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From Bowie to Bieber: What makes a singer 'great'?

Posted by ConcertHotels on Mon, 19 May 2014

In between watching cat videos on YouTube and Facebook stalking checking out what those people we used to know are doing now, (seems they're having babies mainly), the topic of conversation in the office turned to the greatest singer of all time.

As you might expect, opinions were deeply divided:

From Axl to Aguilera, Bowie to Bieber (actually no one mentioned either Christina or Justin, but alliteration pleases us), suggestions spanned genres and generations.

There were also arguments around what made a singer 'great'. Many bemoan Bob Dylan's vocal abilities, but if you listen to Mr Tambourine Man and fail to feel anything, you're almost certainly dead inside.

So what makes a great singer?

This little gem from Rolling Stone, awarded the top spot to Aretha Franklin (which incidentally, is an excellent shout), but ultimately determining what makes a great singer largely comes down to taste. Not least because it's nigh on impossible to split the singer from the song.

But what about the stuff you can measure?

We started talking about which singers have the biggest vocal ranges. Clearly vocal range is also determined by the songs the singers choose to sing, but nevertheless we figured it would be fun to dig a little deeper.

We started by taking the aforementioned 100 Greatest Singers of All Time post from Rolling Stone. To this list, we added some of the nominees for top male and female artist at the Billboard Music Awards 2014 (because we were curious to see how Justin 'seven gongs' Timberlake, Katy Perry et al stacked up versus the greats).

Finally we hit up The Range Place for their amazing vocal range data. We included all of the singers on the list for whom the data was readily available. (All their data is taken from recordings as opposed to live performances).

Then we made this:



We think the results are pretty fascinating. Go ahead and have a play - we'd love to know what you think.
Leave a Comment
204 comments

Joseph Cadora

March 31, 2021

According to your chart, Mick Jagger's highest note is the same as Joni Mitchell. That sounds absurd to me. I'm no expert, except on the Beatles, because I arrange the vocal parts for our Beatles tribute band, The Quarry Persons. I can tell you that the ranges for Paul and John that you have here are not even close. What's up with this chart?

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Gabriele

February 17, 2021

I am writing to let you know about an inaccuracy of your chart regarding the vocal ranges of the greatest singers ever. You stated that Mariah Carey's vocal range is F2-G7 when it is actually F2-B7. Mariah sang way higher than G7 multiple times both live and in studio. There is a B7 in the harmonies of the final whistle in Can't Let Go. She sang a Bb7 during Emotions live at the 1992 VMAs. There is an A7 in the background of the climax of Outside. She harmonised a G#7 in Heavenly / Can't Give Up Now. She even hit a C8 in 2018 at the end of Emotions, even though it was exclaimed. I hope you can fix this small mistake!

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Jak Radice

October 9, 2020

Where's Natalie Maines, she has extraordinary voice and can go really high and really low?

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Jak Radice

October 9, 2020

Springsteen goes really high on Lift Me Up using falsetto, much higher than Born in the USA

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Kaveh

August 18, 2020

I love this, thank you so much for putting it together. It must have taken a lot of time and research and it's been fun to look at with friends. One question: why isn't George Michael on it? I hope you all are staying safe.

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Lolo

August 18, 2020

Super awesome graphic. Would be nice to know who created it and also I'd love to make some requests for additions: Daryl Hall, Minnie Ripperton, Tom Waits, Ella Fitzgerald, Kate Bush. Obviously the list could be endless, but what a fun little project. Thanks!

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Klimentiy

August 18, 2020

Why isn't George Michael on this list? he took notes better than many of those present!

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Meredyth

August 18, 2020

I was disappointed that Minnie Riperton was not included in your top listing of the highest vocal range of the world's greatest singers. Minnie could sing above the register of the highest note on a piano. Is there a reason why Minnie was left off the list? I would like to know what considerations were taken in your qualifying process. Thank you.

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Paul

August 18, 2020

No Ella Fitzgerald? Looking at this list makes me realize just how narrow your range of music listening and history has been. But a better question is since this is a list of the Greatest Singers, what is the criteria of greatness. It obviously is not the ability to sing as many of the people in your list are/were horrible to average singers. So it's something else. Or this is just clickbait.

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Paul

August 18, 2020

No Stevie Wonder or Phillip Bailey??? You must not have listened to their music.

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Sean

August 18, 2020

I came upon this post on pop star vocal ranges, and as a singer, I can tell you it's wayyyyyy off from reality. The writer clearly has no idea how a voice translates to piano octaves. For example, the lowest note most true basses can comfortably sing is E2. The post, however, claims that Elvis sang a B1 as his lowest note in "Such A Night," so I looked it up and Elvis sings a B2 in that song. In other words, the post gives him an extra octave which is humanly impossible. The same goes for the other male and female vocalists. That's not to say that some of these singer's ranges aren't impressive, but they are nowhere near what the post says. It would be a cold day in hell before Mariah Carey would be singing an F2 (which I, as a classically trained bass/baritone, would sing in the low end of my range).

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Joshua

August 18, 2020

Please update you vocal range list to reflect Mariah Carey's B7 whistle in Can't Let Go (1991, studio). Her range thus far is F2-B7. Thank you.

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Tim

August 18, 2020

Mike Patton is not on your list of singers and their vocal ranges, I think you will find he should be at the top.

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Video Andy

July 23, 2020

No three and half octave Harry Nilsson?

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Deborah Wright

July 23, 2020

You totally missed Minnie Ripeton.Why?

