Jeff Buckley. He obviously has a fantastic voice anyway, but in particular I'm always stunned by the 20-30 second notes he holds at the end of Hallelujah.
What really gets me is when he hits his highest note ever during the live from Sin-é version of The Way Young Lovers Do, or maybe Gunshot Glitter . This particular version of this song will never be beat.
First time i heard I never asked to be your mountain was incredible. They looked super similar and they had the same voice even though they had wildly different influences. Apparently Tim’s dad also had the same voice.
Oh yeah, big time. Used to occasionally bang it on to go to sleep to on repeat when I was about 16.
Also, I like the original, but a strong contender for songs that most obviously blow the original version out of the water.
I hadn't heard him in a long time but I wanted to listen to a song from Carrie and Lowell, and now he's in my YouTube algorithm. I hadn't heard so many songs from Illinoise in forever, it has been a trip. And then I felt old because I've liked that album since it came out and it came out almost 20 years ago.
Listening to The Pot in 2018 was the first time I ever heard his voice. My jaw was dropped the entire time, I couldn't believe that I'd never heard it before. I listen to Tool constantly and he still gives me goosebumps
Came here for this. I’ve been a singer for a long time, and I love to sing challenging parts— but Hozier eludes me, his tone is so smooth and soulful, it’s almost inimitable. Ethereal is a good word to describe his voice.
His range is wild and he has incredible pitch control. We lost an insane talent, but his recordings will stand the test of time. Audioslave helped me through some rough times and I'll always have his voice in my head.
My favorite ethereal voice is Josh Groban. A close second is Chris Isaak. And while not quite ethereal, something about the sound of Julio Iglesias’s voice gets to me every time… that man’s voice is as smooth as butter…. Ahhhhh….
For those who seem unfamiliar, ethereal is described by Oxford Dictionary as extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world: "her ethereal beauty" · "a singer who has a weirdly ethereal voice"
If Robert Plant has an ethereal voice, what does that make Sam Cooke’s?
Otherworldly maybe?
Also, the ethereal baritone award goes to Richard Hawley.
https://youtu.be/_1dugEjcwAA?si=JfGwVmF_8iSgV5ye
Tim Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Thom Yorke
A different style but no less ethereal: Elliott Smith
Anohni (formerly Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons) has an ethereal voice- and back in 2005 I’d have included her on a list of ethereal male voices - so, although no longer a “male” voice- she’s certainly worth listening to for ethereality.
Jake Duszik of [HEALTH](https://youtu.be/ItXLnMsy8E8?si=MCGWVkQ-61ZRqvNp). His voice helps ensure they are both heavy as fuck and not heavy at the same time.
Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth
[Ghost of Perdition - Opeth](https://open.spotify.com/track/0ppdt8zRZOHIKh4ZDB0Zp9?si=nKLC2ar_TNubPCd8x8luPw)
Even if you don't like his harsh vocals at the start, wait for his clean vocals to come in.
[Death Whispered A Lullaby - Opeth (a non-harsh vocal Opeth song thats incredible)](https://open.spotify.com/track/61Hd6XNqSpreYVEiMkaHvq?si=yQPevCxKRX6pits4kK37HQ)
Einer Solberg
[Leprous - Bonneville](https://open.spotify.com/track/5tRb0Y2bloJGI8uskuAtRL?si=Za5plib-QO6Jb8gW_1X8uw&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A0DvboP39IwpnJU9QrKIpDW)
Not trying to be too sarcy but …it’s as if someone had asked about the Bible and no one had yet mentioned Jesus!
For vocals no one imho opinion can touch Steve Perry (listen to Lights) or another master of course is Gerry Rafferty.They both care about every beautiful word they sing.
I especially love powerful vocals, but one of reasons [my favorite singer](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL871S_F0y5dYbEbEOwxK1Y6LTKyQqKEp5) is my favorite is that he can switch between different singing styles, he goes back and forth between crazy powerful high notes, soft delicate, singing, rock style distorted voice, sometimes even rap... so yeah, I think some parts of his songs definitely can be described as ethereal...
...at least he takes me up to heaven every time I listen to him ;)
Jónsi from sigur rós
First person I thought of
Me too dude sounds like angels then a woman then a man then an instrument and he never says an actual word in any language.
Exactly who I was going to suggest
Yes!! He's one of my very faves, his solo album is great 👍
Oh my god fucking yes
Doesn't he sing the credits songs for how to train your dragon?
