Voice. Most powerful and natural instrument.

Try and imagine the Doors without Jim Morrison.

Voice can, rarely does, but can carry the show. Is opera natural singing? If so what some, say, Placido Domingo can/could do is enough to move you just by the voice.

How many great songs have been made by the particular singer and to such an extent that for a generation or more they have the definitive version. Nat "King" Cole and the Christmas Song.

The voice may not be the most powerful or natural but it is the most magical as to what it can do.

I don't like Domingo's voice, older Carreras's is much more appealing to me.

Natural? Yes, for obvious reasons. Powerful? Yes. Just listen to Azam Ali from 'Portals of Grace'.

I saw Rickie Lee Jones live back when she did 'Pirates' at the Pantages and her voice simply soared over the horn section like they weren't even there. She hit notes with such power that the whole place went slackjawed. No one could believe that someone who was still getting high back then and rambled on incoherently between songs (with one audience member yelling shut up and sing-she just laughed) could suddenly transform her little self into this vocal dynamo. It was quite a show.

Some performers can really belt it out.

Yes, check out Katherine Jenkins, a UK super star.

On the 'db' end of this scale, it'll come up short.

'Suppoe we could have a yell off... a SAX and Tennor, maybe. I'll bet on the brass for db content....

In either case though, it's not the insturment so much as it is the nut playing it... Same way with voice.

I'd soon as hear plenty of insturments over plenty of voices.... as a rule the instruments will sound better... great singers are far harder to find than instruments. Brass and reeds don't need as much tuning care as do strings, or voices. They appear more the honest pitch and timber appliances than are human voices.

When both are on top of their game, I'll give the nod to the singer over the accompaniement or side men... usually. Alone? Instrumentalists? Well it's all about an emotive connection and music is exactly that... an emotive event.