Best vocal performance on an album?

Really? No one has said Jon on Streets?

Good point. Streets is unique and truly a masterpiece. I added my favorite song off Streets to my list. There are so many Savatage / JOP songs that could have been included, but something from Streets needed to be there. Thanks for the nudge.
 
Black Sabbath - Headless Cross (Tony Martin was simply flawless on the tunes on this album)

I think Tony Martin is an absolute MONSTER vocalist. In the studio, he was an equal to Dio. He maybe even stronger on the melodic stuff, though maybe a little weaker on the heavies. However, I felt like there was always at least a couple of filler songs on the Martin era Sabbath. Other fans of Martin should definitely look for Misha Calvin's Evolution I. It may be Tony's best work.

Bryant
 
Woods of Ypres - Woods 5 - Grey Skies and Electric Light

Lyrically, this album gives brutally honest, personal, and absolutely crushing views on loss, unrequited love, and death. This is the only piece of music that has literally brought me to tears. David Gold (vocalist/lyricist) died about a month before this album was officially released. His death was ruled a car accident but many (including myself) believe it was suicide. The lyrics on the last song on this album are strangely prophetic in terms of how he died as well.
 
Queensryche - Rage For Order
Lost Horizon - A Flame To The Ground Beneath
Crimson Glory - Transcendence
Circus Maximus - Isolate
Dream Theater - Awake
 
Agreed, Kelly Carpenter on Outworld is out of this world. Damn! So many good replys in this thread.

Edit in: More old school; Pat Benatar, first three albums. She was the shit for female rock vox.
Georg Neuhauser kills me on Serenity's Words Untold & Dreams Unlived, start to finish.

Here's why threads like this rule. I don't have any Woods of Ypres though they are not unknown to me. But now I have 5 on the list for the next round of buys.
 
This one is SOOOOO hard... because there are a lot of them...so many I don't want to not give credit to those that are not forefront in my mind at present.

I'm waring a DARK SIDE OF THE MOON t-shirt today for a reason...

Operation Mindcrime gave me chills the first time I heard it, my sure fire never wrong sign of an amazing vocal performance. (loved Rage for order and Empire but for me MINDCRIME was Geoff's pinnacle album.

I loved the first ARK disc, my introduction to Jorn's amazing voice, I only state this album because it was my first introduction to Jorn and the band was freaking amazing...he sings great on everything he's done, but this was something special because it was the first time I heard him.

And for a newer artist for honorable mentions Jonny Tatum on Eumeria's debut (killer voice)
Fabio Juan on Scelerata's "The Sniper". (flawless power melodic)
Henrick Favre on Anubis Gate - Horizons (flawless melodic)

I have to add CARL ALBERT here for the first VICIOUS RUMORS self titled debut, amazing vocals, we used to cover "Don't wait for me" in Gemini when it came out.

Crimson Glory - Transcendence (Midnight was epic).
 
Here are some of my favs:

Jon Oliva (Savatage)--Gutter Ballet: Streets is amazing overall, and a lot of it is due to Jon, but I'd have to give Gutter Ballet the nod for a killer vocal performance, particularly in the barnburners such as She's In Love and Unholy.

Steve Souza (Exodus)--Tempo of the Damned: Over a decade after the band's breakup, they return with a fierce statement, and Souza was a big part of that statement. He may not have the range of many of the other vocalists mentioned in this thread, but he definitely has the power and anger to carry those songs. I was very disappointed when Steve left later that year (although at least I got to see them live on that tour), and am very glad he is back.

Hansi Kursch (Demons and Wizards)--Demons and Wizards: His work in Blind Guardian is amazing, but I feel that he really took it to a new level on the debut album of this side project with John Schaffer (Iced Earth). It's a shame that we haven't seen anything else from this project (aside from a 2005 follow-up) because Hansi really worked with with Schaffer.

Mike Howe (Metal Church)--Blessing in Disguise: Many believe that David Wayne was Metal Church, but I believe that his replacement Mike Howe took them to a higher level artistically and vocally. He had the range and the passon. Plus, Anthem to the Estranged is a modern day classic, largely due to the haunting vocals of Mike Howe.

Ronnie James Dio (Mob Rules, Heaven and Hell): I can't pick between those two albums, because both are vocal masterpieces.

Keith Sudano (Eternity X)--Zodiac: This is a highly underrated and overlooked band from the mid 90's, and a lot of it was due to Sudano's quirky vocals. Some liked their latter day stuff, but I believe their first album, a concept album around the signs of the zodiac was their best.

Jack Russell (Great White): Psycho City: He may not have had the range of other singers, but he certainly had the passion, and this was an album where everything came together. Unfortunately as it was released during height of the grunge era, it disappeared pretty quickly, but check out the music and the vocals for a very good performance, particularly on the sultry Old Rose Motel and the quiet Maybe Someday.
 
Ray Alder in "No Exit". He had to replace John Arch; tough challenge that was. He did it in spades. "The Ivory Gate of Dreams" is the best vocal performance I have ever heard from a debut singer, bar none!