@36605domtop:
Females:
1. Whitney Houston - Hex Hector turned her best vocal into a true club music diva anthem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX29tzHdWiE
2. Toni Braxton - her debut album "Toni Braxton" can be played start to end, no skips. "You're Makin' Me High" from "Secrets" is SO sexy!
3. Donna Summer - There's tons of disco classics, but there are also vocal gems like "On the Radio" or "Dim All the Lights".
4. Mary J. Blige - "What's the 411?", "My Life", and "Mary" are truly classic albums, even to this day. No one conveys pain/heartbreak like MJB.
5. Shania Twain - "You're Still the One", "From This Moment On", and "Any Man of Mine".
(I'm leaving off names like Mariah, Christina, Annie Lennox, et al to bring some new names to the table, but I still had to put Whitney and Toni on the list!)
Males:
1. Prince - the vocal on "Adore" gets me every time. How this was never released as a single is beyond me. He was a musical genius.
2. Luther Vandross - When you do a cover song live on TV 1000x better than the original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ9ZVGM7smE
3. Michael Jackson - The man had talent. I prefer 70s "Off the Wall" and 90s "Dangerous" MJ more than 80s MJ.
4. Stevie Wonder - "Superstition", "Sir Duke", "As", "Signed, Sealed, Delivered", "I Wish", "Lately", "Ribbon In the Sky" and so much more.
5. Phil Collins - There's his Genesis period. I love "One More Night". But, "Against All Odds/Take A Look At Me Now" is iconic. 80's MOR music.
Groups:
1. U2 - I have every U2 album. I will always be a fan. Some seriously great stuff from the "Unforgettable Fire" through "Achtung Baby" period.
2. Earth, Wind, and Fire - "Shining Star", "Reasons", "That's the Way of the World", "September", "After the Love Has Gone" and more.
3. The Police - "Message In a Bottle." "Synchronicity" album. Sting solo career.
4. Santana - "Supernatural" is great. The early stuff is great too. They go back to Woodstock!
5. Wham - "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Careless Whisper" and the George Michael solo career.
I grew up listening to music in the 80's, so my choices go back a bit. Good music is still out there, it's just that there's also a lot more crap you have to dig through.
From your favorite female singers, I only have heard of Houston, even though I haven't heard her music.
I never felt any interest in Prince, but I hope he rest in peace. About Collins, I really liked the songs he made for “Tarzan” (1999), but I prefer the music from Peter Gabriel as a solist (yeah, I know they were together in Genesis).
I respect U2, but the only album I can hear whole and think about it as a masterpiece is “All That You Can't Leave Behind” (2000). And, maybe I'm wrong, but I thought that Santana was a solist not a band…
