Top 50 Greatest Singers of All Time

[Hathaway]

This is my list of the top 50 greatest vocalist of all time. List is completely subjective. My personal opinion.
There is a slight formula used here. I take into consideration:
vocal prowess, emotion, depth, versatility, tone, control, power, range, melismatic ability(riffs & runs) uniqueness, style, era of dominance and longevity. All of these things are considered when ranking but its still personal opinion at the end of the day. List will be broken up into sections of 10 starting at 50. Lets get into it.

50. Mahalia Jackson
49. Sisqo
48. Deborah Cox
47. Smokie Robinson
46. Otis Redding
45. Darryl Walls
44. CoCo (SWV)
43. Tamia
42. Toni Braxton
41. Donnie McClurkin

Honorable Mentions here: Jamie Foxx, Bruno Mars, Musiq, Ginuwine, Tyrese, All members of En Vogue.

Starting with the bottom tier. This section was tough because names can definitely be rearranged here depending on your personal taste. Felt bad about having certified legends like Smokie, Mahalia & Otis ranked here but once we get into the rest of the list, I couldn't justify replacing anyone else with any of them. Otis definitely has a strong case to be moved up. Mostly R&B acts here as the majority of the list will be but I liked having Donnie and Darryl, two vocal giants of the gospel industry here. If we were ranking solely on vocal riffs, ear and scaling ability, gospel artist would dominate the list. But I understand there is far more to technical singing than just your ability to riff and run throughout a song. Tamia, Sisqo, Coco, Deborah & Toni are titans that carried us R&B heads in the 90s and 00s. Their overall vocal ability lands them here with Toni being the most unique of them all given her mesmerizing, sultry low tones. Lets move on.

40. Sam Cooke
39. Kim Burrell
38. D'Angelo
37. Tank
36. Yolanda Adams
35. Ron Isley
34. Charlie Wilson
33. K-ci (Jodeci)
32. Tevin Campbell
31. Peobo Bryson

Honorable Mentions here: Lisa Fischer, Nat King Cole, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Dorinda Clark, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks.

Here we start getting into some of the more technical singers; singers who can eat up a scale. Kim Burell, Tank, Yolanda, Charlie and Tevin fit this mold. They are "churchy" singers. The meat of their singing features heavy runs and vocal fluidity. I appreciate this style of singing because it is ear catching and wowing but I think singers take it too far sometimes. We got Sam here at 40 who's smooth vocal stylings gained him the label among many as the father of soul music.
You could argue moving Mr. Isley higher but he was never a super strong vocalist. Just really smooth. He knew his lane and he mastered it; lots of falsettos and sweet tones. K-Ci, another churchy singer but not like the ones mentioned before. K-Ci is more pure power, raw. Not a lot of finesse vocally here. His brother JoJo was the finesse singer. K-Ci could sing the roof off of a building. Pure strength.
Peobo is probably the strongest all around vocalist here. He is one of the few that coupled finesse, power and agility all into one. Honestly, I would not argue with anyone if they moved him up into the top 15. I could see it. He has one of the greatest voices of the last 50 years. D'Angelo is the weakest vocalist here but the most unique as well. His style, innovation and helping birth the Neo Soul movement lands him here. Heavy falsettos, not much power or melisma but I like him here.

30. El Debarge
29. Smokie Norful
28. Patti Labelle
27. Joe
26. Jackie Wilson
25. Chaka Khan
24. Beyonce
23. Lauryn Hill
22. Al Green
21. Gladys Knight

Honorable Mentions here: Marvin Winans, Fred Hammond, Johnny Gill, Stephanie Mills, Justin Timberlake

El Debarge and Chaka were vocal gladiators of the 80s. El so smooth and sweet. Chaka power soprano. Then you got Patti and Gladys, two super soulful, churchy singers. Gladys was definitely more versatile and I prefer her voice more. We got a pioneer in Jackie Wilson one of the 1st black solo superstars of the early 60s who ushered in that melismatic style of singing into pop music and made it musically successful.
Al Green needs no introduction here. He carried soul music on his back and into the charts most of the 70s. Beyonce, the most versatile singer here could be moved higher. She is a GOAT no denying that.
There wasn't many people outside of Brandy and Mariah who could see Lauryn on a mic vocally in the late 90s. Smokie Norful literally had riffs that I had never heard before. His debut song, I Need You Now is a gospel standard and classic that only he can sing. At one point in the 00s, he was considered the best gospel vocalist. Joe is probably the odd man out here if you aren't too familiar with his bag vocally but real ones know. Joe was super versatile. Could hit you with a crazy run, blow you away with power, sweep ya lady off her feet with smooth finesse and his range is god tier.

