Music Women by 
Robert Anton Wilson 
MUSIC BY FEMALE ARTISTS
Oftentimes we think of women in music as singers and this chart does sway in that direction. However, to me it is important that an artist write her own song or play an instrument. This chart is clearly not a top 40 or top selling female artists chart.
In order to prevent ranking hell and aberrations, I have created sub-groups within the chart (ordered by personal preference within):
[Actual numbers will change as the chart is completed]
The Top 50 are actual personal favorites
Starting at about 49 [to 58] are albums/bands that have hit a nerve with me and belong, but that I have not yet given the proper listening time or attention to be certain of where they belong in my personal canon.
[60-64] The Grande Dame, ladies and queens of blues, soul and jazz (Aretha, Billie, Ella, ...) including the pioneers (Big Mama Thornton, Memphis Minnie, ...)
[66-68] The contemporary blues -usually girls with guitars (Johanne Shaw-Taylor, Ana Popovic, Susan Tedeschi, ...)
[69-76] The French singers, mostly from Quebec or France (Isabelle Boulay, France D'amour, Luce Dufault, ...)
[77-86] The obligatory hit makers and mainstream artists I can stand and appreciate (The Bangles, The Go-Go's, ...)
[88 to end of chart] - The artists who made the chart on the strength of an exceptionally strong song or album (Babe Ruth, 4 Non Blondes, Alannah Myles, ...)
Ok. I am stuck and I am sure I am missing some critical entries. Hence, I leave it up to your perusal, I am hoping you will make some discoveries or that some of those choices resonate with your own favorites.
Open for suggestions with the following caveats
Top 40 female artists such as Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Ariana Grande or Beyonce => I don't go there
The missing stratospheric divas: Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion => I don't go there
No disco or hip-hop
Anyway, you should get hints from my current choices of what I may go for or not
Artists I know I am missing, but do not know what to do about it yet: Nina Hagen, No Doubt, Melissa Auf der Maur (I love her but can't stand the other one! Sorry). Bands that do not come across well as "female artists" even though one of their member is, e.g. Talking Heads, Crash Test Dummies.
- Chart updated: 07/15/2023 03:15
- (Created: 02/17/2022 01:19).
- Chart size: 93 albums.
There are 0 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and this chart has not been rated yet. Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 53,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
This chart is currently filtered to only show non compilation albums. (Remove this filter)
Buy album 
- #Sponsored
Well. I'm a Proghead so what did you expect? Do not neglect any of her albums, in particular: The Hounds of Love (1985), The Sensual World (1989) and her double album Aerial (2005) - the second CD of which showcases the song suite A Sky of Honey ... pure delight!!!
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2022]
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,599
Rank in 1982:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
56
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Currently the top blues artist alive - no matter the gender. Other stand out albums include Wild Heart (2015) and Chills & Fever (2017), this latter one being her only album containing only covers, but man did she make them her own.
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2022]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Late on the uptake because I expected she was another Katy Perry or Taylor Swift - Man, was I wrong!!! I will always remember the chills I felt when I finally caved in and first listened to the title track of this album on YouTube. I am happy to have seen her in concert during her tour for The Hope Six Demolition Project - What an album! A multi-instrumentalist who switched from the guitar to the piano to the saxophone as her career went along. She does not like repeating herself.
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2022]
Year of Release:
1995
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,793
Rank in 1995:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
4. (=)
Safe Mode: On Certain images on this site may contain adult content and are flagged as 'unsafe'. BestEverAlbums.com does not display these images by default, but you may choose to show or hide these images from your profile page. If you choose to hide these images, you'll see an image with a warning message instead of the actual image. If you choose to show them, you'll see these images no differently than regular (safe) images.
Buy album
- #Sponsored
I got her first two albums and thought they were "cute" and left it at that for a few years. Mistake. It is a YouTube video of her performing an acoustic version of Black Rainbow that woke me up. One of the great creative artist of today in her singing, lyrics and guitar playing. She is also is chameleon-type of artist à la David Bowie in reinventing her image and persona in her videos and stage concepts, a visually startling artist.
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2022]
Year of Release:
2017
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,946
Rank in 2017:
Rank in 2010s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Classic top notch Dutch neo prog with a female singer and bassist (at times). I got to see Anneke in my hometown in some sleazy miniscule dive opening up for a metal band. This lady can sing metal as well as opera and she keeps alternating between the sweet and the hard, the mainstream pop and the specialized crowd projects (prog/prog metal). She is the artist that is the most often repeated on this list -yeah, I may have cheated a little there. She gets brownie points for being such a good and frequent collaborator.
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2022]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
What a tragic destiny for a lady that had it. Too short a life, too short a career, yet a strong legacy that will hopefully never fade away. Too many people know of the bad side of her that was a response to the abuse of those -they know who they are!- who only saw her as a cash cow and not as a human person. She almost broke free and went clean and sober. Unfortunately she ended part of the infamous 27 club. Let her art be what lives on.
