It's always good to see that I'm not the world's only list fetishist. The staff of Rolling Stone magazine, having apparently given up on the modern music scene, turned their journalistic energies towards making a list of the 100 greatest singers OF ALL TIME.
I always get a little leery when something is billed as a list of the ALL TIME GREATS. What if there was some Neanderthal who could've sung the pants off of Freddie Mercury? Or a 15th century Florentine who made Elvis sound like Mark E. Smith?
But I digress. Take a look at the list, and be prepared to scoff at some of their choices. For instance: Kurt Cobain as the 45th greatest singer OF ALL TIME? Scoff! Scoff! He had emotion, true. He also sounded like he gargled with Drano.
And Lou Reed at 62? Hey, I respect Lou Reed. He was a brilliant songwriter, a charismatic frontman, and a visionary musician. Note that nowhere did I say "a good singer." Or "a decent singer." Or even "a singer who didn't sound like he was about to nod off and clonk his head on the microphone."
On the flip side: poor Joe Cocker gets pushed back to 97? Sure, Cocker sang like he was choking on a hot dog. But it was a melodic choking, damn it!
Anyway, read and form your own opinions. And feel secure that your opinions are almost certainly better than those of Rolling Stone magazine.
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