The Top 200 Greatest Rock Singers - 30 to 21

Now we are in the top 30 and  harder choices are having to be made. I am having to be more honest with myself; in what we are doing here which is focusing not only on technical vocal ability, in terms of range and power, as well as their dynamics, phrasing and the overall character of their voice. Can they emote from different places? How well does their voice hold up live? . How they control a crowd or their entertainment value as performers is also not a factor; there are some great front men who are also sub-par singers. There are also not going to be any Bob Dylan like singers, who are better songwriters than vocalists.

Pop singers, are far and few between, with; a few country or jazz singers who crossover just enough to qualify for this list, while having a significant influence on rock music. Don't expect rappers on this list or metal vocalists who just scream or growl, but never actually sing. I am keen on singers who are derivative of other singers. The bulk of these do their own thing, the few paying tribute to other artists made enough of an impact with their music. Having a unique vocal quality is going to be one of the most important factors often trumping technical ability. If they sound too much like Steve Perry from Journey after listening to their vocal coach rather than developing their own style, it is also not going to fly. Some of these might have been ignored by mainstream music media, but by the time we get to the top 10, I am sure it will all make sense, so here are the Top 200 greatest rock singers.

30-Chino Moreno

From hushed cooing to full on hard core like screaming, his voice has grown over the years which kept his band from being lost in the mire of nu metal an evolving into their own thing.

 

 29-Maynard James Keenan

The Tool singer who has branched out into projects like A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, has come a long way since he was raging with more of a metal band on the Opiate ep, though even then we heard his potential. He might not try as hard these days, but laid the ground  work well.

             

 28- Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

 Not only the greatest of his kind but he brought his traditions into a modern setting by working with western producers. His voice is a spiritual experience.  

            

27-Skin 

 The front woman for Skunk Anansie knows no bounds when it comes to what she does with her voice. It is a shame they never broke bigger in the States as their are singers who have tired to do what she does and got more credit for not even covering half the ground she does vocally. 

               

26 Cedric Bixler

How often would a band like Mars Volta find themselves putting out songs that are even better than what they were doing 20 years ago. Cedric is the reason for this. Not as aggressive as he was during At the Drive In, he has taken his androgynous voice to new highs.  

           

 25--George Michael

 After he shattered the world with the Faith album , he followed it up with an album that solidified him as the best make POP singer of his era. He should have been the one to replace Freddie. 

        

  24- Chris Isaak 

His smooth style of melancholy rock a billy crooning with a mellow western feel , would not hit like it does without his mastery of his falsetto yodels. His low end notes are gutsy and he has tons of power, making him even better live than in the studio.

 

23-Chris Cornell 

 The Soundgarden singer continued to make an impression on people with his solo career before he died. He had a Robert Plant like wail to his voice that made him stand out among his peers who were just baritones.

   

22-King  Diamond 

You might be surprised the King is not in the top 10 , he would if this was just metal singers. He does have the best metal yodel, but metal yodels alone does not the best make, that is even including his death metal demon snarls and doomsayer moans .King Diamond is great at the songs he wrote , but can you imagine him covering some one else in his style? 

  

21-Peter Steele 

How did Peter Steele beat out King Diamond. It was a tough, but, given his band's penchant for covering a song and making it better and his resonate baritone that finds him being able to gracefully navigate a wider range of melodic territory , unless we were ranking by voices most likely to summon Satan then King wins hands down.