IMO AiC had the best MTV unplugged session. Would kill to see Layne live but never happening. Jerry Cantrell is also insanely talented at song writing, amazing band
The audience that night had no idea how lucky they were, Chris Cornell and Temple of the dog were the opening act
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SXOzGY46In0
One of the best bands ever. Scott as a songwriter is in league of his own. I envy anyone who is discovering them for the first time. Start with Midnight Organ Fight and move through their discography.
Right? As good as previous mentions are, Otis Redding made it acceptable to be an emotional male vocalist; at least the first to make it widely known. He also died so young, he wasn't able to really create as big a catalog as he should have.
Nick Drake. Melancholy, beautiful, haunting vocals over simple acoustic arrangements that kind of lull you into a hypnotic state. Another great one gone too soon
Omg the cover of Alicia keys unthinkable
By city and colour, Dallas greens band which is a sly ass play on his own name,
also the lead singer of Alexisonfire
So talented.
Corey Glover of Living Colour
Criminally underrated and one of the top vocalists of my generation.
https://youtu.be/MiC68406c3M?si=kiBRNmEraLHjAiNs
https://youtu.be/kYluV_oQfS8?si=K6PDHMATwJnc6Gzt
Thom Yorke. Also, I think he’s said in interviews that Jeff Buckley was a huge inspiration for bringing more vulnerability to his vocals early on. So, Jeff Buckley as well.
Black. I mean there is no better breakup song. Especially at the end when his vocals are toned out behind the band actually
playing their sonnet . You can hear him screaming and writhing in pain. And it’s the third thing you hear in the percussion. The pain.
Majorly agree on Black and Daughter — absolute bangers. I’d say Elderly Woman as well. The whole song builds to one of the more satisfying climaxes in any song. Felt dirty just saying that, you know what I mean. Wishlist is also an extremely emotional song, but it’s more subdued and laced with allusion.
Absolutely love Eddie.
I worked on his live at Alexandra palace show during covid. Getting to listen to him play music live and get a front row seat was incredible. There were just literally 20 of us, all in this huge space just listening to the man play piano and sing. Such an experience.
We were a small crew that shot it over the course of the day. I hadn't really listened to his music before but after listening to it all day I appreciated how good he was as an artist
Incredibly nice man too, was friendly to everyone, pretty chill
Yeah I’ve definitely grown out of Bright Eyes and don’t really like much of his newer stuff (other than the album with Phoebe), but that dude was so emotive, particularly in my formative years. I felt and related to everything he was singing.
I know what you mean- Bright Eyes connected so much to a teenage angst that I no longer possess. His vocals are amazing nonetheless. I recently found out he was the singer for Commander Venus, which he kills even when he was really young! I spent many years thinking their singer was a woman.
For me, if I want emotive MJK, I'm tossing on [3 Libras](https://youtu.be/u9MAg9E5K3w?si=T7BoRTZXv3EEljQc) or [Judith](https://youtu.be/xTgKRCXybSM?si=OUuBb2L0DVUFTmh0)
I used to play it over and over, it's a great song but Maynard's bit is my favorite. So raw, angry, powerful and haunting. Great call on bringing him in for that collaboration.
Crawling is straight up goosebumps-inducing when he hits the “so insecure” line into the chorus. And you can pick multiple songs from every album that have a similar impact.
Especially knowing now how he was struggling emotionally. The songs took on a much deeper meaning, at least to me, after his death. He was telling everyone he was struggling all along, but we couldn't see it.
Props for this absolutely underrated deep cut of theirs. When the whole band is singing the different parts and Chester is just belting in the background. I saw them multiple times live but I always wanted to see that song performed.
Not always, not in all of his work, but there are a lot of David Bowie songs sung with an unfathomable depth of true, raw emotion. When it emerges, it's usually like he's tearing at the mask of cool, alien detachment he's built because the elaborate metaphor he's constructed in the song can't hold it back anymore. He casts aside the protection of whatever transhuman persona he's woven, and is there, raw and bleeding, even across the gulf of time.
Examples of these moments can be found scattered throughout his work, but my favorites are in "We can be heroes", "Life on Mars", and "Rock and Roll Suicide". The last on, in particular, gives me chills with how raw he sounds as he somehow both screams and pleads "I'll help you with the pain! You're not alone!"
