Thread seems to have devolved into genres of music instead of male/female voices.
To the original question, for individual singers I like a soothing female voice but also like male harmonies - Loreena McKennit needs a lot of gauze and soft focus for her pictures but I can listen to her for a good long while, same with Norah Jones. Old CSNY cd's are equally easy to listen to. Harsh, angry music of any kind isn't something enjoyable to hear but strong music is - think Death Metal vs. Beethoven's 9th symphony sung by a good choir. People who sing like they like singing are always good no matter the genre, the "in your face, look at how different and new and shocking I am" is old, old, old - some "new, shocking!" band or singer pops up like clockwork and then quickly fades into obscurity every few years and has been doing so as long as I can remember. Old guys still doing it is slightly sad and pathetic.
There are tons and tons of good singers and musicians out there both famous and unknown, youtube is your friend finding those. The Regrettes is an example of a very good little band, they seem to enjoy what they do. Look up Andrea Motis, she's a young (early 20's now) jazz singer from Spain who's very talented, there are several videos of her when she was just 12-14 and you can see the talent there already.
Gunnery, gunnery, gunnery. Hit the target, all else is twaddle!
I'm still pissed Peter Steele is gone. I REALLY liked his voice. Nothing comes close. Been digging for a long time on web. Nope.
When Dickenson quit Maiden for a spell my guitar bud and I were chatting, the band had put in Blaze Bayley (who sucked). Told him................they should have gotten Dio.
His response?
"They would have been mighty".
Anyway, couple of my fave Type O songs, liked some of their more punk thrash but this stuff is slow and cool.
I like good singers who sing songs that tell a story.
I do not like singers, especially female, who hit you over the head all the time trying to prove what great pipes they have. Many black females sing like that, but so do many white church ladies. Carrie Underwood is a great singer, but she seems to choose songs, or chooses to sing songs, where she belts it out almost angrily. What's wrong with some subtlety? Sing a ballad once in a while.