"Great" is a matter of the taste of the listener, as others have stated. Remembering Les B's thread about female voices, I think it is true that people hear sound differently. Emmylou Harris' voice makes me cringe, it is so pushed up into her nose. Love Jean Redpath's singing, as well as Leon Redbone, but Willie Nelson's nasal vibrato drives me nuts. Taste will change over time, too, as we gain experience in listening. Taking voice lessons myself changed completely the way I hear singers. Until I studied breathing, phrasing, etc., I never picked up on things before that I can hear now when I listen to a singer. I do agree that a technically good singer can leave you cold if the song comes across mechanically with no heart and soul to it. The current pop trend of "styling" (singing in a quasi-gospel style) and the out-of-air-little-girl voices of some current singers turns me off. Guys who push their voice out of their natural range (usually trying to sing too low) make me cringe, too.

Alice Flynn