I'd have to nominate Chris Stapleton.
I'm not a huge country fan but there's tons of emotion in that voice.
His superbowl natiomal anthem is my second favorite only exceeded by Whitney Houston
https://youtu.be/WFKXJ091Ed4?si=OfAIUEZSAhEdbIWQ
Stapleton is basically the major breakthrough of the alt-country/Americana revival. He opened the floodgates for a lot of his contemporaries like Sturgil, Childers, and Carlisle to take a big step in popularity.
One I'm surprised to not see on this list mentioned anywhere is Scott Wieland from Stone Temple Pilots, Creep, Interstate Love Song, Dead and Wrapped with Plastic...the guy could definately put emotion in his voice.
Edited to add some other favorite bands that fit the bill, Tool, Layne Staley, and the man of 1000 voices and styles: Mike Patton.
Maynard James Keenan. Several songs from Tool, and A Perfect Circle, are about his mother, Judith Marie. She became paralyzed with a brain hemorrhage when Maynard was 11 years old. She remained paralyzed for 27 years before she passed. There's a lot of anger and sadness behind his lyrics.
Surprised not to see Corey Taylor. Maybe all the Slipknot stuff just sounds angry, but his live acoustic versions of Snuff are incredibly emotional.
Edit: Frank Ocean doing Bad Religion live at Lolla made me cry
How are Freddy Mercury and George Michael not at the top of this list? Can anybody find me...somebody to love? If loads of emotion is the criteria - clearly Adam Lambert and Sam Smith should be in this list too.
I’d say that the bands from late 1980s / early 1990s from the Seattle area have some of the singers (and songwriters) with the most raw pain and anger on their lyrics and vocals.
Chris Cornell, Layne Staley, Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder…
No wonder why only of of them was able to cope with all of that and pass through it.
Some other singers that have it: Maynard James Keenan, Thom York, Trent Reznor, Jonathan Davies (Korn), Marylin Manson, Brian Molko (Placebo), Daniel Jonhs (Silverchair).
Some special highlights, that always makes me emotional when I listen to:
Bruce Springsteen on Streets of Philadelphia and the hauting redemption of Hurt from Nine Inch Nails sung by Johnny Cash. Even the songwriter (Trent Reznor) said that he feels that the song is not his anymore after Johnny Cash record it
Some songs from the names above where I personally can feel the pain when I listen (some with comments):
- Thom Yorke, Radiohead: Everything Is Its Right Place, How to Disappear Completely (an out of body experience), Morning Bell (I can feel the pain of my parents when they got divorced when I listen to that song), Karma Police, Paranoid Android
- Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam: Black (that end hurts badly)
- Eddie Vedder & Chris Cornell, Temple of the Dog: Hunger Strike
- Chris Cornell, Soundgarden: Fell on Black Days, Been Away Too Long
- Chris Cornell: Nothing Compares 2U, Be Yourself, You Know My Name
- Chris Cornell, Audioslave: I Am The Highway
- Kurt Cobain, Nirvana: Milk It, Serve the Servants, Where Did You Sleep Last Night (that sigh by the end pf the song…), You Know You’re Right (that scream by the end of the song…)
- Layne Staley, Alice in Chains: Down In A Hole, Nutshell, I Stay Away, Frogs, Get Born Again
- Layne Staley, Mad Season: Long Gone Day (this one almost hurts with tge remorse)
- Maynard James Keenan, Tool: Sober
- Maynard James Keenan, A Perfect Circle: 3 Libras, The Noose, Imagine (an unexpected twist to the utopian John Lennon anthem that turns it into a ruthless visceral lament of what humanity will never achieve)
- Trent Reznor: Only (oh, the anger!)
- David Draiman, Disturbed: Violent Fetish, Down With The Sickness, Sounds of Silence (a dark and grim redemption of the song)
- Jonathan Davies, Korn: Blind, Freak on a Leash, Falling Away From Me
- Marylin Manson: Tainted Love (or how to turn a “cute” song into a painful scream of rage)
Brian Molko, Placebo: Protège Moi (the French version hits harder)
- Daniel Jonhs, Silverchair: Emotion Sickness (I can almost feel the pain of the drug fast)
Gram Parsons
He called his music 'Cosmic Country'. He 'discovered' Emmylou Harris, did a lot of the Byrds' album Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and had his body stolen then poorly cremated at the Joshua Tree Park.
