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Best female vocal recording on CD?

i am a sucker for great warm rich smooth female vocalists, especially on tube gear and speakers that image well. but i am almost always faced with a great voice/song but a sonically inferior recording (examples too numerous to list) or a great recording of a mediocre voice.  rickie lee jones (pop pop) comes to mind- fab recording, but come on lets be honest about her voice. however, i will almost always pick great recordings and leave the bad recordings for the car.

 so i am asking for what you use as a reference female vocal recording/track. right now i come back tp bonnie raitt "you cant make me love you" from luck of the draw.  big, warm, strong voice. not a perfect recording. but hmmmm that voice.

my only requirement is it has to be on CD. and we all know of great vinyl that did not translate into great CDs.  so help me out here, what should be my next music purchase 
meiatflask
unreceivedogma's avatar
unreceivedogma
978 posts
 
Hi guys, here's my list, in no particular order:

1. Karen Dalton - In My Own Time
2. Karen Dalton - Its So Hard To Tell Who's Going to Love You the Best
3. Laura Nyro - New York Tendaberry
4. Joan Baez - 5
5. Joan Baez - David's Album
6. Joan Baez - Blessed Are
7. Richard and Mimi Farina (Joan's kid sister) - Memories
8. Joan Armatrading - 1st album
9. Judy Collins - Colors of the Day
10. Tracy Chapman - 1st album
11. Sibylle Baier - Colour Green
12. Joni Mitchell - 1st album
13. Joni Mitchell - Ladies of the Canyon
14. Marissa Nadler - Little Hells
15. Maxine Sullivan - on Period Records, SPL 1207
16. Amy Winehouse - Hidden Treasures
17. Eva Cassidy - the 4 LP set Live at Blues Alley
18. Sade - Any of her first three albums 
19. Wanda Jackson - Right or Wrong
20. Black Orpheus - Soundtrack, listed here for that ONE SONG on side two
21. Kiri te Kanawa - Blue Skies
22. Emmylou Harris - Luxury Liner
23. Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris - Grievous Angel
24. Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris - GP
25.  Tona la Negra - La Sensacion Jarocha
26. Blanca Rosa Gil - La Triunfadora de Cuba
27. La Lupe - La Lupe Es La Reina
28. Billy Holiday - Songs for Distingue Lovers
28. Billy Holiday - Lady in Satin
29. Joy of Cooking - Closer to the Ground
30. Janis Joplin - In Concert

That should get you going. 

I know that you asked for CD, but as I have 5,000+ LPs and a handful of CDs, I'm speaking for the VINYL LP issues of these recordings only and bothered to list them because these disks deserve a listening regardless of how well they were digitized. I suspect that, except for the Latin LPs, they are at least "VG+" to "EX". The Gil is "VG+" on both LP and CD, an outstanding bolero set from Hialea. 

Regards - 
hifijones
117 posts
 

I’ll agree that Diana Krall has become somewhat boring and passe’. But she wasn’t when she released "All For You" in ’96, imho her best album by a wide margin.

Get the XRCD-24 version of that CD and you’ll be a happy camper.

unreceivedogma's avatar
unreceivedogma
978 posts
 
Hah. I left one out. I forgot it because it is only available on CD, and I rarely listen to CD:

Pink Martini - Sympathique

The Sandy Denny sets are also only on CD and they are great. Prefer to listen to the vinyl. 

Ive scratched the surface, but I'll let it go here because you want CD. 
gocubs999
156 posts
 
Exceptional recording quality for all 3 Albums: (Hi Rez)

Melissa Menago - "Little Crimes" 
Blubell & Black Tie - "Blubell & Black Tie"
Kasia Lins - "Take my Tears"
erndog's avatar
erndog
261 posts
 
Here's my current top 10 not in order:

Beth Orton- Pass in Time
KT Tunstall- Invisible Empire
Laura Marling- A Creature I don't know
MaMuse- Integration of the Awkward
Natalie Merchant- Paradise is there
Rachel Sage- Blue Rose
Shelby Lynn- Suit yourself & I can't imagine
Sophie Barker- A Rare Collection of songs
Vienna Teng- Warm Strangers
Ayleen O'Hanlon- Blend and spill
More to discover