19. Kelli Mayo
Kelli Mayo has performed with her half sister, Peyton Bighorse, in Skating Polly since she was nine. She blends the little-girl nursery rhyme vocals with positively manic punk shrieking as well as anyone on the scene today. “Hail Mary” shows the edgy sweetness. “Camelot” is an out-and-out shriekfest. And “Baby on My Birthday?” I don’t think anyone else could match that particular cowpunk perfection.
18. Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt’s blues-tinged rock vocals span decades and give a distinctive quality to everything she has recorded. It can bend toward folk or lean toward pop, but Raitt always has blues-rock in her soul.
“Something to Talk About” was bluesier and cooler than a simple pop song. “Thing Called Love” had all the swagger of John Hiatt’s original while adding a touch more charm. “Love Me Like a Man” is pure blues rock bliss.
17. Taylor Momsen
There are a lot of child-actors-turned-pop-stars who could have been on this list. Olivia Rodrigo is my favorite of them all right now, but she falls out of rock a little too much for me to put her here. That is not true of Momsen.
She began as a child actress (losing out to Miley Cyrus for the Hannah Montana gig), but with her band the Pretty Reckless, Momsen has dived into rock more than any of her actor contemporaries. Did Miley ever release an album called Death By Rock and Roll? Check out the title track from 2014’s Going to Hell.
16. Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks doesn’t need my affirmation. She is one of just three female singers who appeared on the Billboard and UCR lists. She was second only to Mick Jagger on the Billboard list. I may think that’s just a tad high, but Nicks was an iconic vocalist still performing at an impressive level today.
She brought a breathy, mystical quality to songs like “Rhianon” and “Sara” without letting them get too soft.
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