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Music Recommendations Wanted.

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Gypsy

Gypsy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
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I like music with strong female vocals but I don't listen to the radio or keep up on the latest artists.

I JUST discovered Adele's Rolling in the Deep YESTERDAY. Love it and her One and Only (heard Someone like You, and thought it was okay). And Sugarland's Stay a couple weeks ago (any other good songs with her singing by them?). And Florence and the Machine via Saturday Night Live this past week.

I've always loved Faith Hill's voice. Love Etta James. Roberta Flack. Bonnie Raitt. Stevie Nicks. Sarah Mclachlan (when she isn't depressing the heck out of me), and some Melissa Ethridge. I ADORE Amy Lee of Evanescence.

Can you recommend particular songs of artists that I might like? I'm looking for some music to buy.
 
I was going to suggest Florence and the Machine! Love her. Another one that I like is Elizabeth and the Catapult.
 
Have you heard of Missy Higgins? http://www.missyhiggins.com/

I think her best known song here in the US is Where I Stood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCLERYzJsYA

Other female voices I love are:

Sarah McLachlan (which you mentioned)
Natalie Merchant
Catie Curtis
Lori McKenna (Faith Hill sings a version of Lori's song, Fireflies. Both are good!)
Jonatha Brooke (I think one of her best known songs is probably Linger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UXh73pNCRI)

I know there are a lot of others but I'm drawing a blank on their names at the moment.
 
I love Ingrid Michaelson. I have all of her CDs, but I think the best one to start with might be Girls and Boys. The first song gets me every time.

Sara Barielles is also fantastic. Rilo Kiley has some great songs, too.
 
I love Asteroid Galaxy Tour and Zero7. Also, have you ever listened to Joni Mitchell? That would be right up your alley!
 
Check out Patty Griffin and her beautiful voice. Some of my favorites are "Oh Heavenly Day" and "Let Him Fly".
 
princesss said:
I love Ingrid Michaelson. I have all of her CDs, but I think the best one to start with might be Girls and Boys. The first song gets me every time.

Sara Barielles is also fantastic. Rilo Kiley has some great songs, too.
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Ooh! Good call on Rilo Kiley. Love her voice.

Do you ever listen to Joni Mitchell? Emmylou Harris? I also like the Indigo Girls and the Dixie Chicks, but they are not everyone's style.
 
Audra McDonald - classical/theatre belt voice - albums "Way Back to Paradise" and "How Glory Goes". Some stellar songs you've never heard, along with the fabulous voice. Stars And The Moon is a great song from Way Back to Paradise...

Eva Cassidy. Anything. Everything. Covers like no others. So many voices in this woman. RUN! Don't walk! Listen to her on Youtube doing Over The Rainbow.

Loreena McKennitt - semi-Celtic/Moorish/harp-ish/traditional. Great voice for the music.

Anything Annie Lenox.

October Project - only two albums, but they were great - complex harmonies, poetic lyrics, and Mary Fahl, the wonderful lead singer, has since done other things. Dark voice. "The Other Side of Time" is a good solo album of hers.
 
Okay, I love a lot of the singers you've mentioned, as well. SO, I'm going to throw Ani DiFranco into the mix. She's definitely a bit, I don't know, intense, but her music slays me.

I also recently discovered Florence and the Machine. Love her.

I'm a huge Indigo Girls fan. I cry whenever I hear them perform Ghost live. And sometimes when I listen to it in my car, as well.
 
I am the farthest from a Lady Gaga fan you can be.

EXCEPT.

I am in love with her two newest songs: "Edge of Glory" and "You and I". "You and I" especially sounds like it would be right up your alley.

Sugarland has a lot of great songs out there, one of my favorites is "Want To".
 
How could I forget the Indigo Girls! Haven, I've seen them several times, and Galileo is my all-time favorite song of theirs. I do love Ghost, too. Did you ever see them perform with K's Choice? They were a band from Sweden and I fell in love with them when I saw them with the IGs. I'm not sure they're together anymore though.

Does anyone else listen to Catie Curtis? If so, what's your favorite song (or songs) of hers? I had kind of forgotten about her for a while, and I'm just getting into her stuff again.

I love Sara Bareilles too.

Joss Stone is fantastic!

