gonecountry
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Post by gonecountry on Aug 16, 2014 13:55:28 GMT -5
I often hear on this discussion board about how Chris Young has one of the best voices in country music. Who do you think has the best voice among currently recording artists? This is more about the quality of their voice versus the material they cover. Dierks Bentley and Tim McGraw are in my top 5 male singers, but while I really enjoy their voices (and love their songs), I don’t consider them to have as strong of voices as others. Having said that, when they nail a song, I think they sound great ala I Hold On and Meanwhile Back at Mama’s. Who do you think have the strongest male voices in country music? My choices: 1. Josh Turner 2. Chris Young 3. Trace Adkins 4. Blake Shelton 5. Toby Keith 6. George Strait 7. Cody Johnson (Texas singer www.thecodyjohnsonband.com/ ) 8. Joe Nichols 9. Lee Brice 10. John Rich |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2014 14:01:29 GMT -5
The ones that instantly come to mind:
Chris Young
Josh Turner
Ronnie Dunn
Toby Keith
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Aug 16, 2014 14:06:38 GMT -5
David Nail
Josh Turner
Chris Young
Joe Nichols
Blaine Larsen
Jeff Bates (both Jeff and Blaine are not around anymore but I'd be nuts not to mention them)
Blake Shelton
Billy Currington
Randy Houser
James Wesley
David Nail (he's so good I mentioned him again)
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Andy
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Post by Andy on Aug 16, 2014 15:07:36 GMT -5
Right Now:
Josh Turner
Chris Young
Trace Adkins
Blake Shelton
Joe Nichols
All-Time:
George Jones
Ray Price
Conway Twitty
Marty Robbins
Gene Watson
Vern Gosdin
Vince Gill
Raul Malo (of the Mavericks)
Ronnie Dunn
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Deleted
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Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2014 16:17:19 GMT -5
Kenny Chesney
Vince Gill
Ronnie Dunn
Chris Young
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someguy
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Post by someguy on Aug 16, 2014 18:57:15 GMT -5
My favourite male country singers at the moment probably aren't the ones that I would consider as having the strongest voices.
Just in terms of voice, I would say:
Chris Young
Ronnie Dunn (in his prime)
Blake Shelton
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Post by Spacey_Kacey on Aug 16, 2014 20:14:09 GMT -5
1. Chris Young
2. Josh Turner (though I don't really like any of his songs)
3. Randy Houser - If Like a Cowboy isn't good enough for you, check out Misery and Gin.
4. David Nail
5. Blake Shelton
6. Joe Nichols
7. Brett Eldredge
8. James Wesley
Toby Keith, Ronnie Dunn, Vince Gill and Ray Price are some of the older ones I'd mention. Hard-pressed not to say George Jones too. Conway's just outside the top 5
Keifer Thompson is seriously underrated because he is always next to Shawna though I think I'll be hard-pressed to find others who agree with me on that one. Admittedly, he is a notch below the others I listed.
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carriekins
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Post by carriekins on Aug 16, 2014 20:27:39 GMT -5
My list would include:
Josh Turner
Randy Houser
David Nail
Joe Nichols
Chris Young
Easton Corbin
Brett Eldredge
I actually don't like Blake's voice much at all. I find him to be fairly dull emotionally, and it's difficult for me to buy into his songs. I was also not much of a fan of Ronnie Dunn's voice, either.
I personally love Dierks' voice, but I know he isn't the strongest overall vocalist, which is why I didn't list him. Same with the likes of Mike Eli, Wade Bowen, Will Hoge and Jake Owen.
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tonyei31
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Post by tonyei31 on Aug 16, 2014 20:46:53 GMT -5
1) Chris Stapleton
Everyone else.
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bigfan101
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Post by bigfan101 on Aug 16, 2014 21:21:05 GMT -5
Easy number one for me is David Nail. So unique and extremely talented.
2. Randy Houser
3. Rest of the crowd
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phil1996
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Post by phil1996 on Aug 16, 2014 21:31:06 GMT -5
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Aug 16, 2014 22:22:05 GMT -5
My list would include: Josh Turner Randy Houser David Nail Joe Nichols Chris Young Easton Corbin Brett Eldredge I actually don't like Blake's voice much at all. I find him to be fairly dull emotionally, and it's difficult for me to buy into his songs. I was also not much of a fan of Ronnie Dunn's voice, either. I personally love Dierks' voice, but I know he isn't the strongest overall vocalist, which is why I didn't list him. Same with the likes of Mike Eli, Wade Bowen, Will Hoge and Jake Owen. Exactly. I personally love the uniqueness of Mike Eli's and Wade's vocals along with Gary Allan. In fact Gary is one of the best vocalist in terms of conveying emotion in his singing and is one of the best in all of music. But in the end if we're talking about "Strongest" male vocalist in terms of the best overall voices, then it's hard to not list the likes of David Nail, Chris Young, Joe Nichols, Josh Turner, and Randy Houser. |
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Markus Meyer
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Post by Markus Meyer on Aug 16, 2014 22:37:17 GMT -5
For the most part I tend to much prefer male vocalists to female vocalists, so many talented male vocalists (and female but specifically male).
