50 Great Voices was an NPR yearlong series from 2010 to 2011 to profile 50 singers who have made their mark internationally and across recorded history, revealing the selected voices one by one, weekly.
The stated aim of the series was to highlight "50 singers who've made their mark internationally and across recorded history." Focusing on music discovery, the NPR editors who compiled the list started with on-air and online solicitation of nominations, and later votes, as a first step. They then put together a panel of music journalists, critics, and musicologists to discuss nominations and come to a rough consensus on fifty artists to highlight.
The panel prioritized music discovery over naming the "fifty best" or "fifty most influential" singers. One method was to name singers who were well-respected within their own genre, but lacked widespread familiarity. Another was to explicitly prioritize singers from outside the United States. The panel aimed to identify great, but not universally recognizable, singers.
The panel also did not shy away from controversy. Elizabeth Blair of NPR said of the process, "Whenever you come up with any kind of list, whether it's great athletes or great artists, there's bound to be controversy. [...] The 50 Great Voices series will both please and infuriate. And that's partly the point."
| Release date (Year/month/day) | Title and selected voice | Genre and keywords | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010/01/25 | The Voice As Weapon | Hard rock Punk rock | |
| 2010/02/01 | The Voice Of The Golden Years | Music of Afghanistan "Afghanistan's Elvis" | |
| 2010/02/08 | Voice Of The Civil Rights Movement | Gospel music | |
| 2010/02/15 | Voice Of Perfect Imperfection | Opera Soprano | |
| 2010/02/22 | The Voice Of Pakistan | Qawwali Ghazal Jazz fusion | |
| 2010/03/01 | The Voice Of Bollywood And More | Bollywood Playback singer Indian classical music | |
| 2010/03/08 | The Feeling Between The Notes | MPB Bossa nova | |
| 2010/03/15 | 'The Lady' Of Cairo | Arabic music | |
| 2010/03/22 | The Singer And The Showman | R&B Soul music | |
| 2010/03/29 | America's First Lady Of Song | Jazz Pop music | |
| 2010/04/05 | 'Queen Of The Gypsies' | Romani music | |
| 2010/04/12 | The Voice Of Istanbul | Turkish pop music | |
| 2010/04/19 | An Incandescent Voice | Jazz Pop music | |
| 2010/04/26 | The 'Crown Prince' Of Reggae | Reggae Lovers rock | |
| 2010/05/03 | A Great Voice, A Lonely Sound | Rock music | |
| 2010/05/10 | Two Cultures, One Voice | Navajo people | |
| 2010/05/17 | , And Confessions Of An Operaholic | Opera Tenor | |
| 2010/05/24 | The First Lady Of Tejano | Tejano Norteño | |
| 2010/06/07 | The Queen Of Rock | Blues rock Psychedelic rock | |
| 2010/06/14 | Mercurial Queen Of British Folk Rock | British folk rock | |
| 2010/06/21 | Neglected Heart Of Soul | Chicago soul | |
| 2010/06/28 | R&B, Soul Hip hop music | ||
| 2010/07/12 | Fairuz Lebanon's Voice Of Hope | Arabic music Music of Lebanon | |
| 2010/07/19 | The Charming Irish Tenor | Opera, Tenor Popular music Music of Ireland | |
| 2010/07/26 | Khaled The King Of Rai | Raï Music of Algeria | |
| 2010/08/02 | Biggie Smalls The Voice That Influenced A Generation | Hip hop music | |
| 2010/08/07 | Björk A Celestial Voice | Alternative rock Avant-garde music Music of Iceland | |
| 2010/08/23 | Riffing On Gospel | Gospel music Musical improvisation | |
| 2010/08/23 | The Soul Queen Of New Orleans | R&B, Soul, Blues Music of New Orleans | |
| 2010/08/30 | Rock 'N' Roll's Humble Showman | Rock, Hard rock Glam rock | |
| 2010/09/06 | The Cantor With The Heavenly Voice | Jewish music | |
| 2010/09/13 | Argentina's Tango Maestro | Tango music | |
| 2010/09/20 | Born In England; Made In America | Rock | |
| 2010/09/27 | Protest Through Poetry | Persian traditional music Music of Iran | |
| 2010/10/04 | Howlin' Wolf Booming Voice Of The Blues | Chicago blues | |
| 2010/10/11 | The Queen Of Country Music | Country music Honky-tonk Nashville sound | |
| 2010/10/18 | The Voice Of Extreme Expression | Fado | |
| 2010/10/25 | The Voice From Havana | Salsa music Son, Guaracha | |
| 2010/11/02 | The Voice Of Freedom | Flamenco Copla, Soul, Jazz | |
| 2010/11/08 | The Spellbinding Voice Of A Titan Tenor | Opera, Tenor | |
| 2010/11/15 | The Voice Of Triumph | Ranchera | |
| 2010/11/22 | Emotional Power Through Song | Jazz, Blues Torch song | |
| 2010/11/29 | The Velvet Voice | Contemporary R&B Soul, Pop music | |
| 2010/12/06 | The Voice Of Hawaii | Music of Hawaii | |
| 2010/12/13 | The Voice Of Heartbreak | Country music Rockabilly | |
| 2010/12/27 | The Voice Of Senegal | Mbalax Music of Senegal | |
| 2011/01/03 | Camarón de la Isla The Voice Of Flamenco | New Flamenco Flamenco | |
| 2011/01/11 | A Voice For All Time | Avant-garde music | |
| 2011/02/01 | A Jazz Voice With Pop Sensibilities | Jazz | |
| 2011/03/08 | A Voice Of Passionate Grandeur | Opera, Soprano Bel canto |