Top Ten Male Vocalists – #2 – Michael Stipe

More than any other performer on this list, Michael Stipe uses his voice as an instrument. The sound of his singing is as important an element of R.E.M.’s sound as Peter Buck’s guitars, Mike Mills’ bass and keyboards and Bill Berry’s drums.

Driving that point home is that fact that on R.E.M.’s early albums, you can hardly tell what the hell Stipe is singing but everything still works perfectly. His mumbles (and murmurs) convey the emotional message of those songs as well as any lyrics could.

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