Saturday is entertainment day on 7DayBuzz, and typically I’d highlight one specific person who’s in the entertainment business.  However, today I am going to deviate a little bit.  I love music and so does my husband Tom.  And because of our love for music, we get into these discussions about who we think is the best female singer.  Typically, we only discuss R&B female singers who are still living.  But, in this post, I will discuss those who are living as well as those who have passed way.  In addition, I am going to expand the category to include not only the best R&B female singers, but the best gospel female singers, the best pop female singers, the best R&B female groups, and if we have any readers who are rock fans, the best rock female singers.

Below, I’ve listed who I think is the best in each category.  To make this interesting and debatable, I am asking you to share with me who you think is the best in the categories.  We just may agree on some them.  Or, maybe not. :–)

Okay, here goes:

Best R&B Female Singers
1. Whitney Houston (Hands down, the best!  I look past her troubles – can’t take away her talent)
2. Jill Scott (She’s very close to my number one spot – I just couldn’t dethrone Whitney)
3. Heather Headley (Wonderful voice.  Very underrated)
4. Minnie Riperton (Talk about a woman with a range.  She can sing circles around Mariah Carey)
5. Patti LaBelle
6. Aretha Franklin (I only listed her because her older stuff is really good.  The newer stuff is questionable)
7. Stephanie Mills
8. Anita Baker
9. Gladys Knight
10. Mary J. Blige (Say what you want, she’s come a long way and has earned the title of being one of the best R&B female singers)

Best Gospel Female Singers
1. Mahalia Jackson
2. Yolanda Adams
3. Vanessa Bell Armstrong  (This woman’s voice is truly amazing)
4. Karen Clark-Sheard
5. Kim Burrell
6. Dorinda Clark Cole
7. Cece Winans

Best R&B Female Group
1. En Vogue (No other girl group will ever be better!)
2. Diana Ross & the Supremes
3. Destiny’s Child
4. The Emotions (If any of you remember the songs ‘Best of My Love’ and ‘Don’t Ask My Neighbors,’ you know why they’re on the list)
5. SWV

Best Pop Female Singers
1. Mariah Carey (Yep, she’s a better singer than Beyonce)
2. Beyonce (She is not R&B!)
3. Taylor Dane
4. Lisa Stansfield
5. Tina Turner (When she left Ike, she went totally Pop.  That’s why I didn’t list her under R&B)
6. Madonna
7. Joss Stone
8. Christina Aguilera

Best Rock Female Singers
1. Pat Benatar (‘Love is a Battlefield.’  Need I say more?)
2. Gwen Stafani
3. Annie Lennox
4. Stevie Nicks
5. Pink
6. Janis Joplin
7. Alanis Morissette
8. Debbie Harry