James Hetfield should be in the discussion. Not sure he's the best, but I think he's up there.

Dave Grohl is fun on the Internet and a cool guy but he isn't even close to Cobain Staley or Cornel

Vedder is the best of the grunge front men and it really isn't close

David Lee Roth is complete garbage and you should edit the post

Jagger came up with the idea, Plant patented it, Freddy Mercury tweaked it, Axl Rose perfected it.

The grunge guys lose points because they were all reluctant front men. Grohl was just a man born 20 years too late.

EOT

Freddie Mercury, eot

Sorry for the book-length response.

The problem with saying David Lee Roth is garbage is that without some quantifier to help narrow the list, he just isn't garbage. If you want to talk pure vocals? Sure, he has no business near the list but the guy had "rock frontman" written all over him from a performance standpoint. I wouldn't put him in the argument personally but I can see how some might.

"Personal preference" is pretty damn subjective and will lead to things like "so and so is garbage" or "how could you not think so and so is in the top 5?" There is also the can of worms about what is and isn't rock, with the answer usually tracking pretty closely to people's generation and sub-genre of choice because, for example, what was alternative in the 80s and 90s is not what is alternative today.

My first thought was that the best rock frontman had to have the performance and persona as well as the vocals and that pushed some of the very best out of my top group because the BEST frontman has to have all of it. I'm doing a Top 11 in no particular order and throwing in Chris Cornell - I know he isn't the over-the-top frontman persona but my "personal preference" bias says he has one of the best rock voices ever when he isn't singing whatever that neutered solo crap was he came out with.

Freddie Mercury
Mick Jagger
Chuck Berry
Axl Rose
Iggy Pop
Prince
James Brown
Kurt Cobain
Elvis
James Hetfield
Chris Cornell

Guys hurt by the frontman persona aspect but obviously at or near the top of any list with all aspects equal:

Robert Plant
Roger Daltrey
James Hetfield
Geddy Lee (he's a top 20 guy in my book...huge fan)

I didn't think of Grohl at first but after doing so, I would put him in the top 20 for certain.

Then you have the sub-genre decisions.

Do you include like Depeche Mode because, if so, Dave Gahan is definitely a name to have near the top of any list. This would bring Mark Knopfler, Michael Stipe, Simon Le Bon and Michael Hutchence into consideration for a spot for many folks.

Should Prince, Elvis, Billy Idol and David Bowie be in the discussion? They were all self-titled artists but they were all prototypical frontman material. I know Springsteen would be under consideration so why shouldn't these others be? I think they should.

Should Bono or Sting be in the discussion? What about Joey Ramone or Joe Strummer?

This thread is made for FAST FRED.

Boo Weekley said:

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EOT

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Ignored. Your opinion on anything is no longer valid.

Duncan Idaho said:

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Boo Weekley said:

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EOT

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Better than Geddy Lee

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Better vocally? Sure. But try singing and shredding a bass while playing keyboards with hands and feet AND singing By-Tor and the Snow Dog. Perry just stood there holding a mic. And I say stood because he walked away 20 years ago. Lee did it for 40 years.

mathguy86 said:

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Duncan Idaho said:

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Boo Weekley said:

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EOT

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Better than Geddy Lee

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Better vocally? Sure. But try singing and shredding a bass while playing keyboards with hands and feet AND singing By-Tor and the Snow Dog. Perry just stood there holding a mic. And I say stood because he walked away 20 years ago. Lee did it for 40 years.

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Being a rock star, in general, and a front man, in particular isn't about technical ability. It is about showmanship and the ability to work a diverse crowd ranging from my grandfather to my niece.

Rush gets rush fans excited.

Best is Freddie Mercury. Nobody is rock history combined amazing vocals with amazing showmanship. The only person that should be in the same discussion with Mercury is James Brown.
Favorite is probably Joe Strummer of The Clash.

Bruce Dickinson and Steven Tyler both should be considered in the mix.

Bruce Almighty said:

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Best is Freddie Mercury. Nobody is rock history combined amazing vocals with amazing showmanship. The only person that should be in the same discussion with Mercury is James Brown.
Favorite is probably Joe Strummer of The Clash.

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Love Feddy, but Plant had the voice and showmanship. Plant really took what Jagger and Daltry did and perfected it.


I wouldn't argue with someone that has Freddy above Plant, but to say no one combined amazing vocals and showmanship just seems like Hyperbole and I think Freddie would pretty strongly disagree.

For me, Plant is the epitome of what the frontman is. He may have not been the best singer, but he was f'ing amazing and had that unique ability to appeal to guys and girls.

Jagger and Daltry are up there. I would prob put Freddy second.

And he's been mentioned here - Axl. Axl did things vocally that no one else could do. He was so unique and his energy was incredible. Go back and watch some youtube of them in the late 80's when they were really in their element. Axl was an incredible front man.

Vedder is great. Cornell was great.

One other point, I don't think of guys like Hetfield, G. Lee, Grohl, etc as front men because they are major instrumentalists. Maybe I'm being too rigid on my definition, but I don't consider those 'frontment'.

I've never seen any in concert, but from videos I've seen of both, Plant just seems to stand there and sing. Mercury works the crowd in a way I've never seen Plant do. I think Zeppelin is a better band, but if I'm just focusing on the frontman aspect, it's Mercury by a mile. Theyre much closer on record, but seeing videos like Queen at Live Aid, Mercury is better than Plant on stage by quite a bit.

No doubt that Freddy was more theatrical and physical than Plant.

I immediately thought of Morrison and Jagger.

Surprise Ozzy hasn't been mentioned.

Not the best but let me throw out some love for Phil Lynott.