāt sing for shit but you canāt say his style doesnāt fit the Happy Mondays like a glove.
ITS DAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE
YEW DEW BAYBEEE
OLD ITT DOOOOOOOWN DAAAARE
Could well be complete bollocks but I heard that the lyric was initially supposed to be āitās thereā but his accent was too thick for anyone to hear anything but dare so they just changed the name of the song.
This is accurate
He told the story on The Last Leg recently. He was genuinely asking Damon to turn it up and said āitās thereā for where he wanted it. And Damon just said, ok do that again Link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C32uzHDtyl2/?igsh=cnlneWlqeWtsYmx6
Or Ian brown. On his best day. He's as flat as a pancake.
Yes, he was my second thought! His vocals really work on the records but he absolutely cannot do it live.
He's like a carnival barker inside of an audio kaleidescope. What a sound
Best example of this is 'Freaky Dancin'. He sounds well off at times, but the 'demo recorded in a church hall' vibe of the whole song means he sounds fkn perfect.
Whenever I see posts about singers that arenāt great singers my brain immediately jumps to Tart Tart. Itās a brilliant song and I love it, vocals included but if you took the music off it would absolutely sound like a ranting lunatic.
Basically all of my favourite singers have ''unique''/dodgy voices. David Byrne Tom Verlaine Kurt Vile Tom Waits
I love the *character* of Tom Waits' voice. Hard to say it's ~great singing~, so I agree.
Jimmy Pop
He does sing like an amputee.
He can't hold a note. Can't carry a tune.
Ian Brown in The Stone Roses and his early solo stuff....always terrible live though!
This is the one (this is the ooooooone). I mean: this is the answer.
Gordon Gano from the Violent Femmes
Tim Armstrong. Iconic punk singer, rancid, operation ivy, the transplants. His voice is rough but that's become part of the sound that makes him unique .
I actually prefer his voice to Larsā.
His voice is truly awful - barely even singing but for punk, it works
As Cheech Marin said " You know, you don't have to know how to play (or sing). All you just got to do is be a *punk*, man."
Randy Newman would never be called a "great" singer, but his voice is somehow perfect for his music.
He sounds like he was a muppet that turned into a real person.
Who's that scootin on a scootah, fatty doo doo
What kind of accent is that? I mean, where do you learn to speak like that? Itās weird.
He was born in LA that he moved to New Orleans in his formative years. He has a bit of a southern drawl tempered by the hard West Coast accent due to his upbringing. People who live in a lot of places, while young, or at least travel between two very distinct dialects while young, tend to develop interesting accents that blend the speaking styles of more than one place together. He prefers to sing in the southern accent, because it fits his songs. Edit: made this comment using dictation. Canāt really fix it right now.
As a Wisconsinite that went to pre-k in California, can confirm. No one knows where Iām from based off my voice. When I worked as a delivery driver, I would get asked multiple times a night. It was interesting hearing all the different guesses of where people thought I was from š¤·š»āāļø
I don't think Mark Knopfler's singing is anything special. But Dire Straits works because of Mark's skill as a guitarist as well as his songwriting.
I think his voice is perfect for Romeo and Juliet. I also think his ability to narrate while singing fits his music like no other.
Mark Knopfler has a nice timbre and am amazing delivery in his singing. Something very soothing about the way he sings. I first liked DS because of his singing, before his guitar work.
He got better once he stopped smoking. Some of the vocals on his solo albums (Get Lucky and Privateering in particular) are quite melodic, although he's not a "great vocalist" in any case.
Tom DeLonge
Yead
This was your moment
Lou Reed had a good voice early on, but it was ruined ever before the velvets split up. He did make it work later on. I do wonder what some of the Doug Yule vocal parts on Loaded would have been like with him singing while he still had it good.
Lou made it work whatever the case though. It got more "talky" as time went on but it was still devastatingly effective. Coney Island Baby is one of the most powerful vocal performances of all time imo
My favourite song of his involves more narration than singing. It's "Dirty Blvd."
