Maire Brennan
Kate Bush
Paula Cole
Sarah Mclachlan
Edie Brickell
Janis Joplin
Caroline Lavelle
Emily Haines
Debbie Harry
Belinda Butcher
Kate Rusby
Melody Gardot
Billie Holliday
Nina Simone

Just some of my faves.

I love Sarah McLachlan and Kate Rusby. I'm checking out the others. So far I really like Paula Cole.

Here's a great duet you might like:

YouTube - Sarah Mclachlan - Elsewhere (with Paula Cole)

Ooooh, now I know who Paula Cole is. I remember her from Where Have All the Cowboys Gone and I Don't Want to Wait. Off to check out her more recent stuff.

I have to add Eva Cassidy to my list. How could I forget her?

Love the harmonies and Sarah Mclachlan- yum lol.

^^So nice. Sara McLachlan is one class act. Her music comes from a very deep place inside. (Only problem is, I always feel a little depressed when I listen.) She single-handedly has helped the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) almost double their assets with commercials featuring her songs (Angel) and a new one she developed especially for ASPCA more recently. According to New York Times, people in non-profit circles simply recognize the ad featuring "Angel" as "the Ad" with no need for further explanation because it has been so effective in raising funds. Shows the power of channeling passion through music and words, and power of the female voice! Here's a vid of angel WITHOUT the sad pics of dogs and cats: YouTube - In The Arms Of an Angel - Sarah McLaughlin

Sheesh, now I feel terrible for not putting Sara M. at the top of my top ten! I grew up listening to her and have always loved her.

i'm rather partial to trip-hop, so my picks are as follows:

Skye Edwards of Morcheeba

Dido for her solo stuff and her work with Faithless

Tracey Thorn of Everything But the Girl and on the mind-blowing song Protection from Massive Attack (didn't really care for her solo stuff though...)

Shara Nelson who also worked a bit with Massive Attack (Unfinished Sympathy, Safe From Harm)

Elizabeth Fraser more vocals for Massive Attack (Teardrop)

Costanza Francavilla who worked with Tricky on his album Vulnerable

and of course the many talented vocalists who have worked with Zero 7

but my absolute favorite has to be:

Geike Arnaert of Hooverphonic, who recently left the band (:() but is now recording solo stuff (:))

also worth mentioning for their unusual (yet still beautiful) voices are:

Alison Shaw of Cranes

Melora Creager of Rasputina

and last but not least, the wonderfully talented Björk Guðmundsdóttir :)

jackhammer- my post was not spam to advertise my blog (I could do that in my signature after all). Naturally, I'd like people to engage in discussion on the matter, otherwise I wouldn't write about it. Furthermore, "Best Female Singer/Vocalist" is different than "Favorite Female Musical Act." Like I said, my favorites aren ot necessarily who I think are the best singers/artists, whatnot- and I'd think others share that.

Pianogirl75- RE your posted list- you have some good selections there. You like KT Tunstall that much? Has she had more than one studio album? I hadn't heard of her before the breakthrough.

I had Stevie Nicks/Christine McVie as honorable mentions, since I like Fleetwood Mac as a whole, and some of the great tracks happen to havea male lead on them, so....

There are a number of females in which I like more than a handful of their tracks, so I probably could do a top 50, too. hehe And again, some of these acts would not be considered among the greatest females (only ones would be Madonna abnd Donna Summer are the most acclaimed of the lot, and then Janet Jackson probably would follow).

Right now, my top 10:

10. Gloria Estefan (Miami Sound Machine)
9. Pink
8. Mariah Carey
7. Donna Summer
6. Olivia Newtoin-John
5. Whitney Houston
4. Pat Benatar
3. Cher
2. Janet Jackson
1. Madonna

And, once again, not spam, but if there's anyone genuinely interested in reading what I have top say about them (and others), feel free to check out my blog. I haven't posted my write-up for No. 1 yet. And, I may do a similar feature for male acts.

The only ones I've heard from the above list are Dido,Zero 7 and Bjork, all of which I like a lot.

Hayley william - paramore....nothing more to say!!

or the women from Within Temptation