Your 5 favorite female vocalists?

[Swish]

Allison Krauss - she has the purest female voice I've ever heard. I can't imagine anyone sounding better than her. She never, ever sounds strained and is never off-pitch.

PJ Harvey - Ok, she doesn't have great pipes, but she has a way of expressing herself like no other female singer I've heard.

k. d. lang - Like Allison, she has perfect pitch and a powerful voice to boot. Roy Orbison, who knew something about singing, said she had "the best pipes in the business", and I can't argue with him. The other thing I like about her is that she uses restraint and is never guilty of vocal excess like the Whitney Houston's and Mariah Carey's of the world, who act like they're on "Star Search" or "American Idol" in most of their songs.

Lucinda Williams - I always lean toward singer/songwriters because I don't think too much credit should be given merely for having a nice voice. Who cares how good you sound if you're singing drivel (that's a shot at Whitney & Mariah)?

Emmylou Harris - she has an amazing catalog of music, much of it as backing vocals for others. Some of her backing on old Gram Parsons tunes are just unbelievable. She's a class act thru and thru.

[Swish]

Allison Krauss - she has the purest female voice I've ever heard. I can't imagine anyone sounding better than her. She never, ever sounds strained and is never off-pitch.

PJ Harvey - Ok, she doesn't have great pipes, but she has a way of expressing herself like no other female singer I've heard.

k. d. lang - Like Allison, she has perfect pitch and a powerful voice to boot. Roy Orbison, who knew something about singing, said she had "the best pipes in the business", and I can't argue with him. The other thing I like about her is that she uses restraint and is never guilty of vocal excess like the Whitney Houston's and Mariah Carey's of the world, who act like they're on "Star Search" or "American Idol" in most of their songs.

Lucinda Williams - I always lean toward singer/songwriters because I don't think too much credit should be given merely for having a nice voice. Who cares how good you sound if you're singing drivel (that's a shot at Whitney & Mariah)?

Emmylou Harris - she has an amazing catalog of music, much of it as backing vocals for others. Some of her backing on old Gram Parsons tunes are just unbelievable. She's a class act thru and thru.

have changed over the years. I still like all 5 of those ladies, but I would have to put Chan Marshall in there, probably Patty Griffin too, and Bjork.

Swish

[Swish]

have changed over the years. I still like all 5 of those ladies, but I would have to put Chan Marshall in there, probably Patty Griffin too, and Bjork.

Swish

(sigh).

Swish

[Davey]

And how could I forget Niko...

The Japanese singer, right? Wasn't she with Cibo Matto? man, I love that band! Viva La Woman! You got to know your chicken!

[Swish]

The Japanese singer, right? Wasn't she with Cibo Matto? man, I love that band! Viva La Woman! You got to know your chicken!

Yes. Yep. Sure. Smartass.

Swish