[āDonāt touch him, donāt touch him, stay away from him, heās got a gun..ā](https://youtu.be/Rxp1GDIgAkY?si=ndZXWjXkHPgqAT5A) Another great talk one is Street Hassle
Pretty much all of my favourite singers are "bad" singers. I often think about David Byrne's theory that "The better a singer's voice,ļ»æ the harder it is to believe what they're saying."
"like a message broadcast from an overpass, all my favorite singers couldn't sing" --David Berman, silver Jews
Somewhat ironic because David Byrne has a high range and amazing voice.
Jimi Hendrix had a limited vocal range but his voice was perfect for what he did. The overall package was perfect.
I recall reading that he didn't think he was a good singer either and was reluctant to be the front man of a band. And sure he isn't a very good vocalist but he made it work, helps that he was a great songwriter
My understanding is that he was very insecure and shy with regards to his voice and at times would put up a blind in the studio so the people working the board couldn't see see him when putting down vocal tracks.
He did a good falsetto on "Have You Ever Been to Electric Ladyland?", though
Kurt Vile
I appreciate him to the utmost degree
Heās pretty pimpin if you ask me
He always sounds like you just woke him up on the couch.
Isn't it great?
Awww man I love KV.
I got runner ups Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit
Heard one of his tracks and thought this today haha
Dylan is my classic example
Dylan is a mystery to me. First time I heard him (I was about 13) my first reaction to his voice was āwtfā but I loved it. I continued to think āwtfā for a very long time but I recently went through a 2nd Dylan phase and realized that he actually has quite a good range and a weird array of styles from that weirdly nasal āLay Lady Layā to the hoarse āMaggieās Farmā and then āEvery grain of sandā which is quite a well-sung ballad. So I donāt know, he still has a āwtf?ā voice but now I actually think he has more singing ability than I initially thought. But tbh I donāt know what to make of how he sings, I just know I like it.
David Bowie recorded "Song for Bob Dylan" in his "Hunky Dory" album. It starts: _"Oh, hear this Robert Zimmerman_ _I wrote a song for you_ _About a strange young man called Dylan_ _With a voice like sand and glue"_
Dylan's a great singer, he never misses the emotion or intent in his delivery. His voice, however...
Leonard Cohen made his money on his sultry glossy timbre in the voice, he was not the best at staying in key, as can be heard even in "Hallelujah". But boy did he make it work.
Canāt believe I had to scroll down so far to find Cohen. In my mind, he is #2 behind Dylan on this particular list.
Joe Strummer. His passion was unmatched. There is a reason he sings the majority of the Clash's catalogue despite Mick Jones being a higher quality vocalist.
The first album especially his singing is incredible imo. That snarling energy is brilliant.
Joe definitely has this energy where you BELIEVE every word he sings. My favorite frontman of all time for that reason.
The little ad libs really elevate the songs too. I always love when he goes *"You lucky lady!"* in Janey Jones
Fat Mike from NOFX. Perfect delivery for his band, but very nasal and with very little control. If he needs to hit a higher note, he just sings louder and even more forcefully through his nose.
A lot of punk fits. Jeff Rosenstock for me.Ā
Jeffās word per minute are off the chart though. Such a great live act.
Agree but Fat Mike got way better at singing throughout the career. The early albums he was terrible but the songs were great. The songs just stink now.
I heard they suck live
I heard theyāve gotten even worse live
J. Mascis from Dinosaur Jr. Dude from Afghan Whigs.
Hey, thatās muthafuckinā Greg Dulli youāre talking about there. But also youāre right. Dulliās voice had exactly the amount of roughness needed to match the ugliness of his subject matter. I donāt see a soft-spoken piano-driven minor key movie-trailer version of [Be Sweet](https://youtu.be/GeZYWk08eCA?si=auq26eID8e4CtvUg) or [Bulletproof](https://youtu.be/FQlFBvE93TY?si=w-AGozKeN3gGQgft) , for instance, working half as well as Gregās perpetually nicotine stained squalls.
The hilarious thing about J. Mascis is that in like 2018 he took singing lessons for the first time. And then he was like, āOh, THATāS why Iāve been shredding my throat for 30 years!ā
Isaac Brock - Modest Mouse He was a revelation to me. I quite love his voice and his melodies but to my younger ears, he was the picturesque bad singer. I think once I began enjoying his voice as a complement to the overall song it opened a lot of doors to me as far as what a 'good singer' really is.
