Share a track by your favorite vocalist of all-time.

Husband drove me to work today, and I liked talking with him about what makes a vocalist a vocalist. Coming up with a shared and agreed upon example was fun. For me, in general, I don't call most singer/songwriters vocalists. So for me that eliminates people like Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLaughlin and all the rest. And I don't really count singers in a band as vocalists even though we say they do "lead vocals" or "background vocals." Prince, Beyonce, Queen, Mary J Blige, Dolly Parton, Björk...they just don't meet my definition.

Husband stated confidently, "They have to able to sing a standard. If they can sing a standard, and do it well, and even better if they can do it a capella, they're a vocalist."

I said he hit the nail on the head.

And so here's my favorite vocalist of all-time, Martha Wainwright. Although she's a singer/songwriter, and her original work leaves an impression, I think she shines brightest when she's covering a standard.

Her live version of Leonard Cohen's "Tower of Song" (featured in the film Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man) is incredible. There's a version of her covering ABBA's "The Name of the Game" out there which she transformed into a ballad. Her Que Sera, Sera is good, too.

But her interpretation of Bye Bye Blackbird proves she's a vocalist. A voice from another era. Strength, grace, emotive, diction, it's all there.

One caveat about her covers: keep far away from her version of The Eurythmics' "Love is a Stranger" - it's truly terrible.