we know good performers who do not have "great" voices, but are able to engage their audiences ... so yeah, a live performance is great, not so much would I want to listen to a CD where all is lost except the instruments & vocals. and there are those with highly trained voices that never seem able to break free of the constraints imposed by a particular style. I'm thinking of great operatic or classical voices that try to do folk or more contemporary works. ouch..

then again, I've heard some singers that must have learned to sing naturally before they got "trained", so they can switch back & forth and sound good in each genre.

one of the few things that mom could retain during her dementia was her love of music, though her focus got smaller & smaller, and in the end it was only Roberto Alagna that she wanted to listen to. I fear I will never be able to listen to Don Carlo without flashbacks ... sigh... but I made a point of getting every CD or DVD he made for mom to enjoy... coming from a musical family, he sang cabaret before being mentored by Placido Domingo and when he sings Sicilian folk songs, it never sounds affected.

So, I guess there are more great voices than there are great singers because the singer must capture more than just the notes... they need to understand the song and let it flow the way it should, without affectation or distortion... whatever... my 2 cents worth, anyway