Top 10 Bands With the Best Lead Singer

The Top Ten
1 Queen Queen are an English rock band formed in London in 1970. The original lineup was Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals), and John Deacon (bass guitar, vocals). Before forming into Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor had played together in a band ...read more.

This list is actually about the best lead singers and not about the best bands, so we have to take into account singers' vocal skills, such as:
range, power, chest/head voice switches, sustain, pitch, volume control, projection, endurance, etc. And of course, degree of difficulty of the material.

Don't have to think a lot about this. Freddie was definitely the best lead singer of all time.

No one beats Freddie. Much higher than anyone else in this list.

Easy to vote. Needs no explanation. Freddie was a miracle.

2 Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin was an English hard rock band formed in London in 1968 as the New Yardbirds. The group consisted of Robert Plant (Vocal), Jimmy Page (Guitar), John Paul Jones (Bass, Keyboard) and John Bonham (Drums) and was very much the child of Jimmy Page who even financed their first tour. He had tasted some previous success with The [original] Yardbirds and was friendly with some big names in rock. Page states it was Keith Moon of The Who that claimed the band could only go down, like a lead balloon -- thus prompting the iconic name of Led Zeppelin. The band's heavy, guitar-driven sound, rooted in blues and psychedelia on their early albums, has earned them recognition as one of the progenitors ...read more.
3 Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy Metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. The most critically acclaimed period for the band was from 1983-1989. With vocalist Bruce Dickinson, bassist Steve Harris, lead guitarist Dave Murray, rhythm guitarist Adrian Smith, and drummer Nicko McBrain. Smith left the band in 1989 and was replaced by Janick Gers. But returned in 1999, and now the band has three guitar players. ...read more.

Bruce Dickinson and Paul di'anno are great, hell even blaze bayley is better than most pop singers nowdays

Bruce Dickinson.

4 The Who The Who is an English rock band formed in London, England in 1964. The most recognizable lineup was Roger Daltrey (lead vocals), Pete Townshend (guitar), John Entwistle (bass guitar), and Keith Moon (drums). They are best known for their live performances and hit songs Baba O'Riley, My Generation, and Won't Get Fooled Again. Some noted achievements were their rock operas, Tommy (album), Quadrophenia (album), and A Quick One, While He's Away (song). ...read more.

Roger Daltrey.

5 Faith No More Faith No More is an American alternative metal band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on their current moniker in 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man.

I agree with IronSabbathPriest - Patton's range is really over 6 octaves. Range isn't the only criterion to compare singers but the other vocal skills of this guy are outta this world, too.

Mike Patton. Technically speaking, the best singer of all time. 6 octave range.

6 Blind Guardian Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in the mid-1980s in West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres. Heavily influenced by Queen, they use the technique of overdubbing. They also incorporate large amounts of orchestral arrangements. Hansi Kürsch creates a huge choir effect by overdubbing his own voice multiple times in complex, overlapping harmonies. Thanks to overdubs and numerous backing vocals Blind Guardian stand out with a very dense sound.

Hansi Kürsch.
Sometimes called "Freddie Mercury of metal". His vocal skills are so amazing that he can do Freddie's multi-layered, overdubbed vocal harmonies. Only singers with almost perfect vocals can do this because if your voice sucks, when you overdub it 100 times, it will suck x100.
Studio:
Blind Guardian - Thorn, Fly, Wheel of Time (7:00-7:07!, he sang this at 44! )
Live:
Blind Guardian - The Lord Of The Rings [Live Tokyo Tales]

7 Nirvana Nirvana was an American grunge band that was formed in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987. Nirvana disbanded after Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994. The drummer of the band, David Grohl, went on to start the Foo-Fighters, an alternative rock band. ...read more.

I agree with Alpha101: even within the grunge genre he wasn't the best singer - Chris Cornell and Layne Staley were way better singers. Chris Cornell still is. R.I.P. Kurt and Layne.
Hey, the best singer is the singer with the best vocal skills and not necessarily the most popular singer or your favorite singer.

I disagree. Cobain was an okay singer, but nothing special. All he did in most of their songs is scream, and in the ones where he did sing, he did an average job. I still like Cobain, but I don't believe that he should be on this list.

8 Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1985. The classic lineup, as signed to Geffen Records in 1986, consisted of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. Apart from hard rock they are also associated with heavy metal. ...read more.