 

[Hathaway]

20. R. Kelly
19. Brian McKnight
18. John P. Kee
17. Anita Baker
16. Jazmine Sullivan
15. Wanye Morris (Boyz II Men)
14. Usher
13. Michael Jackson
12. Twinkie Clark
11. Karen Clark

Honorable Mentions here: Faith Evans, India Arie, Ray Charles

This is where we get into the heavy hitters. Robert Kelly at one point in the 90's was considered the best singer in his genre. Power, Range, versatile. Come on man.
- Brian McKnight at one point was considered the best vocalist of his time. Range, melisma, technical singer. Churchy singer if he wanted to be. No weaknesses vocally. He was your favorite singers favorite singer.
- John P. Kee one of the most unique voices in history. Some of the best songs in gospel history were led by this man. His voice, like Peobo Bryson, is near perfect to me. In his prime, he could stand toe to toe with any vocal giant.

- Anita. The most famous Anita in history. With that distinction, you know you're a GOAT. The 1st to pioneer that low, sultry tone and make it successful in music. Jazzy singer too. Couldn't really hit you with runs but she had a very sneaky range that would take you by surprise. One of the most recognizable and unique voices in history.
-Jazmine Sullivan is probably the only woman to take that churchy, run heavy style and catapult it into the mainstream and find success. It took a while to catch on but it has latched on finally. One of the greatest singers of the last 15 years and the greatest female vocalist of the last 15 years no question. She is the R&B version of the aforementioned Kim Burell but Jazmine is more digestible as a vocalist. Her riff and run ability is unmatched and she is the 2nd greatest child vocalist of all time behind MJ.

- Wanye another one of those pioneers who made that churchy, melismatic singing largely popular in mainstream music. In fact, the 1st time I learned the word "melisma" was in a music documentary about him and B2M.
- Usher, the only man with R. Kelly whom I have heard be called the King of R&B and he is worthy of title. Ushers only flaw vocally is that he doesn't have great power. Other than that, sheesh. Runs, fluidity, range, versatile, smooth. I think he has the best tone of any singer in the last 30 years. Voice is like water.

- MJ is the only person who could be on the list twice. Once for his adult self and twice for his child self. Kid MJ was literally a better vocalist than 90% of the music industry. But adult MJ makes the list here because of how he matured into his voice in his adult years. He lost all the power he had as a youngster but gained this unique, sharp tone that gave his voice a sort of definition that I've never heard in anyone else. His voice was like a knife. It cut through music. Arguably the most unique voice in history. One of a kind. If he hadn't abused his voice as a child, he could've been even more of a monster vocally and that's scary to think about.
- Real music heads know about Twinkie Clark. She was the originator, the template that her baby sister Karen followed. Twinkie could do everything that Karen could do but Karen took it and made it better. I always have to give props to the originator and Twinkie is one of the greatest voices and ears in music history.
- Karen Clark rounds out the top 20. Real gospel/vocal heads know about the monster that is Karen. For much of the late 80s, 90s and 00s she was considered the GOAT of gospel singers.

10. Brandy
9. Mariah Carey
8. Daryl Coley
7. Luther Vandross
6. Stevie Wonder
5. Marvin Gaye
4. Aretha Franklin
3. Ella Fitzgerald
2. Whitney Houston
1. Donny Hathaway


- Brandy is known as the "Vocal Bible" for a reason. She came in as a teenager with a stamp of approval from Whitney. She was out-singing your fav at 16 years old man. Probably has the best ear of anyone not named Twinkie, Jazmine and Darryl Walls on the list. She reminds me of the female version of Usher in many instances but slightly better. Brandy can do more with her voice. I love the rasp in her voice. She can take you to church and she can touch your emotions through a ballad. Super versatile. Sneaky power but not a power singer. Decent range. Very underrated but every music head I respect and chat with always agree that Brandy is top 10.

- Mariah Carey at one point and time was the greatest singer of her era. A super soprano but she'll tell you she's actually not a soprano. Whatever she is, she was a monster. A child of Whitney along with Brandy, these two solo'd the 90s as the 2 top superstars. Mariah's numbers were other worldly but rightfully so. Her vocal prowess was unmatched. One of the few users of that fabled whistle tone, Mariah had no weaknesses. She could do it all.

- Daryl Coley is the greatest male gospel singer of all time as far as I'm concerned. He birthed legends like John P. Kee, Smokie Norful, Marvin Sapp, Fred Hammond etc. Your fav gospel singer admired this man. No weaknesses vocally. Range was crazy. Runs were crazy. Power was crazy. Stamina was crazy. Could sing for hours. His song When Sunday Comes is perhaps a top 10 gospel song ever and it was recorded LIVE. That performance is a top 5 Live performance ever. Go watch the video.

- Luther Vandross. If anyone called Luther the King of R&B, you'd get no argument from me because I would agree with you. Luther is the real King of the genre. Half of us on here were probably conceived to a Luther song. Depth, versatile, power. smoothness. A crazy ear for composition. The only man who Whitney revered as an equal. No weaknesses vocally.

- Stevie Wonder. One of the few living Gods we have left on this Earth. No weaknesses vocally. He could do everything. Arguably the most talented singer on the list. A literal genius musically. Hits in every decade from 60s - 90s. The only artist where people at the Grammys would thank him for not submitting an album that year to give everyone else a a chance to actually win for once. The only singer to have a 5 album stretch from 71-76 be named the "Classic Period" because he COULD NOT MISS.