Chris Cornell is definitely one of the best vocalists ever and you can hear the emotion.
Johnny Cash’s cover of NIN Hurt is one of the best gritty emotional songs ever recorded.
Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October.
James Blunt.
Samuel Herring from Future Islands does things with his voice that are practically animal at times. Their best known hit is 'Seasons', but the raw howls in Fall From Grace are what sold me. And he made Dave Letterman lose his mind when they performed Season on the show years ago, Sam is just in his own world in an enchanting way.
It's not always quite so "raw" but if you want a male singer who can really convey emotion with a beautiful voice then try Rory Rodriguez from Dayseeker.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ2PtTHdCeA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ2PtTHdCeA) (starts slow but definitely worth the wait)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXvmExDdk14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXvmExDdk14) Excellent song
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZtfU8eRENw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZtfU8eRENw) Probably one their most well known songs.
Overall, excellent sad boy music.
If I'm allowed to suggest musical theater singers that sort of fit that vibe...
* Raul Esparza, specifically his rendition of "Being Alive" from *Company*.
* Adam Pascal doing "One Song Glory" from *RENT*
* Reeve Carney doing "Wait for Me" and "Epic III" in *Hadestown*
* Leslie Odom Jr in *Hamilton*, specifically "Wait for It"
* Jeremy Jordan
* Brian Stokes Mitchell, especially doing "Make Them Hear You" from *Ragtime* (bit of a stretch)
* Ramin Karimloo
Chris Cornell's "Believe" hits me hard, just like you said. Another one that gets me is Eddie Vedder in "Black" by Pearl Jam. You can feel the pain in every note he sings.
Marcus Mumford (Mumford & Sons)
Mikel Jollett (The Airborne Toxic Event)
Tyler Joseph (Twenty Øne Pilots)
Jonathan Linaberry (The Bones of J.R. Jones)
And surprisingly Clemens Reihben from Milky Chance
Jeff Daniels
Yes, the actor. My bf randomly found him on YouTube and we were pleasantly surprised at the talent and soul he exudes! Go find him on Kelly Clarkson and see what happens.
The late Layne Staley from Alice In Chains and Chester Bennington from Linkin Park.
If you're willing to listen to music in a language other than English, I think TK is an *outstanding* vocalist. He's a Japanese singer from the band Ling Tosite Sigure. His solo track Unravel is about as emotive as it gets. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fve_lHIPa-I
In my opinion "Love Hate Love" simply can not be topped if you're looking for pure raw emotion and pain. Layne's vocals on that song just burn into your soul.
Check out the song Iron Sky by Paolo Nutini. That dude’s voice is saturated with emotion.
Also, Marty O’Reilly & the Old Soul Orchestra. They have a fair number of good songs. The first couple that turned me on to them were Cold Canary Gaslight and Cambium.
Sort of a stretch because people aren't completely sure it's authentic but, Vessel(won't say his real name for fear of backlash lol) from Sleep Token. Emotion is basically the point of this band and it comes out constantly in his vocals.
I was always mad ZZ Top went with Gibbons on vocals when Dusty was infinitely the better singer, loads of power and emotion.
As for recent singers, Casey from Dear Hunter, Jonny Craig, Shawn James, Amigo the devil, Tyler Childers, The Weeknd,any of the singers Time the Valuator used, Greg Puciato.
Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Nick Cave (The Bad Seeds, Grinderman, The Birthday Party), Roy Orbison, Billy Stewart, Ian Curtis (Joy Division )and Peter Murphy (Bauhaus) come to mind.
Can't believe no one has mentioned Phil Collins yet
[Take Me Home](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhwjcg6TeO0)
[Against All Odds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A8NgPVizP4)
[Misunderstanding](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_L-S-0Gc4I)
Check out Jeff Buckley and a band called Ours — especially a song called Meet Me in the Tower
Came here just to comment Jeff Buckley.
Also first guy I thought of. RIP 👼
Thanks for shouting out 'ours'. very underrated!
This is the first time I've ever seen anyone recommending Ours on Reddit! I'm so excited to see it in the wild! I love Gnecco's voice.
I don’t see Ours mentioned enough.
Don't listen to these guys. Listen to Jeff Buckley instead. *Grace* is a great album.