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Seaman Spermer

July 7, 2020

No Etta James No Lena Horne no Billie Holiday no Stevie Wonder ?!?

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tomas

June 23, 2020

great!... but, "world?s" greatest singers? it should be called USA greatest singers.... we have also a lot of singers in the world.

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John E. Paolin

March 18, 2020

I don't get why steve Tyler is on here. they say he has this great range, but all it is is screeching yayayayayaya when he can't hit a note

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Zeynep

February 15, 2020

Please add Dimash Kudaibergen.

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Julio Tapia

January 31, 2020

Dimash C1 - D8: Sources usually mention E2 or F2 as his lowest notes. That was true in 2017. But he later made a song with C2 (Sinful Passion) and in 2019 - with A1 (Love is Like a Dream). A1-D8 = 6 octaves and 3 notes! Confirmed! I think that Dimash is still experimenting with his voice and his range, so expect the unexpected from Dimash.

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Jon

March 6, 2019

You are missing Mike Patton (mr. Bungle, faith no more), and Corey Tayler (stone sour, slipknot) both have octave ranges of 6,1 and 6 octaves.

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Tray

February 18, 2019

Please add Dimash to this list A2 - D8!

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Benzo

June 21, 2018

There are a lot of famous singers missing. Not gonna mention the ones already in the comments, though. - Chester Bennington (R.I.P. <3 ): from G2 to G5 - Jason Derulo: from A2 to C6 - Mitch Grassi (Pentatonix member): from A1 to B7 - ....

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T Hammond

October 20, 2017

I'd love to see where Dimash kudaibergenov fits into this ConcertHotels vocal range chart-- I've been hooked on his YouTube videos and I can't believe this guy's range.

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Kevin Buchs

October 11, 2017

Roger Waters B1-G?5 Source: therangeplace.boards.net /thread/325/roger-waters

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Torgeir Bhler

September 26, 2017

Johnny Cash's deepest note is actually A1. It can be heard at the end of "Ain't gonna hobo no more" on the album "The Adventures of Johnny Cash". He also reaches this note at the end of "Casey Jones" during a show in London in 1981. It can be found on YouTube.

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Anna

September 7, 2017

ConcertHotels please make a list of Corey Taylor from Slipknot. quote: to possess the second-widest vocal range of any known singer in popular music with a range of five and a half octaves. He was beaten only by Mike Patton (six octaves)

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tpohil80

May 17, 2017

Don't forget, range does not a singer make. You started with Rolling Stone's list of 100 greatest singers of all time huh? Don't forget that magazine would love to largely forget the 80's. I don't see Pat Benatar and any list that doesn't have Steve Perry near the top is invalid to me. Studio recordings? Really you should have used live because so many artists these days have help in the studio, though now there is real time auto-tune that is used in concerts so even then you can't get a fair sample. An advantage, or disadvantage depending on how you look at it, that no one that recorded or performed before 1990 had.

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Emma

May 4, 2017

Brendon Urie from Panic! at the Disco needs added to this list. He has a vocal range one note from 5 octaves! Look up the video The End Of All Things live in San Diego and watch until the very end! His range is INCREDIBLE! Please consider it, as he's almost as amazing as Axl Rose!

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marco curi

April 27, 2017

Why Ariana Grande isnt there, she has a really good voice

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BJ

November 13, 2016

M. shadows of Avenged 7 Fold??

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Natalia

October 24, 2016

Where's Jessie J? Lol, have you ever heard her VOICE live? Her range and acrobatics while singing. Man... you better include her or you're lying to the audience...

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Fabiola

October 22, 2016

I was just looking for this information for some time. After six hours of continuous Googleing, at last I got it in your site. I wonder what is the lack of Google strategy that dont rank this type of informative websites in top of the list. Normally the top sites are full of garbage.

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Matous Karolyi

October 4, 2016

Hello, Could I ask you to express the authors of this article? Maybe this article is older than a song by Adele - Hello. This article indicates that Adele's highest tone is B5. But in the aforementioned song Adele sings E6. It is also possible that music, which I do not in the original key. Thank you ..... I'm also a singer. I'm an opera singer, but I range C1 - G5 (bass). This ranks to the position Beyonce. I am very pleased, especially that range I still grow. :)

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Brad Watson

September 13, 2016

WHERE IS YMA SUMAC?!! Sumac became an international success based on her extreme vocal range, which was said to be "well over five octaves"[3] at the peak of her singing career.[4][5] Sumac recorded an extraordinarily wide vocal range of 5 octaves, 3 notes and a semitone ranging from E2 to B?7 (approximately 107 Hz to 3.7 kHz).[6] In one live recording of "Chuncho", she sings a range of over four and a half octaves, from B2 to F#7. She was able to sing notes in the low baritone register as well as notes above the range of an ordinary soprano and notes in the Whistle Register. Both low and high extremes can be heard in the song Chuncho (The Forest Creatures) (1953). She was also apparently able to sing in an eerie "double voice"

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Matheus

May 26, 2016

Where is Frank Sinatra in the list? I can't understand this!

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Dario de Judicibus

January 11, 2016

I'm always surprised by the ease with which the English language magazines use the term "world" when they draw up charts covering only the Anglo-Saxon world. In this list there are not most of the real world best singers from many other countries, as France, Italy, Spain, South America, and so forth. For example, Georgia Brown, an Italian/Brazilian singer, listed in the 2005 Guinness World Records for hitting the highest vocal note ever and for possessing the greatest range, claimed to be exactly 8 octaves (G2-G10). Many Italian singers with impressive vocal rage are missing, as Mina, for example. I am not surprised that English-language magazines just list only English-language singers, but it would be a more polite policy to avoid to qualify those lists as world-wide.