Randy Houser
Kip Moore
Chris Young
Top 3 currently IMO.
Josh Turner
David Nail
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban
Zac Brown
Lee Brice
Brett Eldredge
Matt Thomas (of Parmalee, underrated IMO)
Luke Bryan
James Wesley
Billy Currington
Dallas Smith
Joe Nichols
All also ridiculously talented.
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minha2cp
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Post by minha2cp on Aug 17, 2014 0:05:41 GMT -5
My list:
Chris Young
Blake Shelton
David Nail
Gary Allan
Trace Adkins
Josh Turner
Randy Houser
Lee Brice
Dustin Lynch
Zach Swon
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jesster
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Post by jesster on Aug 17, 2014 7:48:43 GMT -5
Taking this as best male vocalists (singing strengths), not performance delivery/artistry
David Nail
Chris Young
Toby Keith
Gary Allan (I think, though less familiar with his music than the others)
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Ten Pound Hammer
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I watched it all on my radio
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Post by Ten Pound Hammer on Aug 17, 2014 14:45:55 GMT -5
George Strait is quite capable as a vocalist, but over the past 15 years, it's been obvious that he's been processing his voice an awful lot in the studio. Sometimes, there's an odd robotic "pinched" feel to his delivery (e.g. "Tumbleweeds roll" in "It Just Comes Natural" is very obviously processed to my ears). Also, the few times I've heard him sing live, he sounded very whiny and higher-pitched than normal.
I actually find Mike Eli's voice very average. Other than his ability to convey emotion quite well, I find absolutely nothing remarkable about his voice at all.
Most of the choices have been really good, too. I think with long-runners like Ronnie Dunn, the best judge of quality is how good they sound later in their career. Ronnie still sounded strong and unprocessed on his post-B&D stuff, so I have no doubt that he's still got it. Similarly, Vince Gill has actually gotten better over the years. He sounds kinda stilted on his Pure Prairie League and RCA material, but by the time he moved to MCA, his phrasing became more fluid.
I'll try to pick some ones that haven't come up yet.
Terry McBride
Travis Tritt
Henry Paul (Blackhawk)
Hal Ketchum
Doug Stone
Richard Sterban (Oak Ridge Boys)
Clay Walker
Randy Owen (Alabama)
There are other singers that I don't think are particularly impressive on a technical level, but I still find commendable for their unique delivery. For example, Danny Shirley of Confederate Railroad; Marcel (actually not too far from my singing voice); Tyler Farr; even Jason Aldean is all right in my book.
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sabre14
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Post by sabre14 on Aug 17, 2014 14:55:33 GMT -5
^ Henry Paul I would definitely put in the great unique voice, but not among the strongest.
Clay Walker's a good one I should have mentioned. Is it among the strongest in the genre? No, but I think's it's the right mix of strong enough and unique distinctiveness that sets Clay apart.
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14887fan
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Post by 14887fan on Aug 17, 2014 18:13:48 GMT -5
Chris Young, David Nail, Blake Shelton, and Lee Brice
If we count male vocalists in groups, Charles Kelley and the vocalists from Dan + Shay also rank in the top tier.
ETA: VINCE GILL HOW COULD I FORGET HIM
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Markus Meyer
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Post by Markus Meyer on Aug 17, 2014 18:19:38 GMT -5
Chris Young, David Nail, Blake Shelton, and Lee Brice If we count male vocalists in groups, Charles Kelley and the vocalists from Dan + Shay also rank in the top tier. I'd definitely add Charles Kelley to my list, totally forgot about him. |
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jesster
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Post by jesster on Aug 17, 2014 20:30:10 GMT -5
I thought about Charles Kelley and erased him lol. I guess because Lady A often has been annoying me in recent years, and he doesn't really carry the group vocally.
