The 15 Best Female Singers of All Time: No Auto-tuned Artists Allowed

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Last updated on February 1st, 2023 at 09:40 pm

In the age of autotune, it can be difficult to discern who the best female singers of all time are. After all, it’s really easy for female singers to be hired based on looks, then autotuned to perfection. In our list, we are taking this into account and only including the best female singers of all time that don’t use autotune during recording and performances.

This list is based on pure talent alone. Read on to learn all about the best female singers of all time.

15. Tina Turner

At the bottom of our list of the best female singers of all time is Tina Turner, but that doesn’t mean that she wasn’t an amazing singer. Known as the Queen of Rock, Tina could sing a soft ballad or a rock anthem with perfection.

While she suffered many setbacks in her career, she did make one of the greatest comebacks of all time and truly belongs on this list.

14. Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell is a Canadian singer known both for her impressive range as well as the versatility of her voice. She could sing folk songs, rock songs, and even classical and jazz music when requested.

Unfortunately, unlike other singers on this list, Joni Mitchell’s voice didn’t age well. But that doesn’t change the fact that she is one of the most recognized and best female singers of all time.

13. Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse had one of the most unique voices of the century, and it’s unfortunate that the world was only able to hear it for such a short time. While her personal life may have been in turmoil, her voice was truly something to behold.

Related: How Did Amy Winehouse Die?

12. Faouzia

Originally from Morocco but raised in Canada, Faouzia is a modern marvel not just because of her alto vibrato singing voice, which is unique, but also because she was raised Muslim and can sing in three languages fluently, Arabic, French, and English.

By the age of 15, Faouzia had already won awards for her singing voice and was invited to sing with popular icons like Kelly Clarkson and David Guetta.

Although she is only at the beginning of her career, she already won the International Songwriting Contest, coming out above 11,000 entries from around the world.

11. Adele

Obviously, a list of the best female singers of all time must include Adele.

Originally from the UK, Adele rose to fame faster than almost any other female artist in history.

Her second album 21 actually registered as one of the best-selling albums of all time in the UK, hitting second place, just below a Beatles album.

10. Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga is perhaps most well known for her pop anthems which are heavily mechanized and autotuned at times, but anyone who has seen the movie “A Star is Born” knows this woman has one of the most amazing singing voices.

9. Julie Andrews

Some people might argue that Julie Andrews doesn’t belong on a list of the best female singers of all time, but we like to argue that she does.

With a classically trained voice, there is just something about her singing in “Mary Poppins” and “The Sound of Music” that makes her a queen of the musical movie before they were even popular.

8. Christina Aguilera

Another artist on this list that does occasionally use autotune, Christina Aguilera’s natural talent, can’t be overlooked.

She has a powerful pair of lungs packed into a surprisingly small body. She’s got 4 octaves to sing in, which is crazy when you consider how powerful her voice is.

7. Sharon Den Adel

Basically unknown to Americans, Sharon Den Adel is a European marvel.

Known for her strong, operatic voice, this singer originally went to fashion school before starting her own band and had no musical training whatsoever.

Although the artist is now well into her 40s, she still has one of the strongest and most revered singing voices in all of Europe.

While her most famous song is “Mother Earth,” you won’t get the full range of her abilities without listening to the song “Angels.”

6. Mariah Carey

Although many of her new songs have been autotuned, Mariah Carey has a natural talent that can’t be ignored.

She was blessed at a young age to be able to sing in not one but five different octaves, which quickly catapulted her to the top of the charts.

We are also impressed that many of her top hits, like “All I Want for Christmas is You,” were written by Mariah Carey herself.

5. Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald comes in as 5^th on our list of the best female singers of all time, but really, we wish she could tie for fourth. Her voice is flawless, capable of helping anyone to relax.

While her range was known to be a bit narrow, she wasn’t called The First Lady of Song for nothing.

4. Barbara Streisand

Barbara Streisand has won so many awards for her songs there is no way we couldn’t include her on this list.

Her voice is known as one of the most emotional of all time, able to lead an audience to tears. She is also an accomplished actress.

3. Celine Dion

Any list of the best female singers of all time must include Celine Dion. With a career that has spanned generations and included a Las Vegas residency, there is no one else quite like Celine Dion in the music world.

Plus, with her work featured in Blockbuster hits like “The Titanic” and “Deadpool” her music is famous around the world.

2. Whitney Houston

There is a lot of debate between people as to whether Whitney Houston or Aretha Franklin should have the position as the best female singer of all time.

We think they are both amazing, with voices that can truly change how a song is heard. We are keeping Whitney in second place, mainly because she passed away in 2012, six years before Aretha Franklin.

Related: How Did Whitney Houston Die?

1. Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin is by far one of the best female singers of all time.

With humble beginnings as a choir singer, Aretha quickly took the world by storm with a couple of number-one hits below her belt by the time she was 18 years old.

With a three-octave vocal range, there is truly no singer as capable as Aretha.