Best female vocal recording on CD?

...concha Buika...all her cds.

Does no one listen to Classical music?  Emma Kirkby, Renee Fleming, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson come to mind.

How about these two amazing voices:

Neko Case

Karen Carpenter

Dianne Reeves, the most talented female singer with the letters D-I-A-N in her name. Her live recordings are the ones to look for.

right now i come back tp bonnie raitt "you cant make me love you" from luck of the draw.  big, warm, strong voice. not a perfect recording. but hmmmm that voice.

That's exactly the song I'd recommend. You can tell how great Bonnie Raitt is when you compare her to Adele's version of that song. Adele absolutely butchers it. Definitely one of my references.

I'll tell you right now, I don't get the audiophile fare (Diana Krall, Norah Jones, etc.). I just don't think their voices are that good ... I don't care how good their recordings are. So take that into consideration when viewing my reference material.

Dream of the Archer by Heart (remaster). Hard to beat Ann Wilson in her prime.

You might be sick of it, but there's no denying that Celine Dion shines on My Heart Will Go On (Titanic theme).

I dislike Mariah Carey's breathy singing, but believe it or not, she was actually a hell of a powerful singer on her first album. Check out the song Vision of Love.

And you might not like the rest of the album because it's metal with Beauty and the Beast vocals, but the song Sunlight by Oceans of Slumber is just excellent clean female vocals.

Also metal (but this song doesn't sound like it), I like the atmospheric breathy detail of Trees of Eternity's singer, Aleah. Try the song Sinking Ships. It sounds like your ear is next to the microphone.

And, while not vocal perfection, I do like the smokey vocals of Sade's Cherish The Day.