Favorite singer/songwriters?
 

Who are your favorite singer/songwriters?

Here's mine:

Male: David Ryan Harris
Female: Brandi Carlile, Amber Rubarth

Let's hear it!

Conor Oberst
Sam Beam
Chad VanGaalen
Jimmy Tamborello
Ben Gibbard
Jason Molina
Aaron Gerber & Sarah Winchester (the band A Weather)
Jim James
Matt Ward
plus 100's of others

(truthfully if the artist doesn't write and play atleast one of their songs i won't listen, genre doesn't necesarilly apply)

I have a lot of favorite American and British song writers/singers, but my favorite international one is Megumi Hayashibara.

Off the top of my head:

Simon Joyner
Townes Van Zandt
John Prine
Leonard Cohen
Conor Oberst
Bob Dylan
Kris Kristofferson
David Dondero
Bill Callahan
Will Oldham
Damien Rice
Sam Beam
Vic Chesnutt
Elliott Smith
Nick Drake
Ryan Adams
Jim James
Justin Vernon
Ray Lamontagne
Colin Meloy
Stephin Merritt

There are many more to list but this will do.

Daniel Johnston
John Darneille
Will Oldham

Brett Dennen's pretty decent too.

Ben Gibbard
Jason Molina
John Darneille
Damien Rice
Sam Beam
Leonard Cohen
Simon Joyner
Elliott Smith

Noel Gallagher
Chris Martin

Jeff Buckley (my favourite vocalist)
Nick Drake
Damien Rice
Regina Spektor
Elliot Smith
Tim Buckley
Scott Walker

I listen to a lot of Colin Hay and Jack Johnson. I'm an acoustic songwriter/singer myself, and I like listening to their songs and getting ideas for different playing styles and singing styles.

-_-

Hank Williams
Townes Van Zandt
Bob Dylan


New artists that falls here I've been digging;
Ryan Bingham.

I like a lot of singer/songwriters, but my favorite will always be Elliott Smith. He's the guy that got me into singer/songwriters so for me he deserves the credit.

Elliott Smith
Damien Rice
Leonard Cohen
Bob Dylan
Frank Turner

Townes Van Zandt would be my favourite I think. I also dig Jose Gonzalez, love his voice and minimalist style.

I'm just gonna round up five off the top of my head...

Emmylou Harris
More known for being a singer than a songwriter, but I think she deserves a mention here anyway. Apart from having a real grip on what makes country rock work in her earlier career, she's got a hell of a voice which really gives her work a very warm and unique vibe. Plus her dabblings in a more alt-rock style (for want of a better phrase) in the 90s and early 2000s are just brilliant.

Townes Van Zandt
Our Mother the Mountain is not only my favourite gothic americana album of all time (as well as one of the earliest), it's also one of those albums I'd recommend to absolutely anyone, regardless of whatever standing you may have on something that has the word 'country' associated with it. The guy really knew how to pull off a very dark, desolate kinda vibe with his music to perfection too.

Elvis Costello
Fairly obvious coming from me. He's got one of those voices you either love or hate, and for me it gives his music a fairly unique edge and sense of character, which are basically the two things I look for in all music. As well as having a real talent for the lyric, he's never been afraid to try something new to him - two more ways for an artist to work their way into my good books.

Leonard Cohen
The king of the downbeat, utterly miserable vibe. That said, there are quite a few songs of his I can think of that are actually fairly uplifting. Anyway, the man could very well be my favourite lyricist of all time, and while he lacks that one end-to-end classic album for me (although three or four of them come very close), any poem of his given the musical treatment just gives off such an atmosphere. It's hard to explain why, but I love him to bits.

Scott Walker
My favourite singing voice of all time, bar none. Plus, he went from this to this over the years - 'nuff said.

Anthony Green, Good Old War, Conor Oberst and I know there are others that are my favorites in this genre but I can't think of them at the moment.

Excellent choices with Scott Walker and Cohen, big fan of Nick Cave as well who's deeply influenced by both. If we're talking strictly folk though then I like to give Joan Baez a listen :)

I think Frank Turner is probably my favourite at the moment, but it varies! I really like his voice and style :)

Tim Buckley - Maybe not the best song-writer ever, but non-tee-less one of the best vocalists ever, ever.

Nick Drake - His charming, nature inspired lyrics and soft, angelic like voice are great for those rainy days and summer nights. I really dig his weird tunings too, I mean for a song-writer he was a pretty damn good guitar player.

Kurt Heasley - Stream of conscious genius is he, he'll write a song that sounds like no other lyrically, but sound like every other fucking band sonically (not that it's a bad thing).

I love Jose Gonzalez. I think it's the minimalistic quality that I like best. Same with a lot of Damien Rice's material. The fact that they seem to do so much with so little...

Regina Spektor would be another one of my favourites. 'Chemo Limo' is just f*cking fantastic. Though I've been told by others that she's an acquired taste.

Hank williams jr, reba mcentire, mel tillis, merle haggard, metallica, johnny cash, george jones, loretta lynn, dan seals, joan jett, hank locklin, etc.

Joshua Radin
Joe Pug
Newton Faulkner
Damien Rice
Matt Costa
Ben Kweller

Conor Oberst
Damien Rice
Angus and Julia Stone
The Weepies
Matt Nathanson
Johnny Lang
Charlotte Martin
Kate Nash..her songs can be really funny
Florence and The Machine
A Fine Frenzy
The Dodos
1997
Mumford and Sons

Tim Buckley
Skip Spence
Elliott Smith
Bob Dylan
Leonard Cohen
Jeff Buckley
Nick Drake
Richard Thompson
Townes Van Zandt
Conor Oberst
Loudon Wainwright III

Elliott Smith
Emily Jane White
Iron & Wine
Damien Jurrardo
The Tallest man on Earth
Ane Brun
Anna Terheim
Sofia Talvik
Tim Knol
Rufus Wainwright
Tom Waits
PJ Harvey
Neko Case
and many many more

Leonard Cohen
Bob Dylan
Townes Van Zant
Damien Dempsey

Theres so many it would be hard to list, but Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Roger Miller, Tom T Hall, just to name a few

MY favorite song writer is Jim Steinmen (meatloaf's songs)

My favorite singer/songwriters(and fav songs) are:
Billy Joel (Summer Highland Falls)
Frank Turner (The ballad of me and my friends)
Jackson Browne (The Pretender)
Don Henley (all she wants to do is dance)and
Elton John (Your Song)

oh man I'm a huge fan of Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, etc. If you like them, i gotta recommend Ginnette Ward. Upcomign country singer, I think she's gonna be huge.

me = huge fan of taylor swift and johnny cash. i also like ginnette ward because she mixes both styles together. it's brilliant.

Taylor Swift writes her own stuff, right? She must because no one else would write sounding like a 13 year old girl. That's a joke, I love Taylor Swift. I also love that one girl Ginnette Ward. Excellennntttt singer songer.

one of my personal faves at least with country music is ginnette ward. that girl is amazing@!!!!!

Andrew Bird-- I believe he is considered folk-- though some of his stuff is very 'pop.'

He is just great. I love his voice, his lyrics, and his playing. And dude is prolific as hell. He has been involved in so many different projects musically.

maynard
 

gotta be Maynard, from TOOL/A Perfect Circle

Sam Beam

************Yesterday's Remnants*************

By and far Townes Van Zandt.

But others:

William Elliott Whitmore
Tom Waits
Blaze Foley
Gram Parsons
Jason Isbell
Justin Townes Earle

John Martyn
Iron & Wine
John Smith
Joni Mitchell
Samh

love sam beam