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Taras

December 9, 2015

Klaus Nomi had a range of G2-C♯6.

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Tatas

December 6, 2015

Yma Sumac is missing from this list. Sumac recorded an extraordinarily wide vocal range of 5 octaves, 3 notes and a semitone ranging from E2 to B♭7. In one live recording of "Chuncho", she sings a range of over four and a half octaves, from B1 to F#7.

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jaypea

December 4, 2015

Regardless of whether you like his music or not, Adam Levine's vocal range is an impressive E2-B5.

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Mike

August 1, 2015

'contact us' yea you guys are just a hotel! that's all you are! you're not the vocalist experts that you make yourselves out to be. So if someone wants to learn about their favorite singers and find this page? they might actually believe this shit then go off spreading this false info trying to sound smart when that's what you guys are already doing, trying to sound smart without doing any research. Jesus! show these artists some respect by giving them the credit (or less credit) that they deserve! yea.....this list is just for shock value to get business. for a min, I thought you guys were actually serious, thank god I educated myself before hand so I can identify bullshit like this, so I know what not to believe.

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ConcertHotels

August 2, 2015

We're not even a hotel Mike, just a humble website, and certainly not vocalist experts (we've never claimed to be). If someone wants to learn about their favourite singers, a hotel related website is probably not the first destination they should come to. But on the off chance that they get lost in the big bad World Wide Web and stumble upon ConcertHotels.com, we thought it would be nice to provide some fun, music related (of sorts) tit bits to make their day just a little bit more enjoyable. They aren't for everyone, obviously.

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Mike

August 2, 2015

Thanks for not being sarcastic this time, I take singing (my talent) very seriously and the credibility of your opinions are very much in question, I'm obviously not the only one calling BS on you guys as well. "If someone wants to learn about their favourite singers, a hotel related website is probably not the first destination they should come to"... thanks for admitting it.

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Mike

August 1, 2015

so is this page really a gimmick to get people to visit your website? a shock value to get people to look into concert hotels? by the way, this research wasn't just based on millennials but by millennials. you guys are so ignorant it hurts! please start listening to 70s 80s and 90s music a lot more.

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Mike

August 1, 2015

concerthotels editor is an unprofessional, sarcastic, uneducated, overly opinionated asshole who admitted that this page isn't 100% accurate......this page needs to be removed, so delete my comments, I'll be back to continue to let everyone know that this "research" is actually based on tone deaf, pop culture loving millennials.

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ConcertHotels

August 2, 2015

Thanks for your feedback Mike, the editor has taken your points on board. But when the term 'over opinionated' starts getting mentioned, I should point you to the fact that you've left at least 12 comments out of 161 on here so far. Just chillax and go listen to some Justin Bieber ;)

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Mike

August 1, 2015

How the hell is Jim Morrison able to sing higher than Robert Plant? THIS IS ASININE!

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Mike

August 1, 2015

This page needs to be removed

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Bruno

July 28, 2015

Just two words: Mike Patton

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Mike

July 20, 2015

I personally can barely hit an A5, I sing soundgarden everyday, where's cornell???? Cobain tops out at B4, jim morrison tops out at B4, eminem does NOT hit an F5 in 'not afraid' let alone hit a G4. WAIT jim morrison can hit a B5 over Plant's A5? Plant can go to 6th octave i'm sure..... this list is BULLSHIT!!!!!!

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ConcertHotels

July 20, 2015

We bow down to the singing master Mike, you're clearly much more knowledgeable than us and our sources.....

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Mike

August 1, 2015

and what's the highest note you can hit? oh you don't sing? well i guess that makes sense now does it? do some research you fucking idiots

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Mike

August 1, 2015

where does eminem hit an F5? where? do you even know what an F5 sounds like? drill Soundgarden's Black Rain into your head and educate yourself! just keep matching random letters to numbers... that's what you're best at! I just hope no one is ignorant enough to believe this shit

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Kent

June 23, 2015

This is a popularity contest...no offense to Lou Reed,Justin Bieber or Tom Waits but, they do NOT compare to Harry Nilsson. Eminem...are you kidding?

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WTF? where is rob halford?

April 9, 2015

you never listened "Painkiller" yet right?

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Mike

January 9, 2015

This is silly. Axl Rose uses what some refer to as a 'head voice.' Its a falsetto. Joe Elliot and Brian Johnson are two other examples. Listen to their speaking voice, all of them are deep. For Joe and Brian they have a 'thick' voice so it translates to a fuller sound in their head voice. However, Axl sounds like finger nails on a chalk board. If you want to talk about range, look at the male singers that can get to those higher ranges with their full voice (new singer for Journey, Steven Tyler, Plant in his prime, Geddy Lee in his prime etc.). There are so many other singers out there that leave Axl looking like what he is- an imposter.

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Jorgeboz

October 25, 2014

It's clear that this list is classifying the voice not by texture, but for range.

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Arjun

October 2, 2014

Where's Celine Dion??

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Marv

October 3, 2014

If you read the explanation at the top of the chart it says that ConcertHotels based this on the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time post from Rolling Stone magazine, unfortunately Celine Dion was not included on this!

