Most soulful female vocalist

Janis Joplin had a hugh soulful voice.

Eslaudio: "four loko"?? Is that a liquid, solid or smoke?

Lithojoe: I thought I was the resident smart ass around here but evidently I have some competition.

Alright... lets get one thing straight, Aretha Franklin is the Queen of Soul. You can talk about nuances and emotional response all you want, but you are embarrassing yourself if you think anyone, man or woman, can sing more soulful than Aretha Franklin. So lets just talk about who's in second place.

Lokie,yes, in the history of Soul, Aretha has no equal as the most soulful female vocalist. Those who don't know, don't know what they don't know.

Hard to argue with the choice of Aretha, but soulfulness takes a lot of different forms, and like Elizabeth said, it's not always easy to know why an artist touches us. Many good choices above. Here's another. This woman slays me:

Elis Regina
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35FPZR24djg&feature=related

Forgot about ... Holy Cole