Music's 13 Fiercest Females to Stop in Seattle in 2010

Rock and pop music both have their fair shares of celebrity females -- big names, superstars, and super divas. The music scene would be flat-out boring if it was left to the boys. 2010 wasn't any exception -- but while Lilith Fair was canceling shows and Miley was sucking down bong hits, these thirteen ladies -- all of whom made notable, memorable concert appearances in Seattle in 2010 -- were hard at work making the year's most exceptional music.

*An important side note: Yes, Lady Gaga is awesome. The Fame Monster is awesome. She had an awesome 2010. She'll have an awesome 2011, '12, '13, '14... She's even too awesome for this list. We're just going to give her the Honorary Obvious #1 and move on to make room for some others...

13. Sharon Jones: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, one of the best neo-soul revivalists playing music right now, made such a successful record, April's I Learned the Hard Way, that some of us grew frightened of how much radio play it got. The exposure was well-warranted though -- Jones proved that not all divas are young blonde bimbos, and her earth-shaking vocals sold out the Showbox SoDo in June.

12. Andrea Estella: New Yorkers Twin Sister appeared on the scene this year with their psychedelic Color Your Life EP, headed off by the freewheeling single "All Around and Away We Go." Lead singer Estella's vocals are equal parts romantic haze and steely attitude -- during the band's first visit to Seattle at Neumos in October, Estella commanded the stage with her feminine mystique. Aside from the obvious Victoria Legrand, she may be the best vocalist doing the dream pop thing right now.

11. Corin Tucker: Here in the Northwest, the Sleater Kinney girls will never stop being cool. But Corin Tucker shot herself back into the spotlight this year with 1,000 Years, her succinct and steadily rocking solo debut. At her band's October show at the Showbox, Eddie Vedder even showed up to pay his respects to the riot grrrl.

10. Sarah Barthel: Phantogram produced Barsuk's most glowing release of the year, Eyelid Movies, and sold out not one but two shows at Neumos. Fans are rightfully enraptured by vocalist Barthel's wispy, haunting voice, her sexy stage presence, and the unavoidable fact that she is a total babe.