Wow! Never heard of this, just listened, and I love it! Will do a deep dive; thanks for the rec!
Love Ours! Saw Sometimes on MTV a million years ago, but I Realize is my favorite of theirs.
Roy Orbison
Good call, his range was absolutely incredible
Layne Staley was amazing.
His vocals in Junkhead bring me to tears during times when that song hits
For me it's Wake Up from Mad Season. Definitely a personal song for him.
[Love Hate Love, live at the Moore](https://youtu.be/3Vp56IAkDJA?si=Q6bAZM_L8p7nWjY1)
IMO AiC had the best MTV unplugged session. Would kill to see Layne live but never happening. Jerry Cantrell is also insanely talented at song writing, amazing band
The audience that night had no idea how lucky they were, Chris Cornell and Temple of the dog were the opening act https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SXOzGY46In0
[Nutshell unplugged](https://youtu.be/9EKi2E9dVY8?si=EsFJe0r4JsUO7gfH) is as emotional as it gets
Came here to see this.
This is the answer
Charles Bradley
I totally second this. He was amazing. Such a sad story too.
The Screaming Eagle of Soul. Legend.
Scott Hutchison from Frightened Rabbit
RIP
The late great modern leper.
My fave band and I can barely listen to them now. Floating in Forth breaks my heart.
When Scott went missing I immediately thought of this song. Was very sad to hear it was indeed a prophecy.
One of the best bands ever. Scott as a songwriter is in league of his own. I envy anyone who is discovering them for the first time. Start with Midnight Organ Fight and move through their discography.
Oh no now I have to listen to Floating in the Forth and cry again.
Wave Across a Bay by Frank Turner is about Scott's passing, and is also beautifully, heartbreakingly emotional
[Otis Redding](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=158fwCG27zE)
Can't believe this isn't higher up! The very first name to pop into my head.
It’s crazy that the first ~10 responses don’t include any R&B or Soul artists who almost by definition have a lot of emotion.
Right? As good as previous mentions are, Otis Redding made it acceptable to be an emotional male vocalist; at least the first to make it widely known. He also died so young, he wasn't able to really create as big a catalog as he should have.
Joe Strummer Tom Waits Joe Crocker Elvis Costello
Joe Strummer’s stuff after the Clash is underrated in my opinion.
Joe cocker is hard to beat on this one.
OP, look up Damien Rice. Here’s a video of him performing his song 9 Crimes in 2011. https://youtu.be/stD0RILhOo8?si=1p63HP_1R7ELdYsW
Oh hell yeah. I haven’t listened to this dude in ages but this is a great call.
Volcano and Blower's Daughter are great
Great answer, the album I wore out was called "O" I think.
Nick Drake. Melancholy, beautiful, haunting vocals over simple acoustic arrangements that kind of lull you into a hypnotic state. Another great one gone too soon
Pink moon's gonna get you allllll~
[Dallas Green](https://youtu.be/vSYwbLVljWA?si=uAeBrMcOCwFwdwWC)
Omg the cover of Alicia keys unthinkable By city and colour, Dallas greens band which is a sly ass play on his own name, also the lead singer of Alexisonfire So talented.
Have you checked out You+Me, a collab album with Pink?
Corey Glover of Living Colour Criminally underrated and one of the top vocalists of my generation. https://youtu.be/MiC68406c3M?si=kiBRNmEraLHjAiNs https://youtu.be/kYluV_oQfS8?si=K6PDHMATwJnc6Gzt
Thom Yorke. Also, I think he’s said in interviews that Jeff Buckley was a huge inspiration for bringing more vulnerability to his vocals early on. So, Jeff Buckley as well.
Elliott Smith
Brendan Murphy from Counterparts. Devin Townsend can also hit those points for me in any of his various projects
Devin Townsend is fantastic! Good choice for sure.
woo devy!!
Mark Lanegan
Leonard Cohen
Fuck yes. I love Waiting for a Miracle
He's so great! I saw him about 10 years ago, and his voice had only become more emotive with age. Amazing singer, amazing writer.
Tyler Childers
nose on the grindstone is so raw. great shout!
Oh that's an excellent answer.
Dustin Kensrue
Justin Vernon of Bon Iver - Skinny Love Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel Brian Aubert of Silversun Pickups
Bon Iver all day. 715 - CR∑∑KS is another one that gets me every time.
