Top 10 Female Singers with Raspy Voices

Metal_Treasure

The Top Ten

1 Grace VanderWaal Grace VanderWaal

Grace is barely 13 years old and has shown her talent by winning AGT and releasing her first EP shortly after entitled, Perfectly Imperfect. The title fits her perfectly. While she may be raw, she is a breath of fresh air in a sea of overproduced music. She doesn't sing about the typical song topics and instead relates to us with emotions that we can all feel as humans. From trying to find herself, to her special relationship with her sister, to fighting bullies to a close friend's betrayal. We can all connect to the songs and realize we too, were born to shine. Her raspy voice shows us that you don't need to be perfect to make it... you can make it simply by being you.

Grace has a full range of vocal tools at her disposal, as demonstrated in her EP Perfectly Imperfect. Her sound is unique, and her use of a raspy emphasis on many of her original songs is beyond impressive for someone who barely turned 13 years old. Add to that her amazing covers of songs by Elle King, Adele and Vance Joy and one gets a full measure of the potential this girl is poised to unleash on the music industry.

A wonderful breath of fresh air. Not only does she compose her own beautiful songs, but she covers other music in a way that must makes them her own and brings new life to some beautiful lyrics.

Just amazing. No one to compare to.

V 55 Comments
2 Joan Jett Joan Jett Joan Marie Larkin known professionally by her stage name Joan Jett, is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and occasional actress, best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, preceded by success with The Runaways, including their hit song "Cherry Bomb".

I was hoping she would be first. Her voice on I love Rock and Roll is very raspy and sexy. - Britgirl

Hells yeah! She amazziing!

Hottt as hell

I love her I love,love a very rock singer the best singer of raspy voice she is like a dream,my dream...

V 1 Comment
3 Janis Joplin Janis Joplin Janis Joplin (1943-1970) was an American singer who rose to fame as the main singer of acid band Big Brother and the Holding Company. She was known for her eccentric hippie style and psychedelic rock music.

Janis Joplin knows what's up. I never listen to female artists, but she really shows who she is through her music. I feel as if I'm reading her mind when listening to her.

When she belts out Cry Baby, my heart feels as though it will explode with an electric shock. There's so much power and emotion in her voice. She's incredible. She really is. - Britgirl

No. She was "known" for her VOICE.

She is amazing! Just listen to piece of my heart

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4 Nawal El Kuwaitia Nawal El Kuwaitia Nawal El Kuwaitia is a well-known female singer and musical icon in the Middle East. Nawal studied at the Music Institute in Kuwait. She is known as Shaikhat Al Tarab (The Queen of Classic Music) and Qaitharat Al Khaleej (Harp of Khaliji Song).

I know her she is from gulf arabia and have a lot of classics songs

She is the Legend "Diva" NAWAL, her voice would take you to a beutiful romantic dream with amazing lyrics and a very fine music. Good luck NawaL we support you forever ;*

Oh I know she is Arab women she's so respected really and her voice is really wonderful I love you nawal I'm from Azerbaijan

Crazy voice really I love you nawal
I don't know Arabic but love your voice nawal and your face u r so sweet

V 8 Comments
5 Suzi Quatro Suzi Quatro Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro is an American hard rock singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actress. She was the first female bass player to become a major rock star, breaking a barrier to women's participation in rock music.

She's the no. 1 Queen of rock music world!

The living Legend

48 Crash, Devil Gate Drive, Your Mama Won't Like Me, Stumblin' In - Metal_Treasure

6 Alannah Myles Alannah Myles Alannah Myles is a Canadian singer-songwriter and the daughter of Canadian broadcast pioneer William Douglas Byles, who was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' Hall of Fame in 1997.

Black Velvet is her most known song. - Metal_Treasure

Yes, MT. And what a song! - Britgirl

7 Bonnie Tyler Bonnie Tyler Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer. She is known for her distinctive husky voice, resulting from an operation to remove vocal nodules in the mid-1970s.

Total Eclipse of the heart is the best song that shows off her beautiful raspy voice and talent.

It's a heartache, total eclipse of the heart, and I need a hero, all great songs.

Best raspy voice ever! very emotional and Deep voice.

Her voice in Teoth is amazing! - Userguy44

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8 Stevie Nicks Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer and songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums.

Her voice is so distinctive. You know it is Stevie the first word she sings. Sometimes it's child like and other times it's angry...love her voice.

9 Melissa Etheridge Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist. Her self-titled debut album Melissa Etheridge was released in 1988 and became an underground success.
10 Haley Reinhart Haley Reinhart Haley Elizabeth Reinhart is an American singer, songwriter, and voice actress from Wheeling, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

Singer Melinda Doolittle on Haley in 2011: "I was watching the show last night with some of my favorite singers and we were in awe of what her voice can do. She can go from a raspy tone to one that is as clear as a bell in a matter of seconds. She has the vocal flexibility of a singer twice her age. She is amazing."

Really an amazing vocalists with great musicality. Haley has an amazing multi-dimensional voice with a beautiful natural rasp, who can sing as smooth as silk or really gritty and raspy down from the gut and everything in between. In addition, she can do the most amazing growls and vocal runs. She is really very special.

Go watch her cover of House Of The Rising Sun.

I absolutely love her. She has a voice like no other and her collaborations with postmodern jukebox are phenomenal

V 9 Comments

The Contenders

11 Lauren Jauregui Lauren Jauregui Lauren Jauregui was born on June 27, 1996 and in Miami, Florida. Lauren Jauregui is part of the girl group Fifth Harmony who are known for songs like Worth it, Work From Home, Bo$$, Sledgehammer, and All In My Head (Flex). Two of their music videos (Work From Home and Worth It) have both hit one billion ...read more.

