1) Aretha
2) Aretha
3) Aretha
4) Aretha
5) Aretha

^ lol . I'd like to see your top 20

@gotdrums re

am gonna have to do the interweb thingy to check out most of your list, will comment later on

You have probably heard #1 on his list, Astrud Gilberto - she had a global smash hit with this song:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3jrJ5mcCshw

John Denver
Warren Haynes
Nina Simone
Steve Winwood
Amos Lee

4FS... I forgot Miljenko Matijevic

Laterz

Ann Wilson
Pat Benatar
Paul Rodgers
Otis Redding
BB King

Astrud Gilberto
Little Milton
Pops Staples
Gregg Allman
Solomon Burke

I am gonna have to do the interweb thingy to check out most of your list, will comment later on

Little Milton:

Pops Staples

Solomon Burke

Astrud Gilberto

Not sure I would be able to list a top 5. Got to many!!

I will throw a curve into it. Most of the vocalists picked are from the classic era, and deservedly so, no doubt about it. I am gonna go with some newer ones .

Jay Buchanan from Rival Sons

Rival Sons - Too Bad Live 2019

Rival Sons - Shooting Stars

Aubrey Buchanan
Since I've Been Loving You

Gregg Allman
Frank Sinatra
Jamey Johnson
Van Morrison
Alison Krauss
Otis Redding - sorry can't limit it to 5!

Subject to regular change. The one that would be on every version of my list would be Gregg.

Astrud Gilberto
Little Milton
Pops Staples
Gregg Allman
Solomon Burke

I am gonna have to do the interweb thingy to check out most of your list, will comment later on

Little Milton:

Pops Staples

Solomon Burke

Astrud Gilberto

Thanks, will check out w/ better speakers soon

Laterz

Gregg Allman
Linda Ronstadt
Aretha Franklin
Eric Burden
Joe Cocker

Just out of the running:
Jim Morrison

Keeping this to Rock:

Gregg

Bradley Nowell

All the guys in The Band. I cannot really mentally separate one from the other but I love how they sing. Not that I can't tell one from the other, but cannot say "I choose this one," over the others. There are one for this purpose.

Jimi. As liner notes to the first "best of" CD I bought said, something like, "he's not the BEST singer, but he sings with such soul and emotion. Maybe a weird choice, I know, but I really do love his singing.

Gets tougher after those four+. I guess I'd throw in Paul Rodgers, Warren, Eric; and choose one of them based on the particular day or era.

Can't believe I forgot about Winwood until I read others' lists. He'd definitely be in the mix too.

Start talking country music and there's a long list of folks I would put down. Same with soul. And frankly, there are a lot more good singers in those genres that it would be hard to cull a Top 5.

[Edited on 4/15/2020 by cmgst34]

Going for six to keep it even among genders. 😉
No particular order...

Gregg Allman
Patsy Cline
Roy Orbison
Koko Taylor
Peter Wolf
Ann Wilson

Honorable mention to...
Johnny Winter
Big Mama Thornton

And total agreement on DCT.