- Marvin Gaye. For much of the late 60's and 70's, Marvins only competition was Stevie. He revered Stevie but Stevie knew Marvin had a level that he himself could not yet reach during that time. It was Marvin that sparked Stevie's competitiveness that would lead to his "Classic Period". Marvins Whats Going On album is largely considered one of the greatest albums in music history. Marvins epitomized smooth vocals. Never heard a voice like his before in my life. He could do everything anyone on the list could do but 10x better. NO. WEAKNESSES vocally.

- Aretha the sole pioneer of that churchy singing being profitable in the mainstream secular industry. Nobody in the 60's, 70 or 80's wanted to see Aretha on the mic. She was the voice. Raw, power, finesse, soul, unmatched ability. A Goddess of vocals. No Weaknesses.

-Ella Fitzgerald. This may surprise many but again, this is my opinion. Ella has one the best voices I've ever heard. Her rendition of Misty has moved me to tears so many times. She is the queen of scat singing. No one ever in history has done it better. She is the queen of Jazz. I respect Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn Dinah Washington but neither of them had the vocal talent of Ella. The sweetest voice I've ever heard. She could do it all.

- Whitney Houston. The Voice. A child of Aretha but she took Aretha's style and transcended it to another planet. The greatest female voice and tone I've ever heard. She made technical singing the standard. It is because of her that we have legends like Beyonce, Mariah, Brandy, Jazmine. She birthed them all. She raised the bar so high and it will never be touched. A master of vocal ability.

- My namesake. Donny Hathaway. Never heard a voice better than his in all of my life. A heavy, deep, rich tone that sits on you and weighs you down. The power behind his voice is unmatched. His vocals are ethereal. No one on this list could stand toe to toe with this man if we are talking strictly vocal ability. This is who the Gods of voice study. When he died, you should look up how many of the giants of the music industry mourned his death and named him one of the greatest talents of all time. A genius. He could do it all.

 

[jadillac]

I don't agree with all the rankings but I love that you explained everything and took the time to do this.

I just can't put Usher above many of those ppl as vocalists

 

[Hathaway]

I just can't put Usher above many of those ppl as vocalists

Why is that?

 

[Buddy]

Donny Hathaway is #1 hands down.
What sets him apart is his exceptional vocal talent COUPLED with his writing skills.

I've never made a song so salute to all yall out there that have. If you can express yourself thru your own lyrics snd and vocals then the depths of your inner self that can be unlocked are unlimited. Donny Hathway had that on a level I simply haven't heard otherwise. You can hear how much he means this shyt. Especially on the live versions, my gawd

 

[jadillac]

Why is that?

There's really nothing he can sing better than McKnight or r. Kelly. Or dudes from Boyz to Men.

Just my opinion

 

[Please Believe It]

Great list, but it needs Alexander O'Neal

 

[Kool]

Brandy at #10?

 

[Worthless Loser]

Brandy at number 10 over ANITA BAKER, TONI BRAXTON and so many other greats.

 

[Hathaway]

Great list, but it needs Alexander O'Neal

Honorable mention. Guys like him and Glenn Jones had far too short of a career/catalogs. But I agree, he could blow before the drugs.

 

[Hathaway]

Brandy at #10?

Brandy at number 10 over ANITA BAKER, TONI BRAXTON and so many other greats.

This is always controversial among people but people really sleep on Brandy and idk why. Toni and Anita are world class singers in their own right but there are levels to this and Brandy is leagues above them as a singer. She was stamped by Whitney as a teenager. That should tell you all you need to know.

 

[R=G]

Sam Cooke is unlike anybody else..Whitney Houston is right behind him. Absolutely terrible list.

 

[Hathaway]

There's really nothing he can sing better than McKnight or r. Kelly. Or dudes from Boyz to Men.

Just my opinion

I think longevity matters here as well. Usher over Brian McKnight is solely because even today Ushers voice has aged like wine as he is still performing in Vegas and selling out shows. Not to say Brian can't still sing but Ushers longevity and versatility ranks him above Brian.

If anyone wants to argue R. Kelly over Usher, you'll get no debate from me because I can see it. I just prefer Ushers voice/style over Roberts.

 

[Hathaway]

Sam Cooke is unlike anybody else..Whitney Houston is right behind him. Absolutely terrible list.

Sam was a pioneer but here was nothing world breaking or unique about his voice. He was just a great singer.

 

[R=G]

Sam was a pioneer but here was nothing world breaking or unique about his voice. He was just a great singer.

LIVE shows were amazing. Immortal songs. Stevie Wonder is a few levels behind him...Whitney Houston speaks for itself. Him out of the top 3 is a insult to common sense, logic, and history. Disgusting really. Lol@nothing unique about his voice. Good Times is better than 95% of the catalog of any artist mentioned.. Bring It On Home To Me is the definition of talent in the music industry.