Top 10 Singers With Raspy Voices

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.

Her voice is unique and quite raspy especially nowadays and especially so on Love So Soft.

Chithra has a unique voice. Her voice is so raspy and so easy to listen to. I love her voice.

I was hoping she would be first.

2 Grace VanderWaal Grace Avery VanderWaal is an American singer-songwriter from Suffern, New York. She is most well-known for winning the eleventh season of "America's Got Talent" singing her original songs at 12 years old. Her album, "Just the Beginning" was released in November 2017, and she has two EPs, "Perfectly Imperfect" and "Letters Vol 1". In 2020, Grace made her acting debut as Stargirl from Disney's musical... read more

She definitely will change the music industry and is absolutely the best musician and probably the best soul to bless the world in a very long time. Almost anyone with proper training can learn to sing well and improve their range, but no one can fake what she has, and that is soul and a wonderful spirit. My worry for her is whether she will let herself be corrupted by the evil creatures that control our entertainment industry. They have done it to so many greats.

But she is a ray of light amidst an array of darkness, a glimmer of hope in a world of despair and destruction, a child with answers to questions that adults are perplexed by, soulful beauty screaming a battle cry through an ugly situation, a paramedic for the lost or discarded and broken souls. But hopefully, with all her fans' support, she will grow into what I already know she will be: a savior of some sort to her people. She might be able to do what everyone else failed to do: bring all of our children away from the evil ways of this sick world, or at least be a beacon of hope. She has inspired me. I gave up music, but now I'm awaiting in line to try out myself for AGT. I know I'm not as good as her, but I will not be afraid. Now I will go out singing my battle cry. If Grace does read these things, you now see your fan base. Don't sign another contract. Start your own label, change this disturbing world. Keep GOD in your heart and don't follow the crowd. Always in my prayers.

"Don't go gentle into that good night, rage, rage against the dying of the light" - D. Thomas

-Josh.

3 Axl Rose William Bruce Rose Jr., better known as 'Axl Rose', is an American singer born on February 6, 1962, in Lafayette, Indiana. He Is the founder and lead singer of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses. He is a celebrated but controversial figure in the world of rock.

Axl Rose probably has the greatest male rock and roll voice I've ever heard. I know he's arrogant and egotistical, but that doesn't take away from his ability to sing, and he's also got the gift to write good songs. I've seen him with AC/DC, and he has a far greater range than Brian Johnson. Not to take anything away from Brian Johnson, but Axl is Axl and Brian is Brian. I don't know who, unless it was the author, said that he was failing at the AC/DC gigs. Who would've done it better? Jiminy Cricket! Since Guns N' Roses and that era, I don't even think there is any rock 'n' roll anymore. I turn on a rock station, and I hear the same music I heard 20 years ago. Anyway, Axl's got my vote. Jiminy Cricket! Since Guns N' Roses and that era, I don't even think there is any rock 'n' roll anymore. I turn on a rock station, and I hear the same music I heard 20 years ago. Anyway, Axl's got my vote.

4 Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker was an English singer and musician. He was known for his gritty voice, spasmodic body movement in performance and definitive versions of popular songs.

Best of the best! Gotta love Joe Cocker.

5 Louis Armstrong Louis Armstrong, nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American trumpeter, composer and singer who was one of the most influential figures in jazz.

Armstrong was a musical genius and a brilliant pioneer in Jazz. His raspy voice is an essential and iconic part of all of it.

6 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.
7 Kurt Cobain Kurt Cobain was born February 20, 1967, in Aberdeen, Washington. In 1987, he started the grunge band Nirvana, which became one of the most successful bands ever. He was a talented yet troubled grunge performer. Kurt Cobain became a rock legend in the 1990s with his band. He committed suicide at his Seattle home in 1994.

Sexiest talking voice ever. He spent years developing his signature rasp and screams and remains one of the last rock legends.

I think he is the most skillful person that has a raspy voice. I don't think that Axl is as good as him.

Just listen to the unplugged album.

8 Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, guitarist, photographer, philanthropist and activist.

Great sounding rasp and powerful voice.

9 Steven Tyler Steven Tyler is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and former television music competition judge, best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion.
10 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).
The Contenders
11 Adam Gontier Adam Wade Gontier is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for Saint Asonia, but is best known as the former lead singer, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter of the Canadian rock band Three Days Grace.
12 M. Shadows Matthew Charles Sanders, better known by his stage name M. Shadows, is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter and founding member of the American metalcore/alternative metal band Avenged Sevenfold.
13 Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister, known as Lemmy, was an English musician, singer and songwriter who founded and fronted the rock band Motörhead. He was a bassist and a singer known for his raspy voice. He died in 2015 from cancer and other health problems.

I love Kurt Cobain's voice, but when it comes to a badass raspy rock and roll voice, it's "Lemmy Kilmister"!

14 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.
15 Haley Reinhart Haley Elizabeth Reinhart is an American singer, songwriter, and voice actress from Wheeling, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
16 Alice Cooper Alice Cooper is an American singer, songwriter, musician and occasional actor whose career spans over five decades.
17 Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin, known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo albums and those he recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack.
18 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.

Growing up mum used to play her music in the car all summer. Love her voice!

How could you leave this gal off the list?

19 Barry White Barry Eugene Carter, better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer and composer.
20 Rod Stewart Roderick David "Rod" Stewart is a British rock singer-songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry.

The reason that Rod Stewart gets my vote is that unlike a lot of these singers (for example Axl Rose) his voice is super raspy even when he's singing in a hushed tone in his normal range.

21 Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race... read more
22 Tom Waits Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits, born December 7, 1949 is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, with this trademark growl, his incorporation of pre-rock music styles such as blues, jazz, vaudeville, and experimental tendencies verging on industrial music, he has built up a distinctive musical persona .
23 Dua Lipa Dua Lipa (born 22 August 1995) is an English singer and songwriter. Dua Lipa was born in Westminster, London, to Albanian parents.
24 Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi, Jr., better known by his stage name Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, philanthropist, and actor, best known as the founder and frontman of the hair band Bon Jovi from, which was founded by Jon and his pianist, David Bryan, in 1983. He is famous for his band's hit songs “Livin’ on a Prayer," "You Give Love a Bad Name," and "Wanted Dead or Alive"... read more

One of the raspiest voices out there in his heyday.

25 Halsey Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, known by her stage name Halsey, is an American singer and songwriter. She was born on September 29, 1994 in New Jersey. She started her career by releasing songs on SoundCloud, and now she is a well-known pop singer with hits like Bad at Love, and Now or Never. She had originated ...read more.
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