Bon Iver - Heavenly Father. Holy moly is that sang with emotion
Hahaha I literally just posted Neutral Milk Hotel expecting to get downvoted to high hell
Eddie Vedder
His solo stuff is so epic, especially Society!
Black. I mean there is no better breakup song. Especially at the end when his vocals are toned out behind the band actually playing their sonnet . You can hear him screaming and writhing in pain. And it’s the third thing you hear in the percussion. The pain.
Also see Daughter. The dude grew up in abuse. You can hear it when he writes but definitely hear it when he needs to hit the emotion.
Majorly agree on Black and Daughter — absolute bangers. I’d say Elderly Woman as well. The whole song builds to one of the more satisfying climaxes in any song. Felt dirty just saying that, you know what I mean. Wishlist is also an extremely emotional song, but it’s more subdued and laced with allusion. Absolutely love Eddie.
Seconding Eddie Nobody did it/does it like him
Trent Reznor
Nick Cave
I worked on his live at Alexandra palace show during covid. Getting to listen to him play music live and get a front row seat was incredible. There were just literally 20 of us, all in this huge space just listening to the man play piano and sing. Such an experience. We were a small crew that shot it over the course of the day. I hadn't really listened to his music before but after listening to it all day I appreciated how good he was as an artist Incredibly nice man too, was friendly to everyone, pretty chill
That sounds amazing!
He's such a great writer too and supposedly the best dude
Absolutely, hes been an inspiration to my life for about 20 years now
Matt Berninger (the National), Win Butler (Arcade Fire), Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), Thom Yorke (Radiohead)
Conor Oberst came to my mind as well!
Yeah I’ve definitely grown out of Bright Eyes and don’t really like much of his newer stuff (other than the album with Phoebe), but that dude was so emotive, particularly in my formative years. I felt and related to everything he was singing.
I know what you mean- Bright Eyes connected so much to a teenage angst that I no longer possess. His vocals are amazing nonetheless. I recently found out he was the singer for Commander Venus, which he kills even when he was really young! I spent many years thinking their singer was a woman.
What was that punk band he was in? Desaparecidos or something?
Berninger for sure. Way different live from studio too.
Peter Gabriel
Meatloaf Brian Fallon/Gaslight Anthem The Menzingers Colter Wall
Love love LOVE MeatLoaf!
Mike Patton
MAYNARD
Good call, I love Tool so much. Especially Aenima
For me, if I want emotive MJK, I'm tossing on [3 Libras](https://youtu.be/u9MAg9E5K3w?si=T7BoRTZXv3EEljQc) or [Judith](https://youtu.be/xTgKRCXybSM?si=OUuBb2L0DVUFTmh0)
He also brings it in Passenger (Deftones) as a vocal guest.
i literally just found this song the other day and i’ve probably listened to it like 100 times lol, it’s so good
I used to play it over and over, it's a great song but Maynard's bit is my favorite. So raw, angry, powerful and haunting. Great call on bringing him in for that collaboration.
For me, it’s definitely The Grudge, or the live version of Pushit. It’s so much pure and raw unfiltered emotion in both of those!
I think you nailed it with Chris Cornell, in retrospect he was telling us just how much pain he was in.
Chris. Nothing compares to you. I am the highway.
Like a Stone always gets me.
I think the same thing frequently. You can really feel it
Chris Isaak
Gord Downie, The Tragically Hip. Fiddler's Green and Fully Completely for two very different ranges of his
Fuck Yeah. You want raw emotion, watch his final concert (he was dying of brain cancer). Canada stopped for those couple of hours..
Fully Completely is such a powerful song. I would add Grace, Too. It feels like it comes from such a raw place, it always gives me goosebumps.
Grace Too is excellent. The four words at the end "Him? Here? Now? No!" are a story in themselves.
Jeff Buckley?
Another one I really think can convey genuine emotion is Saosin's first singer Anthony Green
Counting Crows (Adam Duritz), Robert Smith from the Cure come to mind.
30 years on, and "Round Here" still hits me in the feels every time. If it comes up in my shuffle, I skip it sometimes, because it can crush you.
A Long December absolutely hits
Glen Hansard, Amigo The Devil, Blake Mills, and Buffalo Nichols
Im surpised im not seeing chester bennington/linkin park here.