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Andy

September 24, 2014

This website sheds a lot of light on great singers www.voice-lessons-nj.com

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Alex Schweinsteiger

July 15, 2014

I do not agree with the list, Bowie and Prince in front of Freddie Mercury, Ronnie James Dio and Bruce Dickinson??

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Mike

July 20, 2015

YEA REALLY! where are the real singers? total bullshit list that will deceive and mislead people who know nothing about singing.

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ConcertHotels

July 20, 2015

Thanks for your feedback Mike. We've been completely honest about where we collected the data from, and this is clearly mentioned on the page: To create this piece, we took the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time as compiled by Rolling Stone magazine in 2008. To this list, we added some of today's top singers including the nominees for top male and female artist at the Billboard Music Awards 2014. We cross-referenced the resulting list with vocal range data curated by The Range Place. We included all of the singers on the list for whom the data was readily available. Of course, the list isn't definitive and the data might not be 100% accurate, but I think the piece is a great representation of the data that has been collected. You're more than welcome to do better though.

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Mike

August 1, 2015

yea I read that, too bad you guys are picking miley cyrus and bieber over halford, cornell, staley, dickinson...etc I guess that's why this page is garbage. Maybe you guys should learn to sing before making these ridiculous claims, because of that, you're opinions are totally worthless and I hope no one takes you seriously

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Keith Petitdemange

June 26, 2014

Axl definitely deserves it. F**k all you people. Duh, Adele yeah! "Where she at?" Stfu sure she has a good voice but her music sucks. Axl is the best rock singer ever and better than any piece of shit pop singer out there today

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DON COOPER

June 7, 2014

ELVIS has the most versatile voice in the history of music. Yet, this list has him below artists who could never cross the musical boundaries that he did. Also, both Roy Orbison and Jackie Wilson should have rated higher. All three of these legends could sing in the operatic register.

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Gabriel

June 7, 2014

Where is Robin Gibb? He is said to had have the best white soul voice ever. Or one of them, his voice is fantastic. And with his falsetto and his low notes on songs like "Remembering" he is one of the finest vocalist of the past century.

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Z-Jo

May 30, 2014

This interactive infographic would have been THE ULTIMATE if you could play the piano keys and hear the sounds! As a user, I want to immediately reference their range aurally and then see if I can reach those notes. Otherwise, a great piece of content. But could be awesome!

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Mel

June 5, 2014

What a great idea Z-Jo :)

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James

May 29, 2014

How does Michael Jackson not make the list? His "chest" and "head" voice are among the best and broadest range. IMO, being able to sing in the falsetto and whistle registers do not really count unless one can not sing their range from low to high without breaks in their voice. That is, I doubt that Axel could sing scales from his purported lowest note to highest note.

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Ricardo

May 29, 2014

Cobain/Nirvana does not have a song named "Low Rider" unless there was a cover of war's "low rider" and i've never heard of it...

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peartenvy

May 28, 2014

How is Geoff Tate not on this list? He had a much wider range than Axl if you listen to early Queensryche. Rolling Stone magazine is as clueless on this issue as they are on The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

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Getzmore

May 28, 2014

It lists Paul McCartney's highest note as a B in the song "Money", but John Lennon sang lead on that song, not Paul. I Googled it to make sure.

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Jared

May 28, 2014

Where's M. Shadows?

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ConcertHotels

May 28, 2014

Axl Rose has responded to the vocal range piece via SPIN:

Big thanks to all the fans and media for the props reacting to the ... top vocalists article.

From what I could tell, the original article was for the most part only talking about the professionally recorded vocal range of the singers they compared calling the entire group "The World's Greatest Singers." It's very flattering and humbling to be included in such an illustrious ensemble.

If I had to say who I thought the best singers were, I'd say first that I don't know there's a definitive answer as in my opinion it's subjective, and second that my focus is primarily rock singers.

That said, I enjoy Freddie Mercury, Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, Dan McCafferty, Janice Joplin, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Roger Daltrey, Don Henley, Jeff Lynne, Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Scott, Etta James, Fiona Apple, Chrissie Hynde, Stevie Wonder, James Brown and a ton of others (predominantly 70's rock singers) and would rather hear ANY of them anytime rather than me!

Peace!

Axl

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Dani Lindroos

May 27, 2014

Tim Waurick sings 9 octaves on utube: No fake, I know this guy, but I guess you don´t count aliens and amateurs ?

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danny33c

May 27, 2014

This is probably a list to gather email addresses or something. It has to be because the only reason I'm posting is because this list is utter non-sense. Any fan of rock and roll worth anything knows that Axl is nowhere near the top of singers. As many have said in earlier posts Rob Halford, Ronnie James Dio, Bruce Dickenson and Goeff Tate are remarkably left off the list, not to mention some of the ladies such as Ann Wilson. I'm not even sure why I'm taking the time to write this, this conversation is complete garbage.

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Alice

May 27, 2014

excuse me where is Barbra Streisand??????

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Rob Perozak

May 26, 2014

What about Engelbert Humperdinck? He's still touring and still relevant. In fact he recently released a new double album with other artists including Elton John and Gene Simmons.

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Johna788

May 26, 2014

I am not sure where you are getting your info, but great topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more. Thanks for fantastic information I was looking for this info for my mission. deekddadcgeg

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seiki

May 26, 2014

Dude, and Rob Halford?

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Paul

May 26, 2014

I'd be curious to see where Bobby McFerrin falls on this list.

