Greatest Female Singers of the 1990s

A list of the greatest, most influential, or otherwise noteworthy female singers of the 1990s from different genres.
The Top Ten
1 K.S. Chithra Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra, often credited as K. S. Chithra or simply Chithra, is an Indian playback singer from Kerala. Chithra also sings Indian classical, devotional, and popular music.

Chithra has the most pure & lovely voice by far, she is The Voice. One falls in love with her voice even if you don't understand what she is singing

Legendary singer.. Can touch anybody's heart through her soulful singing... Blessed to hear her songs..

She is gift to India

2 Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, Guinness World Records cited her as the most awarded female act of all time. Houston is one of pop music's best-selling music artists of all-time, with an estimated 170–200 ...read more.

I'm from the 80's and I have a soft spot for Whitney she has an amazing voice and all of her songs are stuck in my head! I'm a huge fan!

Who doesn't think Whitney was a 90's trailblazer? "I Will Always Love You" is one of the best selling singles of all time.

The best female vocalist to ever live, her voice will never be forgotten.

3 Mariah Carey Mariah Carey, born March 27, 1970, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is one of the biggest best-selling women in the music industry, with 18 number 1 records to her name. She is regarded as a sex symbol through her songs and music videos, and she is "well known" for her over-the-top ...read more.

She has been named the Queen of the 90's and she accumulated a total of fifteen #1 singles on the Hot 100, within the decade alone.

She is the voice. She has conquered for 20+ years and her reign has no end. Whitney can not compare.

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

The pissed off Canadian with no filter and angry confrontational, biting lyrics struck fear in the hearts of all men, and struck a chord with women scorn with Jagged Little Pill and a string of singles that brought the legacy of grunge back into mainstream success, and became a pioneer for women in the alternative rock movement.

She's a great singer. I like Hand In My Pocket and Ironic. She is the one of the artists who define 90s.

LOve her and her music. She is great.

5 Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion is a Canadian singer and businesswoman. She is best known for her song "My Heart Will Go On", which is the main theme of the 1997 film Titanic, which was the first film to gross $1 billion at the box office.

"My Heart Will Go On" is one of the greatest selling singles of all time and gave her the greatest Grammy performance ever (at the time). Her adult contemporary ballads have made Queen Céline tied with Mariah Carey as "Queen of 90's Pop."

6 Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone, known professionally as Madonna, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. She influenced a lot of singers such as: Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Beyonce Knowles and Britney Spears. She is known as Queen of Pop and at modern pop culture specifically in 2012 "Madge" or MDNA. She has 14 studio albums (Madonna, Like a Virgin, True Blue, Like a Prayer, Erotica, Bedtime Stories, Ray of Light, Music, American Life, Confessions on a Dance Floor, Hard Candy, MDNA, Rebel Heart, and Madame X), 3 soundtrack albums (Who's That Girl, I'm Breathless, and Evita), 4 compilation albums (The Immaculate Collection, Something to Remember, GHV2, and Celebration), ...read more.

Madonna just continued her streak from the 80's all the way through this decade leaving a trail of success behind her. Four #1 singles and many successful albums. She also contributed to bringing electronic music to the mainstream with the "Ray of Light" album.

7 Fiona Apple
8 Tori Amos Tori Amos is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range.
9 Janet Jackson Janet Jackson is a singer and dancer who is well known for her sexually graphic records, iconic performances, and slightly weak voice. She is regarded as a sex symbol through her songs and videos.

The "girl next door (or so we thought)" and the youngest of the Jackson siblings from Rhythm Nation onward, had a string of popularity and occasional controversy through the decade.

Literally one of the best and most underrated entertainers ever.

10 Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton was October 7th 1967 in Severn, Maryland the oldest of six siblings.She has sold 67 million records worldwide. She is been named the ''Queen of R&B'' and has one of the most distinctive voices of the late 20th century.
The Contenders
11 Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known for songs such as "Beautiful", "Genie In A Bottle", "Fighter", "Hurt", "Dirrty", "Your Body", "Lady Marmalade", "Reflection", "I Turn To You", "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" "What A Girl Wants", and ...read more.

Along the lines of Britney, but with a better voice and three #1s from her debut, albeit two occurring after the 90's.

12 Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and visual artist. A notable figure in the punk and grunge scenes of the 1990s, Love's career has spanned four decades.
13 PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey, known as PJ Harvey, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, writer, poet, and composer.
14 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.
15 Shania Twain Shania Twain is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and among the best-selling music artists of all time.

Come on Over remains the best selling album by a female artist, with CLAIMED SALES of approx. 40 million copies. Not sure that claim is true, but the album did produce 12 singles of it's 14 songs.

16 Anneke van Giersbergen
17 Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American actress and singer who was born in McComb, Mississippi, and grew up in Kentwood, Louisiana. She performed acting roles in stage productions and television shows like "The Mickey Mouse Club" as a child before signing with Jive Records in 1997 and going on to become a pop superstar and one of the most famous female pop singers of all time. She is best known for her songs such as "Toxic", "...Baby One More Time", "Circus", "I'm A Slave 4 U", "Oops!... I Did It Again", "Work B****", "Womanizer" and "Till' The World Ends".

You knew this one was coming, she pretty much reignited the Teen Pop movement. And who doesn't have "... Baby One More Time" on their phone as that one song they wish they hated, but can't get enough of in reality?

18 Dolores O'Riordan Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan was an Irish musician, singer and songwriter. She was the vocalist for rock band The Cranberries from 1990 until their break-up in 2003, later reuniting with her band in 2009, which she led until her death in 2018.

As lead vocalist of the Cranberries, Dolores was one of the most prominent women of 90's alternative and indie.

19 Tarja Turunen Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born August 17, 1977), generally known as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish singer-songwriter. She is a soprano and has a vocal range of three octaves. ...read more.
20 Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir, (born 21 November 1965) is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer and actress. Over her four-decade career, she has developed an eclectic musical style that draws on influences and genres including electronic, pop, jazz, experimental, trip hop, alternative, classical, and avant-garde music.

One album alone, Homogenic, is the greatest electronic album of all time, one of the top five albums of the 90's easily, and among the greatest albums of all time. I know I didn't put her in my top ten, but she is really worthy of being in the top twenty.

Girl Power. genius videos, heroine of the rave scene, 90s icon; huge influence-
everybody named their babies Isobel for a year

21 Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16th 1979 and died August 25th 2001. She was a dancer, an actress and an R&B singer. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, raised in Detroit, Michigan and died at Marsh Harbour, Bahamas. ...read more.
22 Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan is a Canadian singer and songwriter known for her emotional ballads. As of 2009 she had sold over 30 million albums worldwide.

Fumbling Toward Ecstasy and Surfacing are her biggest releases, and that one song we all can't stand because it makes us think of those poor animals, despite it being a wonderful song. Her real legacy lies within the foundation of Lilith Fair from 1997-'99 providing female artists a chance to get their music out there.

23 Sinéad O'Connor Sinéad Marie Bernadette O’Connor was an Irish singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra.
24 Liv Kristine Liv Kristine Espenæs, better known as Liv Kristine, is a singer/songwriter who has performed and composed songs mostly for various subgenres of heavy metal music.
25 Cher Cher is an American singer and actress. Described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industry, she is known for her distinctive contralto singing voice and for having worked in numerous areas of entertainment, as well as adopting a variety of styles and appearances during her five-decade-long career, which has led to her being nicknamed the Goddess of Pop.

sultry or sweet, powerful or sad, whatever is needed for the song and a unique voice as well. Where is Kate Bush on the list? You have some listening to do.

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