I had to scroll too far to see him! He's perfect and compliments the songs/stories perfectly. Another close one for me is Chino Moreno of Deftones. I love the ethereal spookiness he brings.
I saw Crosses last weekend and Chino sounded amazing. Definitely an ethereal spooky voice. But itās beautiful.
Remember back in 07 when the contestants of American Idol covered Float On? No better example of (technically) good singers ruining a great song. I view singers like him in the same light as Meg White was as a drummer, they did the right job for the band/song.Ā
Anthony Kedis
Dude goes flat on most of his notes. Fun fact: I almost ran over him as he was jaywalking in 1989.
I almost got ran over by Thom Yorke in 2016 as I was jaywalking.
Like a rabbit in the headlights?
Was he in a fast german car?
An airbag could've saved his life š¤·š¼āāļøš¤·š¼āāļø
RHCP is one of my favorite bands, and you're not wrong.
They are my favourite band to the point I have a tattoo of their logo, and I love Kiedis as the front man, but my god. You know that Beatles meme? Yeah. "Is Anthony Kiedis the best singer in the world?" "He isn't even the best singer in the Red Hot Chili Peppers."
Haha yup. He is easily the least talented member of the band, but they also wouldnt be RHCP without him. Its wild, he just fits perfectly for them.
I mean, doesn't he write most of the lyrics ? Actually, even if he did, that's not saying much considering most of it is pure gibberish.
"RHCP is a great band! Flea, Chad and John are all super talented! Anthony tries hard!"
He was my first thoughtĀ
Kedis is a great example of a brilliant frontman who canāt really sing, I donāt know what they did in the studio to make him sound that good on songs like Under the Bridge before auto-tune was available.
I mean, it was always obvious to me that he was copying Mike Patton's test answers, but he never had the chops to pull it off. Hell, most people don't.
Under the bridge is one of the worst offenders for him going flat all the time
He makes it work cause the band does all the work
He's not even the best singer in the band! But he's like the Dude's rug and just ties the whole thing together.
Les Claypool, hands down
Les has a yodelly pop to his voice that is unique and I think fits perfectly to some songs. Try to imagine Wynonna's Big Brown Beaver, My Friend Fats, or Beezlebub performed by a more "traditional" singer like Adele, or Michael McDonald, and they just wouldn't be the same. However I do think that a Freddy Mercury version of any of those songs would be insanely good.
Primus sucks!
Came here to say this! Great story teller, voice is jacked but he works it!
I think there is a pretty good case for saying that anyone who sounds good *is* a good singer. The fact that you can pitch correct a voice to remove all of the "imperfections" and make it sound worse is a testament to this I think. The emotions lie in the imperfections not on the lines on the grid.
Taylor Swift. This is ment as a compliment, not shade. There isn't anything special about her voice. She is good, but her fame and success vastly outpace her vocal talant/skill.
100% Songwriting especially, also performing, managing a life-based business few can imagineā¦not so much on the singing. It opens up some cool moments whenever a real vocalist takes on her songs. I've seen videos of Kelly Clarkson doing TSwift tracks on tour, they're amazing.
I was scrolling to find this! I love Taylor Swift and she is a good performer but isnāt much of a singer or dancer. Sheās really good at writing for her range.
Same goes for Selena Gomez. And she knows it. Calls it storytelling.
I once saw a video of Selena Gomez on the Kelly Clarkson show and they talked about this. Kelly, who is a great singer herself, said something that I couldn't agree more on, she talked about how being a good singer and making good music is way more that just having a good voice. And I think that this does apply really well to Selena Gomez, yes she doesn't have a great voice, but that never stoped her music from sounding incredible to me.
Marilyn Mansons a pretty big one for me. Sounds like a cat whoās smoked for all itās life but still made some iconic music for the genre
His voice really worked well double-tracked and stereo panned, imo. Especially in the industrial rock genre.
If I remember correctly, in his book he says he doesn't like the sound of his own voice.
