CLASSIFICATIONS
The singers with the greatest vocal range: the Top 15
It is impossible to determine scientifically who is the best singer ever. However, it is possible to determine who are the singers with the greatest vocal range ever.
This ranking was compiled by the website concerthotels.com, which checked which was the lowest and highest note touched by singers when recording their songs in the studio.
The ranking will surprise you: in fact, singers such as Freddie Mercury (eleventh), Beyoncé (twenty-second), and Michael Jackson (twenty-sixth) do not make the top ten.
However, the list does not take into account vocal performance within the same song (i.e., the highest and lowest note reached in a single song), but rather the highest and lowest notes reached in the artists' entire repertoire.
Singers with the greatest vocal range: the top 15 positions
It is impossible (and useless) to scientifically determine who is the best singer ever. It is possible, however, to determine who are the singers with the widest vocal range ever. This ranking was compiled by concerthotels.com, an agency that deals with the travels of music and sports fans: the portal checked which were the lowest and highest notes touched by singers when recording their songs in the studio. The ranking will surprise you: in fact, singers such as Beyoncé, Michael Jackson and Céline Dion are not among the top 15. The list does not consider vocal performance within the same song (i.e., the highest and lowest note reached in a single song), but rather the highest and lowest notes reached throughout the artists' repertoire in studio recordings (not live performances).
15. Barry White
The unique voice of Barry White touched the lowest note in Low Rider, the highest in Sho' You Right.
14. Elton John
Sir Elton John does not reach particularly high or low notes, but his vocal range is very wide: this allows him to rank 14th.
13. John Lennon
John Lennon touched the highest note at Dizzy Miss Lizzy. The lowest point, on the other hand, is B1 with You Know My Name (Look Up The Number).
12. Elvis Presley
It could not miss in this ranking made by concerthotels.com the King of Rock and Roll: its vocal range is from Such a Night (B1) to Mystery Train.
11. Freddie Mercury
Surprisingly, Freddie Mercury is just off Top Ten: the voice of Queen has hit its lowest point in All Dead All Dead, its highest in It's Late.
10. Thom Yorke
The voice of Radiohead hit the lowest note in Skip Divided and the highest in Just. Thom Yorke also holds the record for the longest song ever: 432 hours with the song Subterranea, made especially for the artist's exhibition Stanley Donwood.
9. Paul McCartney
The former Beatles member hit the lowest note in Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight, the highest instead in Money (That's What I Want), a famous cover of Barrett Strong.
8. David Bowie
David Bowie touched the highest note in Lady Grinning Soul, while the vocal performance in which he touched the lowest note was in 2002 with I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship.
7. Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera does not stand out for low notes (the highest was in I Got Trouble) but is second in the ranking for the highest note reached, thanks to The Christmas song, in which she touched the note C7.
6. Marvin Gaye
The King of Soul has a vocal range from the low note D2 (Easy Living) to the high note E6 (Flyin High).
5. James Brown
For James Brown the vocal performance with the lowest note goes back to the recording of Peace in the World, the one with the highest note on the other hand is in Funk President (People it's bad)
4. Steven Tyler
The Aerosmith frontman ranked fourth: he hit the lowest note with St. John, the highest with the famous Crazy.
3. Prince
The vocal range of Prince goes from E2 of the song Eddy Pop to B6 of God.
2. Mariah Carey
The voice of All i Want for Christmas is you is second in vowel extension, but first in the highest note reached: G7 with Emotions. The lowest, on the other hand, came with the song Sweetheart.
1. Axl Rose
Gold medal for the historic singer of Guns N' Roses: Axl Rose reached the very low note F1 with There was a Time, the highest being B6 with Ain't It Fun.
Rankings
25/04/2024
The well-known US magazine Rolling Stone in 2021 has updated the list of the 500 most beautiful songs of all time.
The ranking was first published on December 11, 2003 and was compiled by a jury chosen by the editorial staff, composed of 172 musicians, music critics and experts in the recording industry. Subsequently, the ranking was changed twice: the first in 2010, the second in 2021, when 254 songs that were previously not present were added.
Obviously, there is nothing more subjective than music: these songs are considered the best according to the criteria defined by Rolling Stonemagazine, but each of us has his own personal ranking of the best songs ever. Here, however, is the Top 20 of Rolling Stone.
Rankings
23/04/2024
In 2008, 'Rolling Stone' compiled a list of the 100 best singers of all time.
This ranking was compiled 15 years ago by 180 people, including several musicians (e.g. Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart, Justin Timberlake, George Michael, Keith Richards), journalists and music experts.
On 1 January 2023, however, 'Rolling Stone' published an update of the ranking that revolutionised the list, especially with regard to the Top Ten. As the well-known US magazine was keen to point out, this ranking does not only take into account technical and vocal abilities (it is not a list of the best voices of all time), but also the originality of the vocal timbre, the record catalogue, the writing ability and the musical legacy of the singers in question. Here are the top 20 positions.