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Denise

May 25, 2014

YOUR LIST IS FAR FROM COMPLETE! Notably OMITTED are Linda Ronstadt, Ann Wilson, Bonnie Raitt, and Pat Benatar. GET IT RIGHT!!

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kew

May 25, 2014

Where is Ann Wilson of Heart? How about Pat Benatar?

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Wild Fishie

May 24, 2014

correction: Elvis B5 in studio (song "Padre") and C6 live in concert ("America")

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Wild Fishie

May 24, 2014

That's one completely bullshit list. Elvis Presley's real lowest note in studio is on the 70's song "Padre" (C6 in its finale). You don't have to be a genius to say his range is more powerful than McCartney's for example. Also, they don't even mention Cyndi Lauper, that's ridiculous. I'm pretty sure her vocal range is equal, if not superior, to Mariah Carey's. Where is Jon Bon Jovi? In my knowledge he should be close to Steven Tyler at least.

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rhapsody

May 23, 2014

major oversight to not include brian ferry. range as good as david bowie.

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rhapsody

May 23, 2014

where are brian ferry and chris cornell?

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wilton said

May 23, 2014

Something is not quiet right with this chart. If C4 is middle C, there's no way in hell half these singers (especially the male ones) have the range listed. Most male rock pop singers don't go much below C3 unless they're a real baritone or bass, but then they certainly wouldn't be able to get up to E6. As much as I love Freddie Mercury, I can't think of a single song where he sang below C3 yet his range is listed as starting at F2. In addition, there's no way he ever sang to a E6. Mick Jagger E2 to A5. Are you kidding me. That man can barely go past A above middle C and here they have him going up to the A above that. Roger Daltry, his voice cracks open on anything higher then E4. Tom Waits, are you kidding me. From what I've heard the man has about 3 notes to his range. I think the person who did this chart did not actually sit down at a piano and compare actual notes and instead did it by ear. This is problematic as certain vocal tones can sound higher or lower then they actually are. For example, Ian Andersons (Jethro Tull) voice tone is thinner and a bit strained and may sound like he sings higher then other singers. In reality he has a classic usable range of a Baritone which is about A2 up to about G4. Ronnie James Dio however has a darker tone and may sound like he sings in a lower range when in reality he sings in a Tenor range of about E3 to E5. So I would say who ever did this chart really didn't know what they were listening for.

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Luca

January 7, 2015

Freddie Mercury sang a Bb6 in Mother Love. So, better than the E6 mentioned here. Listen to the song, go to 1:49 / 1.50 and check with a piano ;-)

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Philip

May 23, 2014

*different, not current

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Philip

May 23, 2014

This is obviously a hoax to shock people into viewing their site. They claim to have gotten their information from therangeplace but everything posted here is current from what's posted on that site. Check it out, all of the notes they've listed on here are lies. We can all disregard and move on.

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Mike

August 1, 2015

THANK YOU!!!!! SOMEONE ELSE GETS IT!!

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LA Liam

May 23, 2014

Paul McCartney hits an A1 in his duet with Michael Jackson, "The Girl Is Mine," (check 2:44 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHp0s2wKajw) which should move McCartney's vocal range up into a 4th place tie with Steven Tyler. It's unfair to withhold the note from McCartney simply because it's a Jackson-penned song on a Jackson album. He's a featured artist/co-lead singer on the duet, which appears on "Thriller"--only the top-selling album of all time--so it's not exactly an unknown track or feat. And it was released as a single under both artists' names. You should revise your list.

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joe

May 23, 2014

How can you forget about Celine Dion! WTF! lol

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Mike in Atlanta

May 23, 2014

Poll question #1: How many of you commenters had ever heard of concerthotels.com before this "Greatest Singer" study? Poll question #2: How many of you would have bothered to visit the site if they had name someone like Aretha Franklin as the greatest ever? Get my point?

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Philip

May 23, 2014

Exactly. It's just cheap bs from people desperate for views.

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Julian Oenning

May 23, 2014

... Where is Roger Hodgson, ex-supertramp?

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Mike in Atlanta

May 23, 2014

"WHERE IS BARRY GIBB?" According to wikipedia, Barry has homes in Miami, Florida, and Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. So he's probably either in Miami or England. Hope I helped.

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Mark

May 23, 2014

WHERE IS BARRY GIBB?

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Nariswari Fidara

May 23, 2014

Oh well, where's Demi Lovato? Seriously her voice is amazing, I can't explain how strong her voice

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Albert

May 23, 2014

this is vocal range: See Miley Cyrus highest high note here: whistle register https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SbUxW9zsIA belt note https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKG0IJ72FSk

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Flemming Bruun

May 23, 2014

I think that Billy McKenzie from The Associates is missing on your list.

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simon murray

August 7, 2014

Have to totally agree, the late Billy McKenzie had the greatest range of any singer I've heard, but also a compelling unique and faultless voice - check out the rane on Party Fears Two.

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Aina

May 23, 2014

Am I blind, or isn't Mike Patton on the list?

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Kutran

May 22, 2014

Mike Patton's vocal range is from E♭1 to F♯7, almost 1 octave greater than Axl's

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Terry

May 22, 2014

Since when is Eminem even a singer. ROFLMAO. He actually has no range at all b/c he's a rapper/producer not a vocalist. Justin Beiber is heavily autotuned, even uses an autotuned mike for live performances or mimes to his autotuned recordings tho he's not the only one *cough* Lana Del Rey *cough* Oh yeah and where's Matt Bellamy, Sam Sparro, Mika, Adele, Ella Fitzgerald, Adam Lambert etc etc all of whom way outsing/shine most of the people on this rubbish list.

