Top Female Singers of the 20th Century

21th Century dear.

Tiger lily & ophelia are absolutely must have albums. Lyrics that grab you & a voice that I never get tired of.

Female vocalist for Pink Martini. One of the sexiest voices I've ever heard. Like butter! youtube some Pink Martini if you've never heard of them.

back with Morcheeba now....

beautiful voice

This is not 20th Century..

You also make a very good point, but, do multiple wrongs make a right ? Requirements are not being adhered to but if we don't address the problem what other resource do we have to eliminate the problem ?

You make a very good point, however after reviewing this list, it appears that the requirements needed to get on it are not being adhered to, and therefore Colbie deserves to be on the list more than many of the singers who are.

Your comment is true (if she did indeed sing 'professionally' at the age of 11) but at 11 years old in 1996 and going into the 21 st century in her mid teens she can't possibly be rated as a Top Female Singer of The 20th Century and should not be on this list. Technically a 20th century singer is not good enough and what ever success a performer has after the 20th century is irrelivant here.

Very true, her first album debuted in 2007, but she began singing professionally in 1996 at the tender age of 11, which means she technically qualifies as a "Female Singer of the 20th Century"!

Colbie Caillat debuted in 2007! I'm so tired of seeing ineligable singers on this list!!!! especially when they're higher on the list then eligable artists.

Magnificent woman blessed with great talent and a wonderful voice.

She is by far one of the greatest singers I know. Seeing her live just shows how much of a true artist she is!!! She is going to be someone to remember in a few years and someone you will never forget!

Wow you were right!!

An amazing singer......even if i can't understand a word she says XD

oh, by the way, even the spice girls have sold 25 million more record units than Ayumi according to wikipedia!

500 billion yen converts roughly to 5.3 billion dollars - Tadashi Yanai is #1 in net worth in Japan as of 2009 with 6.1 billion dollars, Hiroshi Yamauchchi is #3 with 4.5 billion dollars. Ayumi Hamasaki isn't even listed on the top ten list so where did the 5.3 billion go? Do you just make this stuff up as you go, but then again, you have listed so many artists on this site it must be tough to check your facts about them all first.

This English singer is from the current 21st century - not eligible for this 20th century list.

More a circus act than a singer!!!!!

Do you mean Lisa (Left Eye) LOPES ? gees! better known as a rapper.

you may remember her song on dancing with the stars" ELISA DANCING" she has been singing since childhood professionally.she writes her songs

amazing. in love with her early sound.

I am sure France has given birth to beter talent.

She can sang the BLUES!!!

Fantastic Voice

What a great Singer!! If you havn't heard her sing you must check her out! The critiques say she has GOLD in the Throat!

she`s got it all covered...she can Rock like fire sing like an Angel and take you back to church

If you hear this woman sing Amazing grace you will know she is a true artist

she is the awsomest of female vocals

Jean Shy deserves to be heard all over the world.

Jean Shy is amazing. Her voice is phenomenol

Wow !!!! what a voice

can`t wait for her European Tour in Feb 2011

and do check out her "Tough Enough" Album...she is

listen to her close

Jean deserves as much Credit as Aretha

This Lady has a set of pipes that you have to hear. I love it!

This woman can out sing the best of them

Have you HEARD TIS WOMAN SING????

one of th Best that I have heard.she deserves to be mentioned as much as Aretha and certainly deserves more credit than she is getting

I think it would be smarter to call this a list of the top female singers in no particular order, because it is obviously not difinitive and everyone has there own taste. Even if you could define what makes an exceptional voice and input that into a computer program for it to decide, what would it mean to us as humans? When we listen to music we decide if we like it based on much more than technical skill. Let's face it who has time to develope skills today. Especially listening skills! Should we leave the decision to experts? We all think we are the expert. And in a certain sense you are the expert in your life. No one can replace your decisions in life. So stop all the bickering and lets just make a list of great singers in no particular order because all of you are right. I had to laugh at the list though I'm not saying why.

she should be in the top 50 she is a amazing singer and should be recongized for it

21st century singer - not eligible for this 20th century list.