10 Greatest Female Singers Of All Time

A list of the 10 greatest female singers of all time covers a variety of genres, from country to opera to pop. Whatever style of music the babes were belting out, people flocked to their concerts and to the record stores. The names on this list constitute some of the biggest selling artists of all time.

1. Whtiney Houston. True, Houston has turned into a bit of a train wreck in recent years, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve to be in this list of 10 greatest female singers of all time. In fact, we have the diva at one, remembering her peak years in the 80’s and 90’s whenever she belted out hit after hit on her way to becoming one of the best-selling performers of all time.
2. Mariah Carey. Carey was for a time a rival of Houston’s, hitting the scene and wowing American with a set of pipes that could hit impossibly high notes. Her songs were light and airy, like a lot of pop music, but they were very catchy and extremely popular. Back-to-back albums in the mid 90’s each went platinum ten times.
3. Ella Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald rose to popularity in the middle of the 20^th century and is sometimes referred to as the “First Lady of Song,” without a doubt one of the 10 greatest female singers of all time. She was awarded two very prestigious civilian honors—the National Medal of Art and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Presidents Reagan and Bush, Sr., respectively. She was known for her jazz singing and for her renditions of American classics.
4. Barbra Streisand. Streisand rose to iconic status in the latter part of the 20^th century and has more top 10 albums than any other female recording artist. She made her mark on Broadway and in the movies, and her live performances today command some of the highest ticket prices in the industry.
5. Celine Dion. Dion dominated the airwaves in the 1990's on her way to becoming one of the 10 greatest female singers of all time and one of the top 15 recording artists ever. Her “My Heart Will Go On,” was the theme from the titanic movie hit, “Titanic” and won an Oscar. Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas built a $100-million venue to host a unique show designed by her, which she starred in five nights a week for three years.
6. Renee Fleming. Though not perhaps to the general public, few who know her would dispute the Renee Fleming is one of the 10 greatest female singers of all time. She has been the face of opera for three decades and performs consistently around the world. She is perhaps best known for her roles in “Thais” and “La Traviata.”
7. Shania Twain. Twain’s star burned bright, hot and fast, as she took the country music world and most of America by surprise in the 1990's. Her album “Come on Over” is the ninth-best selling album of all time and the most by any female. A better performer than a pure singer, her popularity was no doubt fueled by a smoking-hot little body that she put to good use in her many music videos.
8. Sandi Patty. Patti is hands-down the best-known performer in gospel circles, and one of the 10 greatest female singers of all time. Going by the nickname “The Voice,” she can reportedly cover four octaves and easily moves into very, very high notes with sweetness and precision.
9. Dolly Parton. Parton was known for her big…hits. Ranking in the top 30 of top-selling all-time music artists, she is certainly one of the 10 greatest female singers of all time. Known as “The Queen of Country Music,” her cross-genre appeal and appearance in mainstream films put her in the role of country ambassador. She is so popular she even launched a successful amusement park, “Dollywood.”
10. Edith Piaf. Piaf is an icon in France and widely regarded as their most popular singer. She had a sultry, soulful voice She rose to fame prior to World War II and died young, in 1963. She has been memorialized in pop culture, most recently in the hit 2007 movie “La Vie En Rose.”