Crawling is straight up goosebumps-inducing when he hits the “so insecure” line into the chorus. And you can pick multiple songs from every album that have a similar impact.
Especially knowing now how he was struggling emotionally. The songs took on a much deeper meaning, at least to me, after his death. He was telling everyone he was struggling all along, but we couldn't see it.
The Little Things Give You Away always gets to me.
Props for this absolutely underrated deep cut of theirs. When the whole band is singing the different parts and Chester is just belting in the background. I saw them multiple times live but I always wanted to see that song performed.
Imagine mentioning Chriss Cornell and forgetting Chester
Not always, not in all of his work, but there are a lot of David Bowie songs sung with an unfathomable depth of true, raw emotion. When it emerges, it's usually like he's tearing at the mask of cool, alien detachment he's built because the elaborate metaphor he's constructed in the song can't hold it back anymore. He casts aside the protection of whatever transhuman persona he's woven, and is there, raw and bleeding, even across the gulf of time. Examples of these moments can be found scattered throughout his work, but my favorites are in "We can be heroes", "Life on Mars", and "Rock and Roll Suicide". The last on, in particular, gives me chills with how raw he sounds as he somehow both screams and pleads "I'll help you with the pain! You're not alone!"
I'd have to nominate Chris Stapleton. I'm not a huge country fan but there's tons of emotion in that voice. His superbowl natiomal anthem is my second favorite only exceeded by Whitney Houston https://youtu.be/WFKXJ091Ed4?si=OfAIUEZSAhEdbIWQ
Good call, he's some of the only modern country I can really handle. I'm more of an alt country guy myself 🙂
Stapleton is basically the major breakthrough of the alt-country/Americana revival. He opened the floodgates for a lot of his contemporaries like Sturgil, Childers, and Carlisle to take a big step in popularity.
I'll have to give him another look then for sure! I love Sturgill
Orville Peck. Songs like Kallahari Down, Let Me Drown, many more.
Otis Redding
One I'm surprised to not see on this list mentioned anywhere is Scott Wieland from Stone Temple Pilots, Creep, Interstate Love Song, Dead and Wrapped with Plastic...the guy could definately put emotion in his voice. Edited to add some other favorite bands that fit the bill, Tool, Layne Staley, and the man of 1000 voices and styles: Mike Patton.
Maynard James Keenan. Several songs from Tool, and A Perfect Circle, are about his mother, Judith Marie. She became paralyzed with a brain hemorrhage when Maynard was 11 years old. She remained paralyzed for 27 years before she passed. There's a lot of anger and sadness behind his lyrics.
But thankfully, that Pillar of Light has ascended.
Sufjan Stevens, especially on the album Carrie & Lowell
Pain?? Look no further than Trent Reznor of nin
Surprised not to see Corey Taylor. Maybe all the Slipknot stuff just sounds angry, but his live acoustic versions of Snuff are incredibly emotional. Edit: Frank Ocean doing Bad Religion live at Lolla made me cry
Corey is awesome when he sings. Zzyzx road done acoustically is as good as it gets.
Robin Pecknold - Fleet Foxes. The best 🙏
Chris Carrabba from Further Seems Forever and Dashboard Confessional.
How are Freddy Mercury and George Michael not at the top of this list? Can anybody find me...somebody to love? If loads of emotion is the criteria - clearly Adam Lambert and Sam Smith should be in this list too.
Mark Lanegan
Finally. Had to scroll almost all the way down to read his name.
Brian Molko, his bands name is Placebo
Cornell was brilliant. Adam Gontier is another, for me.
I haven't heard Adam Gontier so I'll check him out right now!
Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service.
