Originally Posted by rowan

Agreed. Freddie Mercury was a great showman, but he wasn't really a fantastic singer. I like vocalists who have a bit of range, passion, and can hit difficult notes... the kind that you couldn't hope to mirror if you're singing along.

My favourite would be David Coverdale from Whitesnake:



Start at about 2:07 if you're impatient... 2:44 if you're really impatient. 10 seconds later he hits a pretty amazing note: it's powerful, in tune, and modulated. This is a guy in his 50s who's at the tail end of a 2 hour concert.