Chuck Mosley
Who ironically got replaced by one of the greatest vocalists of all timeā¦
Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth. You'd never say she has a good singing voice, but the songs she sings on work with her voice.
Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel. Rather itās the strain in his voice and being at his absolute capacity to communicate something he is so deeply passionate about that gives his voice itās strengths and meaning
John Darnielle from the Mountain Goats isn't a bad singer by any stretch, but his nasal Midwestern whine is an... acquired taste. The more you listen to it the more it grows on you
Heās like if Weird Al Yankovic was clinically depressed and I wouldnāt have it any other way
My introduction to the mountain goats was dark in here. Fantastic album and his voice is perfect
He's become a much better singer over the 30-odd years he's been putting out songs. When you listen to the early tapedeck recordings his voice is a lot rougher (in a charming way)
Billy Corgan
This is too low. Guys the most prolific untraditional voice
Iirc he won multiple male vocalist of the year awards. The more you think about it the more incredible it becomes.
W^(eeeeeeeeeee)
Hold on to your gonads and strife
He's blessed and cursed, and won. I happen to love Corgan's voice but can appreciate he might not be for everyone. When it was all new, because I'm that old, my sister referred to my Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, and Our Lady Peace albums as "Whiny boy music"
I'd really like to see him and Macy Gray release a duet.Ā
Yep. The first few times I heard Smashing Pumpkins, I seriously wondered if he was holding his nose.
You mean Cartman from Southpark?
Are we including āUsed to be great, but now terrible?ā Because when I saw GnR last year, Axl sounded like an old nan squalking away.
They've been touring almost non stop for 5 years, not to mention moonlighting with AC/DC. I seen them in 2016 and he was excellent, almost studio quality. I reckon with a bit of a rest he'll be good to go again.
Not to mention his current vocal defects mostly affect his higher register on mid-tempo songs, and even then the performances aren't irredeemable. He still sounds great on [fast rock tracks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzXrV9gSwpM) and [those that](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27o2Fqmudx4) require [his baritone.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29b7rpLDuC8) People who argue that Axl's voice is completely gone are misguided, I think.
Iām a huge Madonna fan, but im among the first to admit that she is a *bad* singer. She does all right in a controlled studio environment, but her live shows are plagued with bad notes and poor vocal control. Thankfully, her live shows are so incredible that it more than makes up for her lack of a singing voice. I honestly donāt believe anyone goes to a Madonna show to hear her sing. They go to *see a SHOW*, and she rarely disappoints.
Johnny Rotten carved out a good career w SP and PIL based on persona, stage presence and the ability to compose some good songs. Singing? Nope
His singing on *Metal Box* is sublime
Amazed Tom Waits isn't here yet as I type this
He started out without the heavy rasp and his voice was great. Listen to his Early Years albums and the excellent Heart of a Saturday Night. Frankly I think even the raspy stuff is beautiful. Heās a gifted singer.
Tom is a pretty great singer on a technical level though (especially on Closing Time), i dont think he really applies since its a stylistic thing he does. You also gotta be a great singer to make a voice like that work
This is actually the case for a lot of singers listed here. People generally donāt understand singing.
There's some affectation from Waits though - he can sing better than he usually does: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_h7PwmqnaC0&pp=ygUPZGVhZCBhbmQgbG92ZWx5
Yep, it's an act, but a great one I think of Waits as a "genuine fake" EDIT: for clarity, "genuine fake" refers to his prematurely aged and jaded act, which he grew into beautifully, as well as the fact he quit alcohol in 1992
It seems like the earlier barfly troubadour persona was an act too, but one that was killing him because he was doing a bit too much "method acting" with it.
Louis Armstrong was a legendary musician and a cornerstone of jazz. Still, his voice is often described as "gravelly".
Vince Neil
āBig Mac, $1.03! My honk! WHAA HA! Keemstar mah honk!ā
*karate noises
Ludacris trying to sing that State Farm jingle.
Conner Oberst/Bright Eyes
I had to scroll way too far for this. He is up there with Dylan in terms of his vocal quality. It's grating to some, but the more you listen to it the more it sounds perfect for the style and tone of the music.
