Dear Justin Bieber’s Biggest Fan,

I would like to personally welcome you to the Gears of Rock’s Top 100 Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Vocalists of All Time Official Countdown.  I’d also like to extend a hearty congratulations to you for stumbling upon this life-altering/shattering experience.  You see, over the last 5 years I have spent very little time and effort polling the little demonic unicorns living inside my fat hairy skull.  In the end, another imperfect list came to fruition.  We can only hope that you despise it.

Insincerely Yours,

The Management

P.S. Remember, these rankings represent the greatest vocalists ever that have performed in hard rock and heavy metal bands.  These rankings take into account the performer’s vocal ability as well as on stage showmanship.  Please feel free to customarily projectile vomit blood and bile all over these rankings at your own leisure.  Without further ado, here is the complete countdown of the Top 100 Vocalists of All Time:

____________________
#100  Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed)

#99  Al Jourgensen (Ministry)

#98  Chris Barnes (Cannibal Corpse)

#97  Michael Kiske (Helloween)

#96  Jens Kidman (Meshuggah)

#95  Tim Williams (Vision of Disorder)  

#94  Lou Koller (Sick of it All)

#93  Mille Petrozza (Kreator)

#92  David Wayne (Metal Church)

#91  Mike Muir (Suicidal Tendencies/Cyco Miko)

#90  Cronos (Venom)

#89  Johan Hegg (Amon Amarth)

#88  Evan Seinfeld (Biohazard)

#87  Till Lindemann (Rammstein)

#86  Brent Hinds/Troy Sanders (Mastodon)

#85  Oderus Urungus (GWAR)

#84  Paul Baloff (Exodus)

#83  Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society)

#82  Les Claypool (Primus)

#81  M. Shadows (Avenged Sevenfold)

#80  Lita Ford (Lita Ford)

#79  Corey Glover (Living Colour)

#78  Randy Blythe (Lamb of God)

#77  John Garcia (Kyuss)

#76  Zack de la Rocha (Rage Against The Machine)

#75  Jeff Scott Soto (Yngwie Malmsteen)

#74  Doug (dUg) Pinnick (King’s X) 

#73  Eric Martin (Mr. Big)

#72  Geoff Tate (Queensrÿche)

#71  Tim “Ripper” Owens (Iced Earth/Charred Walls of the Damned)

#70  Gary Cherone (Extreme)

#69  Corey Taylor (Slipknot)

#68  Josh Homme (Queens of the Stoneage/Them Crooked Vultures)

#67  Pepper Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity)

#66  Keith Caputo (Life of Agony)

#65  Jani Lane (Warrant)

#64  Lajon Witherspoon (Sevendust)

#63  Max Cavalera (Sepultura/Soulfy)

#62  David Coverdale (Whitesnake)

#61  Serj Tankian (System of a Down)

#60  Jon Bon Jovi (Bon Jovi)

#59  Chino Moreno (Deftones)

#58  Biff Byford (Saxon)

#57  Jonathan Davis (Korn)

#56  Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory)

#55  Eric Clapton (Cream)

#54  John Bush (Armored Saint/Anthrax)

#53  Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters)

#52  Phil Mogg (UFO)

#51  Phil Anselmo (Pantera/Down)

#50  Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots)

#49  Blackie Lawless (W.A.S.P.)

#48  Gene Simmons (Kiss)

#47  Bobby Blitz Ellsworth (Overkill)

#46  Glen Danzig (The Misfits/Danzig)

#45  Maynard James Keenan (Tool)

#44  Stephen Pearcy (Ratt)

#43  Chuck Billy (Testament)

#42  Marilyn Manson (Marilyn Manson)

#41  Rob Flynn (Machine Head)

#40  Udo Dirkschneider (Accept)

#39  Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow/Yngwie Malmsteen)

#38  Kevin DuBrow (Quiet Riot)

#37  Rob Zombie (White Zombie)

#36  Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam)

#35  Tom Araya (Slayer)

#34  Ted Nugent (Ted Nugent)

#33  Mike Patton (Faith No More/Mr. Bungle/Fantomas)

#32  Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead)

#31  Chris Cornell (Soundgarden/Audioslave)

#30  Vince Neil (Motley Crue)

#29  Peter Steele (Type-o-Negative)

#28  Bret Michaels (Poison)

#27  Jeff Keith (Tesla)

#26  Dee Snider (Twisted Sister)

#25  David Lee Roth (Van Halen)

#24  James LaBrie (Dream Theater)

#23  Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy)

#22  Ian Gillan (Deep Purple)

#21  King Diamond (Mercyful Fate)

#20  Geddy Lee (Rush)