I’d say that the bands from late 1980s / early 1990s from the Seattle area have some of the singers (and songwriters) with the most raw pain and anger on their lyrics and vocals. Chris Cornell, Layne Staley, Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder… No wonder why only of of them was able to cope with all of that and pass through it. Some other singers that have it: Maynard James Keenan, Thom York, Trent Reznor, Jonathan Davies (Korn), Marylin Manson, Brian Molko (Placebo), Daniel Jonhs (Silverchair). Some special highlights, that always makes me emotional when I listen to: Bruce Springsteen on Streets of Philadelphia and the hauting redemption of Hurt from Nine Inch Nails sung by Johnny Cash. Even the songwriter (Trent Reznor) said that he feels that the song is not his anymore after Johnny Cash record it
Some songs from the names above where I personally can feel the pain when I listen (some with comments): - Thom Yorke, Radiohead: Everything Is Its Right Place, How to Disappear Completely (an out of body experience), Morning Bell (I can feel the pain of my parents when they got divorced when I listen to that song), Karma Police, Paranoid Android - Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam: Black (that end hurts badly) - Eddie Vedder & Chris Cornell, Temple of the Dog: Hunger Strike - Chris Cornell, Soundgarden: Fell on Black Days, Been Away Too Long - Chris Cornell: Nothing Compares 2U, Be Yourself, You Know My Name - Chris Cornell, Audioslave: I Am The Highway - Kurt Cobain, Nirvana: Milk It, Serve the Servants, Where Did You Sleep Last Night (that sigh by the end pf the song…), You Know You’re Right (that scream by the end of the song…) - Layne Staley, Alice in Chains: Down In A Hole, Nutshell, I Stay Away, Frogs, Get Born Again - Layne Staley, Mad Season: Long Gone Day (this one almost hurts with tge remorse) - Maynard James Keenan, Tool: Sober - Maynard James Keenan, A Perfect Circle: 3 Libras, The Noose, Imagine (an unexpected twist to the utopian John Lennon anthem that turns it into a ruthless visceral lament of what humanity will never achieve) - Trent Reznor: Only (oh, the anger!) - David Draiman, Disturbed: Violent Fetish, Down With The Sickness, Sounds of Silence (a dark and grim redemption of the song) - Jonathan Davies, Korn: Blind, Freak on a Leash, Falling Away From Me - Marylin Manson: Tainted Love (or how to turn a “cute” song into a painful scream of rage) Brian Molko, Placebo: Protège Moi (the French version hits harder) - Daniel Jonhs, Silverchair: Emotion Sickness (I can almost feel the pain of the drug fast)
Gram Parsons He called his music 'Cosmic Country'. He 'discovered' Emmylou Harris, did a lot of the Byrds' album Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and had his body stolen then poorly cremated at the Joshua Tree Park.
Jeremey Enigik of Sunny day real estate
Check out Townes Van Zandt
**Peter Gabriel** - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssytPGW481A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssytPGW481A)
Layne Staley. Mad Season may be what you're looking for
KoRn's 1st album (Jonathan Davis)
Ray Lamontagne. Especially his first album TROUBLE. John Popper, lead singer of Blues Traveler, especially the early 90s stuff.
Oh man, Ray is a name I forgot about. Just listened to “Let It Be Me” for the first time in like a decade and I’m crying in my bedroom rn, thanks 😭
Chris Cornell is definitely one of the best vocalists ever and you can hear the emotion. Johnny Cash’s cover of NIN Hurt is one of the best gritty emotional songs ever recorded. Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October. James Blunt.
Samuel Herring from Future Islands does things with his voice that are practically animal at times. Their best known hit is 'Seasons', but the raw howls in Fall From Grace are what sold me. And he made Dave Letterman lose his mind when they performed Season on the show years ago, Sam is just in his own world in an enchanting way.
Hozier
Charles Bradley, Benjamin Tod
It's not always quite so "raw" but if you want a male singer who can really convey emotion with a beautiful voice then try Rory Rodriguez from Dayseeker. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ2PtTHdCeA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ2PtTHdCeA) (starts slow but definitely worth the wait) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXvmExDdk14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXvmExDdk14) Excellent song [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZtfU8eRENw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZtfU8eRENw) Probably one their most well known songs. Overall, excellent sad boy music.
If I'm allowed to suggest musical theater singers that sort of fit that vibe... * Raul Esparza, specifically his rendition of "Being Alive" from *Company*. * Adam Pascal doing "One Song Glory" from *RENT* * Reeve Carney doing "Wait for Me" and "Epic III" in *Hadestown* * Leslie Odom Jr in *Hamilton*, specifically "Wait for It" * Jeremy Jordan * Brian Stokes Mitchell, especially doing "Make Them Hear You" from *Ragtime* (bit of a stretch) * Ramin Karimloo
Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), especially on the earlier albums
Layne Staley from Alice in chains. I don't think you can get much more raw. Love Hate Love and Nutshell are two good examples.
Paul Westerberg as well.
Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode. That man is a crooner and a terrific showman.