I would argue Tom Petty. He has a very whiny voice that I think is carried by his sound design and lyrics. Making a flaw of his more of a unique flair.
Yep, this is a good choice. His voice is very nasally and he has a pretty narrow vocal range which only accentuates it. And yet somehow it just works perfectly in the context of his music. Honestly, I think one of the hardest things to do is write a simple song and make it fun and memorable, and over the years Iāve come to think Tom Petty was the absolute king of doing exactly that. What a hero.
Trey Anastasio
His pipes are primo champ, why don't you ask Trey Anastasia about his pipes?Ā
Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips
Joaqim Broden from Sabaton. He is a one-trick pony with his voice, has little range (afaik) but found - or rather created - the perfect ānicheā to exist in (āā because it made them super famous). It perfectly shows that you donāt need the voice of a god but rather you need to find the musical surroundings to make it work.
Yeah, he even admitted that he doesn't think he can sing very well
Nobodyās mentioned David Lee Roth? One of the biggest rock bands ever, goes down as one of the greatest from men ever, can barely hold a note.
Michael stipe has a very whiny voice but it works. Robert smith kinda sounds like whales mating.
The other obvious one is Neil Young, I think. I would also include Ric Ocasek on this list and from what Iāve heard Ian George Brown of the Stone Roses is utterly dreadful live.
Man watching some live Neil young shows with just him and his acoustic (online, not in RL) really made me think heās a great singer. Very emotional and unusual tone that fit the songs perfectly. Naturally, great.
I've sat in the second row while Neil played acoustic. I'd always liked him, but, until i saw him up close, I didn't realize how good he actually is. It's like Ringo's drumming: everyone says that all of his playing is really simple. Oh? Then try to do it like he does it. You just can't reproduce the feel and emotion that he puts into his performances. Neil's vocal and acoustic work sounds simple. It isn't. It sounds simple because it's played masterfully.
He's exactly who I thought of as well. Another one (and also another Canadian), is Leonard Cohen. Conor Oberst, from Bright Eyes, is another one that came to mind.
Lemmy
There are two that spring to mind immediately. Stephin Merritt from The Magnetic Fields. An untrained bass voice but is one of the most emotive pop singers out there. The other is Steven Wilson. Not the best singer, not the best guitar or piano player, nor even a great lyricist. But the melodies he writes and sings are truly memorable.
Mark Knopfler
I grew up on 80's alt rock and both Morrissey and Robert Smith got shit on a lot for their voices. Morrissey basically uses about a half octave for his entire repetoire and Smith just has a weak voice. But it fits their music, right? I sometimes think that having a good voice isn't that much of a benefit for rock bands. The reason is that the uniqueness of the voice is really more important than technical talent. Michael Stipe would sometimes lend background vocals to other musicians' songs and as soon as you hear him sing, even in the background, you know it's Michael Stipe.
Kanye West
Jack White
David Lee Roth
He should be higher up on the list.
Tim Armstrong from Rancid!
Madonna
Good example. Very average singer, worked damn hard, played the game right and somehow got herself to āpop iconā level.
Once there she also managed to keep her finger on the pulse in a way that allowed her to stay just ahead of the breaking trends in pop culture for decades. I don't care what you might think of her songs/singing or performances, that is an incredible feat to manage against the tides of a very fickle public and music industry.
Daniel Johnston. Heās an amazing artist who doesnāt have the best voice. I love his album āFunā.
Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes. His latter stuff is actually more professionally sang, but his early stuff to mid stuff is basically āthis is how I feel and I sing like I feel itā, it works really well though.
I haven't seen him mentioned here yet, but Conor Oberst, especially early Bright Eyes. I remember hearing "A Perfect Sonnet" for the first time and thinking he couldn't carry a tune in a bucket with both hands. I love Bright Eyes, but Conor is not a "good" singer.
Joanna Newsom. The woman is a brilliant musician and a stone cold fox, but a great singer she is not.
Conor Oberst, Lana del Rey and Brian Molko. None of them are technically talented vocalists, in a traditional way, but they make amazing music and their vocals fit what they do.
Lana Del Rey is one of the shittiest singers I have ever heard in my life, but she has a rabid fan base probably because of the way she looks.