Kris Delmhorst, Heather Nova, and Deb Talan are good. My old roommate years ago listened to them a lot. I know I liked their music, but I don't know them well.

Although a guy, Marc Erelli is great. He often performs with Lori McKenna in the Boston area, and their shows are always fun.

Dar Williams, Ani DiFranco, and Shawn Colvin are really great too.

This might sound kind of funny, but I found that I was always drawn to songs I heard on TV shows I watched (and in some cases, still do). Think Felicity and Grey's Anatomy.
 
Hey! What about Allison Krauss and Union Station?? Nobody has mentioned her yet - she has one of the purest voices out there and Union Station is a fantastic bluegrass band in its own right. I love all their stuff.
 
Cat Power! I :love: her.

and PJ Harvey. My favorite album of hers is the The Life and Death of Mr. Badmouth

Sonic Youth is good too (excellent actually!) and Kim Gordon has an interesting voice.
 
Martina McBride does some good stuff. I'm listening to her new song right now -- LOVE it. Super touching but strong at the same time.

Love You Through It

This One's For the Girls -- pretty good
Concrete Angel -- SOOoo very pretty but super sad


Some Shania Twain.
Some Miranda Lambert.

Great link HERE -- scroll through all five parts. They list 50 great country songs sung by women. I am not familiar with all of them, but I do know most of them and agree with much of the list. (Even if you aren't a "country" person, give a few of these a try.... you might be surprised)
 
Zoe|1321959538|3066704 said:
Have you heard of Missy Higgins? http://www.missyhiggins.com/
Click to expand...

OMG, Zoe, you just made my day! Love me some Missy Higgins.

Others to consider:

KT Tunstall (Scottish artist who is awesome live)
Kate Miller-Heidke (some of her stuff is a bit weird/tongue in cheek but I walked down the aisle to "Space you cannot touch", which is perfection)
Katie Noonan (she does beautiful jazz; classically trained)
Brooke Fraser (Kiwi who is AMAZING live too- she's living in the States now so see her if you can)

Will keep thinking...

ETA: I second Zoe and princesss. Loving Sarah Bareilles AND Ingrid Michaelson :appl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67xr_KKPTHE
 
princesss|1321975202|3066778 said:
I love Ingrid Michaelson. I have all of her CDs, but I think the best one to start with might be Girls and Boys. The first song gets me every time.

Sara Barielles is also fantastic. Rilo Kiley has some great songs, too.
Click to expand...

Love all of these, especially Ingrid Michaelson. Gah, she gets me, too!

I grew up listening to Carole King and Carly Simon. I still think Tapestry is one of the greatest albums of all time.

Have you listened to Anna Nalick? Her most famous song is "Breathe (2AM), but I like a lot of her other songs too.
 
I would throw Melissa Ferrick (particularly the Freedom album -- I'm not sure how to pick songs from this!) and Trina Hamlin (my favorite album is Living Room -- In My Life and Down to the Hollow) and Erin McKeown (I've been known to listen to The Better Wife on repeat) into the mix.

Indigo Girls, Dar, Kris Delmhorst...

Whenever I read song lists like this I want to sing "Wellesley, Wellesley, only to be there..."
 
Here are some that I can think of:

Stevie Nicks - Landslide, and Crystalline
Sister Hazel's version of Gold Dust Woman
Johnny Lang - any
Jack Johnson - Any. Banana Pancakes and Angel esp.
Allison Krauss - Let me Touch you for a While, Down to the River to Pray, When you say Nothing at all, I'll Fly Away, Trampled Rose
Alecia Elliot - I'm Diggin it
Billie Holiday - I'll be Seein you
Carrie Underwood - I Told You So, Wasted, Some Hearts, This is Just a Dream
Colbie Callait - I Never Told you, Lucky, Bubbly
Dido - Here with me
Dixie Chicks - Landslide, Travelin' Soldier, Godspeed (Sweet Dreams), I believe in Love
Emmylou Harris - Any
Jewel - Kiss the Flame, Enter from the East, I've been Down so Long, Hands
Kellie Coffey - When you lie next to me
Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop That Thing, Killing me Softly
Martina McBride - Concrete Angel, I Love You, Make me Believe, Love's the Only House, Blessed, Independence Day
Mindy Smith's Version of Jolene
Sara Evans - Anything, she's awesome
 
Also wanted to add "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri.
 
