I grew up with a mom who was a vocalist. While she may have once dreamed of singing professionally, life took her in a different direction—marrying young and raising seven kids. As a result, her singing career mostly revolved around church solos and waking us up for school with impromptu operatic high notes. My early exposure to music was shaped more by female voices than male ones, though I did hear plenty of Elvis and the country artists my dad loved. To this day, I find myself drawn to powerful, distinctive female vocalists—from Lucinda Williams to Jonatha Brooke to Kate Bush to Björk. I admire many, but today, I just want to share a list of my top five favorites. These are in no particular order because, frankly, I’m not in the mood to debate rankings. They’re all incredible, and if I had to pick one as the ultimate, it would probably be my mom.

Suze DeMarchi

Lead singer of Baby Animals, INXS, lots of other stuff.

Annette Strean

Lead singer of Venus Hum, Tin Finley, lots of other stuff.

Diana Krall

Solo artist, jazz virtuoso, lots of other stuff.

Ann Wilson

Solo artist, lead singer of Heart, no introduction needed.

Margaret Becker

Underrated solo artist, songwriter, producer, lots of other stuff..