The Selecter

Hands down, Pauline Black possessed the best voice that ever graced a 2-Tone release. Blessed with a bewitching soprano and dramatic panache, Black's voice reached plateaus that made every other musical detail sound like part of a backdrop painted just to set the stage for her entrance. While the Specials were content to merely jazz up old Ska standards, and Madness pleased themselves by playing up the zany angle, the Selecter shuttled through their songs like a band of Ska revisionists, with Black rewriting songs with her voice and leaving her signature in every piercing note. Even if the Specials outsold them and Madness outlasted them, Selecter were arguably the best that 2-Tone had to offer.