Pop Culture Site Consequence Got Rock Stars to Rank the Top 100 Vocalists & Freddie Mercury Is #1

Freddie Mercury Singer Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991) performing with British rock group Queen at Wembley Stadium, London, 1986. (Photo by Denis O'Regan/Getty Images) (Denis O'Regan)

By Ethan

Normally when I see a “top” insert number here countdown ranking musicians, songs or bands, its just some critics thinking their musical taste is better than yours and dropping in obscure artists to make themselves seem hip, I’m looking at you Rolling Stone!

But the pop culture site Consequence did it a better way, by asking other musicians from all eras and genres. They polled over 50 musicians like Steve Stevens, Billy Idol’s hall of fame inductee guitarist, rising stars like Samia, Blondshell, and Kneecap, and established icons Randy Blythe, Mike Patton, and Linda Perry, along with my buddy Jaret Reddick from Bowling For Soup. In fact is was Jaret’s quote about Ozzy Osbourne at #38 that they included in the lineup:

"If you didn’t know how much the man, the legend, the father, the Prince of Darkness was loved, you certainly learned when he passed a few months back. Perhaps Ozzy wasn’t the best “singer” in the world by most people’s standards, but he knew his voice. To me, he was among the most unique of voices in rock and roll history. Not only that, he knew how to put on a show, both on and off the stage. The folklore was absolutely crazy. Biting the heads off bats, peeing on the Alamo, snorting a line of ants... When you think of real “rockstars,” Ozzy HAS to come to mind! — Jaret Reddick (Bowling for Soup)"

And Jaret’s quote about Freddie at #1 was included too, along with Myles Kennedy and others:

"I realize everyone is probably saying his name on this thing, but Freddie was the ultimate everything. The most amazing voice, unbelievable range, a wizard in the studio, and most of all, arguably the greatest frontman in history! — Jaret Reddick (Bowling for Soup)"

The top 10 is, for me at least, a pretty damn good list, and includes some of the best voices to ever be recorded. Here’s the top 10:

  1. Freddie Mercury
  2. Aretha Franklin
  3. Whitney Houston
  4. Marvin Gaye
  5. Robert Plant
  6. Beyonce
  7. Ella Fitzgerald
  8. Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle)
  9. Michael Jackson
  10. H.R. from Bad Brains, who I’m not super familiar with. I know the band, but I’m not super familiar with their music or his voice.

Other notable positions, in my opinion, include Chris Cornell at #19, Kurt Cobain at #25, Kate Bush at #46, Busta Rhymes at #50, Layne Staley at #55, Steve Perry at #59, Prince at #60 (although I would have ranked him higher), and Stevie Nicks at #64

Check out the full top 100 here.