One thing I never understood about Bob Dyan fans is taht they claim it's not the music (which is rather simple and repetitive) but the lyrics. I then ask can you understand what's he's saying/mumbling/"singing"? The answer is always "no, but it's the words man, it's the words."
So, if you hear a Bob Dylan song on the radio, and can't understand the words, and the music is only so-so, then how do you know he's a "poet" or a great writer? People buy into the hype.
It's all good, there's something for everyone. People liked Will Hung for similar folk-hero reasons that they like Bob Dylan. The main difference is Bob Dylan writes his own material. People like what they like, you can't criticize someone cause they like Celine Dion for the same reason you can't criticize someone for liking Bob Dylan.
My Personal favorite vocalists:
Marvin Gaye - self explanatory
young Michael Jackson - a purer voice you will never hear
Stevie Wonder - control, just great control
Prince - unimitable
Barry White - I'm not even a female and he has me seduced
Bob Marley - not very good timbre but amazing feeling and very emotive. Brings me to tears
Tracy Chapman - talk about singer-songwriter
Jewel - simply amazing - great writer
Morrissey - interesting
Joe Cocker - pretty soulful for a white guy; really impressive
Elvis - Just a nice voice (younger Elvis)
Johnny Hartman - a jazz great - like audio silk & velvety chocolate
Julie Andrews - I'm serious
Maria Callas - the last of the opera divas; true diva
I'll second the opinion on the lack of good vocalists these days. Everyone seems to either shout, scream, shriek, lip-sync, rap/talk/speak thingy and tries to pass it off as singing. And there's waaay too much ad-libbing *cough..Christina...*cough*
Someone mentioned harmonies:
The Beach Boys - a class of their own
Take 6 - touched by God, their vocals are so tight
Kronos Quartet is more of a novelty I think - I like the Bobby McFerrin & Yo-yo Ma thing.
Hey my two cents so don't get all crazy :