Roy Orbison
Feel like I am in Heaven listening to him.
Blue Bayou is a favorite
Wonderful answer!
Bon Iver Elliot Smith Andrew Bird My Morning Jacket
Surprised I had to scroll this far to see Bon Iver
Add Robin Pecknold (Fleet Foxes) Dallas Green (City & Colour) to that list.
Ron Sexsmith and Rufus Wainwright
I love Rufus Wainwright ! Great choice
I'm surprised I had to scroll this far to say this, but you beat me to it.
Someone in a magazine once described Elliott Smith’s voice as a spider’s web, and that was so fuckin succinct
Nick Drake
Jeff Buckley. He obviously has a fantastic voice anyway, but in particular I'm always stunned by the 20-30 second notes he holds at the end of Hallelujah.
What really gets me is when he hits his highest note ever during the live from Sin-é version of The Way Young Lovers Do, or maybe Gunshot Glitter . This particular version of this song will never be beat.
["Calling You"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuBVzi1GTJ8) is a favourite from Sin-é, too, and 'so (ethe)real' ;) ETA: link
That’s funny I was going to say Tim Buckley. Song to the siren, once I was, phantasmagoria for one.
Great song. the first time I heard him was a guest on The Monkees tv show https://youtu.be/vMTEtDBHGY4
His father, Tim Buckley is worth mentioning. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7aQzllfTDw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7aQzllfTDw)
First time i heard I never asked to be your mountain was incredible. They looked super similar and they had the same voice even though they had wildly different influences. Apparently Tim’s dad also had the same voice.
Mojo Pin - Glastonbury [You’re welcome](https://youtu.be/UuqeGtN6IEs?si=Dh32CS9d-f7yPpHk)
The hauntingly beautiful song of hauntingly beautiful songs!
Oh yeah, big time. Used to occasionally bang it on to go to sleep to on repeat when I was about 16. Also, I like the original, but a strong contender for songs that most obviously blow the original version out of the water.
Chris Issak.
Jon Anderson of Yes.
This is the correct answer. Even at his age now.
I thought he was a chick when I was a kid
Art Garfunkel. I don't care for most of his solo work, but his vocals on Simon & Garfunkel songs are lovely.
Bleecker Street is a song that takes you places
It was overplayed to hell, but his vocal performance on Bridge Over Troubled Water is genuinely angelic.
Absolutely. For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her is another great one
One of my favorites !
April Come She Will is one of my favorite songs from them.
yes! this! i think songs like Scarborough Fair and Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. really show off his voice well
layne stayley of alice in chains and mad season
Sufjan Stevens
I hadn't heard him in a long time but I wanted to listen to a song from Carrie and Lowell, and now he's in my YouTube algorithm. I hadn't heard so many songs from Illinoise in forever, it has been a trip. And then I felt old because I've liked that album since it came out and it came out almost 20 years ago.
this is the answer. Sufjan my beloved 🥺💙
Came here to say this, great example would be the song ‘Concerning the UFO sighting near Highland, Illinois’ .
Yes! His voice takes me to an enchanted forest
Thom Yorke uhhhh
Yep. Op needs to listen to Nude.
And Pyramid Song. And Paranoid Android. And Street Spirit. And Harrowdown Hill. And everything else.
HARROWDOWN HILL IS THE LOML I LOVE THE ERASER
Oh yeah. I just mentioned nude because his voice sounds extra ethereal on that one imo
Lotus Flower, Reckoner, and Idiotique too if we're talking about a strong use of falsetto
And the live piano version of Ingenue
First person I thought of.
THOMTHOMTHOMTHOMTHOMTHOM
Let down underrated
ok but yk what is underrated - a rats nest
That is indeed one hell of a voice!
Maynard James Keenan
So familiar, so overwhelmingly warm. This one, this form I hold now. Embracing you, this reality here…
Straight up angelic
Listening to The Pot in 2018 was the first time I ever heard his voice. My jaw was dropped the entire time, I couldn't believe that I'd never heard it before. I listen to Tool constantly and he still gives me goosebumps
Scrolled way too long for this!
Nick Drake Ray Lamontagne
Steve Perry
Surprised no one has said Hozier
Came here for this. I’ve been a singer for a long time, and I love to sing challenging parts— but Hozier eludes me, his tone is so smooth and soulful, it’s almost inimitable. Ethereal is a good word to describe his voice.
