Best Voices In Indie Rock

Also Jesse Sykes and Tracy Thorn.

my brightest diamond & st vincent

Robin Pecknold from the Fleet Foxes belongs here too.

Gotta add Feist, Zooey Deschanel, M. Ward, and Christopher Denny to the list!

Jenny Lewis.

You can win tickets to see Brandi Carlile in a city near you- PLUS meet her after the show! Enter here > www.pastemagazine.com/contests

I was hoping to see Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater. And was Robin Pecknold just too cliché or what? He has to be on the list!

Ray Lamontagne, Karin Bergquist from Over the Rhine, Joe Henry, Ian Felice from The Felice Brothers, The Avett brothers tight harmony to name a few off the top of my head.

What, no Mark E. Smith?

What about Ely Buendia? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ely_Buendia

I think Patty Griffin (although not so indie any more) has the most beautiful voice. She is the only performer I've seen whose voice sounds better live.

I vote for Jess Klein. http://www.jessklein.com/

Jenny Toomey!

dave longstretch (dirty projectors)
willie watson (old crow medicine show)
eli reed (eli reed and the true loves)
ryan adams

Amber Coffman & Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors)
Noah Lennox (Panda Bear of Animal Collective)
Ted Leo
Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab)
Matt Berninger (The National)
Beth Gibbons (Portishead)

Whoever said Jenny Toomey - you rule.

Greg Laswell
Ryan Ferguson (no Knife/solo)
Matthew Hales (Aqualung)
Paul Meany (MuteMath)
Leigh Nash (Sixpence/Solo/Fauxliage)

this is a fine list of lovely voices. however, i don't understand how most of them qualify as "indie."

Take number one for example: Brandi Carlile writes incredibly accessible acoustipop, is signed to Columbia Records, and had huge popularity surge thanks to Grey's Anatomy.

am I to understand that as far as this list (and perhaps Paste at large) is concerned "indie" is just music that Joe or Joanne Teenager's never heard of?

Jennie DeVoe. Check her out-she's the next biggest thing you haven't heard yet. http://www.jenniedevoe.com

I'd add:

Matt Berninger (The National)
Genevieve Schatz (Company of Thieves)
Ray Lamontagne
Shara Warden (My Brightest Diamond)

Then there's always Jeff Mangum, whose nomination is based solely on his emotion.

Do dead musicians count? Jeff Buckley?

Sia
Ray LaMontagne
Sufjan Stevens

There are so many good singers out there, but I have yet to hear anyone that moves me as much as Brandi Carlile. She is one of a kind, and she's way at the top of my list.

Brandi carlile and chan marshall realli realli win it for me- and BC's new album is going to be sooo EPIC- if u think the story is a great song- wait until u listen to PRIDE and JOY the full orchestration rock out is gonna make you feel HIGH--sooo energized with euphoria

actually i take that back-

THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THE FALL's MARK E. SMITH-
ONE OF A KIND-

Samantha Crain

You have lost your (indie) mind. There is as much indie substance in Carlisle's as in U2's.

How about Sam Beam of Iron & Wine? He has a beautiful, subtle voice. I also vote for the The Watson Twins.

David Bazan.

What is an "indie-mind"? And what is "indie-music" All the independent labels are owned by bigger corporate labels. All those "indie-bands" are played on commercials or shows like Greys/Gossip Girl/One Tree Hill and often take on a “mainstream” following- I mean Kings of Leon/Vampire Weekend/MGMT/Fleet Foxes were heavily promoted on these shows! Look at Garden State it took The Shins and put them on the radar- Even Chan Marshall, the queen of low-fi indie rock- allowed the "The Greatest" to make a cameo on the Zac Effron film "17 Again"-Today the question is not what defines "indie-music" but what defines GOOD MUSIC...and brandi carlile is an exceptional musician who promotes an authentic sound- a sound not created buttons on a computer or synthesizers on a keyboard. After all some of the best musicians like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, Pink Floyd, Patti Smith and even those “indie-bands” like Peter Bjorn and John, MGMT, Wild Light, Glasvegas, and even the Avett Brothers are on Columbia!

Surprised not to see Paolo Nutini, Ray Lamontagne, Amos Lee or Jason Isbell on your list.

Where the HELL is Ray Lamontagne, Thom Yorke having a great voice? you have to be kidding me, it sounds like a cat screeching on a broken window during an ice storm...

Andrew Bird and Rufus Wainwright both have really powerful voices.

Damien Rice is incredibly dynamic.

And not sure if he qualifies as "indie" but Glen Hansard should be on there regardless.

NO
Matt Berninger - The National
Nick Urata - DeVotchKa
Win Butler - Arcade Fire
Dan Auerbach - The Black Keys

And the Neko Army continues to grow!

how is justin vernon not on here!?

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=275456294&id=275456290&s=143441

Ian Felice??????

God he's got the best voice for rock and roll since Levon Helm.

Lots of good voices out there.
Jenny Lewis
Josh Ritter
Ryan Adams

Becky Stark from Lavender Diamond

I was about to say Josh Ritter and Paolo Nutini but people beat me to it. I'd add Will Sheff from Okkervil.

Orenda Fink!
voice of an angel

Leslie Feist was already mentioned by another reader. Marhta Wainwright also has a beautiful voice. She sang a French song for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and her performance was incredible. Lucinda Williams' voice has an attractive though husky character to it. Shoutout to the dude who mentioned Ely Buendia. Though, honestly, even Ely, I think, admits he doesn't have the best singing voice.

Jarvis Cocker....come on!!

MORRISSEY.
This list is silly if he's not on it.

I would like to submit Guggenheim Grotto. The vocals and harmonies that flow from Mick Lynch and Kevin May are incredible. They combine heart on sleeve vocals and masterful instrumentation with sharp, smart lyrics.

The compiled list is quite good, spotlighting Brandi, the best songsmith to hit the indie sceen in a long time. Her fanbase is awesome. And the My Morning Jacket concert fronted by Jim James was a mind- altering, euphoric
concert without any chemical enhancement.

I agree with your list. But two I personally would add is My Brightest Diamond and Sufjan Stevens.

When Karin Bergquist of Over the Rhine sings, I feel at ultimate peace and comfortable like a crocheted blanket, a springy old couch and a cup of coffee to warm my fingers.

I 100% agree with your choice of Brandi Carlile for Best Voice. I listen to her music every day and the emotion that can always be heard in her voice simply makes my heart break.

I also think Missy Higgins has an amazing voice that sounds even better live (especially at small venues) than it does on recordings.

I would definitely add Clare Burson to the list.

Missing:

Dan Auerbach
Andrew Bird
Ben Knox Miller (The Low Anthem)

Best Voices in Indie Rock? My vote goes to Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

Olivia Merilahti (the do)
Chan Marshall

I'd like to propose Elliott Smith. Though not living like those on the list, he is, to my knowledge, still a big voice in indie rock (doesn't everyone still listen to him all the time, or is it just me?). Clear and solid voice yet dripping with emotion, great double and triple-tracked harmonies, my favorite to sing along with.

Sally Ellyson from Hem -- absolutely! Sally sings like an angel.

I would add Serena Ryder to the list. And I never tire of Martha Wainwright's voice.

David Mead.