When listening to music, does an off-putting vocalist
automatically disqualify an otherwise good song from being enjoyable for you to listen to?
Two examples from classic rock are "L.A. Woman" and "Me & Bobby McGee." In either case, I can understand how someone might find Jim Morrison's or Janis Joplin's singing off-putting (at least at certain points in the respective songs). But, even if you don't care for the singing, is it so off-putting that it ruins the entire song for you?
For my wife, the answer would be a resounding yes. But I come from the perspective that a piece of music can still be great even if the lead singer isn't totally your cup of tea. "L.A. Woman" and "Me & Bobby McGee" are two songs that fit that bill for me.
Granted, I probably don't find the lead vocalist nearly as objectionable as many do for either of these songs. And, in general, I possibly focus more on the instrumental music than the average person (I often especially enjoy hearing instruments that are associated with classical music, such as pianos or strings, being incorporated into a rock/pop song).