Laura Marling
The Cranberries
Dido
Tori Amos (can be intense, but mostly very good)
Feist
The Jezabels
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Portishead
Goldfrapp
Arcade Fire (half and half female and male leads)
The Cardigans
Veruca Salt (takin' it back to 90's grunge!)
Tegan and Sara
The Breeders
The Joy Formidable
Regina Spektor
Duffy
The Noisettes
Regina Spektor
Florence and the Machine
Bjork (can get interesting quickly :tongue: )

I love music, but this is just a quick list from the top of my head of some of my fave females.
 
I was/am so impressed with Adele's vocal power! Glad you stumbled upon her.

Others I think of as being strong female vocalists/talented song writers:
Tracy Chapman
Joni Mitchel
Sweet Honey in the Rock (Ensemble folk/spiritual esq group)
Dixie Chicks
Tori Amos
Joss Stone
Norah Jones
Over the Rhine
Edith Piaf
 
I'm really into female singer/songwriters too. Most of my favorites have already been recommended, but I'll just list a few that I like:

-Tori Amos - she's weird and a bit of an acquired taste, but extremely varied and prolific, and she is my musical idol. Give her a try, and she'll grow on you if you don't like her at first. I'd suggest starting with her Scarlet's Walk album, which is very accessible musically and lyrically.
-Jewel - I'm sure you know some of her songs. What you may not know is that she's also quite prolific, and her albums tend to explore a different genre each time (folk, pop, country, rock, etc...). I think that's cool.
-Sarah McLachlan - I'd be surprised if you haven't heard her stuff as well. I like her live album, Mirrorball. Some of her studio recordings seem a bit boring to me. (ETA: I reread your first post and saw that you're already a fan...great!)
-Pink - highly underrated IMO. She's not "just" punk/alternative, and she's an amazing performer.
-Kelly Clarkson - Love her earlier stuff. The Breakaway album is perfect. Her later stuff...not so much.
-Anna Nalick - more low-key, not so much a strong voice, but good songwriting.
-Angela Aki - she's half-Japanese but also an American citizen, and most of her works are in Japanese, but her melodies are just gorgeous, and she has a really powerful voice. She plays the piano while she sings, which I really respect as both a singer and a pianist. Some of her songs have an Adele-ish feel.
-Bonnie McKee - I only know of one album, Trouble, but it's excellent.
-Eva Cassidy - what a voice!!! That's all there is to say. I don't think she was a songwriter; she did mostly covers of traditional American songs, hymns, jazz, etc. I think she died of melanoma in her 30s.
-Shakira - sings in Spanish and English and has a very powerful voice. Very danceable music.

I would also suggest going on Pandora and creating an Adele channel, which will automatically bring up songs similar to hers.
 
Is foreign music OK? Because I absolutely loved the first two albums by Carla Bruni Sarkozy. (But warning- my husband CANNOT stand her so I'm not sure if she's one of those female musicians that men can't tolerate.) I also love Edith Piaf. And also Josephine Baker.

I only discovered Adele like 6 months ago, too. I'm really behind in pop culture.

eta: I also like Charlotte Gainsbourg's first album (it's in English.) Again, DH cannot stand her. But, we are very musically incompatible, except for the Beatles and some classical music.
 
Crystal Castles
 
I'll second ani di franco. She's brilliant (full disclosure: she's my favorite artist of all time). Start off with Living In Clip. Fourteen years later it's as amazing as when it was compiled/produced. Be prepared for a heavy, left leaning political message; it's not for everyone, but again she's brilliant.

We saw Paul Simon recently and his opening act, Secret Sisters, were fantastic. Two girls and a guitar. A little bit country, a lot wonderful.
 
I'll second ani di franco. She's brilliant (full disclosure: she's my favorite artist of all time). Start off with Living In Clip. Fourteen years later it's as amazing as when it was compiled/produced. Be prepared for a heavy, left leaning political message; it's not for everyone, but again she's brilliant.

We saw Paul Simon recently and his opening act, Secret Sisters, were fantastic. Two girls and a guitar. A little bit country, a lot wonderful.
 
Oooh, I forgot to add Nouvelle Vague and Melanie Pain.

And LAJennifer I love Crystal Castles!!
 
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