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Mike Prefontaine

May 22, 2014

lmao umm, Eva Cassidy? Hello? Only the greatest singer of all time with the greatest range. Goes to show this "site", concerthotels.com, isn't worried about embarrassing itself...

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Ted

May 23, 2014

errr was Eva Cassidy on the Rolling Stone list or nominated for a Billboard 2014 award??

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Dale Ruiz

May 22, 2014

I should like to see where Justin Hayward (of the Moody Blues) would fall with his vocal range. His solo stuff (especially "The View from the Hill") is phenomenal.

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Jacki East

May 22, 2014

No Adam Lambert equals no credibility to entire list. Also a whole host of other brilliant singers who would walk all over most of these nuff nuffs completely absent. And you INCLUDED Beiber, Eminem & Lou Reed?? PULEASE. Did you WANT to be laughed at? And let's not even go anywhere near issues about who's at the top of the list and who isnt.... *Ahem* Jackie Wilson, Freddie Mercury, Robert PLant all nowhere near where they should be and a wannabe at the top instead. Someone screwed up really badly here. Also, your "measurements" of vocal ranges must have conducted by a bunch of monkeys on crack. LMAO

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Lou

May 23, 2014

If you read the blog post you would see that the artists are taken from the Rolling Stone top 100 singers and from the Billboard 2014 award winners! Some people seem to have issues reading!!!!

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Joe

May 22, 2014

I do not see the greatest voice of today Andrea Bocelli, nor Luciano Pavarotti, nor Mario Lanza, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Jerry Vale, Al Martino, (I could go on). Sounds like an anti Italian slant to the whole project. Wake up cheech

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Ummmm....

May 22, 2014

Excuse, me, Ian Gillan, DUH!!! This list is so LAME.

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Cindi

May 22, 2014

I can't believe no one has mentioned Roy Orbison. He had a 3-4 octave range, some say more.

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catgirl

May 22, 2014

Steve Perry

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Klaus

May 22, 2014

Years ago, there was a female vocalist, Yma Sumac. She lived in a South American country, Brazil I believe. She had an incredible vocal range not matched by any vocalist, ever. I am fortunate to have several of her albums.

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Peter Wilson

May 29, 2014

Yva Sumac recorded using a vocal range of B2 to C♯7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yma_Sumac

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Bonecrusher

May 22, 2014

Aretha is surely the best followed by Celine. I would be curious how a glass breaking screamer like Jim Gillette (Nina Ford's ex) is rated on his full range. Jim smokes Rob Halford on screaming The Bone

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Giorgos_Png

May 22, 2014

what about leah mcfall and her vast vocal range?

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DelpFan

May 22, 2014

Where would Brad Delp fall on this list?

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MythBuster

May 22, 2014

This is quite bullshit. I looked for the so called "e2" of nina simone, which is actually the lowest note of a normal bass (technically i mean)...well she does make an e3, and fryes and mere b2, but that's just showing how wrong this is. (same for the one talking about christina aguilera...that's an e3) I actually also listened to the mariah carey thing, could not sort out the g7 of the song, however I do acknowledge the fact that she makes an e7, which is probably enough. I'm not gonna talk much longer about the Axl Rose bullshit, no low notes, and yep, I guess a scream. Same for the low notes; it's nothing but frying, even for Barry White, I'll let you seek for real bass singers, who don't feel the need to go THAT low, but who at least make something...great, because that's the word missing in this stupid battle of showing of what you can't do.. Though, this isn't even a vocal range/tessitura, but something we call "ambitus"; from the lowest to the highest note your body can do, even if it doesn't sound good; and it doesn't here.

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will T

May 22, 2014

What about Mike Patton?

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Jack G

May 22, 2014

Ella Fitzgerald???

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Solon

May 22, 2014

Where is Mike Patton?

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solon

May 22, 2014

AXL rose is SHIT

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Brian J

May 22, 2014

Highest note should be the late Minnie Riperton

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Erikrocks

May 22, 2014

Doesn't Robert Plant sing a C6 at the beginning of "Immigrant Song?"

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Locksley

May 22, 2014

The list doesn't matter whatever way you want to count it as it is inherently flawed because of the limited resource material they pulled from. Rolling Stone no longer has its finger on the pulse of music. It is just a little corporate machine spewing out whatever will keep ads coming in and Billboard? They only take the most sold albums.

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L

May 22, 2014

Bob McFerrin B1-G♯5 COREY TAYLOR!!! D1 -C7!!!!! Matthew Bellamy F♯2 - C6

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Maria

May 22, 2014

Oops! Steve Perry and Elvis ARE on the list !

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Maria

May 22, 2014

I didn't see Steve Perry (Journey) or Michael Bolton (may not like his songs but the man has incredible range). Elvis votes anyone? :)

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Rick

May 22, 2014

you can`t call this a proper list without Celine Dion!

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rfc

May 22, 2014

Ronnie James Dio??

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Michael

May 22, 2014

Where is Patti Labelle?

