Your Top Ten Female Artists
 

I thought it would be interesting to see who's everyone's top girls are...
Here's mine
In order
Stevie Nicks
Ann Wilson
Nancy Wilson
Cyndi Lauper
Bonnie Raitt
Sheryl Crow
Blondie
Madonna
Tina Turner
Cher

1. Stevie Nicks
- Madonna
- Ann Wilson
- Terri Nunn
- Cyndi Lauper
- Pat Benatar
- Debbie Harry
- Dido
- Annie Lennox
- Chrissie Hynde

That's what I could come up with. :p

Edit: I can't believe I left off Chrissie and Annie!

Christine McVie
Stevie Nicks
Joni Mitchell
Chrissie Hynde
Kate Bush
Rickie Lee Jones
Grace Jones
Chaka Khan
Emmylou Harris
Dionne Warwick

Damnit, this is going to be hard.

1) Chrissie Hynde
2) Debbie Harry
3) Patti Smith
4) Ronnie Spector
5) Siouxsie Sioux
6) Nico
7) Shirley Manson
8) Penelope Houston
9) Dusty Springfield
10) Aimee Mann

Also, Beth Gibbons, Sharin Foo (Raveonettes), the girls from Elastica, Fiona Apple, Natalie Merchant, Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley), etc. And of course, Stevie. There are too many for me to list.

Christine McVie
Judy Garland
Amy Grant
Mariah Carey
Sara Groves
Faith Hill
Liza Minnelli
Shania Twain
Vanessa Carlton
Sheryl Crow...

That's the list that just came off the top of my head...

Alrighty-

Stevie Nicks
Christine McVie
Carole King
Bonnie Raitt
Annie Lennox
Madonna
Dolly Parton
Debbie Harry
Ann Wilson
Karen Carpenter

As a general rule, I am NOT a fan of female artists, so this is a tough one.

1. Chrissie Hynde
2. Mama Cass Elliott
3. Bekka Bramlett (That voice! OMFG)
4. Stevie Nicks (Though I'm not a fan, she does have some great songs)
5. Christine McVie (4 and 5 are really tied as I switch back and forth on who I like more depending on my mood at that moment)
6. Madonna (as much as I hate to admit it, I do like a lot of her songs)
7. Terri Clark (a country singer, one of the few I enjoy)
8. Natalie Merchant
9. Gwen Stefani
10. Tie: Pink (for MissUndaztood and her involvement in animal rights) and Joss Stone (Yes people, I really like Mind Body and Soul)

Stevie Nicks, Chrissie Hynde, Debra Harry, Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin, Cindy Lauper, Patsey Cline, Martha Davis, Joan Armatrading, Glenna Portenrider

In general order of descending greatness:

Joni Mitchell
Billie Holiday
Sarah Vaughan
Ella Fitzgerald
Patsy Cline
Stevie Nicks
Cassandra Wilson
Bonnie Raitt
Dinah Washington
Aretha Franklin

Wouldn't be the first time I've been accused of being sexist or other varieties of -ist. :shrug:

As much as I try not to prejudge music, if an artist is a woman she's going to have to be truly incredible for me to give a damn. Not that I don't have high standards for the men, but...

I could make a top ten list of favorite musicians and it likely would be exclusively male.

1. Linda Ronstadt
2. Karen Carpenter
3; Christine McVie
4. Nancy Wilson
5. Ann Wilson
6. Debbie Harry
7. Chrissie Hynde
8. Stevie Nicks
9. Bonnie Raitt
10. Tie: Martha Davis and Terri Nunn

If, by the unlikely chance, a woman had been responsible for the music I love most, she'd make my ultimate top-whatever list as well. But in reality all of the music that I truly truly love has been the product of men. The women that made my list for this thread have all made music that I like, but you won't find me obsessively collecting everything they've done or dedicating websites to them. This is true not because they are women, but because they make music that does not appeal to me as much as material from people like Lindsey Buckingham, Tom Petty, Walter Egan and the like.

I've yet to find any woman whose music really moves me.

- Stevie Nicks
- Christine McVie
- Madonna
- Reba McEntire
- Vanessa Carlton
- Linda Ronstadt
- Carole King
- Carly Simon
- Annie Lennox
- Ann/Nancy Wilson

Well if you're saying that there's some big wealth of ultra-talented women stashed away in some top secret place ne'er to be heard because they lack opportunities, lead me to it. But I tend to think otherwise.

And yes, a woman has to be incredible for me to really give a damn. She must not only be very talented and make the kind of music that I love, but she also must not use her sexuality as her biggest marketing tool. So far nobody fits that bill.

In no special order:

- Stevie Nicks
- Tori Amos
- Fiona Apple
- Patty Griffin
- Lucinda Williams
- Patsy Cline
- Allison Moorer
- Neko Case
- Sheryl Crow
- Susan Tedeschi