#19  Layne Staley  (Alice In Chains)

#18  Dave Mustaine (Megadeth)

#17  Klaus Meine (Scorpions)

#16  Sebastian Bach (Skid Row)

#15  Alice Cooper (Alice Cooper)

#14  Joe Elliott (Def Leppard)

#13  Joey Belladonna (Anthrax)

#12  Sammy Hagar (Sammy Hagar/Van Halen)

#11  Paul Stanley (Kiss)

#10  Ronnie James Dio (Elf/Rainbow/Black Sabbath)

#9  Brian Johnson (AC/DC)

#8  Axl Rose (Guns N’ Roses)

#7  James Hetfield (Metallica)

#6  Steven Tyler (Aerosmith)

#5  Rob Halford (Judas Priest)

#4  Freddie Mercury (Queen)

#3  Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)

#2  Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)

#1  Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne)

71 thoughts on “Top 100 Hard Rock And Heavy Metal Vocalists of All Time (Complete Countdown)”

  2. Hell of a lot better top 100 than Hit Paraders sorry-ass list. I think Dickenson is “studio great”, but I wouldn’t put him that high because he tended to struggle live, unlike Dio, Halford, Cooper and others. Thanks for the list! Like you kinda put-it…Ya gotta love opinions, even if you hate em’.

    1. My friend, Dio was THE quintesential metal voice, and halford is THE metal god, but make them run and jump the whole stadium-size stage for 15 even minutes and you’ll see why Bruce Dickinson is THE best frontman in the world!

    1. Agree, and where is Manowar’s Eric Adams and Angra’s Andre Matos and Edu Falaschi?

  6. What divine entity put Jonathan Houseman Davis at fifty-seventh on this list?
    He’s probably one of the most enthusiastic live performers I’ve ever seen and he portraits his emotions through his tones and lyrics so mother fucking well. He’s more than a human.

  11. @ NOTAFAG – Chris Cornell should be #2 behind a guy not even on this list – Neil Fallon (Clutch). And another guy not on the list should be #3(Bon Scott). IMHO of course.

  14. I like the list its a little out of order for me though, taylor should be ranked higher than about half the people ahead of him

    1. Good list, I just would switch some numbers around… Layne Staley and Chris Cornell should hands down be in the top five IMO

  15. I definitely think Layne Staley should be higher, the most unique, emotional, talented and powerful vocals to ever exist. He sounds like a tormented angel, gritty and haunting but so raw and beautiful in every way, unfortunately he left us way too soon R.I.P Layne, You were given the voice of god, I guess god wanted it back, you were the messiah of rock and roll…

  17. wheres david draiman? Till and corey taylor should be higher along with layne. final point WHERE THE FUCK IS CHAD GRAY? (mudvayne/HELLYEAH)

  18. Where is David draiman? He is a lot better than most people on that list, and my personal favorite.

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  24. James Hetfield even said in a documentary that he’s not great at singing- I love Dickinson but number 3 is a little high for him. Robert Plant should absolutely be number 1- after that I would swap ozzy and klause meine. My opinion is skill based- not popularity.

  25. Why is everyone crying about David Draman and Corey Taylor? Who cares? Amd seriously, Mitch Lucker? No. Johan Hegg should be better placed and same with Keenan

  28. #62 David Coverdale ? WTF ! David Coverdale worse than Eric Clapton as SINGER ???
    I don’t see Eric Adams from Manowar. Holy sh*t.

  29. I like this list except here is 5 people that either should be on the list or higher
    Aaron Lewis- because well he is great, I mean he is also one of the country artist even though that does not matter here at all.
    Corey Taylor-The guy that sings people=shit and through Glass that is freaking range
    M. Shadows- one of the best screamers in history that can also sing.
    Layne Stanley- I think we all know where he should be but also on that note if I was to throw in a sixth Cantrel
    Ozzy-needs to be moved down, the list says vocalists not people that have impacted the industry. I agree that he is probably one of the most influential ever but as a vocalist he is not #1

  31. Really? No miljenko matijevic. His vocals are insane. Brent Smith should also be on this list.

    1. I agree, Miljenko Matijevic’s range is amazing! A truly beautiful voice. He should be high up on this list!!
      And, Ian Gillan should be right up near the top as well. What about Jesus Christ Superstar, Child In Time?!!..enough said.

  34. M. shadows should be number f****ing 1
    #1 #1 #1
    why is he #81st. ?!?!
    he should be #2 at least!!

    2. No shodows should not be #1 Dickinson and john davis are way better rob halford is to. I can go on naming better vocalist but yeah he should be 81 he alongside Corey Taylor and David draiman should be at least in the 30s. Shadows is a lot better than a lot of others on this list.

