Now that I have stated my word on the greatest classic rock singers (https://jmunney.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/the-greatest-classic-rock-singers-of-all-time/, https://jmunney.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/the-20-greatest-classic-rock-singers-according-to-jmunney/), I now turn my attention to the 20 greatest modern rock singers.
Here are my criteria for eligibility:
1. The singer must be primarily a rock artist. Some R&B and pop singers incorporate rock elements into their music or collaborate with rock artists, but that does not make them rock artists themselves.
2. The singer must have started his or her career no earlier than 1990 (or thereabouts).
3. The singer must be working on new material or have released new material within the last five years.
If warranted, exceptions may have been made to the last two criteria.
1. Matthew Bellamy
With a voice that loops wondrously through the clouds, Bellamy is the modern rock analogue to Freddie Mercury – the type of rock singer who could have succeeded in just about any musical field.
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: All of Them (but “Knights of Cydonia” especially)
2. Hayley Williams
Maybe the fact that such a tiny girl can have such a powerful voice makes her seem better than she is, except that that does not really make any sense.
Song That Really Shows Off Her Chops: “The Only Exception”
3. Florence Welch
I have only ever heard two songs by Florence + the Machine, but two is enough to know that Florence Welch has not had to do much to become a vocal force to be reckoned with. Her VMA performance proved that she is one of those rare commodities who sound just as good, if not better, live.
Song That Really Shows Off Her Chops: “Heavy in Your Arms”
4. Brian Aubert
The Silversun Pickups frontman sounds like a woman, except that no woman I know sounds like that. He has a raspy quality, except that it is actually a slightly different vocal quality that is much more difficult to pull off. The most mysterious voice in modern rock.
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: “Lazy Eye”
5. Andrew Stockdale
There is a rich clearness to this Wolfmother’s voice that he somehow manages to maintain over the course of an entire album. He belts out every note, even those that aren’t particularly loud.
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: “Woman”
6. Chris Cornell
The Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman has screamed incessantly over a 20-plus year career, but his voice does not show any signs of wear and tear. He generally sounds like he is in pain, a pain befitting rock music.
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: “Bring Em Back Alive”
7. Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder does not sound anything like the traditional idea of a great singer, but there should be no doubt about his greatness. That deep, gravelly tone is by no means easy to pull off (as well as he pulls it off).
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: “Even Flow”
8. Jack White
I can’t tell if Jack White gets a lot out of a voice that is not that technically great or if he does in fact have a naturally good singing voice. This is typified by the all over the place “Icky Thump,” and, in contrast, the pretty and earnest “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground.”
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: “Icky Thump”
9. Andrew VanWyngarden
You can generally only go so far with a falsetto (unless you’re Frankie Valli), and for MGMT’s VanWyngarden, it is only a secret weapon, used to powerful effect on “Electric Feel.” Usually, he goes for a quality fueled by a desperation to express his feelings just right.
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: “Electric Feel”
10. Claudio Sanchez
Claudio is the modern analogue to Geddy Lee in that his voice is patently idiosyncratic – impossible to be pulled off by anyone else. Geddy is Canadian. Maybe Claudio’s deal has something to do with his Spanish background.
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: “A Favor House Atlantic”
11. Pelle Almqvist
The Hives’ singer has apparently taken on the task of seeing how many times he can sing, “Yeah!” in his career. He is the appropriate candidate for such a job, as he sure knows how to belt them.
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: “Tick Tick Boom”
12. Dave Grohl
The nineties rock music scene was filled with a bunch of throwaway, cookie-cutter singers. With Dave Grohl and his powerful and controlled emoting, the Foo Fighters stood out for a reason.
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: “Best of You”
13. Corey Glover
Living Colour’s signature song, “Cult of Personality,” was released in 1988, but there is no way that I would classify it as any part of the eighties. LC’s release of their debut, Vivid, was a preview of modern rock, and with a voice that recalled great public orators, Corey Glover made sure everyone heard about that preview.
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: “Cult of Personality”
14. Caleb Followill
The essences of masculinity and weariness are combined beautifully in the voice of the lead King of Leon. He out-Segers Seger.
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: “Closer”
15. Bono
In fairness to everyone else, I only considered Bono’s oeuvre from 1990 onward. So, plenty of classics were still included in the consideration, such as the steady “One,” the majestic “Beautiful Day,” and the cheeky “Vertigo.”
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: “Beautiful Day”
16. Emily Haines
Breaking the mold of rock singers who establish their rock bona fides by belting out a few notes every song, Metric’s Haines instead employs intricate rhythms and soft (but strong) lilting to pull off the sense of a girl at (interesting) odds with the harder edge of her group’s instrumentation.
Song That Really Shows Off Her Chops: “Gold Guns Girls”
17. Chester Bennington
Linkin Park are generally ridiculous with their over the top numbers. But you do need a talented singer if you are going to pull that ridiculousness off again and again, and Chester Bennington has answered that over the top call time and again.
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: “New Divide”
18. Dan Auerbach
Keeping rock close to its blues roots, the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach’s voice is the full emotional spectrum in audio form. He has a way with turning a phrase or two towards an unexpected melody, and vice versa.
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: “Tighten Up”
19. Cee-Lo Green
Remember what I said about only being able to go so far with falsettos? Well, you can go far with one if you sound as natural with it as Cee-Lo does.
Song That Really Shows Off His Chops: “Crazy”
20. Karen O
Armed with a screech that should be annoying, Karen O somehow manages to make it cute. Overall, there’s a lot of personality to her voice, something rock singers often neglect.
Song That Really Shows Off Her Chops: “Zero”
Honorable Mentions:
Rob Thomas
One of his biggest hits was titled “Smooth.” How appropriate.
What Kept Him Off: The competition. He was 21st (maybe).
Björk
Björk’s music is alternative, and alternative is generally alternative to rock, so why not consider her rock? (The voice is undoubtedly a dandy.)
What Kept Her Off: It isn’t quite rock and actually may be closer to electro.
Kate Nash
She has a delightfully silly edge and is refreshingly odd and may have actually been the best (though least regarded) of the recent influx of British chanteuses (Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Adelle, Natasha Bedingfield).
What Kept Her Off: Not quite hard, not quite rockin’, she is too much just a singer instead of the singer in a rock ‘n’ roll band.
Tom Chaplin
“Somewhere Only We Know” and “Is It Any Wonder?” are uplifting things of beauty.
What Kept Him Off: Lack of any more notable songs.
Brandon Flowers
He has an endearingly quirky earnestness – something every rock era needs.
What Kept Him Off: He does not make his songs distinguishable from each other or himself distinguishable from the rest of rock.
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