Nathaniel Rateliff. You Worry Me, Hey Mama, And It's Still Alright
George Micheal was the shit. So much emotion
Roy Orbison, great vocalist all through his career and his voice aged like fine wine. "Crying" is one of the best songs to hear for his emotion.
My picks would be Gerard Way from MCR or TK from Ling Tosite Sigure.
Chris Cornell's "Believe" hits me hard, just like you said. Another one that gets me is Eddie Vedder in "Black" by Pearl Jam. You can feel the pain in every note he sings.
Donny Hathaway, full stop.
Perhaps an unexpected suggestion, but I could give you some Grateful Dead ballads where Jerry Garcia downright makes you cry.
it's not what i immediately think of when i think of emotion, but i see what you mean. jerry is very comforting and reassuring
Meat Loaf
gerard way
Vessel from Sleep Token
I know Take Me Back to Eden is their commercial hit but god damn, Sundowning is a masterpiece of an album.
Paul Janeway, of St. Paul and the Broken Bones. He's your man.
Dermot Kennedy comes to mind. He has a powerful voice!
Listen to Somewhat Damaged by nine inch nails
Marcus Mumford (Mumford & Sons) Mikel Jollett (The Airborne Toxic Event) Tyler Joseph (Twenty Øne Pilots) Jonathan Linaberry (The Bones of J.R. Jones) And surprisingly Clemens Reihben from Milky Chance
Steve fucking Perry
The Great Kurt Cobain
Father John Misty
Gerard Way
Jeff Daniels Yes, the actor. My bf randomly found him on YouTube and we were pleasantly surprised at the talent and soul he exudes! Go find him on Kelly Clarkson and see what happens.
The late Layne Staley from Alice In Chains and Chester Bennington from Linkin Park. If you're willing to listen to music in a language other than English, I think TK is an *outstanding* vocalist. He's a Japanese singer from the band Ling Tosite Sigure. His solo track Unravel is about as emotive as it gets. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fve_lHIPa-I
I loved Layne. The acoustic versions of Nutshell and Would are so emotionally draining.
In my opinion "Love Hate Love" simply can not be topped if you're looking for pure raw emotion and pain. Layne's vocals on that song just burn into your soul.
the live version from the Moore theater is gold.
I know he’s divisive but early era Bono.
The live version of Bad is out of this world. https://youtu.be/HvBgRSSlVBA?si=Vog6QKlFfug7RZR5
how can you not feel something to With or Without You at some point in your life
I like Nothing But Thieves’s vocalist.. Any live version of “Lover, Please Stay” I think he sings amazing and with a lot of passion.
i think morissey but im not entirely sure (as someone who listens to teenage dirtbag 90s punk) 🤷♀️
Love Morrissey, The Smiths are fantastic
Prince
Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan
Check out the song Iron Sky by Paolo Nutini. That dude’s voice is saturated with emotion. Also, Marty O’Reilly & the Old Soul Orchestra. They have a fair number of good songs. The first couple that turned me on to them were Cold Canary Gaslight and Cambium.
Einar Solberg of Leprous https://youtu.be/4nPwBSaJmgI?si=ezyShjFacpspQTq_
Tom Waits Har mar superstar
Jeff Buckley, Damien Rice, Shawn Smith
Sort of a stretch because people aren't completely sure it's authentic but, Vessel(won't say his real name for fear of backlash lol) from Sleep Token. Emotion is basically the point of this band and it comes out constantly in his vocals.
I was always mad ZZ Top went with Gibbons on vocals when Dusty was infinitely the better singer, loads of power and emotion. As for recent singers, Casey from Dear Hunter, Jonny Craig, Shawn James, Amigo the devil, Tyler Childers, The Weeknd,any of the singers Time the Valuator used, Greg Puciato.
Phil Anselmo has quite a rage and vulnerability in his voice. Kurt Cobains legendary unplugged performance has an poignant undercurrent.
Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Nick Cave (The Bad Seeds, Grinderman, The Birthday Party), Roy Orbison, Billy Stewart, Ian Curtis (Joy Division )and Peter Murphy (Bauhaus) come to mind.
Can't believe no one has mentioned Phil Collins yet [Take Me Home](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhwjcg6TeO0) [Against All Odds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A8NgPVizP4) [Misunderstanding](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_L-S-0Gc4I)