  36. Chester fucking Bennington of Linkin Park, from the softer, more melodic ballad tunes to the heavier, harsher vocals to the screams that put those hardcore pussies who just hiss like a bunch of angry teenagers to shame. Same reason M. Shadows should be much higher on the list.

    1. Hey Ry, the thing is that people with singular voices are not necessarily best vocalists. For instance, I love Tool’s voice but have to say that hes not in my list of best vocalists’

    1. As much as I like MM… Even himself would disagree… as afrontman/showman definitely on my top 10 list

  41. All of you annoying little pricks saying your favorite artist should be #1 stfu and make your own list so we can call it bullshit. Now there are some people i believe should be higher and or on the list; david draiman, john davis, corey taylor, lajon witherspoon, matt shadows and howard jones, forgot the guys name from trivium. but a list is an opinion and determined on what people classify metal as. this guy was more into the older generation which is why a lot of the later bands are 50s and up. And a lot of people dont count metalcore as a legit genre or as “trash”.

  42. Cool list. I age with it much more than I do Hit Parader’s version…no offense meant to them. Any changes I would make are mainly just nit-picky little opinion differences.

    I would bump Maynard Keenan up several spots. I’d also put Sebastian Bach at least in the top 5, if not number 1. That guy can sing circles around most of this list. Take away the instruments and music and most metal voices fall flat, but his is one that can stand on its own.

    I do realize this list is considering vocal ability AND stage performance though, and I haven’t seen Maynard or Sebastian perform live to judge that side. So my argument is pretty one-sided.

    Anyway…thanks for taking the time to put this list together for us folk who aren’t Justin Bieber’s biggest fans. 😉

  44. It’s difficult to make a list like this for a number of reason: blurring and overlapping of music genres, or artists that sing in multiple genres(do Marilyn Manson, Avenged Sevenfold, and Led Zeppelin even belong on the same list? Sure, if you want.); how each individual defines the genre or singing talent period; is the list maker simply staying their opinion, or trying for an unbiased sorting based only on talent?; etc. etc.

    Let’s face it, unless you poll every music listener and then count votes for the top 100, the list is going to be biased. And even if the list considers everyone’s vote equally, how many are going to vote based solely on talent and not personal favorites? For example, I don’t much care for Freddy Mercury, but I have to admit he is one of the most talented voices in rock and roll. Would he be on my top 100 list? Probably…waaaaay down below all the vocalists I like more. (No offense to Freddy!)

    My point is, everyone has their own top 100. This person out the time(and courage) into sharing theirs. Everyone has equal right to disagree, but what makes YOUR opinion have any greater validity? Unless you have some official and unbiased device that measures and compares singing AND performing capability…don’t complain about one guy’s opinion!

    And I’m not referring to commenting about who you would have on the list or in different places, because that almost seems the point of the list. It’s interesting to see how different everyone’s taste is. But for goodness sake, don’t call the guy an idiot or claim his opinion has no validity. It’s just as valid as yours.

    Even the author of this list might not do it the same way twice.

    Bleh…I’m done preaching now. I was even getting on my nerves. lol

    Everybody just play nice or you’re grounded!

    1. I agree 100% with you… but this is actually a racetrack/cockfight thing from the very conception, so please do not expect good behaviour or scientific analysis LOL … It’s not my first top list and now I simply enjoy the fight and the sillyness hehehe… Once again, I agree 100%… peace bro!

  45. Where are Adam Sandler, Chad Ginsburg, Justin Beiber and Brendon Small???? Just kidding, but seriously some of you need to quit your bitchin’ and just take the list for what it is worth. Everyone on that list is a talented singer. If you disagree with the list, cool, go make your own list. This is just one persons opinion and I honestly hate every Rolling Stones list that was ever made, and their list is supposed to be authentic and non biased.

  48. Mark storace from a band called ‘krokus’ i am pretty sure should be in the top 100 well actually he should be higher than most especially as much as i like him ozzy technically can’t sing gene Simmons tries and seriously alice cooper great performer but singer?

  50. Where’s Howard Jones? (Killswitch Engaged) He made that band relevant, he has the best metal vocals of this decade!

  51. Completely honest, I think corey taylor should have been higher, and I’m suprised david draiman didnmt make an appearance. But aside from that, great list.

  52. Daniel Gildenlow (Pain of salvaton), Russel Allen (symphony x) Steven Wilson (porcupine tree)… prog metal is a bit left aside except for Labrie.

  55. Michael Sweet of Stryper…IMO top ten. If all of the other 80’s hair metalists made this list, he should also, regardless of your feelings about the group. In doubt? Google the song “Reign”.

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