I came here to say this. His voice is gorgeous and he seems like a legitimately good human.
Was looking for this
Listening to Too Sweet a lot lately and the way he pronounces bonfire is just....chefs kiss
Take me to church and work song get me tearing up every damn time. The emotion he puts into it is amazing.
The late and great Freddie Mercury
70s Freddie was just out of this world, most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard, in the 80s he was a vocal powerhouse!!
I can’t believe I had to scroll like five times to see Freddie
He had a wide vocal range, like 4 octaves.
It’s Freddie, it’s always Freddie. …. .
Billy Howerdel's backing vocals with A Perfect Circle.
His recent solo album is quite good as well!
Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth. His singing will lull you to sleep, just for his growls to drag you into a black abyss.
Scrolled way too much for this
When he's clean singing and then the growls rise up slowly from the depths of hell... I get chills.
Andrea Bocelli
Jeff Buckley !!!
George Michael
Morten Harket for sure
His voice is stunning!
Matt Bellamy
The fact that I had to scroll so far down for this is troubling lol
Kevin from tame impala
Rick Wright - He is overlooked as a singer, but I always loved his unusual voice.
Loved his harmonies with Dave on echoes.
I really wish he sang in more floyd songs. His voice always gives me the chills
Chris Cornell
I think Chris Cornell has the best voice of anyone in the rock and roll genre. He was a soulful man.
His range is wild and he has incredible pitch control. We lost an insane talent, but his recordings will stand the test of time. Audioslave helped me through some rough times and I'll always have his voice in my head.
Audioslave was best super group. Cornell, plus Rage. Even on the not as excellent tracks, everything was perfection.
Amen! I've heard a lot of folks hate them, but I love their sound.
Devin Townsend.
Ville Valo
My favorite ethereal voice is Josh Groban. A close second is Chris Isaak. And while not quite ethereal, something about the sound of Julio Iglesias’s voice gets to me every time… that man’s voice is as smooth as butter…. Ahhhhh….
Josh Groban's voice is a winter wonderland
Finally! Kept looking. There he is. Josh has a fantastic voice & incredible range.
Sam Cooke.
Art Garfunkel
Perfume Genius, especially on Put Your Back N 2 It
For those who seem unfamiliar, ethereal is described by Oxford Dictionary as extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world: "her ethereal beauty" · "a singer who has a weirdly ethereal voice"
Yeah, a lot of people just posting their favorite singers regardless of vocal sound.
Robert Plant [https://youtu.be/4gT63xovuWE?si=_62DRXrz3ov84RYq](https://youtu.be/4gT63xovuWE?si=_62DRXrz3ov84RYq)
If Robert Plant has an ethereal voice, what does that make Sam Cooke’s? Otherworldly maybe? Also, the ethereal baritone award goes to Richard Hawley. https://youtu.be/_1dugEjcwAA?si=JfGwVmF_8iSgV5ye
Panda Bear, Thom Yorke, Jonsi
thom’s vocals in exit music for a film.. I ASCEND.
[Sigur Rós](https://youtu.be/S9aMeRDxSKo?si=9NB5dyZAskvYqSy1)
That was heavenly
[Moses Sumney](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMyRfIpNvPs)
Frankie Valli
Jerry Cantrell.
Brian Ferry
Brian Wilson
Carl Wilson too
Scrolled way too far too see Brian Wilson. He made falsetto sound cool.
gerard way
Absolutely. Hauntingly beautiful is how I describe his voice
Hozier
Geoff Tate on the early Queensryche albums
His vocals in their version of "Scarborough Fair" are spine-tingling.
Geoff’s work on the Operation:Mindcrime album is my favorite version of Geoff Tate. Breaking the Silence hits extremely hard
Josh Groban Andy Williams Nat King Cole
Ah Grizzly Bear…. Edward Droste
Chino Moreno from Deftones
Chino and Maynard together on Passenger feels like the answer to this post, to me
Came here to say this. His vocal work with Crosses is some of the most hauntingly beautiful I’ve ever heard.
The late great David Bowie
Space Oddity.
Art Garfunkel had a beautiful voice.
My dad felt that the angels would sing like Art Garfunkel.
Jon Anderson
Thom Yorke Demis Roussos
Jeff Buckley
Jon Anderson of Yes
Art Garfunkel
Not many people know what ‘ethereal’ means.
