Top Female Vocalists of All-Time

Share this Article

Author:

Bear

In recent years female vocalists have made a huge comeback, but are there really that many worth listening too? We have compiled our favorite female fronted bands and solo acts of All-Time into one place. The inspiration for this list came from a blog dedicated to the music of The Sundays that I came across, where I found a post about there being a lack of good female vocalists in music right now. I beg to differ, and would like to say that never has there been a better time if you are a fan of the female persuasion. The creation of this list was made by our independent love of the bands and not based on album sales, if that were the case Katy Perry, Brittany Spears, Janet Jackson, Keesha and many other shit singers would be here, but we want quality over whatever the hell they are. Also our list includes many older bands and solo artists but leaves out many of the mainstream vocalists, due to their not being very unique, or they just make terrible music. I’m sure that some great bands have been left off of this list, so please leave a comment and add your favorites.

Listed is our top 50 bands/vocalists, and then it’s fair game from there on as it gets too tough to number them out.

1. The Sundays (Harriet Wheeler)
2. My Brightest Diamond (Shara Worden)
3. Land of Talk (Elizabeth Powell)
4. Cat Power (Charlyn Marie Marshall)
5. Sugarcubes (Bjork)
6. Laura Marling
7. Hem (Sally Ellyson)
8. Leona Naess
9. Frida Hyvonen
10. Feist (Leslie Feist)
11. Rosie Thomas
12. Lia Ices
13. Britta Persson
14. The Mynabirds (Laura Burhenn)
15. Rilo Kiley (Jenny Lewis)
16. The Cranberries (Dolores O’Roirdan)
17. Camera Obscura (Tracyanne Campbell)
18. Olof Arnalds
19. Bat For Lashes (Natasha Khan)
20. Regina Spektor
21. Gillian Welch
22. Nico Vega
23. Sharon Van Etten
24. Frou Frou (Imogen Heap)
25. The Dø (Olivia Merilahti)
26. Mindy Smith
27. Caroline Lavelle
28. Minipop (Tricia Kanne)
29. Azure Ray (Maria Taylor)
30. Ane Brun
31. The Postmarks (Tim Yehezkely)
32. Basia Bulat
33. Vashtin Bunyan
34. Joanna Newsom
35. Beth Rowley
36. Rachael Yamagata
37. Marissa Nadler
38. Beth Orton
39. Jesca Hoop
40. Jenny O.
41. Via Audio (Jessica Martins)
42. Anya Marina
43. O+S (Orenda Fink)
44. Giant Drag (Annie Hardy)
45. Joan As Police Woman
46. Jenn Grant
47. Denali (Maura Davis)
48. Emily Haines
49. Tegan & Sara
50. Haley Bonar
The Weepies
Sunfall Festival
Innocence Mission
Tina Dico
Brittle Stars
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Ohbijou
Chloe Chaidez (Kitten)
Broadcast
Innocence Mission
Carissa’s Weird
Carla Bruni
CSS
DRI
E&L
Eisley
Sixpence None the Richer
Those Darlins
Elizabeth & the Catapult
Emilie Simon
Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton
Emily Jane White
Empress
Erin McLaughlin
Mr. Gnome
Great Northern
Headlights
Hope
Now Now
Natalie Ribbons (Agent Ribbons)
The Watson Twins
Julie Dorion
Kaitlyn Ni Donavon
Monofog
Priscilla Ahn
Psapp
Karine Polwart
Kate Walsh
Leigh Nash
Puppini Sisters
Rachel Cantu
Rainer Maria
Sally Seltman
Saturday Looks Good To Me
Savoir Adore
School of Seven Bells
Sera Cahoone
Silje Nes
Stina Stjern
Love is All
Lullatone
The Luyas
The Magnetic Fields
Pretty Girls Make Graves (Andrea Zollo)
Dolly Parton (listen to Down From Dover for real heartbreak)
Rachel Flotard (Visqueen)
Robyn
Veda
Kimya Dawson

Facebook comments:

No Comments

Click here to cancel reply.

New Posts

Featured Photo Show Reviews
Greenhorse @ The Satellite, 5/11

Greenhorse’s performance at the Satellite was more than just a typical opening band on a Friday night. Sharing their home state with popular headliners Gauntlet Hair (its Wyoming), Greenhorse also recognized how monumental this moment really is: “It’s kind of exciting because when we first moved to L.A, we came to Spaceland and we were like, ‘I hope we get to play here someday.” The trio played to a dark room, each member merely lit by their own spotlight, which [...]
Read more →
Articles Featured Show Reviews
Choir of Young Believers at SPOT Festival 2012

Choir of Young Believers are a band whose music perfectly emulates their name. With an ecclesiastic, reverberant sound quite akin to that of Fleet Foxes, this seven-piece Danish band not only possess a musicality that is powerful and elating, they are also captivating live and have a stage presence that is transfixing. CYOB’s show at SPOT Festival was deep and dynamic, possessing a memorably surreal energy. Their music resonates within every cell of the body, stirring emotions that you never [...]
Read more →
Show Reviews
Thee Attacks @ SPOT Festival 2012

Thee Attacks were an unexpected highlight at this years SPOT festival with their seductively wild performance that shook the Voxhall stage to it’s core and stripped the walls bare until all that remained was a static sexual charge that was impossible to ignore. It was not their first time at SPOT festival, nor were they new to the stage in any way- having performed at numerous locations around the world in the last few years, including this years SXSW. Yet the [...]
Read more →
Featured Show Reviews
SPOT Festival 2012, Århus Denmark

It was a Scandinavian Spring morning as I boarded the train from Copenhagen to Århus, Denmark’s smaller, quieter version of Copenhagen, and the home of SPOT festival. Being my first time at SPOT as well as my first time in Århus, my expectations were built solely on the good things I had heard through the grapevine about the two-day musical whirlwind, dedicated to showcasing emerging Danish and Nordic bands. My first thought on arrival was ‘where are all the people?’ [...]
Read more →
Featured Photo Show Reviews
The Mowgli’s CD Release Party @ The Roxy

In a word, The Mowgli’s are happy. The crowd that follows The Mowgli’s is quite a diverse one, not so surprising given their demeanor – filling The Roxy with old and young, long skirts, short shorts and even studded belts. Turns out love & happiness arent’t just reserved for flower power! The benefits of releasing an album before throwing the party are that the audience already owns, loves and knows every word so this crowd didn’t miss a beat once [...]
Read more →
Video Reviews
Boz Boorer – Slippery Forces (video)

If the name Boz Boorer doesn’t ring any bells, then you’re probably not alone. Quite possibly more commonly known as Morrissey’s guitarist,Boorer presents you with a tune that demonstrates that he is capable of and on his way to etching a name for himself in the indie music scene.
Read more →