Just looking at my music collection the other day, I discovered that most of my favorite musicians were women, or bands with women in them – from Jefferson Airplane to Stevie Nicks to Kim Gordon to Wolf Alice.
I also noticed that most of those musicians were also very attractive, but also with very strong characters. Anyhoo, here are some of my particular faves. Note that there’s a real emphasis on “particular” here:
- Rock/pop only – no country, R&B, hip-hop, Latin, jazz
- Nothing too poppy – J Lo, Britany, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Avril Lavigne …
- Nothing too recent – Anastacia, Zara Larsson, Bebe Rexha, Ellie Goulding, Natalie Imbruglia …
#36 - Shirley Manson (Garbage)
First performance at age 4
#35 - Chrissy Hynde (Pretenders)
Well, she was a model (for Malcolm McClaren’s boutique SEX)
#34 - Courtney Love (Hole)
Not her usual look …
#33 - Cindy Wilson (B-52s)
She and brother Ricky (who would pass away from AIDS) started the band
#32 - Melissa Auf Der Wahr (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins)
Talented photographer, with an exhibition at Sotheby’s and work appearing in American Photo, Nylon, and National Geographic
#31 - Neko Case (New Pornographers)
Her voice has been described as a “flamethrower," "powerhouse [which] seems like it might level buildings," "120-mph fastball," and "vocal tornado" (Wikipedia)
#30 - Bat for Lashes
Born Natasha Kahn
#29 - Aimee Mann (Til Tuesday)
Til Tuesday was made up of former Berklee College of Music students
#28 - Toni Halliday (Curve)
Hey, I love shoegaze
#27 - Dido
Born Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong
#26 - Florence Welch (Florence & the Machine)
Harvard grad
#25 - Liz Phair
Just released an autobiography, Horror Stories
#24 - Lana Del Rey
Born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant
#23 - Suzi Quatro
From Detroit, she was much more popular in the UK and Europe
#22 - Miki Berenyi (Lush)
More shoegaze
#21 - Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star)
Dream pop too
#20 - Bilinda Butcher (My Bloody Valentine)
About as shoegaze as it gets
#19 - Rachel Goswell (Slowdive)
Final shoegaze, I promise
#18 - Sherryl Crow
Started out as an elementary school music teacher
#17 - Joan Baez
Has recorded in 8 different languages
#16 - Nico (Velvet Underground)
Real name Christa Paffgen
#15 - Susanna Hoffs (Bangles)
Performed in the parody band Ming Tea (with comedian Mike Myers) as Gillian Shagwell
#14 - Jewell
Real last name is Kilcher
#13 - Cat Power
Well, she was a model
#12 - Francoise Hardy
Sacre bleu! Une vraie francaise!
#11 - Belinda Carlisle (Go-Go’s)
The Go-Go’s are the only all-female band (who wrote their own songs and played their own instruments) to ever have a #1 album in the US
#10 - Michelle Phillips (Mamas & the Papas)
Well, she was a model
#9 - Linda Ronstadt
Has sung rock, pop, folk, country, Latin, mariachi, and light opera
#8 - Nancy & Ann Wilson (Heart)
Heart was the first hard rock band fronted by women
#7 - The Corrs
Forget the guy in the back (even though he is their brother)
#6 - Carly Simon
Had a serious stammer as a child
#5 - Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac)
At 5’1’’, not quite a foot and a half shorter than bandmate Mick Fleetwood
#4 - Debbi Harry (Blondie)
Well, she was a Playboy bunny
#3 - Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane / Starship)
Well, she was a professional model
#2 - Ellie Rowsell (Wolf Alice)
The band has been described as folk-tinged pop, alternative rock, indie rock, shoegaze, dream pop, folk, grunge, pop, electronic, and “rocky pop.”
#1 - Kate Bush
Now Kate Bush CBE