The best raspy singer in my opinion though

She has a natural raspy, husky voice to begin with and she doesn't even have to try

Her voice is super raspy especially on their soulful cover of Ex's and Oh's.

Very nice voice! Great songwriter,singer and dancer.

V 7 Comments
12 Rindy Ross
13 Doro Pesch Doro Pesch Doro Pesch is a German hard rock singer that started her career in native Düsseldorf in the early 80s with the underground bands Snakebite and Beast.

She is very good. Try this Dio cover: Egypt (The Chains Are On) - Metal_Treasure

14 Darby Mills Darby Mills Darby Phyllis Mills is a Canadian rock vocalist, former figure skater; known best as the lead singer of the Headpins.

Headpins - Don't It Make Ya Feel, Mine All Mine, Line of Fire, People - Metal_Treasure

Best ever

15 Lita Ford Lita Ford Lita Rossana Ford is an English-born American rock guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, who was the lead guitarist for The Runaways in the late 1970s, an all-female rock band formed by Joan Jett and Sandy West. In the 1980s Lita Ford embarked on a solo career.
16 Joanne Shaw Taylor Joanne Shaw Taylor Joanne Shaw Taylor is a British blues rock guitarist and singer who was discovered by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics at the age of 16. The British music publication Blues Matters! called Taylor "the new face of the blues".
17 Kim Carnes Kim Carnes Kim Carnes is a two-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter. Born in Los Angeles, California, Carnes now resides in Nashville, Tennessee, where she continues to write music. V 1 Comment
18 Taylor Dayne
19 Lzzy Hale Lzzy Hale Elizabeth Mae "Lzzy" Hale is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the American hard rock band Halestorm, which she co-founded in 1997.

I was gonna make a joke, but apparently, "Lzzy" is correct.

Halestorm - I Miss The Misery - Metal_Treasure

20 Pat Benatar Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Andrzejewski, known professionally by her stage name Pat Benatar, is an American singer, songwriter, and four time Grammy Award winner.
21 Adele Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins is an English singer and songwriter. Graduating from the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in 2006, Adele was given a recording contract by XL Recordings after a friend posted her demo on Myspace the same year. She is best known with her international hit singles ...read more.

Her voice is actually pretty smooth, at least in her most popular songs. The fact that a voice so smooth can have such visceral power and emotion is astonishing. - WonkeyDude98

I actually like her voice because it fits the theme of her songs. - Swellow

22 Pink Pink Alecia Beth Moore known professionally as P!NK, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress.
23 Tina Turner Tina Turner Tina Turner, née Anna Mae Bullock, is a singer, dancer, actress and author, whose career has spanned more than half a century, earning her widespread recognition and numerous awards.

Number #1 Best Female singer of all time!

24 Sherine Sherine Sherine Ahmed Abdel Wahhab, mononymously known as Sherine, is an Egyptian singer and actress. Sherine was born in 1980 in Cairo, Egypt. She is one of the four coaches in the the Arabic version of The Voice. Nicknamed the Queen of feelings, she serves as one of the jury members.
25 Debbie Harry Debbie Harry Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known as the lead singer of the new wave and punk rock band Blondie.

What rasp is in Debbie's voice? Zero!

26 Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Raitt
27 Elise Testone
28 Shamma Hamdan
29 Sam Brown
30 Kelis Kelis Kelis Rogers better known mononymously as Kelis, is an American singer-songwriter and certified chef.
31 Alessia Cara Alessia Cara Alessia Caracciolo, born on July 11th, 1996 is professionally known as Alessia Cara, is a Canadian singer and songwriter.
32 Dua Lipa

Funny, I actually searched for raspy female voices after I listened to Dua Lipa's cover of I'd Rather Go Blind

33 Rihanna Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian-American pop singer. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, she first entered the music industry by recording demo tapes under the direction of record producer Evan Rogers in 2003. She ultimately signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings after auditioning ...read more.
34 Amy Winehouse Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer and songwriter known for her deep expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues, and jazz. She is also a well-known member of the 27 Club, as she overdosed on alcohol at age 27.
35 Amanda Lear Amanda Lear
36 Fantasia
37 Naya Rivera Naya Rivera Naya Rivera Dorsey is an American actress and singer, known for playing Santana Lopez on Fox's musical comedy-drama television series Glee.
38 Layla Zoe
39 Anastacia Anastacia Anastacia Lyn Newkirk is an American singer-songwriter, producer and former dancer. Her first two albums Not That Kind and Freak of Nature were released in quick succession to major success.
40 Beyoncé Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, is an American singer and actress, who started out in the popular pop/r&b girl group Destiny's Child. They had multiple top 5 hits such as "No, No, No", "Say My Name", "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Survivor", "Independent Women", "Bootylicious", and "Jumpin', Jumpin" from ...read more.

Her voice is so god awful that she can even turn a potentially good song into some of the worst ever heard, with her raspy voice! - SelfDestruct

41 Carol Channing

The penultimate raspy voice

42 Alanis Morissette Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American alternative rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress.

I love her!

43 Marianne Faithfull
44 Beth Hart
45 Angel Taylor

I must admit, the style of her voice when put into progressive trance is very different from what is usual, but man, it works wonders! - PositronWildhawk

46 Brielle Von Hugel
47 Skin (Skunk Anansie)
48 Brody Dalle
49 Macy Gray

Love her songs!

Love her voice!

awesome

Yes

50 Donita Sparks

Most known song is Pretend We're Dead. Famous for her band, L7. - Swellow

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