Anybody my age turning on MTV and seeing Annie Lennox sing "Sweet Dreams," that was enough right there. And then when she started doing songs like "Walking on Broken Glass" or "Missionary Man," there's just something that's so soulful in those — and it's not like a put-on, blue-eyed soul kind of thing: It's just pure power, this gigantic voice. The Eurythmics was her fantastic voice mixed in with Dave Stewart and his otherworldly, ahead of its time production. There was so much theatrics involved in that band. But when she started her solo thing, she sounded much more vulnerable, much more like her. It sounded like a woman of a certain age, you know what I mean, with a lot of talent and a lot of years behind her, a lot of wisdom.

She's a technically amazing singer, obviously — if she wasn't a star, she could always make a living with that voice, because it's like an instrument. But it's also such an original voice — as soon as you hear it on any track, you know exactly who it is. A great singer is somebody who makes you believe what they're saying, and you always believe what Annie is telling you.

Annie is also amazingly versatile. When she does stuff like "No More I Love Yous," she gets this ethereal Sarah McLachlan-esque kind of thing that just sounds like a beautiful angel. And then she can switch over the sound of her voice and make it sound like she's gargling glass. And so many people can't do that. All these classically trained singers, like Josh Groban, they just can't get down and dirty to sing a Rod Stewart song — they don't have that grit in their voice. She's one of those people that could be an operatic singer, but at the same time turn around and just really be a dirty rock singer. I also have to be superficial for a moment and point out that she is this unbelievably hot chick — and she has stayed hot to this day.

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• Annie Lennox's Entry on the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time
• The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time
• What Makes a Great Singer? By Jonathan Lethem
• Special Gallery: Legends at Work
• The Ballots: Our Panel's Handwritten Votes
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