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Kimmie Is a C U Next Tuesday

May 21, 2014

WHY ARE YOU TYPING IN CAPS KIMMIE? WHY SO UPSET LOL. YOU MAD OR NAHH

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:)

May 21, 2014

^^^^ What "smh" said. Some people I sweaa'

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smh

May 21, 2014

Yall a bunch of fkn complainers.. its a list of their vocal ranges. Not whos the nest or who has the largest range of all fkn time. Some ppl are missing cuz they dnt have the time to put everyone on the list. These are some of the popular artists and how they rank compare tp one another...not the say all be all of who has the biggest range of all time. Yh I repeat that for all the dumb fks out there that will prolly overlook it the first time cuz theyre top busy thinkn of something to complaim about rather than pay tf attn.

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Mike

July 20, 2015

these notes are bogus claims since they don't appear in the songs listed. eminem hitting an F5 in 'not afraid'? BULLLSHIT!....this page needs to be removed, clearly written by a non singer. i wail F5s and G5s everyday, i would know

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Kimmie

May 21, 2014

Hello! Where's Amy Lee? Range:C3 to c#6...that puts her IN THE TOP 10 just behind Christina aguilera at spot #8. They looked at information readily available? Yeah ok. It took me all of 7 seconds to find Amy Lee's vocal range. Who else did you guys DISCREDIT?

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Ash

May 21, 2014

It's so funny to see people writing 'Where's Chris Cornell' and 'Where's Matthew Bellamy'... Yes, Concert-Hotels... How dare you compile this table and not include every single vocalist in the world!!??!? - people, be reasonable, it's a bit of fun, calm down. Great list! (Though, I would have expected to see Celiné, but I'm not outraged at her omission) :)

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Andrea Freeland

May 21, 2014

What about Luther Vandross?

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TonyH

May 21, 2014

I don't know how true it is but I read somewhere recently that Kate Bush can sing 4 octaves!

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Vanille

May 21, 2014

i'd like to make a little correction for Christina Aguilera: her range is really larger than your statistics: the lowest note is in the song "walk away", it's an E2

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shag

May 21, 2014

Eddie Vedder....

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Emm

May 21, 2014

Where is Chris Cornell? Huge omission.

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MS

May 21, 2014

What about Ann Wilson of Heart?!

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Hood

May 21, 2014

What the hell do you mean "greatest in the world"? Where then, would you mind telling me, is Dio, Dickinson, Halford or LaBrie?

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Ayrton Murphy

May 21, 2014

Typical arrogance ... please, do not use the word world. There is "more world" than this you call world: the united states and the united kingdom ... you guys have heard the voice of milton, just to mention an example? Open your hearts and ears!!

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SMA

May 21, 2014

what about Minnie Riperton, Maya Rudolph's mother, who had a range of 5-5.5 octaves?

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EuphBob

May 21, 2014

Mariah's range is misrepresented here. She has F3 in Sweetheart (not F2). Lowest actually seems to be Bb2 in the live version of 'You and I' -- still really impressive!

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STL

May 21, 2014

Where is MJK? I work every show in the Midwest over 15,000 people, and I know Maynard rolls and smokes Axel. He is a man who went high-note for high-note with tori Amos!!!!! I know of no one else who can go that high and still rumble out metal with a deep, ballsy sound. This is ruse if Maynard is not on there!!! Maynard James Keenan leads TOOL, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer.

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Ger

May 21, 2014

This is all wrong, Axl got no note range live

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Mike

May 21, 2014

Freddie Mercury should be on the top of the list! There isn't a note he couldn't hit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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mike

May 21, 2014

Axl Rose.....You must be joking! All he does is "Scream". He shouldn't even be on the list!

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Bryan Wetzel

May 21, 2014

Here's the problem with this chart. Most singers, and I mean most, shift the pitch of their vocals. Anyone who has played with an old 4 track knows this. The pitch bar slows the recording down so when its played back at normal speed you have a higher range. Now with digital technology it can done in a computer. But they've been doing it in studios on tape since the 70's.

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cesar

May 21, 2014

Chris Cornell??? has to have one of the widest ranges.....

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Lauren

May 21, 2014

What about Minnie Ripperton?!

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Jan Albertie

May 21, 2014

Minnie's the one I was looking for too. Her voice was much higher than Mariah's.

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Julie D

May 21, 2014

Exactly. Minnie was the first one that came to mind with her high notes.

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alfo11

May 22, 2014

Good question. There are singers listed who shouldn't be there and others unlisted who should have been. What about Brook Benton? His baritone voice cannot be denied.

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mary

May 21, 2014

You include Miley Cyrus but not Matthew Bellamy?? Disregarding for that alone.

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Sztavrosz

May 21, 2014

Eric Adams? Tarja Turunen? Dickinson? Michael Kiske?

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2fs

May 21, 2014

Complete garbage. The listed ranges are absurd. No way does (for example) Jim Morrison sing a higher note in "Hello I Love You" than anything Bono sang. And there are many higher notes in Joni Mitchell's catalog (early years, esp.) than listed here. And, of course, range is hardly a good indicator of quality. Pathetic.

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Dave Patt

May 21, 2014

What about Harry Nillson. He had a better range than John Lennon.

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Mike in Atlanta

May 23, 2014

Because who the hell is Harry Nillson?

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Lynne Evans

May 21, 2014

You left Josh Groban off your list, he had an enormous range and an incredible voice.

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Um what about..

May 21, 2014

Daryl Hall & Peter Cetera would blow Axl out of the water.

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Dee Dee

May 21, 2014

I didn't see Bruce Dickinson(Iron Maiden), Rob Halford(Judas Priest), or Geoff Tate(Queensryche).

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Mike A.