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Post by George Strait Junkie on Aug 17, 2014 21:19:35 GMT -5
Blaine Larsen Jeff Bates (both Jeff and Blaine are not around anymore but I'd be nuts not to mention them) Jeff is still around he has a new album coming out October 10th called "Me & Conway". and yeah Blaine's not a country singer anymore he just got done officalcating his first wedding which was my buddy's wedding. it's a shame he quit but he was too country for "country" these days. |
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Kentucky25
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Post by Kentucky25 on Aug 17, 2014 22:11:48 GMT -5
Chris Young
Randy Houser
Lee Brice
Chris Stapleton
Bradley Gaskin (does he count? I don't know, but listen to him cover "Don't Close Your Eyes" and tell me country radio didn't completely miss the chance for a mega-star).
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sabre14
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Vince Gill & the Muppets make everything better
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Posts: 26,920
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Post by sabre14 on Aug 17, 2014 22:39:58 GMT -5
Blaine Larsen Jeff Bates (both Jeff and Blaine are not around anymore but I'd be nuts not to mention them) Jeff is still around he has a new album coming out October 10th called "Me & Conway". and yeah Blaine's not a country singer anymore he just got done officalcating his first wedding which was my buddy's wedding. it's a shame he quit but he was too country for "country" these days. Yeah I knew about Jeff's latest albums but he gets literally zero play on country radio today. I always thought that if Jeff came around in 1992 instead of 2002, he would have had a much more prosperous career than his one top 10 single and another top 15 single. Songs like "Good People", "Long Slow Kisses", "Rainbow Man", and "One Second Chance" wouldn't stand a chance on radio today and most of them had a hard enough time on country radio in 2003-2006. |
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Post by tim on Aug 17, 2014 23:08:11 GMT -5
I'm going to name my favorite top 10 male and female artists that first come to mind and see where the list goes (sorry it'll probably go back forth from current to classic):
Male:
Conway Twitty
Vince Gill
John Denver
George Jones
Earl Thomas Conley
Keith Whitley
John Berry
Kenny Rogers
Randy Travis
David Nail
edit: I'll save the female's for another thread :)
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Andy
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Post by Andy on Aug 18, 2014 15:17:41 GMT -5
^ETC is a very nice pick, completely forgot about him.
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HeyHeyHey
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Post by HeyHeyHey on Aug 18, 2014 20:49:01 GMT -5
David Nail
Chris Young
George Strait (obviously)
Blake Shelton
Those would be the top 4 for me in terms of vocals. David is a better vocalist than Brad/Kenny/Luke/Jason/InsetAlmostAnyOtherGuyCountrySinger. Too bad he's not more popular because he is seriously so good!
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gonecountry
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Post by gonecountry on Aug 18, 2014 21:03:41 GMT -5
I forgot Billy Currington! Sorry John Rich, I have to knock you out of the Top 10 for Billy. As far as David Nail, he appears to have a nice voice but I've never been drawn to any of his songs so I can't say I've really listened to any of his music with much deliberateness. 1. Josh Turner 2. Chris Young 3. Trace Adkins 4. Blake Shelton 5. Toby Keith 6. George Strait 7. Cody Johnson (Texas singer www.thecodyjohnsonband.com/ ) 8. Joe Nichols 9. Billy Currington 10. Lee Brice (I'd like to put Easton Corbin's name here, but I think Lee has a slightly stronger voice) |
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Post by drummerman2009 on Aug 18, 2014 21:22:09 GMT -5
Here's mine:
1. Gene Watson (surprised no one has mentioned him yet)
2. The Oak Ridge Boys
3. The Statler Brothers
4. Chris Young
5. Easton Corbin
6. Ronnie Dunn
7. Josh Turner
8. Keith Whitley
9. Trace Adkins
10. Vern Gosdin
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.indulgecountry
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"You left a mark on my face // And brought a dozen red flags in a vase"
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Post by .indulgecountry on Aug 18, 2014 21:37:02 GMT -5
Josh Turner
David Nail
Chris Young
Craig Morgan
Toby Keith
Joe Nichols
Darius Rucker
Easton Corbin
Gary LeVox (of Rascal Flatts)
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carrieidol1
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Posts: 12,584
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Post by carrieidol1 on Aug 18, 2014 21:41:22 GMT -5
Ronnie Dunn, Gary LeVox, Tim McGraw, David Nail, Chris Young, Craig Morgan, Lee Brice, Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, Travis Tritt, and Joe Nichols.
... Not sure about all the Blake Shelton mentions, he has a pretty mediocre voice in my opinion. A nice one, but nothing particularly special.
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