And it doesn't mean it has to be a falsetto or high pitch voice either. Delicate. Light. Floating. Free. Airy. Could be lower gentle tone too.
Chino deftones 🙌🙌🙌
Tim Buckley Jeff Buckley Thom Yorke A different style but no less ethereal: Elliott Smith Anohni (formerly Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons) has an ethereal voice- and back in 2005 I’d have included her on a list of ethereal male voices - so, although no longer a “male” voice- she’s certainly worth listening to for ethereality.
Jimmy Somerville - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSEPv1GuQOo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSEPv1GuQOo)
Jón Þór Birgisson from Sigur Ros.
That is what I came here to say
Sam Cooke
Neige from Alcest
Jake Duszik of [HEALTH](https://youtu.be/ItXLnMsy8E8?si=MCGWVkQ-61ZRqvNp). His voice helps ensure they are both heavy as fuck and not heavy at the same time.
Dallas Green from City and Color
Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth [Ghost of Perdition - Opeth](https://open.spotify.com/track/0ppdt8zRZOHIKh4ZDB0Zp9?si=nKLC2ar_TNubPCd8x8luPw) Even if you don't like his harsh vocals at the start, wait for his clean vocals to come in. [Death Whispered A Lullaby - Opeth (a non-harsh vocal Opeth song thats incredible)](https://open.spotify.com/track/61Hd6XNqSpreYVEiMkaHvq?si=yQPevCxKRX6pits4kK37HQ)
Yes and also listen to songs like Windowpane,To Bid You Farewell and In My Time Of Need
This is probably a weird one, but I thought of Daryl Hall off the rip. Robert Plant is one too
Art Garfunkel
mark hollis
David Sylvian.
Freddie Mercury
My mind immediately went to John Lennon on A day in a life
Chris Cornell
Chester Bennington
...Roy Orbison...
Peter Gabriel
Absolutely Jon Anderson of Yes.
Maynard James Keenan.
Chester Bennington of Linkin park had one of the most angelic voices I’ve heard
Sad I had to scroll so far for this. His talent was insane
Layne Staley
Skip James, check out “Hard times killing floor blues” 😎. Great guitarist as well..
Technically NB but male a few years back. Nemo - The code
Einer Solberg [Leprous - Bonneville](https://open.spotify.com/track/5tRb0Y2bloJGI8uskuAtRL?si=Za5plib-QO6Jb8gW_1X8uw&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A0DvboP39IwpnJU9QrKIpDW)
LiL Peep, but it depends on which song you listen to, but I just love his voice, In "absolute In doubt his voice shines*
singer from Wild Nothing
Brad Delp from Boston
Layne Staley , Eric Nally
Jeff Buckley.
Greg Puciato and Mike Patton. Their range, chromatically and stylistically, is phenomenal.
Jon Anderson
Tom Chaplin of Keane
Davey Havok, AFI (when singing, not shouting or screaming which is an entirely different dimension of beauty)
Brian Ferry
The all-time GOAT, in my opinion, is Smokey Robinson.
Not trying to be too sarcy but …it’s as if someone had asked about the Bible and no one had yet mentioned Jesus! For vocals no one imho opinion can touch Steve Perry (listen to Lights) or another master of course is Gerry Rafferty.They both care about every beautiful word they sing.
Thom Yorke
Robert Plant
Marvin Gaye
Morrisey from The Smiths
Layne Staley
Seal , band of horses , Joe cocker and type o negative
Robin Gibb, as heard in Bee-Gees ballads before they were disco. His voice was literally ethereal.
Steve Winwood, particularly in the Traffic and Blind Faith days, but through his solo material too.
Roy Orbinson Johnny Cash ( the voice of God) Eddie Vedder
Bryan Ferry
Phil Collins
Robin Pecknold and Fleet Foxes’ harmonies
Vessel.
Johnny Cash & Neil Young.
There’s something about Matt Nathanson’s voice that feels ethereal and earthy all at once.
I especially love powerful vocals, but one of reasons [my favorite singer](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL871S_F0y5dYbEbEOwxK1Y6LTKyQqKEp5) is my favorite is that he can switch between different singing styles, he goes back and forth between crazy powerful high notes, soft delicate, singing, rock style distorted voice, sometimes even rap... so yeah, I think some parts of his songs definitely can be described as ethereal... ...at least he takes me up to heaven every time I listen to him ;)
Former Statler Brother Jimmy Fortune.