May 21, 2014

Geoff's range has been measured from B1 - A5 and sounds infinitely better throughout that range than Axl.

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Berdine

May 21, 2014

Where is Patti LaBelle? Did I miss her or did you?

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Andrea

May 21, 2014

This list is a joke. Seriously, Miley Cyrus? Where the f**k is Matthew Bellamy. He should be on this list and it's sad that he's not and people like Katy Perry made the list. Ugh.

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mark

May 20, 2014

A couple of glaring omissions- not obscure artists- but Grammy winning platinum albums only... Johnny Cash would have blown the bottom out of that chart, I dont buy the lower range assigned to him, plus Garth Brooks whose range is under-appreciated. Try singing "Shameless" or "ring of fire" on karaoke. I dare ya.

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Sparrow

May 20, 2014

Chris Cornell of Soundgarden/AudioSlave.. how'd you omit him? Also, Prince is ultra-talented, but his highest notes are all in falsetto...as are Axl Rose's high notes

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Renan

May 22, 2014

Yes! Where is Mr. Cornell?

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Nelson

July 11, 2017

I agree, I don't understand. Why is Chris Cornell not included in the list???

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Pete

May 20, 2014

Oh, and also... Mike Patton is a million times better than Axl Rose.

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Marcelo

May 21, 2014

Totaly. Why they forgot Mike Patton? Is not even on this list.

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will t

May 22, 2014

I second that!

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Pete

May 20, 2014

Where is Rob Halford on this list? or Philip Anselmo?

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Will

May 20, 2014

Axl the best? He may have a wide vocal range, but he still sounds like s***.

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Sieve

May 20, 2014

As others have said - Rob Halford & Geoff Tate are missing... In addition - Bruce Dickinson?!?! (That now completes the list of the "Three Tremors"!)

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MrFlagg

May 20, 2014

I'm not his biggest fan but when it comes to vocal range you have to respect the pipes of Rob Halford

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magicalyves

May 20, 2014

In this chart one singer is missing : Tonex whom vocal range goes fron B1 to C#6 and place him above Axl Rose ! Just type" Tonex vocal range studio / live " on youtube to find out

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Laura

May 20, 2014

What happened to Adam Lambert?????

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whisker

May 21, 2014

Who Cares

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theo

May 22, 2014

I care. Lambert should def be included in this list.

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Rid

January 21, 2015

Where is Adam Lambert. He sings higher than anyone, even Axl. Where is a TRUE list?....

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David

May 20, 2014

Geoff Tate, QueensRyche. Might not like the jonra but that guy could go low w Barry and high w/ anybody. Dewbert is 100% spot on.

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Frank

May 20, 2014

Rihanna and Miley better than Adele and Alice Keys? Are u kidding me? And where are Britney and Madonna? We know they don't have the best voices, but are important music artists. They deserve to be here. This list really sucks.

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Ash

May 21, 2014

This isn't a list of of whose the better singer, it's quite obviously a list of singers in order of range.

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Chad

May 20, 2014

I don't have any idea where they pulled that F1 from, Just listened to the song, and he never comes close. Also, if we're going to talk strictly about range, then Bing Crosby has to be in the conversation. Though I believe that ranking singers based solely on range is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of.

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Dewbert McClinton

May 20, 2014

The fact that Geoff Tate is not on here should tell you that this is BS. Not a very obscure singer (he's in Queensryche, if you don't know). One of several male singers that can hit way higher notes than Axl; and, lower notes than Axl; and, has a wider range than Axl; and, better voice quality than Axl. This list is suspect at best.

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Jim

May 20, 2014

Warrell Dane, Matt Barlow, Tim Owens and Bruce Dickenson might also have something to say about it as well.

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JoJo

May 20, 2014

And Pat Benatar didn't make this list because.....?

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Tetheral

May 20, 2014

Where in the hell is Miljenko Matijevic? Surely hes big enough to fit on the list since he was in the movie Rock Star

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Joe

May 20, 2014

Myles Kennedy?

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Roz

May 20, 2014

Whitney Houston in the middle of the chart?! No wonder I missed it!

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Roz

May 20, 2014

Um... Where's one of the best female vocalists of all time, Whitney Houston?!...

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What about

May 20, 2014

What about Blondie singer Deborah Harry?

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My and myself

May 20, 2014

Where exactly in "There Was A Time" does axel hit an F1??? Cause I surely missed it. I would like the minute-second so I can hear it.

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Spence

May 20, 2014

I fully agree. Being a bass (certainly not an F1 bass), that seemed unrealistic, And I too don't know where this note is in the song. Seems a little fishy, anyone can alter a pitch in a studio especially a distant background vocal. The other thing, speaking music geek here, is an F1 doesn't match with the key sig of the song, which is B natural. An F doesn't fit with it, it's a tritone from tonic. Certainly not as a bass note. I cry foul. Can someone from this study explain this in more detail?

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Suomiboi

May 21, 2014

Hey guys, the F1 is in the "chorus" of the song which goes "it's a long time for me, it was a..." He sings the line "long time" repeatedly after every higher line. An example time is 0:55-1:04 and it's repeated 3 times in that time alone. Although I can't be 100% sure it's an F1, but the chorus does go from F and not from B natural.

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orz

May 22, 2014

The lowest note I can find in the song is when he sings the "are" in "... lonely teardrops, ooh, are calling..." at about 2:14. Not sure what note it is though, much less which octave. Not really good at picking these out. Possibly a F#.

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