1) Marianne Faithfull
It's safe to say that Ms. Faithfull hasn't gotten the credit she truly deserves, despite her distinct and incredible voice. She's often been overshadowed by her (in)famous escapades with her equally (in)famous ex-boyfriend, Mick Jagger. Apart from that, her voice is also not considered to be very conventional or even "pretty," for lack of a better word. Although there was a time when her voice was that of an innocent, fragile lark in her younger years when she first began her career as a pop singer, it was greatly altered due to drugs, laryngitis, and smoking. No more was the soprano, bell-like voice; it had been replaced by a gravelly, lower-pitched alto. Her vibrato, not as bright, had become almost crone-like. Her voice, overall, became much more expressive and distinct. And I much prefer it that way.
2) PJ Harvey
One of the most admirable traits about Polly Jean Harvey is her ability to evolve and experiment. Not since her second album have two of her albums been alike. Although she naturally has a bluesy alto voice, she plays with it to achieve specific results. In her latest albums, she's made a dramatic change to her voice by raising its register and giving it a more straightforward feminine, vulnerable sound. Although I prefer her earlier sound, her newer sound has character and surprises the listener with her broad range and evolution. Harvey has often been compared to Patti Smith, but I feel her vocals are much more subtle than that.
3) Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday and Marianne Faithfull, although from different eras and different genres, have some things in common. Both had/have gone through a lot in their lives, and as a result, their vocals had/have suffered. Billie Holiday's whiskey-soaked croak was a result of years of heroin addiction and hardships, and Faithfull's isn't all that different. The illustrious Lady Day once described her voice as a sort of trumpet in her younger days, which was an apt comparison. As the years progressed and her real-life blues overtook her life, however, it became like thick honey or butterscotch with a heavy dose of melancholy and some subtle coolness.
4) Kate Bush
She has a four-octave range and a unique, idiosyncratic style. Need I say more? Turthfully, her strange soprano vocals should annoy me or not please me a whole lot, but they work. They work very well.
5) Liz Fraser
The singer from the Cocteau Twins is intriguing for a few reasons. For one, her voice is pretty idiosyncratic and you often don't understand what she's singing exactly. Then there's her range. She's exactly what a siren would sound like. She's known for her mouth music, which means it doesn't really matter what she's saying in her songs; it's more about the feeling the sounds and enunciation convey. And Massive Attack's "Teardrop" would be so different without her.
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