If I'm honest I don't like axls voice sometimes. He can be good sometimes but screechy in others

9 Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg, Northern Germany. The band is a pioneering force in the power metal genre, and their second and third studio albums, Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I and Part II, are considered masterpieces of the genre.

Michael Kiske - unbelievable vocal skills. His sustain is about 20 seconds long - 'Keeper of the Seven Keys pt.2' (12:35-13:15).

10 Judas Priest Judas Priest are a British heavy metal band that formed in Birmingham, England, in 1969. They are often referred to as one of the greatest metal bands of all time, and are even commonly called “The Metal Gods”, after one of the songs on their 1980 album “British Steel”.

They are known for several of their hit songs, which include “Painkiller”, “Breaking The Law”, You’ve Got Another Thing Coming”, and “Turbo Lover”.
Their original lineup consisted of Al Atkins (vocals), K.K. Downing (lead/rhythm guitar), Ian Hill (bass), and John Ellis (drums). Atkins never recorded on any Judas Priest releases, but contributed to several songs. ...read more.

Rob Halford.
Classical voice teachers say that he could have been a classical singer because he has a "fabulous range of vocal colors" and "mad skills."

The Contenders
11 The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. The first settled line-up consisted of Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica), Ian Stewart (piano), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass) and Charlie Watts (drums). ...read more.

Mick is cool and funny but nothing special as a singer compared to many singers on this list, currently lower than Mick.
Mick at #8 is too high for his vocal skills.

12 Queensrÿche Queensrÿche is an American progressive heavy metal band formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. They released their self titled EP in 1984, but didn’t gain notoriety until the release of their critically acclaimed album Operation: Mindcrime in 1988. As of now, they have one EP, and 15 studio albums.

Geoff Tate - a true vocal master.

13 Kamelot Kamelot is an American power metal band from Tampa, Florida, formed by Thomas Youngblood and Richard Warner in 1991. The Norwegian vocalist Roy Khan joined for the album Siége Perilous, and shared songwriting credit with Youngblood until his departure in April 2011. On June 22, 2012, Youngblood announced on their website that their new vocalist is the Swedish singer Tommy Karevik, who was first featured on Kamelot's album Silverthorn as main vocalist, co-songwriter and lyricist.

Roy Khan - very technical metal singer, studied opera singing for 3 years.

14 Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "the Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band".
15 Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American grunge/alternative metal band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Chris Cornell died on May 17th, 2017.

Chris Cornell - the best grunge singer.

16 The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore.
17 Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American alternative rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The current members include Mike Shinoda (vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar), Brad Delson (guitar), Dave "Phoenix" Farrell (bass), Joe Hahn (DJ), and Rob Bourdon (drums). Linkin Park is associated with a mixture of alternative rock, hip hop, and techno. Some of their influences include Nine Inch Nails, Deftones,... read more

Chester and mike.
Enough said

18 Edguy Edguy is a heavy metal band from Fulda, Germany that was founded in 1992 by 14-year-old students Tobias Sammet, Jens Ludwig, Dominik Storch and Dirk Sauer.

Tobias Sammet - extremely talented young metal singer. He sounds like a combination of Bruce Dickinson and Michael Kiske.
Edguy - Nailed to the Wheel, Sacrifice

19 Big Brother and the Holding Company Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Blue Cheer, and Jefferson Airplane.
20 The Beatles The Beatles were an English pop rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The members consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They were soon known as the foremost and most influential act of rock era. Rooted in skiffle, beat, and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later experimented with several genres, ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements in innovative ways. ...read more.

Luciano Pavarotti, Maria Callas, Enrico Caruso, and Mario Lanza were never in bands. "Technically speaking", nobody on this list is remotely in their league. But when you are talking rock bands, you are talking results, and the Lads' results exceed all the rest here combined.

@visitor - technically speaking, it isn't difficult to "top that", not at all.
It depends on how many other singers you know.

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and sometimes George Harrison- Top That!

21 Alice in Chains Alice in Chains is an American grunge/alternative metal band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley.

Layne Staley was one of the best grunge singers and Willem Duvall is pretty good too.

22 ABBA ABBA are a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by members Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
23 Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is a grunge/alternative rock Band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1990. The band had comprised of Eddie Vedder, Mike McCready, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament. ...read more.
24 The Box Tops
25 AC/DC AC/DC are a Australian hard rock band, formed in November 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, who continued as members until Malcolm's illness and departure in 2014 . They were fronted by Bon Scott until his untimely death due to alcohol poisoning in 1979, after which they hired Brian Johnson ...read more.
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