Best female vocals on CD

A couple more, somewhat off the beaten path..Edith Piaf is (was!) awesome. Sound quality of the early stuff is pretty hopeless, but her stereo recordings in the early 60's were pretty good. I was lucky enough to live in Belgium for a few years and pciked up a lot of very clean vinyl pressings. Another French singer worth looking into is Mireille Matthieu, especially her CD fo (so called) the greatest French songs. A tad bright, but excellent orchestrations and very clear, well recorded vocals. I have also found some of Gloria Estefan's SPANISH CD's to sound v. good (especially on the slower paced "boleros". Last..Callas!!!!! There are many good compilations of assorted arias out on CD, and of course all the full lenght operas.....Last..there is a relatively new Italian group called "Neri Per Caso" who are outstanding. Sorry, they are all men....but most of their output is "a cappella", and pristinely recorded. Well worth seeking out "Le Ragazze" and their Christmas music CD of last year...goosebumps on "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"? You bet!

i saw Diana Krall and Patrica Barbour, but I didn't see Rebecca Pigon. gotta add her.

....Agree with Deshapiro re: Emmylou Harris. Her best CD-- "Cowgirl's Prayer" is relatively recent and is an excellent recording. Also Linda Ronstadt's early music, ie Greatest Hits Vols. 1 and 2 really are GH. Craig

Sarah McLachlan's Mirrorball CD is tremendous. It's live. Its _much_ better (more gritty and emotional) than the studio versions of the same songs, imho. A new female vocalist Maev (pronounced 'mave') is also outstanding. She just recently had a debut solo CD. She was in Riverdance. She has an amazingly clear voice.

Ever had the experience of thinking of something after you've given an answer? Well, I thought of a couple more names that I should have included in my first response. One of the truly great, all-time singers was Mahalia Jackson. Because of her religious beliefs, all she ever recorded was gospel music, but Oh, Lord!, could she sing!! If you can listen to Mahalia without your body moving, you better check your pulse. The first time I ever heard Mahalia in concert in Honolulu in 1962 or '63. She appeared at the Waikiki Shell, an outdoor ampitheater that seated about several thousand people. About halfway through the concert the amplication system died, so she finished the concert without any amplification. Her voice still filled the ampitheater with glorious music - and a friend of mine who lived several blocks away could still hear her! There is a CD boxed collection of Mahalia's music that is excellent, and she is also superb on Duke Ellington's suite, "Black, Brown and Beige". In the folk/jazz vein, there are several remarkable singers from the 1920's, the best of whom was Bessie Smith. You could think of Bessie Smith as the early, "secular" Mahalia Jackson. In the 1960's, Odetta was a sort of reincarnation of Bessie Smith - great raw, moving power. I asked my wife if she had any favorite female vocalists, and she mentioned a couple I hadn't thought of: Maureen McGovern, Annie Lenox (of the Eurythmics), Big Mama Cass Elliott (from The Mamas & The Papas, and an earlier group called The Big Three), Diana Ross, and the Pointer Sisters. In the opera vein, I certainly agree with the mention above of Jessye Norman. She was here in Seattle a year or two ago for the dedication of our new symphony hall, and everyone who attended was absolutely stunned by her singing. I'd also add one other current-generation singer, Eileen Battle. No list will be definitive, but the input on this thread has been pretty damned impressive.