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2022]
Year of Release:
2006
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,176
Rank in 2006:
Rank in 2000s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Singer, lyricist and composer for the bands The Gathering and Vuur; solo albums as Agua de Annique or under her own name; she collaborated with Ayreon, Anathema, John Wetton and many more. An amazing voice. When this album was coming I was fearful because it was advertised as a mostly acoustic break-up album. Well, as far as acoustic break-up albums go, it rocks quite a lot and is an amazing listen.
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2022]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Man I find this a fun punk rock sound with an unexpected mix of brass instruments and orchestral singing. The unexpected delivery and orchestration does not stop most of the songs of being solid rockers. The band itself is passed as a concept of the continuation of a 16th-century Swedish travelling band forced to move from the town square to the underground due to religious persecution. Their descendents are now bringing back the orchestra to the light after updating and making it contemporary with the introduction of electrical instruments and of the punk rock sound. Interesting on so many levels.
[First added to this chart: 02/19/2022]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
A-A-Mazing. Her saxophone skills are extraordinary. A must for all Philip Glass fans. A transcription of his music on the saxophone is quite unique and yes, did I already say it, it is amazing. The top non-singer on my list.
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2022]
Buy album
- #Sponsored
Her and Fiona Apple, you either already know them or you need a musical education! This album is one of those times when something bad turned into something good. The band Y Kant Tori Read (which was awful if you ask me) broke up and left her with a contractual obligation to release a second album - i i e e e!!! The rest is history.
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2022]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,866
Rank in 1992:
Rank in 1990s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 84. Page 1 of 9
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Music Women composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 2 | 2% | |
| 1960s | 3 | 3% | |
| 1970s | 8 | 9% | |
| 1980s | 14 | 15% | |
| 1990s | 25 | 27% | |
| 2000s | 20 | 22% | |
| 2010s | 15 | 16% | |
| 2020s | 6 | 6% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Lee Aaron | 2 | 2% | |
| Édith Piaf | 1 | 1% | |
| Bet.e & Stef | 1 | 1% | |
| Enya | 1 | 1% | |
| Cyndi Lauper | 1 | 1% | |
| Meg Myers | 1 | 1% | |
| Cat Power | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
43 | 46% | |
| |
18 | 19% | |
 |
11 | 12% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
3 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
Music Women chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 2 from 91st to 93rd Alannah Myles by Alannah Myles |
| New entries |
|---|
 Call Of The Wildby Lee Aaron |
| Witchy Activities And The Maple Death by Monika Roscher Bigband |
| Ding Dong. You’re Dead. by Hedvig Mollestad Trio |
| Leavers |
|---|
 Powerline: The Best Of Lee Aaronby Lee Aaron |
Music Women similar charts
- Top 50 Greatest Music Albums by mychoicesmatter76 (2010)
- Top 93 Music Albums of the 2010s by Robert Anton Wilson (2021)
- My 50 Favorite Female Albums by
lightmyway (2012) - Top 50 Greatest Music Albums by Mido (2011)
- Most listened to albums by female artists jan - sept 2021 by Johnnyo (2021)
- Top 33 Greatest Music Albums by cosmichands (2011)
- Top 42 Greatest Music Albums by IanHKatz (2017)
- Top 50 Greatest Music Albums by
They call me Stacey (2021) - Top 40 Greatest Music Albums by desatinoff (2014)
- Top 40 Greatest Music Albums by Grymer (2014)
Music Women similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!
Why register?
Join a passionate community of over 50,000 music fans.- Create & share your own charts.
- Have your say in the overall rankings.
- Post comments in the forums and vote on polls.
- Comment on or rate any album, artist, track or chart.
- Discover new music & improve your music collection.
- Customise the overall chart using a variety of different filters & metrics.
- Create a wishlist of albums.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- ... And lots more!
Register now - it only takes a moment!
Other custom charts by Robert Anton Wilson
Quebec Love (French Canadian Music) by Robert Anton Wilson (2013)Top of the Progs I: The Classic Era by
Robert Anton Wilson (2024)Pink Floyd & The Dark side of the Moon by
Robert Anton Wilson (2017)Favorite Album by Year by
Robert Anton Wilson (2024)Top of the Prog II: 1989 and Beyond ... by
Robert Anton Wilson (2017)Prog is Turning 50 in 2017- Rejoice by
Robert Anton Wilson (2018)Prog magazine 100 greatest prog albums voted by readers (2014) by
Robert Anton Wilson (2014)Canadianna by
Robert Anton Wilson (2018)Music Women ratings
Not enough data Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating
Music Women comments
Be the first to add a comment for this Chart - add your comment!
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment
Your feedback for Music Women
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.
A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(
We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.